Recognition of life in inanimate objects?

In my daily life I often see figures that resemble things that are familiar to me. Like for instance, when you look at trees, you can see those little knots they have on their stems. If you look closely it almost resembles an eye.

Like this one to the left:
It's like this huge gaping eye staring into your soul.
Odd and scary I'd say...but also very fascinating.
You should look around your neighbourhood and find trees like these. You'll be surprised how many there are just like these!

Another thing that always catches my eye are cars. Yes cars. Not because they look great or race with the speed of light, no, it's because they almost seem to have faces. No I'm not kidding.
Have you ever looked at a cars front? If you look at the two headlights and the rest of the front you can almost define an actual face on it.

Just look at this picture to the right for example.
It's almost like a smiley face on a car or a gloating child.
Cars scare me...if you can see the face. It makes me uneasy, because I start thinking they're alive or something... of course they aren't! But yeah...our mind's eye can creep us out.

Another beautiful example of strange recognition in life are clouds. Clouds often hold shapes that we recognize from something in our own lives.
Of course these clouds don't form this shape because they want to. It's just pure coincidence that it looks exactly like something we know.
It's because our brain sees things the way it wants to. Our brain has to give meaning to shapes and forms. That is why we try to recognize every shape there is. Even though the shapes are absolutely normal, it's still fun to look at them.
Look at this one for example:
It's a nice cloud formation....which looks like a child.
Amazing!

Daily life can grant us lots of fun by just looking at things and can inspire us to create.

Try to find odd things in your area and post them here!

S.P. van der Lee

Infinite?

 Hi guys and girls!

Well I haven't been writing much lately, I know. It's been like what...2 weeks?
Anyway, I have been sick for the past couple of days, actually the entire last week and it was really the worst thing that could happen, because I just started my new semester at school and I missed all of the schooldays..
The reason was that I had a 39.7 (!) fever and a harsh cold on the chest, which put me in bed/on the couch for nearly the entire day..
I guess that was my in-between-internship-and-school vacation...although not quite enjoyable.

Now that's been said, I have had some time to think about certain stuff, like we all do.
And here's an uncommon question for you.

We live in this big universe, of which the boundaries are not yet known to mankind.
I often wonder: what lies beyond? Does it ever stop? And if so, what lies beyond the galaxy?
Some say it is infinite, but..what exactly is infinite? Something cannot go on forever, can it? I've never heard of anything that goes on forever...

 Sometimes I think: this galaxy is big, but maybe it ends somewhere. what if our universe is entirely in some kind of glass globe, somewhere on some giant's table which is then in an even bigger galaxy?
How big is the universe actually? It's just mind boggling thinking about it...

That's something we cannot answer at this point in time and probably not until the extinction of man...but still it's a very fun thing to think about!

Want to share your idea of "What is beyond the universe"? Let your creativity loose on the subject and post it here in a comment!

S.P. van der Lee

Quirks, what are they for?

Today I found myself constantly watching people’s behaviour. I get annoyed quickly by the repetitive nature of their quirks.

Is it weird to find weird things weird? Yea…good question.

Like the other day when we were having lunch, some people were talking with each other, like we people normally do. This guy had a plate with a fork and a knife on it and he was talking with someone next to him. Suddenly I notice he just starts rearranging his fork and knife on the plate, then he continues the conversation as if nothing ever happens.

Why did he do that? What’s it for? What use does it have to pick something up and place it down two inches further?

Quirks are strange. So many questions and possible answers come to mind when thinking this through. Although, come to think of it, why am I even trying to uncover the truth behind something that silly? I guess it’s human nature; the curiosity of it all.

Some people like tea. Half of them want the tea to soak for some time, the other half just want you to carefully dip it in the water. What’s with this difference? So many different kind of ways to make tea and I really don’t understand why people make a fuss about it.

Or that common quirk where someone has to stir a specific amount of time in their cup before they think it’s perfect to drink, or when someone has to peel the bread off their bread before eating it…what’s the use? Why do they do it?

People have such strange habits. Though looking at it and wondering about it does give you some insight into humans. We all have our own quirks so I guess it’s OK to be strange.

S.P. van der Lee

Curiousity for people

In my daily life I meet up with a lot of different people. Sometimes I meet them at work, sometimes at school, you even walk, bike or drive past them during a trip. We see people all around us.
Often I find myself looking at them, trying to figure out who they are, what they do. I am interested in knowing why they wear what they wear, why they do what they do. My mind wonders off to think what their life would be like.

You can tell a lot by just looking at the way they walk, if it’s insecure or sturdy. How they dress, if it looks trendy or Goth, sloppy or chic. Whether they frown or smile, you can tell if it’s fake or real. I think to myself: gosh, if only I knew what they thought.

It’s actually pretty normal to look at people and think about them. A lot of us do. It’s normal to want to compare yourself to the rest of the world. We are all curious, it’s in our nature. We are curious for everything we come across, we are a species that “wants to know things”. To be able to evolve, we need to know things, so it’s only natural.

 I know a lot of people think it’s important what other people think about them and we tend to want to adjust to that. A lot of us are insecure. But…don’t we all look at each other? Even if only for the reason I described above? Curiosity?

So everyone looks at other people and many of us feel judged. Why is that? Since we look at others too. It’s like saying “I don’t want you to look at me and judge me!” while you’re looking at and judging your neighbour.

From this you can draw the conclusion that judging and being judged is absolutely normal and not actually something to feel threatened by.
Do we actually look at someone and think: ‘You are dressed wrong! I will judge you and I never want to work with you/speak to you/anything else again.’ No, a lot of us don’t.
And honestly, those who do, don’t you think they are very narrow minded if they judge you based on how you dress or look? Do you even feel the need to be around these kind of people? I don’t.

The reality is: you can never please everyone. Like I said in my last post, we are all different people, we all like and dislike different things.
The important thing to remember is that you are unique, just like everyone else. When someone judges you, take it as their opinion, not something that is written in stone.

Only you know the real you and that’s all that matters, because it’s your life. You will live with you until the end, not the judger. So the only thing that really matters is what YOU think matters.

Love yourself x2!

S.P. van der Lee