"Is That What It Is?"*

I walked around the duck pond looking for inspiration. The ducks were beautiful. A flowing stream relaxes my mind. But inspiration did not come.

As I was leaving, I thought about the bad things I have done. Most of them are not evil. I have good intentions. I blame my mind and my angry heart. I think too much. I either act too fast or too slow. I see too much. All I could think about the duck pond was taxpayer dollars paid for its upkeep. It is nice but could it be nicer? Thinking is part of my problem.

Being a man means deciding between what is important and not important. If something is important then I have to follow through with it. If it is not then I have to leave it alone. The duck pond is maintained by public funds; a fact that is inconsequential to my happiness. Sometimes you have to stop caring about inconsequential details. You have to wear blinders. You have to get tunnel vision. You have to ignore your normative side and become a positivist.

*U2's "Stay (Faraway, So Close)"