Apples and Pupils

Counsel is sometimes given to people to not read or watch material that is too "dark"; perhaps the tragedy lived needs no further illustration for catharsis: the illustration must come from within (where illustration connotes illumination), and for this to take place, the mind seeks location elsewhere, on greener, so sun-grown, pastures, not quite believing circumstance, because who wants vision to be tainted by such? Once upon a time, Plato wrote of the meaning of the pupil, of vision, in the Alcibiades 1.133: one is to search for the diviner part of man (the mind, virtue, and soul) in our own image in another's eye: literally, seek the little doll's image of ourselves in that eye - the little doll's image, κόρη, translated into English as "the apple of my eye".
The marionette of masked Melpomene moves over for "something cherished above all others". The question is whether one looks for such.
There are literal places or figurative times in which the streets are not smooth but have huge holes that defy logic (how do such depressions emerge on the sidewalk?) Some of these holes may be circled with spray paint, bearing messages of political angst, like, "[x political party] will lead you into this". So many reasons for seasons of discontent. It is a special kind of situation or period when merely being able to arrive at work on time or being able to do it without hindrance ceases to be a given and becomes an act of faith.
I will write about that now, so turn away, like our embodiment of masked Melpomene turns from tragedy to something more worthy of celebration in the opening paragraph, if the word displeases you.

Mood may buoy faith, which is fine, but what about that moment when reasons begin to pile up, covering up the light, weighing one down. May this be compared to walking on water and suddenly looking down?
Malady, a holding of the ill-conditioned that is both taken and offered. To be better-conditioned requires no great act of the imagination, perhaps mere simplicity. Seneca writes, "All things were ready for us at our birth; it is we that have made everything difficult for ourselves", and Euripides, "The traditions which we have received from our fathers, old as time itself, no argument shall overthrow them, whatever subtleties have been invented by deep wits" (both excerpts I read this morning). One such tradition, if I may be forgiven for simplicity, is, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away". What of the apple for the non-physical body that holds courage?
An example of helpful nighttime reading to dissolve quotidian miseries accumulated and sow ideas of fortitude in dreams is Erasmus' Proverbs. Take for example cor ne edito, "Let not care corrode and gnaw your heart, lest you should fall into a state of despondency, and to avenge some disappointment or trouble, throw away all the blessings you enjoy, and with them your life."
Just like the chemical digestion involved with eating the apple, it is implied that thought carries its chemical repercussions too, in the word "corrode". It is implied, too, that normal processes can go wrong with thought, and instead of consuming, one will be consumed.
The apple of one's eye is not an apple by default; it is possible to see candy there, or X's, or a mask.

Magazine in background: Marie Claire Idees; brush: misprinted type.