Time Well Spent II: A detour for perspective

The first part of this dual post treatise on how to use my time well, ended on a note of concern. I pointed to the danger of relegating great ideas to trite truisms by refusing to grapple with their implications for daily life. This is a very personal concern. I've only been posting for three weeks, yet already, I sense the pernicious temptation to abandon the posture of a curious learner for the "sage on a stage" persona. The tendency to spout out ideas as mere entertainment (if only for an audience of one), abandoning the potent call to ponder and be transformed that they give. Much like using an inherited, hand-knit scarf as a doormat, failing to truly contend with the ideas we discuss is not only improper, it is an insult - to those we are in conversation with and especially to those to whom we owe the ideas.

Time Well Spent I: Whose time is it anyway?

I've been on vacation for the last month or so. I've ostensibly been using the time for "rest" At term that is, admittedly, a member of that class of gratuitous English phrases, whose function is to deflect further inquiry without divulging any substantial information. They unanswer questions. The only appropriate response to these phrases, as dictated by the unofficial rules of Western decorum, is a slight nod and a knowing "ahhh!"

Because this is America, dammit!, there is a whole industry that focuses on the monetization of said phrases. It boasts master orators who string the phrases into unending presentations, aided solely by color-coded Power Point slides. They collect millions of dollars to remind you to "de-average" "brainstorm" and "solution the problem," blinding you in a cloud of buzzwords so you don't see us...I mean them, grab the money and run. I kid...somewhat, but thus far my vacation has been an attempt to rebel against my hard-wired reflexes of diversion and discern what exactly "rest" means.