8.24.2014
the life of the cuttlefish
...Thoreau's Journal: 24-Aug-1852
Like cuttlefish we conceal ourselves, we darken the atmosphere in which we move; we are not transparent. I pine for one to whom I can speak my first thoughts; thoughts which represent me truly, which are no better and no worse than I; thoughts which have the bloom on them, which alone can be sacred and divine. Our sin and shame prevent our expressing even the innocent thoughts we have. I know of no one to whom I can be transparent instinctively. I live the life of the cuttlefish; another appears, and the element in which I move is tinged and I am concealed. My first thoughts are azure; there is a bloom and a dew on them; they are papillaceous feelers which I put out, tender, innocent. Only to a friend can I expose them. To all parties, though they be youth and maiden, if they are transparent to each other, and their thoughts can be expressed, there can be no further nakedness. I cannot be surprised by an intimacy which reveals the outside, when it has shown me the inside. The result of a full communication of our thoughts would be the immediate neglect of those coverings which a false modesty wears.
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5 comments:
I've been really enjoying your blog, and this entry is potent to the day (first day of living on my college campus). Keep posting, and know that your blog is highly appreciated.
I'll sit and talk unconcealed with you anyday, Mr. Thoreau.
Having read Walden in my youth, I have recently rediscovered the wonder of his work. The blog is great, much easier to read than the monster journal I got from the local library. Thanks!
I think, though I of course may be entirely off base, that he's struggling with the fact that it's difficult to trust that one's CORE will be understood (not just good or evil, more like the shape of it, if that makes sense?), so we tend to closely monitor what we say.
It's sort of a catch 22, really...
I try to just "be," and I end up in bizarre situations because of it. People usually find it to be enigmatic (not my intent) or off putting (also not my goal).
it is one of our security blankets,we use for self preservation!, letting very little out keeps us safe from ridicule and harm,yet once there is trust as with a friend, we can share much of who we are ,without fear of harm!,imagine a world where we could be as open with a stranger as with your spouse!?. michael jameson oldantiqueguy@hotmail.com
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