Whimsy

Whimsy appeals to me. I don't like kitsch or outright puns, visual or verbal, but I like whimsical art and books. Interestingly, when I look up the definition, the appeal lessens.

whimsy
n 1: an odd or fanciful or capricious idea; "the theatrical
notion of disguise is associated with disaster in his
stories"; "he had a whimsy about flying to the moon";
"whimsy can be humorous to someone with time to enjoy it"
[syn: notion, whim, whimsy, whimsey]
2: the trait of acting unpredictably and more from whim or
caprice than from reason or judgment; "I despair at the
flightiness and whimsicality of my memory" [syn:
flightiness, arbitrariness, whimsicality, whimsy,
whimsey, capriciousness]

Definitions aside, I still am attracted to whimsy. The triad of pictures hanging over my fireplace is whimsical. All three are of animals, a fox, an antlered deer, and a bighorn sheep. Two have wings. All three have curlicues in the backgound or foreground. I interpret the background swirls as stars. Those in the foreground I believe are snow. In my imagination, these animals evoke mythical archetypes. They are guardians, tricksters, angels. They are playful and yes, with wings, they are flighty. I look at them and I see nature, strong and powerful - nature, light and capricious.

I have a serious piece of art in my living room. It depicts clouds. Yet, when I look at it, the impression it leaves depends on my mood. Sometimes I see the clouds as mittens joining together. Sometimes, I see the clouds as menacing convergence. Gazing at clouds and the sky is freeing and when I look at my art, I am free to fly, to let my imagination roam, to be free of reason or judgement. Most would not call this piece of art whimsical but there in an element of freedom and lightness in the subject matter.

To be free or reason or judgement. This is why whimsy appeals to me. For someone who has lived in her head, who is over-educated and still subscribes to three daily newspapers, the notion of being free of reason, and especially judgement is compelling. Whimsy removes the need to think. I can just feel and not worry what others think. Whimsy is my explanation for the unexplainable, for the magic in the world. Whimsy is fun and odd. I like whimsy, and like magic, I believe we need more of it in the world.