Yesterday, I went down to a beautiful photo studio that sits right across the street from the Princess Grill in a just decrepit enough building in the exchange district. Level 3 Studios (as it is called because it is on the 3rd level of the building, how clever) was a very impressive wide expanse with an ever changing style of wall and flooring to create a photographers playground. The reason I was there was not to gap at the grandeur of the place, though I did, but to be the first participant in my friend Jarrod's project, "Favorite Things". That may not be the exact name, but we will say that it is for the purposes of this post. The mode of the project is to have someone talk about their favorite thing and to have photos in conjunction of the subject, in this case myself, with their favorite thing. (This is where the photos about came from)
Here in laid the interesting thought process. When you are asked what is your favorite thing, out of all your objects or conceptions or whatever, what do you pick? Is it your most valuable thing? My most valuable thing is my computer. If my house was burning down it would be one of the things I would grab. It is probably one of my most used objects. I wouldn't even grab my favorite thing if my house was on fire. But, valued or frequency of use doesn't help that object to vibrate at the same frequency of the core of your being. That thing, that seems to articulate the pining of your heart, or make it vibrate with more strength and inspiration, that is it. That thing that makes your heart rate quicken and your tongue loosen at the mention of it. That is your favorite thing.
After much thought and musing I decided upon GK Chesterton's Manalive. I have been equally entertained by wit and prose in other books (though Chesterton seems to be able to deliver more frequently than others), but never have I been driven to live a better life by any other work of fiction. A life defying the mundane, a life of fairy tale.
For the shoot I was going to borrow Aaron's copy as it is much more interesting than my own. And this simple action made me realize why I wouldn't grab my copy if the house was on fire. It's not the book that I'm connected to, it's the story. As long as the story exists in some form somewhere, even if just the inspiration still remaining in my brain from reading it, I have my favorite thing. My favorite thing is in a sense immaterial, and it's avatar is the copies that exist.
Get some coffee in me and my mind can go many places.
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Here is a painting from Value Village that I got in a gift exchange. Miriam, Aaron and myself had a little fun with it.
click it so that you can see it in more detail.
