Directionally Challenged
A trip to the gym, while potentially
beneficial to one's health, poses a host of traumas for the
socially-anxious.
Take rowing machines, for example. My
local YMCA has two of them, right next to each other. There is
the problem of which one to use – do I take the one that has a
better view of the televisions, even if it is next to an occupied
treadmill? And what happens if I accidentally sync with another rower?
On one particular visit, I successfully
navigated this minefield only to be faced with a far greater dilemma.
I had just spent forty minutes battling
a new foe: the setting sun, which was overpowering the insufficient shades.
I was planning on ending my time there
with a jog on the track, which is elevated and rings the fitness
center. Now that the sun had finally set, I could stop squinting and glance up to see how crowded things were.
It was a scene of mad disorder: three joggers, each defying the arrow-ordained direction by moving
counterclockwise.
I contemplated the situation. I could
join in their heresy, or I could follow the correct path... at the
risk that the joggers would believe me
to be incorrect.
As far as I was concerned, there was
only one good answer.
I chose an unoccupied lane and began my
jog. No one was moving particularly fast (especially me), so I was
able to pass the others safely. Whenever I approached someone else, I
invited her to join me in orthodoxy.
I did this by maintaining a pleasantly
neutral smile and avoiding eye contact.
A few minutes later, another person
arrived on the track.
As it turned out, none of the current
joggers had begun this trend – the first one had simply adopted the
incorrect direction set by two elderly gentlemen, and the others had
followed suit upon their arrivals.
All it took to correct the situation
was a little communication... and that's a lesson that I ought to
take to heart. As much as I dislike approaching people, perhaps I
should use my words, just as I teach my children to do.
Or maybe not.
Don't Be a Cyclops
Despite his famed cunning, Odysseus could be remarkably foolhardy. Sure, he escaped peril after peril on his voyage home, but he hemorrhaged crew members in the process.
In all of this, Odysseus was the very essence of compassion.
In fact, he was often the one who got them into trouble in the first place.
Such was the case when they reached the land of the Cyclops.
Odysseus' crew had no real need to investigate this locale.
When they reached the cave belonging to Polyphemus, the massive size of the tools set off alarm bells in everyone but the leader.
Polyphemus' return went exactly as one might expect.
Odysseus quickly formulated a plan.
At Polyphemus' howls of pain, the other Cyclopes came running.
Then some Cyclopes tended to Polyphemus' wound while others rounded up Odysseus' crew.
Just kidding.
Literature is full of examples to emulate. The Cyclopes are not one of them.
"Pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on you."
-- attributed to St. Ignatius Loyola, quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church 2834
In all of this, Odysseus was the very essence of compassion.
In fact, he was often the one who got them into trouble in the first place.
Such was the case when they reached the land of the Cyclops.
Odysseus' crew had no real need to investigate this locale.
When they reached the cave belonging to Polyphemus, the massive size of the tools set off alarm bells in everyone but the leader.
Polyphemus' return went exactly as one might expect.
Odysseus quickly formulated a plan.
At Polyphemus' howls of pain, the other Cyclopes came running.
Then some Cyclopes tended to Polyphemus' wound while others rounded up Odysseus' crew.
Just kidding.
Literature is full of examples to emulate. The Cyclopes are not one of them.
"Pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on you."
-- attributed to St. Ignatius Loyola, quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church 2834
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