Thursday, April 26, 2012

A Game Of Tug Of War Between The Heart and The Mind



The mind threw open it’s window to a warm and sweet smelling breeze. In with the wind came seeds of thought; like particles of dust. The mind planted these seeds and watered them daily. The plants began to flower and the mind loved the view.

Overwatering in the hopes of growing something bigger and better, the water began spilling over the edge trickling from its source. A rivulet began to run making its way down, past one clear blue eye to the corner of the mouth, trickling down the neck, pooling at the collarbone and cascading to the chest. The water found its ground as it always does and began filling the heart. Once filled to the brim, the heart almost bursting, looked up at the mind and asked, “Why didn’t you close the window sooner; before the rain poured in?” The once very bright and intelligent mind just shook its head and said, “I don’t know.”

The mind and the heart were uncomfortably filled and began a game called Tug of War. Refusing to compromise, they pulled in opposite directions. As one gained ground the other pulled harder. And so it went, back and forth, back and forth.

The body knew this fight couldn’t go on much longer.

It was so full with conflict it refused to eat and was too troubled to sleep. The weight was so heavy it felt like a boulder resting on the body’s chest. And it was too weak to remove it without the help of one of the other two.

Every time the body closed its eyes, they tugged. Pulling harder, each refusing to give up and both determined to win.

But there could be only one winner.

It would be the one that fought the hardest, put up the best fight. And made the most sense.

When the winner’s hand was raised in victory, the body could finally rest. And it did. It slept for the first night in its recent memory. However dreamless. 

By Duncan Sheik

6 comments:

  1. A thoughtful post that raises more than a few questions and asks imagination to fill in the blanks.

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    1. Pure fiction allows for the reader to fill in the blanks. Fun that way. I like that it was cause for thought. Must be reading too many romantic books again!

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  2. I loved the way this could apply to so many situations. But I particularly loved the way the heart was implied to be the more practical of the two here, when it is typically depicted as the LESS practical bit of hyperbolic anatomy.

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    1. Thanks JQ.

      For me, it applies to a lot of things when contemplating decisions. I suppose when I was writing, I felt the mind getting more and more confused, hopeful, irrational, which is much less likely to happen (at least for me). The heart went into protection mode feeling the water getting murky. It sensed the conflict before the mind really wanted to accept.

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  3. Yes, always a tug of war between the mind and the heart. I like that its open to interpretation. It's up to the reader to adapt it to his/her own life, or just enjoy the ride. Nice.

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    1. Thanks Stephanie. It's so peaceful when the two can find a balance. Wish it were that easy but such is life.

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