Re: Small Query re a quote

["Anne M. Marble" <amarble@sff.net>]

From: Kate Clunies-Ross <goldbergs@TALK21.COM>

> Good evening, F-Minor (well actually its the middle of the night here)

My, you're up late. :->

> Recently I came across the following Gould quote:-
>
> "Perhaps what I see is still so controlled by my memory that it's nothing
> more than a mirage..."
>
> This interests me, as it seems rather Buddhist in its feeling. It
suggests
> an awareness that the "reality" that we perceive around us is, in fact,
an
> artifact formed by our own minds, our choices, and  the various
conditions
> that  influence our whole lives. In effect we each choose and create  the
> world we live in, and this may or may not reflect the ultimate reality we
> are part of.

It sounds as if GG was aware that he wasn't always aware. Some of the
biographies seem to imply that he was unaware of the changes in the new
Toronto and in the Toronto of his memories. I think he was aware but chose
to live on a different plane. Perhaps if the changes had gotten to a
certain level, or interfered with his life in some way, he would have had
to act on them rather than ignoring them or pretending it was the same as
before. OTOH he managed to adjust in his own way through many, many
changes. (OK, it helped that he avoided ever going near crowded attractions
such as the CN Tower, except when forced to go there while filming the
Toronto documentary.)

We all have memories that aren't completely accurate. Sometimes we don't
realize that we are viewing them through rose-colored glasses. For example,
my brother started dating a woman he dated back in high school, more than
25 years ago. I was about 10 years old at the time, and I remembered that
my brother and his girlfriend used to take me to fun places. When I met her
again recently, his girlfriend told me that they used to take me all those
places because I would threaten to tattle on them if they didn't take them
along! :->

Then again, I remember with great fondness a little bookstore that I used
to shop at in the 1970s. Yet I know that the bookstore itself probably
wasn't that well-stocked. If I saw it today, I'd be disappointed.

> But....I might be totally wrong. Although GG was evidently interested in
> Buddhism (at least towards the end of his life) I do not know why he said
> this, or indeed what it was he actually meant.
>
> Can anyone enlighten me as to when and where he said this, and what was
the
> context?

Just a guess. Probably wrong....  Could that have come from the Toronto
documentary? It sounds as if it might coincide with the middle-aged GG's
memories of Toronto as opposed to what Toronto had become by that time.

Hee hee! Ah, the joys and ease of use of Google.com's search feature.
Here's a mention of the quote within it's deeper context, from the F-Minor
archives:
http://www.tug.org/archives/f_minor/msg03874.html

Here's the full paragraph: "But perhaps I see it through rose-coloured
glasses; perhaps what I see is still so controlled by my memory that it's
nothing more than a mirage. I hope not, though, because if that mirage were
ever to evaporate, I should have no alternative but leave town."

No wonder that sounded familiar. I probably heard him say that -- if it
came near the end of the documentary. (I didn't get to see the whole
documentary. <sniff!>)

The quote I remember the most from the documentary is GG walking through
Eaton Centre and saying, "This is absurd! This is ab-so-lutely ab-surd."
You'll probably hear me saying that tomorrow when I go Christmas shopping
in the local Tar-Jay and Wal-Mart and (yawn) auto parts store.


Anne
Who's spending way too much time at http://www.neopets.com/
By the way, my NeoPet is a blue dolphin-like creature named Petula_2000,
and she owns one of the best bookshops on Neopia. :->