Here, you’ll see a photo of the Thinker, Rodin’s famous sculpture, placed on a pedestal in a beautiful rose garden, outside the Musee’ Rodin in Paris.  We learned, while at the museum, that The Thinker was conceived as part of another Rodin sculpture, The Gates of Hell. Rodin’s figure is deep in thought, but what is he thinking about?  “What have I done to deserve this?” or “I wonder if there is a way out of here,” perhaps?

Rodin supposedly gave the Thinker a reprieve, the sculpture was moved around a bit, and now Thinker is lord over an exquisite floral display, with hundreds of admirers visiting him daily.  While studying the magnificent statue,  I overheard a woman say, “He looks so sad.” I found that to be an interesting comment, realizing that in today’s world, we don’t have time for much deep thought.  “Staring time …”, according to a talented art director I knew, “… is creative time.”   

Now, it seems that the only time we have to think random, unassigned thoughts, to dream, is when we’re asleep.  I sleep easily — on planes, in chairs, just about wherever I lay my head.  And, I have lots of dreams.  Except for an occasional nightmare, I look forward to them.  I don’t think it means that I am sad or depressed.  I’ll settle for “creative” any day, with roses all around.