The twisted tree--a thinking question.

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One of my favourite activity is thinking about various things. As adults, we become so mechanical, going about our daily routine that we forget to think.

When I interact with children (I conduct workshops for children on developing thinking skills) I am amazed at their perspectives. They come up with the most unique ideas about the most mundane things. As a part of the workshop, I have 'thinking questions' which are a lot of fun and which the children really enjoy. At one of my sessions, the children were asked to think of five uses of an umbrella apart from using it for the rain. A little girl aged 6, really surprised me when she said that you can hide in it when you are naked!




We went to Empress Garden, for a picnic, a few days back. I came across this amazing tree. It made me stand and stare. It made me think. I loved the way the branches twisted and turned. A bit like life, don't you think?


And this one made me think that sometimes, our live are so enmeshed with the lives of those we love, it is hard to say where one ends and the other begins and which one is what or whose!

So--here is your thinking question---What did the twisted tree pictures make you think of? I'd love to know.

Comments

  1. I started posting my comments, and realized that it was too much to add. So I posted my comments on my blog linking it to your page.
    http://cogitatingmind.blogspot.com/

    Thanks for the post!

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  2. Umbrellas are also good as spinning tops.

    The tree made me think of a huge octopus coming up out of the ocean to drag me under.

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  3. I immediately thought of the strands of a piece of knitting or raphia...I also thought of a 'family tree'..lives extending out and ever diverse.

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  4. Made me think of veins and arteries as they twist and turn throughout the body.

    :-)

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  5. my ans:

    My mind.


    Keshi.

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  6. It made me think of a very twisted person. Thats also coz am in a phase where I am forced to see bleary when I dont want to.

    Give me a few more days, am sure I will start looking at the tree a lot more pleasantly :)

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  7. hmmm...that reminds me of how deep family binds you, after a while you are not aware whose dreams you are dreaming ..

    nice one...ps...very thought provoking indeed!!!i'm doing too much introspection these days...

    enjoy ure hols :)

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  8. It makes me think of struggles, suffocations and depression. A person at their last straw of ever believing that good will come out of their superbly twisted situation and person. The point of breaking due to the depth of twistedness.

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  9. Well I have a twisted mind so dont laugh at this but, It makes my think of men!!!!!!!! :)

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  10. Children are very creative he. I love that tree We have simular trees in NZ

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  11. This is what came to my mind in the first place. It seemed the tree and its branches were dancing to a song and when the song stopped, they also stopped right in their tracks. :D

    Crazy na? But I still find the idea interesting!

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  12. Children can be so amazing in their thoughts...
    This tree reminded me of our entwined minds and thoughts....never feeling rested..always trying to get into one thing or the other...thinking merges with feelings, which blends into reality, and then again into dreams ...Am I being too confusing...

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  13. 1) inner conflicts - the conflicts of morality and principles
    2) dance of lovers - two body and one heart
    3) passonate sex
    4) threds of life
    5) hydra
    6) cotton wool
    7) chaos theory
    ... it goes on :) thnk for giving food for thought :)

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  14. it reminded me of some of the programs (I am working in IT!!) that I worked on!!!!!!!!! When you look at it as a whole, there is a flow, say top to bottom.. but when you look deeper, it is twisted, goes here and there, unknow branches etc:)

    Your post made me think:) keep it up!

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  15. it reminded me of some of the programs (I am working in IT!!) that I worked on!!!!!!!!! When you look at it as a whole, there is a flow, say top to bottom.. but when you look deeper, it is twisted, goes here and there, unknow branches etc:)

    Your post made me think:) keep it up!

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  16. well... nothing philisophical really struck me here. But te first pic reminded me of snakes n te second one of braids! GRIN!

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  17. well... nothing philisophical really struck me here. But te first pic reminded me of snakes n te second one of braids! GRIN!

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  18. by te way, waiting to read ur perils of looking young1 honestly, I cant think of anything, ynless its a case resembling tat classic Santoor ad!

