Five minute free write - palimpsest

For today's Five minute free write hosted by @mariannewest

We had a couple options. Be cool and be challenged by a word you've probably never encountered, palimpsest, or go with describing wind. At first I was like, 'oh, yeah, going the easy route on my lazy Sunday,' but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to try something different. Something that fits in the theme of what I love to write about.

Palimpsest -
1 : writing material (such as a parchment or tablet) used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased.
2 : something having usually diverse layers or aspects apparent beneath the surface.

As for why I chose the image I did as the header. I ask you. What can you tell me about this person? Where are they? Who are they? Why are they fishing? Why are they in a row boat? I mean, the list of W,W,W,W,W questions is endless. How are we to know without taking the time to ask? And these are questions we could ask for any of the people we see and meet every day. And when we do, we're usually surprised by what we hear and our life somehow improved and a deeper understanding gained.

Without further ado...my five minute free write inspired by the word: Palimpsest
Written in The most dangerous writing app with only minor post corrections

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Flashes, snippets, blurbs, moments, shots, flicker past us every day.

So much information, so much to see, so much to think about. We are only human. We are limited. We are animals brought to the next level of conciousness by a random series of events.

We are supposed to be evolved. But, we still resort to the most primal of reactions when overwhelmed. We shut off, shrink, cut down, minimize, and look to the pinpoints in order to move forward.

But, the world is not a flash, a snippet, a blurb, or just a moment.

Each instant is a complex collection of data. The people around us, not just what we see, nor what we think.

Social media shows us everything, and nothing. We are given access to glimpses of what people are. Or what they try to be. It's good for our mind, because it takes away the need to work. But when it comes to living, loving, and learning, we could not be headed in a worse direction.

We see, we judge, we think, and we do it fast because our animal brain gives us no choice, and the tools we use to make life easier, better, funner, are moving us down a path towards simplicity.

But, people are not simple.

Layers, thin, thick, varied. We miss them as we seek to simplify. We ignore the things that give people their rough edges as we prefer smooth. We try to put things into easy to understand box. But no one is as simple as an Instagram picture. A tweet. A Facebook post.

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I probably could have continued this point for another couple pages, but, alas, the timer dinged so I had to wrap up. This is definitely a topic that could be discussed for hours :)

Thanks for stopping by and reading! I hope you enjoyed it and would love to hear your thoughts.

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