did you ever take a big cardboard box or some other piece of garbage and methodically break it down? it's something i do periodically to get stuff into the dumpster out behind the building, and i expect i'm not exactly alone in that regard.
but did you ever also have the attendant experience of feeling strangely...sated...when you were left with just small pieces? now just b/c it had to be done, but b/c you were engaged in the act of destroying?
i'm realizing that i experience a kind of satisfaction from the act of destruction periodically, of taking something and reducing it to...nothing.
as a person interested in creative writing and other creative endeavors, it's a strange and somewhat...disquieting little epiphany. it's aesthetically perverse to me, you know?
do i find that satisfying on some level to karmically compensate for writing? is there some kind of universal give and take in which i'm participating? or is this just a trick of wordplay?
ed
silverwhisper posted on Jan 24, 2008
| views: 346
Comments
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hinana said on Jan 24, 2008....
i never thought about it that way...youve given me somethign to think about =) -
Zayda said on Jan 24, 2008....
Silver--I think I understand what you mean. I get some small measure of satisfaction from breaking down the boxes that soft drinks come in so that I can fit them in a bag for recycling. For me though, it's tied to the sense of satisfaction of bringing about order and cleaning or tidying up. Yes, the act of "destroying" or breaking down that box so it's no longer a box brings some satisfaction, but there is more at play as well. -
GracefullyGrowing said on Jan 24, 2008....
I think it's just the testosterone coursing through your veins that enjoys destroying things! ;~P~Grace~ -
the_infernal_optimist said on Jan 24, 2008....
What a cool post. :-D I totally relate to the "aesthetically perverse" part of it -- it's not very writer-ish to want to unmake things.
Then again, what is it about the destruction that satisfies you? Is it that you made something fit the space you designated for it, or is it the actual "Muahahahaha -- take THAT, box!" part? (Not that I've ever gone evil on a box...nope.) What I'm trying to say is that maybe the destruction is pleasing for reasons other than the act of destroying in and of itself.
I could hang with the balance thing, too. Maybe we innately strive for balance, and those of us who create more than others end up almost needing to unmake something when the balance is too far tipped toward making...I don't know, but it's intriguing!
~Infernal
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silverwhisper said on Jan 24, 2008....
hinana: that's a comment that always makes me smile when i can get it. :>
super z: i'm awfully curious what "more" is at play here in your view. ?
grace: o, i don't know about that...i'm hardly "captain machismo" or anything. :>
infernal: no, it's not that it's meeting some kind of objective or completing a task--it's the actual destruction. that's what's got me disquieted, you see. while i suppose there's potentially some karmic aspect to it, i also am cognizant of the fact that the box isn't really destroyed--it's transformed into a space that consumes vastly less volume, but the same mass is still present...hm. i'm not sure how better to try to explain.
ed -
Zayda said on Jan 24, 2008....
silver: i mentioned what was at play, at least for me--the act of bringing about order--cleaning and tidying up. -
silverwhisper said on Jan 24, 2008....
ah, i misunderstood your comment.
wait...that never happens--i never misunderstand your meaning!
:p
ed -
Zayda said on Jan 24, 2008....
lol. if only -
silverwhisper said on Jan 24, 2008....
why, whatever do you mean by that?
[blinks]
[looks innocent]
ed -
SeanRenaud said on Jan 24, 2008....
Of course, you're a person, and a guy at that. Of course you gain satisfaction from destruction and domination. C'mon Silver.What is best in life? -
silverwhisper said on Jan 24, 2008....
conan quoth:
to crush your enemies, drive them before you, and hear the lamentations of their women!
[blink]
OK, that was a little creepy at how quickly that just slipped from my fingers...
ed -
the_infernal_optimist said on Jan 24, 2008....
[backs away slowly]
Was that an evil laugh I just heard? :-D
~Infernal
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queenparanoia said on Jan 25, 2008....
sometimes i find it satisfying too... lol... =)
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runningbear said on Jan 25, 2008....
