Ozymandias
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
-Percy Bysshe Shelley
Our lives are collections of moments filtered through our senses. Eating a delicious meal there is the sensation of taste. The countless number of combinations of flavors and savor. During a moment of eating our bodies can sense through taste that it is good. Feeling there is the sensation of touch. Resting my head on a cold pillow, a warm shower after a hard days work. Kicking up my feet on my porch in the evening. These again can be felt. I can feel the water on my back. I can feel the muscles relax as I recline.
but sight is such a strange sense. There doesn't seem to be a concrete sensation during an enjoyable sight. I know when they are happening but I can't express the feeling. I have words for describing good food. I have words to describe good music and sounds. I have words for delightful scents.
But what is the sensation my eyes give me when I watch the sunset over a mountain? What is the sensation my eyes send to my brain when I look into a woman's eyes? When I see a beautiful piece of art? When I am surrounded by skyscrapers, an ocean, or even better mountains?
Sight is maybe my favorite sense. It brings me the most joy and yet it is amazing that our eyes even work. They are so complex. And also I can't even describe the sensation sight gives me.
I can use words like beautiful and whatever but they don't capture the feeling, they only describe what my eyes are seeing now how my eyes make me feel.
The most I can do in those moments of sight sensation is let out a peaceful sigh. I can replay a song, I can prepare the same meal, I can take another shower, light the same candle, but I can't capture sights. No camera can do justice to the things my eyes have seen. They give poor imitations.
I think that makes me like sight even more. The fact that there is no sensation for pleasing sights. No taste buds on my eyes. Just a temporary moment and my miracle eyes to project it to my brain for that period.
Bethel - God I Look to You
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
-Percy Bysshe Shelley
but sight is such a strange sense. There doesn't seem to be a concrete sensation during an enjoyable sight. I know when they are happening but I can't express the feeling. I have words for describing good food. I have words to describe good music and sounds. I have words for delightful scents.
But what is the sensation my eyes give me when I watch the sunset over a mountain? What is the sensation my eyes send to my brain when I look into a woman's eyes? When I see a beautiful piece of art? When I am surrounded by skyscrapers, an ocean, or even better mountains?
Sight is maybe my favorite sense. It brings me the most joy and yet it is amazing that our eyes even work. They are so complex. And also I can't even describe the sensation sight gives me.
I can use words like beautiful and whatever but they don't capture the feeling, they only describe what my eyes are seeing now how my eyes make me feel.
The most I can do in those moments of sight sensation is let out a peaceful sigh. I can replay a song, I can prepare the same meal, I can take another shower, light the same candle, but I can't capture sights. No camera can do justice to the things my eyes have seen. They give poor imitations.
I think that makes me like sight even more. The fact that there is no sensation for pleasing sights. No taste buds on my eyes. Just a temporary moment and my miracle eyes to project it to my brain for that period.
Bethel - God I Look to You