. Fascinating phrase that..."running on empty." Albeit with a finite time left, it means that one is still running. The metaphor is often used to imply that one is fatigued in some way. Given the restorative powers naturally available to the human body, mind and soul, there is an implication that one can eventually do something about it, and that the fatigue is temporary.
. A long time ago I decided that the world consists entirely of two kinds of people: the doers and the watchers. There is a certain amount of risk involved in taking any action. The most timid elect to take no action, lest they fail, or get injured, etc. They prefer to watch others. When they witness another's failure do they say "I told you so?" The German expression schadenfreude has suddenly become popular for this. It means taking disagreeable pleasure in others' suffering. Nasty little snits aren't they!
. When one gets to a certain age the empty signal seems to come more often than formerly. But the restorative process is always there. Besides, who said there is only one gauge to look at? What if one is totally exhausted after doing a very good and noble thing that was personally and morally satisfying? What about the goodness gauge? The nobility gauge? The satisfaction gauge? Aha, let us not be sucked into the limitations of the narrow-minded. Life has breadth. Watch all the gauges!
 |  (courtesy Maine Geological Survey) |
Thursday, September 25, 2008
"Running on empty"
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3 comments:
This reminds me of a very good On Point show about the neurobiology of iconoclasts. I recommend it. The world does take two types-- those of us who tend to like normality and those who are not afraid to take risks through out-of-the-box thinking. I don't think that these boxes are all-encompassing, as in, cautious people are not necessarily conservative... But we do need both types, the dreamers and the savers!
I agree whole-heartedly with your point about the big overlap between these two categories, as is surely the case also with all other dualities of human nature.
Some of the tone of that last post can be explained by the ambiance of the blogosphere. It tempts me to vent, and to fulfill a curmudgeon role. Those are fun or at least satisfying sometimes. But my main purpose is to keep myself thinking and writing. I admit that some of my posts go a bit to the extreme, but I do want to keep it constructive. So I appreciate hearing about it if I wander into negativity.
I'm greatly appreciative of the previous post's reference to On Point!...This doer vs. watcher distinction reminds me of a Teddy Roosevelt quote (my source here is the Internet, so I hope it's right):
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face in marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
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