Tag Archives: personal refle

Oct 1 2010

Interpreting my Therapeutic Journal

I float

in black bloom

like a flower waiting

for the suckers to attach

to the jagged mountains

of my mind.

To be honest I had NO idea this is what I felt when I did this journal page a few months back.  It sounds pretty melodramatic as I look at it now.

8 arms:  It struck me though that there have been 8 major decisions in my life which set or reset my life’s course.

The floating:  I was looking for a place to anchor myself.  As I understand it now, I was very tired at the time.  I was pulled in many directions – 8?   And I needed help from a friend to sort out my priorities.

Mountains of my mind:  To be able to look at things logically and rationally so I didn’t feel so overwhelmed.

I looked up octopus to see what  on earth drew me to that image.

List of Facts about the Octopus

  • Octopi can regenerate lost arms .
  • Octopuses have an eye on each side of the head, have acute vision and are able to detect colors.
  • They are deaf due to the fact that they lack hearing organs.
  • The octopus has a 2 year life-span.
  • Although difficult to maintain in captivity it is not unheard of for some people to keep them as pets, although they are very sensitive and their short life span discourages many would-be owners, as does the ability to escape from even well secured tanks due to their well known problem-solving abilities and high intelligence, which has been compared to that of an average house cat.
  • The octopus  has shown maze and problem-solving skills that prove they experience both short and long-term memory.
  • Octopus travel methods include: crawling, walking, jet propulsion, flying and swimming.
  • The largest type of octopus is the North Pacific Octopus that can grow up to 30 feet and weigh up to 100 lbs. (That’s the equivalent of  being 6 feet tall and weighing 20 pounds!)
  • The smallest type of octopus is the Californian Octopus which only grows to around 3/8 inch to 1 inch.
    Generally the smaller the octopus, the more poisonous it is. With that said, the Blue Ringed Octopus has enough poison to kill humans and can grow up to around 4 inches.