Thinking on Stuff

Not stuff like in things, objects, the desiderata of daily living. No, I’m referring to thinking about ideas, the sort of ‘stuff’ that leads to wondering and uncovering more meaning.

An example: looking at a fresh bloomed flower. Take a peach-colored rose, maybe the Peace Rose. The petals are delicate, soft and oh so perfectly colored. The hues of pink and peach fused to a memorable blush. The surface looks like suede, maybe dewy, but with almost magnified goodness, the lumps that make up its surface. The aroma that comes forth, slowly at first, then fully blossoming in the nose.

A Peace Rose bloom is memorable. Always in your mind when you need it. It makes me wonder. It allows me to appreciate it and then, in comparison, how other blooms react on my brain.

Think of other things, stuff. Why do proton or neutron beams pass through steel I-beams? Through layers of rock and earth’s strata to arrive at a distant point still whole? How does that beam of atomic material do that sort of thing?

When we feel a steel beam, it is hard, it is big, it holds tons of building material above it – bridges, buildings, etc. – yet a proton beam passes right through it. We turn to books for answers. We talk to scientists in the field. We learn that the atomic rays encounter the steel beam at the atomic level, where atoms remain true to themselves and pass through the steel beam at its atomic level. There are spaces in steel, like in concrete, or granite. Or glass. The flow of atoms darts between the atomic material that makes up the targeted matter, and passes by, on to its final objective.

What makes water stay within a glass? The glass does not leak. Well, how does that happen. Because the water is not at its atomic state while sitting within a glass container. Thus, the contents do not leak.

Thinking on these things leads to knowing more. Who does this sort of thing? Do you? I do. Always have done this. I sit quietly and think on these things. Oh, I might be doing another task at the same time, like driving 500 miles to Minneapolis from Chicago, or waiting in a doctor’s office for my appointment. What about waiting for a restaurant meal when traveling alone? What does the mind do with such time?

Yes, I admit being a ponderer. I’m not sure I’ve ever admitted this to anyone else. Don’t know why. It just didn’t seem necessary to share this facet of my life. Do you do this too? If you do, what bits and bobs do you think upon?

Pondering and wondering has always brought me peace. Calm. Sort of like asking dad why and how questions when I was very young. Remember those days? Remember pondering back then on what and why of life? Surely, I am not alone with that, too.

September 27, 2022