The Mind

"It can never be satisfied, the mind, never." Wallace Stevens
wrote that, and in the long run, he was right. The mind wants
to live forever, or to learn a very good reason why not.
The mind wants the world to return its love, or its awareness;
the mind wants to know all the world, and all eternity,
and God. The mind's sidekick, however, will settle for two
eggs over easy.

The dear, stupid body is as easily satisfied as a spaniel.
And, incredibly, the simple spaniel can lure the brawling
mind to its dish. It is everlastingly funny that the proud,
metaphysically ambitious, clamoring mind will hush if
you give it an egg.

Further: while the mind reels in deep space, while the
mind grieves or fears or exults, the workaday senses,
in ignorance or idiocy, like so many computer terminals
printing out market prices while the world blows up,
still transcribe their little data and transmit them to the
warehouse in the skull. Later, under the tranquilizing
influence of fried eggs, the mind can sort through this data.

From: Teaching a Stone To Talk:Expeditions and Encounters
Total Eclipse, Part IV
Annie Dillard

*********************************

My mind settled for srambled eggs with a dash of hot sauce,
fresh cilantro, and shredded provolone. It also enjoyed
a cup of 100% Kona coffee (a gift I brought my son from Naples--
can't get any decent coffee here, but they had a place
called The Bad Ass Coffee Company and they had quite a
selection--$24.95 for an 8 oz. bag of 100% pure Kona beans--
my son loves it!).

It then worked a crossword puzzle and word jumble
and felt quite satisfied and somewhere nearing
its normal "now this is what you do every day"
way of viewing my little world.

Then it promptly told me if I wanted to lose some
of this fat a** and lower my cholesterol levels
and blood pressure, I should probably go take a walk
NOW because it's already 80 outside and terribly
humid. And then it said, Round up Molly and take
her, too. She needs her excercise. So, I did. And
we walked 1 3/4 miles, and then my mind said,
It's hotter than hell out here already--you want to fall
over from a heat stroke? And look at your poor dog,
her tongue nearly down to the ground, her eyes
looking into yours, beseeching you to take her home
to that cool house.

And, so I came home. And I am cooling off but
my back is soaked and my hair is sticking
to my face, and I'm still sweating. But my mind
is telling me it's all worth it. What else do you have
to do with your life?

And I suggest to my mind that it listen up for just
a few minutes while I tell it about the special
project I have in mind, thank you! You see, mind,
I say, I really do have lots of things to do--really--
don't try to convince me otherwise! I have designed
a pattern to paint on my porch floor. I tell my mind
how clever I am to have come up with the design,
how much money I am saving by not putting in a new
floor (which I couldn't afford to do anyway but I don't
have to tell my mind everything), about how great
the colors are going to look, about how nice it will
be to sit out there once it's done and I move the furniture
back in and put some plants out there.

So, I am going out there to start on my project, mind.

I hope you don't mind!

(I think the sun may have fried a bit of my brain this morning).