Moderation. Balance, positive thoughts. Aw yea!

As crunch time with seminar papers sets in, Boice’s advice, while still annoyingly zen like, at least seems seems increasingly palatable, for example chapter 13 is about cultivating mindful practices and working with balance. It’s not that I don’t agree with these things; I can definitely tell when I’m working mindfully (which I’m not right now. In fact I rarely am), it’s just that it seems like riding a bike. I can tell when I’’m doing it and I can tell when I’m not, but it’s like when you first start learning and your dad is like holding the bike and jogging behind you and then he lets go. It’s hard to tell what’s you and what’s luck. My response to this chapter speaks, I think, metonymically for my thoughts on the rest of the book-it’s like reading a book on how to ride a bike. This, of course, is all supposed to help you work in a balanced fashion and let go of negative thoughts. I mean, again, good (and timely) advice, but it’s like a manifesto rather than a manual. Accordingly, one gets the feeling that this book could be made to apply to many things, not just writing. It’s advice from someone at the end of his career, who has long since passed through the gamut of his prime and long since laid down the mantle of his ambition. It’s a retrospective given by someone who has run the race and came in in the top half and is cool with that because it all worked out in the end. This is what makes Boice both annoying and palatable.