Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Is this it?


Are you a grasshopper or an ant?  You know, via Aesop, upended by Maugham.  I've been thinking about this lately, because I've been such a good ant for so many years, putting a little aside each year, being proud of being responsible, delaying gratification by second nature.  (The ability to postpone gratification is one of the most significant indicators of adult success, if you remember the oft-cited marshmallow experiment).  So, pleased with myself, I go along my ant ways, unwilling to look up, to be distracted by the careless but beguiling grasshoppers around me.

Adhering to the cultural convention that passing time = progress, I have blithely assumed that at some point in the future, I will have arrived.  I will no longer have the financial or emotional need to further delay any damn thing. Just as I believed that age = wisdom and, again, at some point in the future, we will have figured every damn thing out.

Lately I have taken to thinking that there is no logic in either of those premises, nor is there any supporting evidence. Which leads me to my opening question: is this it?  And if this is it--what should I do now?









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12 comments:

  1. Pasadena AdjacentAugust 29, 2012 at 12:17 PM

    Notice the judges presiding over the marshmallow experiment are the ones that passed it? phft

    "what should I do now?" be a turtle. Thats my talisman and I'm willing to share.

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  2. DesireeAugust 29, 2012 at 4:31 PM

    Hmm, turtle. I will definitely need some professional development.

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  3. AnonymousAugust 29, 2012 at 5:20 PM

    Big question, and I certainly don't know the answer to that. It's like timing the market, isn't it?

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  4. AnonymousAugust 30, 2012 at 10:52 AM

    I can't postpone gratification. Not at all. Fortunately, spending money does not gratify me, so I am able to keep my finances in order.

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  5. MargaretAugust 30, 2012 at 7:43 PM

    You are being very deep. I am very good at delaying gratification, bit I would loke to be more of a grasshopper. As to your question. Yes. This is it, and it always what. What should you do? Whatever you want.

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  6. Pasadena AdjacentSeptember 1, 2012 at 12:56 PM

    You have time. turtles take their time. They're tenacious and hard to get to

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  7. DesireeSeptember 1, 2012 at 4:30 PM

    Thanks for the clarification. I think I just may give it a whirl...

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  8. Petrea BurchardSeptember 2, 2012 at 12:22 PM

    Oh Des, this has been on my mind for ... ever.

    I have taken my gratification by pursuing the work I love. This, unfortunately, has meant putting off money. But I agree with PA. You have time and so do I.

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  9. KarenSeptember 2, 2012 at 9:59 PM

    I completely relate.

    My worry is, now that "my time" is nearly here, I've worn down so many neural pathways as an ant, it's nearly impossible to be a grasshopper and do things for myself.

    The old tiger can't change her stripes phenomenon may be my future!

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  10. KarenSeptember 2, 2012 at 9:59 PM

    I completely relate.

    My worry is, now that "my time" is nearly here, I've worn down so many neural pathways as an ant, it's nearly impossible to be a grasshopper and do things for myself.

    The old tiger can't change her stripes phenomenon may be my future!

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  11. DesireeSeptember 3, 2012 at 9:11 AM

    All right, Karen, time to test run a few neural pathways together. Let's get our toes wet by buying something without looking at the price first. P: Deep breath, okay, time!

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  12. KarenSeptember 5, 2012 at 9:16 AM

    Des, I tried that but my other half is an even-more-dedicated ant than I am, alas. Probably dooming us to a frugal future!

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