The Park

images by Dolce
sounds by Gabana

Thoughts Over A Latte

1. When you stand in one place for a long enough period of time your body begins to change. The atoms of your body, the fibers of the self, shift slightly becoming something wholly different. This is the basis of the art of transmutation and in many ways, the secret of alchemy itself.

2. I became a tree once, in a dream, after wanting to become a tree in a dream. I thought that I would retract my arms and stiffen my stance. I thought I would be able to understand. I was wrong.

In my dream, my arms sank into my body and my spine extended past the clouds. My feet grew roots and planted themselves into the earth. My skin turned rough and brown, covered in bark from my toes to my knees. After a while, I had no new knowledge as to what it was to be a tree. I couldn’t understand why a tree would let itself be used to advertise drinks and a meal.

I think that employment for a tree must be a difficult situation. Given the choice, I would rather be the support for the sign then the sign itself. It comes down to a question of life or death.

3. Whispers are always in a state of shift, never constant, and either expanding or contracting. They are always becoming a part of everything or nothingness. In this lies the value of words hushed between parted lips.

4. We look through substance to find other meanings, through materials to find signs and a signified. The Icon is always present, hiding under a thin layer or veil. The Icon watches us within its own slanted vision.

5. Sometimes I go out to have a cup of coffee. When I do, I close my eyes and pretend I’m somebody else. I take on a new identity, a new personality, a new persona and slowly sip through my latte.

My coffee is always the same, a large sugar-free vanilla soy latte. I always order it before I change my persona.

With eyes closed, before I take my first sip, I clear my mind of all thoughts and begin to meditate. I concentrate on a person and begin to bring them into my mind and body. I begin to incorporate them into my body by forming questions like, “I wonder what Paris Hilton would think of my latte” or “I wonder what Britney would think of this latte.”

These small experiments in channeling help me become one with the world around me. It is through these experiences that I can truly understand the pain and feelings of those I don’t know. I would also like to add that both Britney and Paris “love” sugar-free vanilla soy lattes.

by Rene Ledezma

Animism