Maybe This Will be Fun to Read
Discussed: sloth and torpor, things we do, survival, Koalas
I always strive to make what I write tasty, at least aromatic, in that there is something about it that draws one in. Curiosity is what I am counting on, in the sense that I actually hope this gets read and that it offers something. How can I describe what happens to allow this blog space to be empty for over 4 months? There are excuses that have something to do with everyday activities and responsibilities, but they turn out to be pretty lame excuses when you dig a bit deeper. I've put "writing" on my identity resume as a thing I do, so to actually not do it creates anxiety. Amazing to think that at a radical (real) level, this is simply a manifestation of my innate laziness. Amazing, I AM Lazy!! Instead of writing, I worry about not having written. Instead of writing, I wonder about what to write. That's uncomfortably accurate. And yet...this awareness is an opportunity to realize that despite my otherwise grandiose view of myself, I'm down there with most of everyone, struggling to transcend my delusions. These days it seems everyone is out there demonstrating their depravity and I am certainly able to judge and condemn them. This awareness of a disabling laziness is a gift, a reflection of my accord with others that I can feel on a gut level; I am in a significant way very like them: a captive of one of the 7 deadly sins (Sloth). So that's an awareness that I hope is beneficial for me as we move forward into the future. We are all going to have to get along (and figure shit out) together MUCH better if survival of homo sapiens is to be.
So I will end this brief mea culpa post with a bit of comedic relief. In a previous post I mentioned our trip to Australia and how I would write something about it. I am inspired to do just that and I hope to transcend sloth and torpor enough to get that project off the ground. But for now, the mention of sloth put me in mind of the eponymous animal and it's cousin-in-action the Koala bear. All they do pretty much is hang around in the trees and eat, in the case of the Koala it's a strict diet of Eucalyptus leaves. If you pick up a Eucalyptus cone from the ground, pinch and smell it, your nasal congestion will be relieved most pleasantly. That's because it wasn't a cone, it was a piece of Koala crap. The moral relates to what I was just saying, doesn't it?
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| Carol and the moon and me, July 3 2023 (on bridge in Portland) |
Welcome back! Let’s get a Portland concert on the books sometime soon!
ReplyDeleteAlways good to hear what you are thinking!
ReplyDeleteRob-- Great piece.
ReplyDeleteBTW I don't think you're lazy. No one who does what you've done - or the things you continue to do, deserves the award of that term.
Oddly, some of the most productive, vivacious people I’ve known have judged themselves as lazy.
But I don’t believe in laziness. One can’t find it lurking in a cardboard box or under the bed or even in the mist after a rain. I see laziness as a label, a judgment. In fact as humans indeed staying in motion! seems best for our minds and bodies. We know action is good for us, even with the allure of conserving energy.
Not that I and many others haven’t pondered laziness. Maybe it’s more that things just get in the way of taking actions that might be taken. So many obstacles! Or not seeing an opportunity, at least not in time. Or as you say, responsibilities can interfere, and they’re real. Responsibilities take time not only to address directly, but to plan for, and then often continue addressing.
Sometimes, I think it’s indecision that I’m tempted to call laziness. Especially with writing, it’s fear that frequently keeps me from sitting down. Fear of the awful first draft. If not fear than feeling discouraged about the low likelihood of turning out anything worthwhile. Or -- I’m genuinely ignorant of potential rewards. Sometimes, it’s blunt disinterest in my own material.
With other activities, there are physical limitations, especially with age. Energy that no longer feels unlimited. Impatience and distraction can stop me from taking action.
But never laziness. I don't think laziness exists, except perhaps as a concept in Ronald Reagan types-of-minds as a way to identify a common enemy. The enemy being the lazy, who surely want the fruits of our efforts for free, and always more than their fair share.
Thanks for something to think about. I’m looking forward to hearing more about your travels! Randy
Love your insights, Randy. I agree that the term laziness is loaded and implies judgement and brings characters such as Reagan to mind. Really, it’s humanness in all its vestments including the less savory ones like indecision, fear, discouragement, disinterest, impatience, distraction. That’s a much more illuminating way to think about it. The gift remains the same in that we all face these things, and we can notice and realize our common ground there. Anyway, I wanted to express what I felt. Another way to express it is: I look at (hopefully feel, experience…) this heavy gray mass of psychic energy and considering that it might be gold. (Jungian books and podcasts tend to inspire an alchemical metaphorical orientation).
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