Curveball
Cool Papa Bell. You can look him up. Do that later.
It falls softly on the rested human mind to choose a field of enterprise and focus on it. At such a time a name like Cool Papa Bell soothes in its smoothness, while opening a seam of what might be. At such a time, especially after midnight, you can almost feel the liquid workings of the brain. It is a nice place to visit.
There are many stories that recur. One is of a man who spends too much time in the bar-room of the mind, can't re-adjust to daylight, and fails his daytime family in their daily needs. To use a different metaphor, a man must eat his mental vegetables.
We forget this. Wisdom is the thing we keep forgetting.
* * *
A restless human mind will disregard its daily chores, magnifying them. The same mind will continually defer any long-delayed responsibilities, complicating them. At moments, it will try to correct all its inaction with a fit of over-activity. Once achieved, restlessness is easy to maintain. But eventually enough goes wrong to force a change. Success and failure in human enterprise are counter-cyclical, after a time. Nothing lasts forever, ensuring that everything stays the same.
We know this. At one time or another, we've known everything. But the laws of physics are set, and whichever way we move, the equations hold. So much human endeavour is a struggle to get or stay on the upward slope of a curve that never changes shape.
* * *
The simple fact that something is governed by laws not of our making, doesn't mean it cannot be enjoyed. And that the game has rules that make it hard, doesn't mean you can't play like Cool Papa Bell. He played baseball. Sometime, around midnight, you should look him up.
It falls softly on the rested human mind to choose a field of enterprise and focus on it. At such a time a name like Cool Papa Bell soothes in its smoothness, while opening a seam of what might be. At such a time, especially after midnight, you can almost feel the liquid workings of the brain. It is a nice place to visit.
There are many stories that recur. One is of a man who spends too much time in the bar-room of the mind, can't re-adjust to daylight, and fails his daytime family in their daily needs. To use a different metaphor, a man must eat his mental vegetables.
We forget this. Wisdom is the thing we keep forgetting.
* * *
A restless human mind will disregard its daily chores, magnifying them. The same mind will continually defer any long-delayed responsibilities, complicating them. At moments, it will try to correct all its inaction with a fit of over-activity. Once achieved, restlessness is easy to maintain. But eventually enough goes wrong to force a change. Success and failure in human enterprise are counter-cyclical, after a time. Nothing lasts forever, ensuring that everything stays the same.
We know this. At one time or another, we've known everything. But the laws of physics are set, and whichever way we move, the equations hold. So much human endeavour is a struggle to get or stay on the upward slope of a curve that never changes shape.
* * *
The simple fact that something is governed by laws not of our making, doesn't mean it cannot be enjoyed. And that the game has rules that make it hard, doesn't mean you can't play like Cool Papa Bell. He played baseball. Sometime, around midnight, you should look him up.
posted by FastAndBulbous at 3:11 pm
days without, you know ...