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  19. hmm.. Interesting question and picture. Do you know what I thought? When we were young(er), we hardly knew ourselves, life. But as time progresses and with it, life, we tend to know a little bit more. Looking at the twisting and the untwisting mass, I think that it is all about how we have found ourselves ( untwisted mass) and still are finding ourselves( twisted mass!)

    Vidya

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  20. Your twisted tree reminds me of joys & sorrows that are twisted inseperably in one's life. Both are different in their effects; one brings a smile, another elicits a frown. But both affect the same organ... one's heart. Just like all those branches emitting out of a single thick bark signify life's stability no matter what comes : joys or sorrows.. That stability says Life goes on.

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  21. P,

    Thanks for the visit and definitely a great post! Got everyone thinking, didn't you? :)

    Guess what my orkut fortune said today (not that I really care for fortunes)

    "Your happiness is intertwined with your outlook on life"

    Cool!

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  22. Looking at this amazing tree, a thought came to my mind: sometimes we're just like this tree; in order to grow up and spread our branches, we first need to bend down and touch the ground again, and then we'll find support to reach new heights!

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  23. :)
    Oh, it made me think of snakes. In fact, I looked twice to see if there were snakes in the middle. And you know what snakes mean symbolically. If you don't, you can easily guess ;)

    It's true that children aren't using their heads as an automatic pilot, like we do, so they're much more creative.

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  24. This picture makes me think of how we have complicated our lives unnecessarily...the twisted branches look so disturbing..while the clean lines of the other branches look so simple and peaceful in comparison...

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  25. Oh my.. I looked at some of the comments and they are so profound!!
    I looked at the tree and thought "Boy that must be easy to climb"!!! lol@

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  26. i like tree shapes too. most pictures that i take have a tree in the frame to add some sort of dimension or value. it's funny that i was telling a friend only yesterday that tree shapes represent people and life to me.

    the first tree in ur post reminds me of family life and relationships - entwined and complicated.

    the second tree represents a person that has had a nervous breakdown... so screwed up in the head that he can barely stand and perform regular functions.

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  27. mating snakes...

    umbrella can be made into great boats if u float it upside down open in a river...u can even put ur pet cat in it and pretend its sindbad...

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  28. You got to see some very rare kind of trees. Before I could think aout it, u said it all :D But frankly speaking, the thing that struck me was.. would 2 snakes trying to eat each other just disappear? ;)

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  29. I was just thinking how cool it would be to live in that tree. Is that too weird?

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  30. The twisted trees made me think of the bayous in Louisanna, and of Hawaii on Rest and Relaxation. They made me think of entrails and of the ribbons of life that flow through us all.

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  31. Chaos Cosmos
    Cosmos Chaos
    Once again this sickining game
    - Tennyson

    That's what comes to my mind :)

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  32. I agree - so many people do not really 'think' at all but accepta everything they are told and don't question things. When they do think, they do so in the linear way that they have been trained to do through regimented lives.

    I love to think too, but I get such odd looks somethimes when I verbalise these more radical thoughts! You can see why those with any original thought in life often learn to think like everyone else. Creative thinking should be celebrated and developed in children! Keep up the good work!

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  33. i always love untangling string, cables, wire... u get the idea?

    this pic made me want to untangle the tree and find the ends :-)

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  34. I've been reading through byour posts and especially liked this one..Co-incidently, the moment I saw that tree I too was reminded about life, but in a different way.. I thought how twisted life can get at times and how difficult it is to untangle it..

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  35. I remember falling from one of those twisted branches/vines when I was a kid. I've fallen a lot as a kid - and even more as an adult (bahut 'gira' hua insaan hoon main) but this fall was special cos I was trying to impress some girls around me. Clearly this was one of my earlier experiences about the 'tragedy/comedy' of life.

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  36. To me it looks like a natural abstract of fractals...i'm a crazy fan of abstract art btw...n thanks for commenting on my blog...i appreciate it :)...sorry if i've been spooky n scared u by commenting on all your really old posts...

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