From pickles to the contemplation of broken glass and mirrors; apparently that’s how my mind works!

I’ve always been fascinated by kaleidescopes.

Peering into one, it seems as if this human-made created and patterned universe of colorful swirling glass morphs into artificial realities.

What’s the question here? Is it that reality doesn’t seem real anymore.or are we simply a fractured, fragmented view of another reality?

In a kaleidescope, that which exists for an instant will disappear; ephemeral, never to be seen again in that same way, even though the original, organic pieces are still there.

Reality: the world or the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them. Or, the state or quality of having existence or substance.

One small flick of the wrist and our entire universe can change. Just like a kaleidescope. In any reality. Or any sort of purgatory.

I like to share quotes from others:

“It was as if her life was a huge kaleidoscope, and the kaleidoscope had been turned and now everything was changed. The same stones shaken, no longer made the same design.”
Author: Betsy Byars

“Forrest Gump had it wrong. Life is not a box of chocolate; it’s a kaleidoscope. In the flip of a wrist, realities are shredded and the world takes on a totally new shape.”
Author: Carolyn Haines

Life is like an ever-shifting kaleidoscope; a slight change and all patterns alter.
Author: Sharon Salzberg

I like to know how things work. I like answers.

Science tells me that it’s the incline of the two mirrors inside a kaleidoscope that determines the number of times the pattern created by the reflection of an object is repeated. However, I can’t say that I’ve ever seen a repeated pattern. At least, not that I remember.

A kaleidescope is an optical instrument with two or more reflecting surfaces tilted to each other in an angle, so that one or more (parts of) objects on one end of the mirrors are seen as a regular symmetrical pattern when viewed from the other end, due to repeated reflection.

Each component works together synergistically to create an illusion of reality–and then it’s gone.

Obviously I have zero answers to all deep questions; my pondering and contemplations are ephemeral and transitory–kaleidescopic. My brain can only handle a tiny bit of this at any given time; now I need to watch a couple of episodes of the new Dynasty. Balance. It’s all about balance.

If you have time for a great read, check this out via the Exploratorium: Facets of Light: Colors, Images, and Things that Glow in the Dark
https://www.exploratorium.edu/sites/default/files/pdfs/facets_of_light1980.pdf