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| How
can we know the dancer from the dance? (W.B. Yeats) |
I
will begin answering this question by describing times when I do not
like to do any of them. I definitely do not like to think if that
means rote memorization. Nothing would come closer to hell for me
than needing to remember a long list of unfamiliar words such as in
taxonomy or anatomy, or a word for word recitation from memory of the
Gettysburg Address—whatever strong points exist for doing all
these. I do not like to talk when I have nothing useful to say—some
no doubt would say that's why I tend to be on the quiet side. I do
not like to do activities that cannot be redeemed through identification with some worthy purpose. This does not mean I begrudge humble tasks if
they can be identified as having a worthy purpose. For example,
cleaning the bathroom shower floor or washing the dishes while not my
favorite things to do nevertheless can be seen as serving a worthy
purpose.
When
do I most enjoy thinking?—when I am lost in focusing on a problem
whose solution is just around the corner—when anticipation is
tangible. I enjoy thinking almost to the point of being unstable
when fresh perspectives or insights appear materializing as if from a
jumpgate. Finally I enjoy thinking when that entails organizing and
fleshing out basic meaning—when getting to what I really think
about a subject entails uncovering subliminal experiences in all
their diversity and foundational commonality. Such behavior is
something I no doubt share with all humans, and this partly explains
why humans find it fun to think.
From
this it can be predicted that I like to talk when I feel I have an
insight to share—I then have the enthusiasm of a child upon making
a new discovery. And, of course, insight need not be heavy, serious
stuff. Much humor that lightens and invigorates everyday
conversation is filled with it. On the other end of the emotional
spectrum is talk I do with trusted loved ones when I feel down and in
need of encouragement. So the truth is I like to talk when feeling
especially positive or negative. I don't mess much with “Mr.
In-between.”
I
like to act when I feel I can be useful or helpful—and thereby (in
my own mind) have the carrot dangling before me that someone will be
appreciative. I must never underestimate the role others play in
eliciting my actions. Both my parents have passed away, but even yet
I seek their approval down the corridors of eternity.
“Thinking,
talking, and doing” pretty much sum up the gist of any life. We
owe it to ourselves to give due consideration to these aspects of our
being.
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