1. a thick cloud of tiny water droplets suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earth's surface which obscures or restricts visibility to a greater extent than mist, strictly reducing visibility
2. something that obscures and confuses a situation or someone's thought processes
3. to bewilder or puzzle
4. with reference to a glass surface, to cover or become covered with steam
each of these four definitions is applicable (in their own way) to the deeper meaning of my impression here today...
fog symbolizes confusion, danger, and the unseen. fog is a thick cloud that confounds us and causes us to lose our sense of direction. we can almost see through it, but often our perceptions are distorted. this pertains not only to the element of fog in the physical world, but also to the metaphor for fog in our psychological world...
in the physical world, we have all heard stories of massive vehicle pile-ups that occur on busy freeways when reckless motorists speed blindly into thick patches of fog, unable to see the obstacles on the road before them until it is too late...
we've also heard of pilots flying their helicopters into the hillside because the fog messed up their spatial orientation limiting their ability to determine angle, altitude, or speed. in the dense fog, there's no visible horizon, and the pilot loses their visual ability to tell which way is up and which way is down...this is how the pilot lost control of his helicopter in the fog in january of 2020 that killed himself, kobe bryant and his daughter, and six others ...
however, the danger and confusion that fog can present to us in the physical world is the same kind of danger and confusion that fog can present to us in our psychological world...
when referring to the psychological realm, we have cliches that serve as metaphors to describe the confusion and uncertainty that the "cloud of fog" represents. metaphors such as "foggy judgement" or "my mind is in a fog" or "when the fog clears..." describe the confusion and lack of clarity that baffle us when we try to make a decision without being able to "see" all the facts clearly...
fog is dangerous. fog hides things from us. fog distorts what we think we see...unfortunately, usually the truth...
if you're like me and you've been manipulated recently by an evil narcissist, then odds are you are having a hard time figuring out who has the problem, what is normal compared to what is problematic, and if your wants, needs, and feelings are valid. this confusion is often caused by what is known as the "fog"...the disastrous effects of being lost in the "fog" are confusion, crazymaking, people pleasing, an erosion of boundaries, and the ultimate loss of self. the "fog" is an acronym that stands for "fear, obligation, guilt." these three emotions are often at the core of manipulation and are often how narcissists, sociopaths, and other types of emotional manipulators go about controlling their targets...
so when we find our judgement "foggy" or our mind in a "fog", what we're really experiencing is the universe telling us that the time is not yet right for us to make a decision on whatever it is that we are clouded and confused about. it's telling us that we should wait until all the facts become visible and clear. any decisions we make with a foggy mind are not wise and not well thought through. these decisions will only open the door to more confusion and cause more problems.
in the physical world, the fog lifts as the sun eventually burns away the fog, enabling us to see everything clearly. the same holds true, serving as a metaphor for the psychological realm. by exercising patience and avoiding making decisions with an unclear mind, we'll find that our mental sun, a.k.a. illumination, will eventually burn away our mental fog, a.k.a. confusion. this allows us to "see" everything clearly and enables us to make our decision with a clear, unclouded mind...
and this impression today is a clear metaphor for walking down my own path, into the fog. a path where i'm a bit foggy of my decisions, so i'm waiting and letting go for now, letting things just be until the fog lifts a bit and things present themself clearer to me...and through to a clarity where i need to be...
like in this photo, right now, my path is taking me, leading and guiding me through the foggy unclear parts of my world, surrounded by the trees i love, cautiously treading into an unknown forest full of things that can hurt me...
"and remember, you never realize how thick your fog is until it lifts" ― bodhinku, your fog
and i'm oh-so close to where i want to be, as i can see the light at the end, even through the dark forest of trees, through the night, and through the fog, looking forward to passing to the other side where the light will find me, and the sun will shine clearly on me...my one day...
i keep faith in my path. i've faith in the light of hope through the fog. faith is a beautiful thing...
and here is "high hopes" by panic! at the disco ... an upbeat melody with positive and inspiring lyrics, with a meaning that parallels the meaning of my blog and impression here today...sung by a pretty unique alternative band with a style all their own out of los vegas, nevada ... (just click on any of words in the blue links to listen to the musical selection) ...
"had to have high, high hopes for a living. shooting for the stars when i couldn't make a killing. didn't have a dime, but i always had a vision. always had high, high hopes. had to have high, high hopes for a living. didn't know how but i always had a feeling, i was gonna be that one in a million. always had high, high hopes...mama said, fulfill the prophecy. be something greater. go make a legacy, manifest destiny. back in the days, we wanted everything, wanted everything. mama said, burn your biographies. rewrite your history. light up your wildest dreams. museum victories, everyday, we wanted everything, wanted everything. mama said don't give up, it's a little complicated. all tied up, no more love and i'd hate to see you waiting... had to have high, high hopes for a living. didn't know how but i always had a feeling, i was gonna be that one in a million. always had high, high hopes (high, high hopes)...mama said, it's uphill for oddities. stranger crusaders, ain't ever wannabes, the weird and the novelties. don't ever change. we wanted everything, wanted everything. stay up on that rise. stay up on that rise and never come down, oh. stay up on that rise. stay up on that rise and never come down...mama said, don't give up, it's a little complicated. all tied up, no more love and i'd hate to see you waiting. they say it's all been done, but they haven't seen the best of me. so i got one more run and it's gonna be a sight to see....had to have high, high hopes for a living. didn't know how but i always had a feeling, i was gonna be that one in a million. always had high, high hopes..." ― panic! at the disco, high hopes
"it's inevitable, that eventually at some point we are left standing alone in some misty fog, or rain, either metaphorically or literally (or both)...perplexed by our situation, how in the world did we get here? waiting for what to do next, as the mist surrounds us with uncertainty, shrouds our vision, enveloping us in its silent noise...however, we need see only the beauty of that moment, and see the wisdom of the fog. take a deep breath, breath in the heavy dampness, and listen...for in that moment, we can see the air around us, and watch our breath as we exhale, be reminded even the air is not invisible, it's real, it is life. and it's okay to not know what to do. just empower our self with the hope of taking a new step forward, take another deep breath and and take that step not knowing, be astonished with our life and where it will lead us again...and never forget we are still blessed to be alive and breathing in this beautiful world" ― bodhinku, when in the fog