See change, sea change

April 11, 2013



Sea Change: See change


Do you ever wonder where some phrases come from? What the original meaning or intent was?

Like "Sea Change". What the heck does that REALLY mean?

That phrase has been running though my head all morning.  

Well just for  you my dear readers I took five minutes and did some EXTENSIVE research and discovered the term "sea change" originates with Shakespeare ( don't be afraid) from his play
"The Tempest":

"Full fathom five thy father lies,
Of his bones are coral made,
Those are pearls that were his eyes,
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change,
into something rich and strange,
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell,
Ding-dong.
Hark! now I hear them, ding-dong, bell."

This is a song of comfort to one of the characters in the play after his father had died.

"Nothing of him doth fade,

But doth offer a sea-change,

into something rich and strange,"... 

I know that PD has brought about a sea-change in me; one that I am still adapting to, even after 7 years post-diagosis. 

Am I adapting into "something rich and strange"?

only time will tell....

PD has altered the way I look at life as well as the physical ability to perceive life: the sights, the sounds, the smells, the tastes. All the sensations of physical life are altered. 

Some more.

Some less. 

My mind, (the physical and mental and ethereal combined), my consciouness, is very very different from the lifetime I used to be living in pre-diagnosis. 

I actually take the time to think things through and make a plan. I have to have a plan now for everyday and everything, even if it's as banal as doing the laundry. 

*I think I will be adapting until this dis-ease kills me or I get hit by a bus....*

In a way I am fortunate because I have become very aware that time changes us all in one way or another. Not everyone is  aware of that. Or we choose to ignore it. And I make plans for that, A,B,C, sometimes D.

Life comes at us every freaking day throwing hardballs, sometimes throwing hardballs everyday all day for a long time. We can learn to adapt and make the best of things. 

Or we can throw tantrums and resist change. 

I do like to have my tantrums occasionally, as you have observed on this blog!

But I always get back to my senses, because:

1) I don't have the strength or endurance for holding onto anger or righteous indignation

2) I am really curious as to where God, Life, the Tao, is leading me. 

One change PD causes that is hard to realize is happening is the loss of the sense of smell. It occurs slowly over a long period of time. 

I think what I realized before the decreased sensation of smell was that I had a decreased sense of taste. (ok, no style jokes here please! Can I help it that I was brought up in the Midwest with 4 brothers?)

Initially I noticed that I couldn't taste a lot of foods, kind of gradually over time. And I really can't amell smoke AT ALL--which does concern me alot! 

It's like pain--if you don't feel pain you could end up walking around with a nail stuck in your foot and you won't know it--this is an actual thing that I know happened to someone.  

I can't smell smoke, so I really have to be cognizant of cooking times and making sure I set the timer. Because I can sit down at this computer and time disappears. And I can't smell smoke and then dinner is charred and the smoke detectors start going off....

HOWEVER,

I CAN taste sweets. Love sweets. Could live on sweets....

And,

My sight is worsening too. It all sucks the big one. 

But heck if I'm giving up. I have a lot more to give and get, do and undo, break and mend, watch and ignore, love and well, love not so much.

Changing into something rich and strange?

Tomorrow onward into the senses and trials....

Peace and love.