Protean Position: Sitting

I admire her self-possession and her imagination and, as the poet stresses, her ability to sit very still. Here are the concluding stanzas to her portrait. We are captivated by her swift transformations.

[...]

First she is an ancient queen
In pomp and purple veil.
Soon she is a signing wind,
and, next, a nightingale.

How fine to be Narcissa,
A-changing like all that!
While sitting still, as still, as still
As anyone ever sat!

Gwendolyn Brooks Bronzeville Boys and Girls

And so for day 2257
16.02.2013

Use of Imagination

Winifred Gallagher in Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life provides this gem of circumlocution in the interests of anticipating hurdles:

Deciding beforehand what you'll focus on when sticking to your goal becomes difficult can even be a better strategy than trying to rev up your motivation.

Good thing it was preceded by this clear injunction:

[S]ome pragmatic research suggests that it's easier to shift your focus from that rich dessert to your goal of losing those five pounds if you practice ahead of time. When you rehearse in your head how you'll react to the lure of the all-you-can-eat buffet or the neighborhood watering hole before you're standing in front of it, you're much likelier to resist temptation than if you trust in your spontaneous response.

Planning makes sense.


And so for day 625
29.08.2008