I like that feeling of breaking things down. My most fun is when I get something in the mail that has been bubble wrapped. I love popping those bubbles. -
silverwhisper said on Jan 25, 2008....
infernal: how about a chaotic neutral snicker? :D
queen: yeah, there's something weirdly satisfying, isn't there?
runningbear: packing bubbles rock! i love taking a long strip and twisting it so that you can get the rapid-fire popping effect! :D
ed -
JadeLondon said on Jan 25, 2008....
Maybe you're creating something else...Or editing. We writers do that sort of thing.
Or maybe I'm mixing metaphors.
Ah, hell's bells!
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the_infernal_optimist said on Jan 25, 2008....
[rofl]
Ok, now the packing bubbles I totally understand.
~Infernal
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silverwhisper said on Jan 25, 2008....
jade: bah, if you are, so am i!
infernal: o hell yeah!
ed -
JadeLondon said on Jan 25, 2008....
Mixing metaphors? Or creating something else, such as a monster? ;) -
wombat said on Jan 25, 2008....
I think I get what you mean...(and I like destroying boxes etc...too) but I believed you meant compacting your writing? Making it tight? Destroy the larger thought--break it down with a passion?Guess I am just weird, but even if I'm wrong, it's an interesting concept...right? -
silverwhisper said on Jan 25, 2008....
jade: the former, ya weirdo! :p
wombat: no, not that. there's--at least to me--a tension b/n the act of destroying and that of creating, such as writing, or painting, or sculpting. i really don't know how to explain it in any other way, to be honest.
ed -
wombat said on Jan 25, 2008....
Ok, well I gave it a shot....I do know about tension! -
SeanRenaud said on Jan 25, 2008....
Or wood. Don't lie there is something extraordinarly satisfying about destroying furniture you're gonna throw out. And don't tell me that none of you when you were young was walking some place saw a 2x4 and just had to prop it up against the wall and kick it. We like to break things. -
silverwhisper said on Jan 25, 2008....
wombat: yeah, i'm having a lot of trouble expressing this thought any differently, i'm afraid. :/
sean: yes, but what precisely is it? what is that impulse, that sense of satisfaction, though?
ed -
Zayda said on Jan 25, 2008....
I've never broken furniture because I usually donate it to charity. So, I suppose none of my furniture, even from college was in bad enough shape to just throw out.
I do get a sense of pleasure from shredding paper--either running it through the shredder (I like the whirring sound of our shredder) or shredding it by hand. Although, shredding it by hand is, on some level, more satisfying. -
silverwhisper said on Jan 25, 2008....
yeah, i know what you mean re: shredding by hand. :>
ed -
SeanRenaud said on Jan 25, 2008....
I think we like to conquer things and destroy things. It makes us feel big and manly. -
silverwhisper said on Jan 25, 2008....
yeah, but it isn't this rush of testosterone or anything for me. and i sincerely doubt the others who observed that the had a similar sensation (e.g., zayda) are, either. :>
ed -
polarheart said on Jan 25, 2008....
I'm with Zayda on this one. My pleasure is in fact that there is purpose to the destruction i.e. decluttering and also being eco-friendly. I hate senseless destruction. However, some guys esp like to blow up old rusted cars or do other things with old useless objects just for the fun of it. Now that's not my kind of fun. . .but there is nothing wrong with it. -
silverwhisper said on Jan 25, 2008....
yeah, i can understand the "making clean" thing but for me there's something else, too. ah, well...
ed -
Zayda said on Jan 25, 2008....
Ed, perhaps it is one of those things you/we can never truly understand. Life is like that some days. -
somethingunUSual said on Jan 25, 2008....
It's called venting. -
bluegum said on Jan 26, 2008....
ilike the bit about conan .......i hate putting into the recycle bin any box thats in good order or bubble wrap i have all of the boxes the printer,processor,screen speakers etc.etc styrofoam i can throw in the bin,.... i will put it in, not now,.... the processor got a glitch i took it to town minus the box,..its still in the shed i will put it in the bin soon. -
silverwhisper said on Jan 26, 2008....
something: hi! welcome to my blog! i'm not sure if it's just about venting, to be honest.
bluegum: heh...sean's a funny guy. :> ah, the packing materials w/ those things can be really weird, can't it?
ed