Nov 2, 2010
Inertia the Seductress
Posted in :
Brain Waves
Treading water can be alluring. Just stay afloat long enough and someone will come along and save you. But what if no one knows you’re out there? Better to take matters into your own hands. Pick a landmark and start swimming.
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Posted by:
Bruce Kaechele
Email the author:
brucek@fathom.net
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This resonates with me at a very deep level. I’m swimming like Jaws is on my ass.
Maybe it’s not an allure at all. Maybe we tread water out of just plain fear. Because, if we think someone else will save us, why not wait it out?
We need to believe that we have the chops to rescue ourselves. Even if someone else can save you, that’s not progress, just resuscitation.
Thinking more on this I’ve realized that swimming is easier in some circumstances than others. I do a whole lot of treading when I don’t really care. I swim hard when I’m invested.
Makes me think that treading can be a kind of barometer. When I’m not moving forward on something, I shouldn’t simply chalk it up to being busy or distracted or tired (the symptoms). I should consider whether or not it is something I should be doing at all.
(Amazing how obvious some things sound when one writes them down.)
The hard part with treading water is from a young age we were thrown in and forced to tread to stay afloat. If I was taught to swim and given something to reach I would not worry about the fish nipping at me.
I never liked treading I was more of a floater.
I agree Darrell. We are taught to tread water, and to tread lightly I might add, early on. Education in the 70s and 80s (my school aged years) was all about mass production – get the kids in and get them back out. Curriculum was (is?) homogenized to work for the greatest number of students. Which of course puts many in the position of just trying to keep their heads above water or believing that doing only what is required means success. Any kind of meaningful learning happened more by chance than by design. What we learn when we are young – do enough to get by – is what we model when we are older. Not a surprise really.
But, being able to recognize that you are treading (or floating) and figuring out why, is a freeing experience. Then you can deal with whatever it is, however is best, and move on.
Fish nipping at your feet? Yeah, we’ll put up with a lot of annoyances and set backs when there’s something fulfilling to shoot for.
Thanks for writing, Darrell.
“..happened more by chance than by design” Bruce K. I am with you on this ideal. I had to make a decison on what school to attend. Mass production or leave with tools to use?
A proffesor that I had took more of a design route to stretch out our brains. The extra effort in the design faze always kept me wondering what would happen if I treaded water? It was almost a state of fear. No one would come along and help, thats for sure.
I think knowing why the fish are nipping may help with understanding what motivates them to compete for your toes and how to swim by them.