REAL ART GUEST BLOG

I always thought this place could use a woman's touch. From my wonderful wife, the mysterious missus r:

Don’t Think Too Much – Words of Wisdom?

I heard the following while serving as Shop Girl at my job during 2003, a combination antique/specialty bath products/ladies-who-lunch spot. Here is a recreation of the conversation:

Matron A: I’ll stand in line if you want to browse around while we wait.

Matron B: That’s OK, I don’t mind waiting, gives me time to think.

Matron A: Oh, don’t think too much, it’s not good for you!

Matron B’s only response was silence.

I like to think that Matron B found Matron A as silly and stupid as I did at that moment. Don’t get me wrong – there are times when it’s a good idea to shut down one’s brain (like if one finds oneself obsessing about what might happen – not that I’m guilty of such...)

The overheard conversation couldn’t help but remind me of the myriad ways our current society sends exactly that message of “not thinking”: advertisers, newscasters, teachers and bosses, the prez...life in the first decade of the new millennium is not about thinking; rather its about following the herd; doing what we are supposed to be doing, according to the paradoxically complicated but simple everyday life we lead.

Complicated because we are stressed out, run ragged, stuck in traffic, fax machine wrangling, computer cursing, panicking to pay our bills, all around nervous folk.

Simple because we are so sadly and blindly mired in the hamster-wheel process, we seldom feel as if we have done anything at all, much less strain our brains beyond worrying about mowing the grass or what kind of clothes the kid needs for school...

At least Matron B spends some time thinking.

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