Metaphorical Coherence

The topic of this morning's commute audiobook material: "The subtle power of incoherence."

I want to use that as a title for something.

(If only I had plans to create something that needed a title.)

Oh, and the source, with the quote in context:

More nonsense posts to come from that book soon, I'm sure.

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I love this as a metaphor that, often, both realities are true.

Rare Time Paradox Makes These Twins Both Older Than Each Other

 . . . Samuel was born at 1:39 AM on Sunday, November 6th, while Ronan took 31 minutes longer. Now the shift of Daylight Savings Time happens at 2 AM, so instead of 2:10 AM, Ronan’s official time of birth turned into 1:10 AM, making both of the babies older than each other! . . .

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I recently started using a CPAP machine for my newly diagnosed sleep apnea. I have the most minimal mask, with two little openings that push a steady stream of air into my nostrils. This is good because it keeps my airways open during sleep when they might otherwise close up. It is also a very strange and sometimes difficult sensation for exhalation--I have to push air out while the machine pushes air in.

At first it was almost suffocating. I felt like I couldn't exhale without tremendous strain, which made me feel winded and in need of faster breaths, which were impeded by the machine, which was a spiraling cycle that sometimes found me ripping the mask off and gasping for air. Even when I could withstand that temptation, it still left me feeling like my breathing was labored and I had difficulty falling asleep.

Except, I realized, when I woke from sleep later, I wasn't having any trouble exhaling. I didn't even really feel the air pushing in any more, and there was no resistance to pushing air out. Once I relaxed, the dynamic changed. It took some practice, but I finally figured out how to achieve that state from the start.

It seems counter-intuitive, but the trick is to stop fighting. I have to stop framing the issue as air coming in and air going out in opposition to each other. I have to stop pushing. Because if I can just relax enough, the air finds a way to flow through in both directions simultaneously. But only when I don't try to force it. Only when I stop trying and give in does it work out.

Don't ask me how or why, it just does.

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Speaking of metaphors, I'm sure there must be one here somewhere . . . 

Found: Two Moose Frozen Together in a Final Battle

In western Alaska, a man from Unalakleet came across these two unfortunate moose frozen into the river. Their antlers are locked together: they were fighting when they died. . . .

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And the spot of condensation inside a double-paned window where I work seems to have developed eyes today.