Dandy Idea

An idea for me can be potentially dangerous. Of course this is an odd thing for someone who claims to be a writer to say, but let me explain. When I get an idea, especially one that could be developed creatively like in a story, a little seed is planted. Yes, for the sake of this explanation the idea here will be metaphorically represented as a seed. More specifically, a seed deriving from the weed most commonly known as a dandelion, or Taraxacum officinale. You see, the idea is a seed that becomes a weed that grows in the garden of my mind, and I am the gardener. Every time I see a weed I pull it out by writing it out, from beginning to end, petals to roots, leaving no trace of it to grow again. The main problem with the weeds that grow from the ideas in the garden of my mind is that until completely removed they never stop growing. Ever. The weed will simply get bigger and bigger, increasing its visibility and subsequently blocking out the more beautiful parts of my mind garden and ultimately increasing the amount of energy and time I will spend thinking about it. Its growth is exponential. It has the potential of taking over my mind, literally. These are not your typical dandelions, these are mind dandelions. Much more powerful.  Yet, when all goes well the act of gardening, like writing, can be fun and therapeutic.

It is a job, so I weed my garden regularly. But sometimes pulling out a weed is not as simple as writing it out of existence. There are, as in all things, complications and exceptions. For example, if the weed is too small it can’t be pulled out properly. Essentially, the idea hasn't been given enough time to develop. I have to let the idea grow so the weed can grow so I can pull it out by writing it out. But letting it grow is not that easy either. Sometimes the weather conditions are poor, too much rain and not enough sun, or maybe a dog stepped on it. Or maybe the gardener got lazy smoking too much pot and sipping on sweet tea to get around to it. Whatever the reason, the weed isn't growing fast enough and so it has to stay in the ground longer for me to look at. And this really bothers you because you are an OCD gardener. You fucking hate the sight of that weed. It is all you think about. It is all you see when you look out into your garden. An ugly sickly yellow weed.  It gets so bad that you are reminded of it every time you see something yellow. Worse still is when  the weed is left to grow for too long and it gets too big to pull out. I really have to struggle with it, hacking away at the base and stems, pulling out individual flower petals. It’s a mess. The words just wont come out. And the roots have gotten so long the end is nowhere in sight. This is not the fun part. This is the hard work of being a gardener.

And every now and then the wind will blow. Little bits and pieces of the weed will fly all over my garden, spreading an idea across my mind. Or sometimes, as it happens, I will get more than one idea at a time. Many weeds sprouting all at once. I have to scramble to get them all out as quickly as possible before the garden of my mind is overrun with idea weeds! Bad things like temporary mental retardation coupled with drooling, as well as an overall lack of motivation are just among some of the few bad things that can happen if the weed problem gets out of hand.

And so you see, ideas for me can be a dangerous thing.

Also, I had to add this:

Image taken from:

http://iwastesomuchtime.com/on/?i=54839