Klecks in German means, “inkblot”.  In 1857 Justinus Kerner published a book of his poems that were illustrated by drops of ink. (when folded in paper) they made interesting illustrations.  The blots became discernible, concrete, objects.

As a child in Switzerland, Hermann Rorschach enjoyed klecksography so much that his friends nicknamed him “Klecks”.  The things that interested folks before the internet!  As a medical student Rorschach had the idea of using the visual blots as a way of helping uncover a person’s unconscious life.  Freud used words to seek insight of the unconscious mind, Rorshchach contributed images to the tool bag.   [Which reminds me of the joke about the man who kept giving sexual explicit  answers to the psychiatrist, “Well, you seem to be obsessed with sex.” “Me?!” exclaims the patient. “You’re the one who keeps showing me the dirty pictures!”

In evangelistic conversations that seek to probe a person’s interests in life I have seen a similar technique used.  There is a collage of images, or images on cards and a person is asked, “what image are you drawn to as you think about what you thirst for in life?”  Some point to Mother Teressa some to a suitcase full of cash and yet others a couple holding hands or an Olympic medal.

  What lies beneath?  What things sit below the surface of my conscious mind?  What have I not discovered about myself, or given much thought to?  What are the things I love…or fear?  What are the things that interest me, that draw my eye.  How do I process the world around me?  Am I cynical or hopeful?  Am I closed or open?  Am I deeply wounded in some way?

  Have you noticed that as we age, we get stuck telling the same stories?  Or, maybe you’ve noticed this phenomenon in the person you drink coffee with each week at the coffee shop.  The same childhood story, the same occupational accomplishment story, the same frustration over politicians.

  As you think about the ways you understand life and the world around you — are there some default ways of seeing the world that come to the surface?

I’m sharing all this to get to the thought shared at the end of a Ted Talk I saw this week.

In 2017 Peter McIndoe began a movement called, “Bird’s Aren’t Real”.   The movement was making satire of conspiracy theorists and movements.  But at the end I think McIndoe hit on a significant bit of wisdom.  What he shared has me thinking differently about how I interact with those I disagree with.  With those who describe the inkblot in strange ways.  Those who tell stories that set alarms off in my mind.  As a follower of Jesus, it has reminded me of the call to associate with, love and interact with all our neighbors.   It has also reminded me to be curious about their unconscious lives, their past experiences, and their desire to find belonging.  Check out the McIndoe Ted talk and reflect on his concluding thoughts!