Seeing 2012 (#65)

For your consideration:  a (likely) random convergence of literary voyagers, crossing paths in a seeming near miss.

The scene from upon high:  many times I've contemplated the multitude of anonymous encounters we all have, most days of our lives, brushing in close proximity to fellow beings who are at once unique in their specific life experiences while also far more alike us than different in most regards . . .

Each such transit is as fleeting as the trails of fading exhalations left behind them.   How much more  enlightened might each participant become, however, if there were to be a spontaneous exchange of accumulated knowledge, shared aspirations and common concerns (through osmosis, perhaps?).  One might well imagine a quantum leap in empathy, compassion, and the restoration of some semblance of unity might be one yield of this mystical fantastical sharing.

Alas, in the Modern Era, despite a logarithmic expansion of so-called social media technologies, an ever deepening gulf between actual interactions with "strangers" is the reality.  Wariness, mistrust and an undercurrent of fear fills the vacuum.

And so it goes:  in this tightly structured and subliminally choreographed tableau the players may or may not be oblivious of their barely avoided convergence, yet even from afar a sense of danger floats just above the surface, as an outstretched arm reaches for the safety of a connection . . .

Patronage, #1417-7D

© 2012 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.

(click image for larger version)

Details: September 3, 2011; Canon 7D; f/6 @ 1/100 sec; –2/3 EV; ISO 640;
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM

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