2/6/2015 14:37

Tell Me What To Do

I'm not a person who enjoys being told what to do. Some people are that way, I guess; at least they seem to function as if they wanted to be directed at all times. Most of us seem more likely to rebel when faced with too much instruction. The 2-year-old comes out from deep inside and we say, "No! I want to do it myself!"

And yet, there are those time when I sit in front of my computer and check for new email messages, and check for email, and check again, hoping that somebody is sitting at some other computer writing out a message which will direct my attention ... so that I won't have to decide what to do.

It's from a different age, but we all have this impulse embedded in ourselves as much as the 2-year-old's defiance: Just tell me what to do!

In actual reality what we need is some kind of a balance among the various interactions with others, instruction, suggestion, interest, and (for those times when I'm already absorbed by a trivial occupation of my own) apathy. Achieving that balance requires cultivating an openness of mind to make good use of what's offered and cultivating a gaggle of friends who will offer the range of interactions I can use.

In actual reality you have to work at playing the game, but right now I'm going to check my mail to see whether someone isn't asking me for something that will distract me from that effort.


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