Returning warriors suffer readjustment of the worst kind -- everything seems dull and meaningless now that they’re home. They ruefully admit wanting to go back -- “to support my buddies” is what they say on camera. Impending mortality has a paradoxically enhancing effect on sensations of all kinds so that taking a leak on a crisp morning in the mountains while scanning grey cliffs for a minute muzzle-flash provides more intense mental acuity, more total involvement, than any possible experience back home.
Adrenaline makes all our systems fire quicker and sharpens all our senses but obtaining a significant internal dosage requires more and more risk, and continual escalation eventually results in unfortunate consequences. Malaise and boredom has been around for a long while and civilized people have devised ways to stay interested without bodily harm. Travel helps folks to admire quaint details and scenic views they’d ignore at home, while others make the rounds of ethnic restaurants to stay interested in food. For a human, anything with a nervous system really, routine and convenience dulls the attention, takes the zest out of living and brings on the fog.
Artists make intensely interesting objects -- that’s their job. Here is an artwork so compelling and evocative that it engages and refreshes the eyes without immediate danger or the necessity of travel, and this renewed sensitivity generalizes so that its owner begins to notice more and reflect more about the familiar elements of their day. The constant possibility of immediate danger and loss isn’t really necessary to feel alive, aware of the nuances and subtleties of each moment -- a person could always buy and live with art instead.
