25-4-22-Tu
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Piercing, Prophylactic & Perspicacity
After yesterday’s arduous workout—nearly fifty minutes of weight training followed by forty minutes of water aerobics and an ab wheel finale that could only be described as penulating—my lower back issued its own sharp rebuke. The piercing pain in the lumbar region greeted me unbidden upon rising. A signal. A flare. A body no longer in the incipience of strength, but in the fugacious dance with recovery.
I deputed myself immediately to pain management: two Aleve, two caffeinated acetaminophen, and, in a rare act of medicinal diplomacy, ibuprofen. I rarely layer these substances, but a priori knowledge told me one remedy wouldn’t suffice. I opted to forfend a downward spiral into immobility.
My morning routine, normally a kinetic liturgy of thirty minutes, was pared to a gentle fifteen. A whisper of movement. Abdominal stretches. Calf extensions. A brief communion with stillness. My body seemed to whisper: oblige me. So I did.
💡 Marcus Aurelius: You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.
His aperçu met me this morning in the silence between stretches. Strength, in this case, meant restraint. Power, the decision to pause.
Pain triggered fear. Not panic—but that quiet, epistemic fear that lives beneath the ribcage. The kind that reminds you how close the body stands to the edge, even when the mind feels distant from danger.
The remainder of the morning was devoted to the epistemic labor of marketing strategy. I returned to the scaffolding of Questions of Value, a task both invigorating and exacting. It demanded clarity, resilience, and eptitude. The idea of launching a “Quote of the Day” campaign held promise, particularly when imagined as a series of reels infused with poetic brevity. Another concept—a downloadable Reflection Companion Guide—felt both elegant and functional. I’m less certain about the workbook suggestion; while innocuous in nature, it may risk diluting the philosophical heft of the project.
💡 Søren Kierkegaard: Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.
And so, with Kierkegaard echoing in my ear, I sifted thought from thought—each one a ledger entry in the economy of purpose. These thoughts, though taxing, never felt prodigal. They were investments. Strategic contemplations forged through careful listening to what the work itself demanded.
💡 Question: What are you doing today that your future self will thank you for?
By afternoon, the medication had softened the ache. I felt restored, if not fully renewed. I wanted to continue my training—sensibly, deliberately. And so I made my way to the Zone Gym. Nothing excessive. Just a circumambient stroll among machines, a light flirtation with effort, and a commitment to healing.
💡 Epictetus: It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.
Even healing, as Epictetus taught, is an act of discipline.
RMSDJ
Title: Piercing, Prophylactic & Perspicacity
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Reflecting Randy Sydnor’s application of his unique technique, Mnephonics, this medium blends visual storytelling with symbolic language to evoke memory, learning, and reflection.
Style of Art: Symbolic Surrealism with Geometric Cubism
Dimensions: 24” x 36”
Copyright: Randy Sydnor, The Mnephonist
Description:
Three forces—penetration, protection, and perception—converge in this visual meditation. Piercing, Prophylactic & Perspicacity explores the inner architecture of discernment: how we see, shield, and strike through the noise of experience.
(Medium and Technique – The Artist’s Craft)
This vivid oil painting uses layered Cubist geometry to fragment and reassemble meaning. Mnephonics, Randy Sydnor’s signature technique, pulses through the piece—each angle, hue, and shadow embedded with symbolic resonance. The surrealist elements offer dream-logic clarity, where sharp objects coexist with metaphysical insight.
(Central Figure or Focus – The Visual Heart of the Piece)
At the center, an all-seeing eye floats in a lattice of intersecting shapes. It is not passive. The eye pierces. Around it, a translucent orb hints at a membrane—a visual stand-in for prophylaxis, protection not through avoidance but through lucid boundary. Cutting across this vision is a syringe: sleek, severe, almost luminous in its symbolic sharpness. It is both literal and allegorical—suggesting healing, disruption, and the urgent necessity of precision.
(Supporting Elements – Symbolic Imagery and Details)
Above the composition, a radiant sun unleashes a beam that intersects with the syringe’s path. The beam becomes both a scalpel and a spotlight—lighting the terrain of thought and slicing through the veil of confusion. The lower quadrants, composed of angular clouds and warm-toned shadows, speak of things half-seen, half-felt: the emotional debris of daily perception. Every corner of the image offers fragments that refract the core message.
(Philosophical or Artistic Reflection – The Soul of the Piece)
W.E.B. Du Bois might have seen this image as the veil lifted. Simone Weil would have seen it as attention crystallized. The piece wrestles with the nature of clear thinking in murky times. Perspicacity is not granted; it is carved. The prophylactic layer is not denial—it is sacred space. And the piercing force is not violence—it is insight made surgical.
(Color and Composition – The Visual Language)
Deep teals and umbers clash and embrace with saffron, crimson, and gold. The palette hums with tension, then relents into harmony. Sharp diagonals guide the eye along a trajectory—sun to syringe, orb to iris—constructing a rhythm of cognition. The geometry is both architecture and aperture, shaping what is seen and what is still veiled.
(Closing Thought – Invitation to Reflect)
How do we guard what matters while seeing what is? This piece suggests that wisdom lies not in hiding from the world, but in choosing how we let it enter. Carefully. Courageously. With clarity.
© Randolph M. Sydnor
Prints and digital sale of work is available
email for more information: rsydnor@mnephonics.com
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