"The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking."
- A.A. Milne
I am happiest when I’m thinking.
I wouldn’t say it was first rate thinking, Merely thinking. Imagining.
Such as:
Plot twists in stories I’m writing.
Creating knitting patterns.
Wondering if all children were to learn complete self-sufficiency at an early age (growing, weaving, sewing, building, fixing, etc.) would they create a saner world.
Designing a bookcase out of some old encyclopaedias and some gorgeous flat colouredy driftwood that floated into the bay recently. How would that work, say.
How many flat beachstones would it take for the patio I’m building at the back of the house and would camomile grow in Newfoundland?
How long before the global economy completely collapses and how will my dear in- denial friends cope?
Can I get the planned cabin at the top of the hill at the back of my property completely off the grid and where would I start with the plans for this?
How NOT to look like I’m thinking when at an extended-family dinner last night and an older man mansplains¹ at me about snow in July in Newfoundland when I’ve just finished talking about the lovely summers there. And he’d never been to Newfoundland. I drift off into my head when that happens and smile and remember my social graces. And.Let.It.Go. That takes some creative thinking, right?
¹ Mansplain: to delighting in condescending, inaccurate explanations delivered with rock solid confidence of rightness and that slimy certainty that of course he is right, because he is the man in this conversation e.g.: "Even though he knew she had an advanced degree in neuroscience, he felt the need to mansplain "there are molecules in the brain called neurotransmitters."
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PS And oh, how wonderful it was to blogmeet once more with Annie today over a great Indian lunch and more great chat!
And the icing on the cake is another planned blogmeet, this time a first with Tessa on Wednesday!
What a brilliant quote, very true. Mere thinking is the real pleasure.
ReplyDeleteI think I might count as one of your in-denial friends. Though certainly the future looks pretty bleak from certain perspectives.
Mansplaining is very tedious, hopefully I don't indulge in too much of it myself. There is also manfogging, where a man bangs on about some obscure aspect of something and wilfully ignores the essential point.
I used to be married to one of those men and he had a twin brother too. Now I mostly stay away from them, because they do wear me out. I'm afraid I'm in denial. It takes me a lot of effort to pull up to reality, let alone face it. I'll go down with the ship, no doubt.
ReplyDelete"Mansplain" - love it. Your dinner guest sounds like someone an old boss of mine once described as having "overweening self-confidence based on unshakable ignorance."
ReplyDeleteAnd that's Thursday we're meeting, right?
Though parts of your post made me chuckle (mansplain is a marvelous word), I still feel as though folks are fiddling while things are falling apart around us. Off the grid sounds good but how does one do that completely? We're so dependent on corporations for food and medicine, and on "modern conveniences" such as electricity and individual transportation that I'm afraid many of us wouldn't be able to take care of ourselves.
ReplyDeleteWant a preview of what economic collapse will look like? Go visit Haiti.
ReplyDeleteDon't the Amish live off the grid? One thing about their mode of transportation is that there has never been a recall on a horse.
I love the idea of that bookcase, WWW! Photo, please, when complete!
ReplyDeleteMansplain - hmmmm - yes -but I've met women who do a creditable version of that too, so I'll not be too hard on our friends of t'other gender. Let's see : A/holesplain - too crude? ;-D
r the satchpa thing ie has given me an idea - pestr
How abovut pestsplain (gender free)