Hmmm, Strange by Betsy

I have an in-law, a cousin, who, himself is not so strange, rather his world of knowledge and know-how seems strange to one who does not study physics. Bill, and his wife Marion, my cousin, are a couple of those spoon benders you may have heard about. Because of his knowledge and belief in the world of quantum physics, and, shall we say some sort of a heightened awareness, Bill and his associates are able to bend heavy spoons with their bare hands, no tools. They twist the handles into cork screw shape using nothing but 10 frail digits and the power of their minds.

Now, you may be saying, “Well, it’s some sort of trick, perhaps a visual trick.”

Trust me, it’s not a trick. Gill and I witnesses the feat with our own eyes.

My cousin gave us the spoon as a souvenir, or as a reminder of the power of the mind. The twisted spoon was carefully laid away amongst our most prized possessions, but somehow is not making its presence known when we most would like to put our hands on it. Perhaps we hid it too well or the magic continues and it has vaporized into a billion particles, but the tortured tool is not to be found in the house. Hmmm, strange.

Bill did the spoon bending as a demonstration of a concept of quantum physics. The fact that it works, perhaps is the result of synchronicity. The phenomenon is based on the theory of quantum mechanics which explains the synchronization of the vibrations of the particles that make up energy with matter. Now apparently, if you can synchronize these things, you too can be a spoon-bender. Hmmm, strange.

String theory is another subject on the agenda of these scientists. String theory has to do with particle theory. I do not speak the language of physics and do not have the concepts and therefore can neither understand nor attempt to communicate what any of it is about. Only that it has to do with the make-up of subatomic particles--the make-up of all matter. The recent discovery of the so-called God Particle has brought much of this to light recently. Even the popular explanations are mind-boggling, I find.

Subatomic particles leave me cold. I cannot see them bouncing around when I look at something and, therefore, am not terribly interested in them.

The theories of quantum physics are to an unsophisticated mind such as mine are, well, strange. Take for example the concept that time is not moving. According to some physicists the idea that the past is gone, the present is here now, and the future is yet to come is but an illusion to us earthly creatures. All of time, all that ever was and all that ever will be is actually present now.

We’ve all heard the advise given that we should live in the NOW, not worry about the future or live with regret for the past. The idea that the Now consists of the past and the future as well as the present moment in time, that the flow of time is an illusion, I find, presents problems when trying to apply this simple advise, live in the now.

All I can do is continue to try to live in my illusionary world and try to focus on what appears to me to be the NOW, hopefully learn from the past, and look forward to the future, but mind you, stay focused on the NOW-- and right at this particular NOW I can’t stop scratching my head when I think of my cousin and all those twisted spoons. Hmmm, strange.

© July, 2014

About the Author

Betsy has been active in the GLBT community including PFLAG, the Denver women’s chorus, OLOC (Old Lesbians Organizing for Change). She has been retired from the Human Services field for about 15 years. Since her retirement, her major activities include tennis, camping, traveling, teaching skiing as a volunteer instructor with National Sports Center for the Disabled, and learning. Betsy came out as a lesbian after 25 years of marriage. She has a close relationship with her three children and enjoys spending time with her four grandchildren. Betsy says her greatest and most meaningful enjoyment comes from sharing her life with her partner of 25 years, Gillian Edwards.