There’s a long story behind how I came across this poem, written by a second grader*. Social media…it’s a curious thing. The poem, however, is just so perfect and a Thing to Reflect On.
So much depends on
busy people in cities
rammin’ on rickety computers
gettin’ really really tired.
I was walking through the city last week, between a few appointments in and around lunch hour, and I felt the weariness of the people upon which life depends. It most certainly is the ricketiness of the computers… and the buzzy hum of the air conditioning and the frenzied anger of the cars that tires us. It grates at us. And, when we tire, we ram even harder. Pushing and pressing. That’s what we do in cities; we falter, we try harder.
For an alien, or a kid, it must look like insanity. Who was it that said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result? Einstein? Yes, I think so.
When we get tired, we have to pull back and ask if we’re rammin’. If we’re being insane. I have to do it all the time. I ram so much that my whole body crunches forward and I do my neck in so that I can ram no more…then I’m forced to rest up a bit.
There are different ways to do things. Always.
Tim my meditation teacher tells the story of the original meditation guru Swami Brahmananda Saraswati (from five thousand years ago) who called together his people one day to make an announcement. Hundreds of thousands would travel days to hear one of his edicts. They sat in the heat, awaiting the wisdom. The guru arrived and said, simply:”Nirvatatvam”. Which translates to:
“Do what you’re not doing”.
If you don’t like the result, stop rammin’ and try something else.
Head to the bush on Saturday for a walk.
Walk around the block when you’re creatively stuck.
Admit you’re wrong in a fight, no qualifications.
Sleep at the other end of the bed.
You get my drift…yes? PS What second grader is “inspired by William Carlos Williams”?!? Impressed.
* Jo’s friend Nick retweeted it…he found it on “a tweet by Kieran Healy. an Associate Professor in Sociology at Duke University…
“@kjhealy: Waiting for elementary school parent/teacher meeting, saw this 2nd grader’s poem on corridor wall. http://t.co/cLvmNKu6”
….via a RT by Roseanne Cash, who is a rad musician (and, by the by, the daughter of Johnny Cash)”. So there you go. Thank you Jo and Nick!
So true! It can be so difficult to just take a break, step away from what you’re doing and do something else in order to nourish your soul and not be so bowled over by the continuous urge to keep working and working and working…….. *sigh* thank you for the helpful reminder.
[Reply]
so beautifully written for someone so young!
yes, i think it is important to realise when anything we are doing becomes this ‘ramming’ state.
[Reply]
There’s nothing like banging your head against that rickety computer to enough times to bring you to a forced stop. Beautifully written!
[Reply]
Oh how I know that feeling! I describe that ramming weariness as ‘being tired in my bones’. I’ll ring my boyfriend at the end of a particularly insane and unfulfilling day and tell him that I am tired in my bones.
Every time that I get home from work and manage to do something constructive to deal with that bone-and-soul weariness (say, go for a walk, do yoga, or make a cup of tea and read a book) instead of what my initial bodily response says to do (collapse on my bed and eat chocolate) I am very grateful. And always slightly surprised…
[Reply]
Such a timely post. I keep thinking ‘why are we doing this?’ Why are we killing ourselves to pay for this busy stressful city life, to feed a hungry mortgage? There must be a better way to live. This just seems like another sign. Thanks.
[Reply]
December 5th, 2012 at 8:40 pm
We rent but feel similarly to you, Nic.
I’ve only recently stopped to take toll of what our city lifestyle is really doing to us and what quality of life actually means to me.
Don’t get me wrong, even in Australia’s largest city we still have a high quality of life, especially compared to the rest of the world.
It’s just… when you’ve grown up in a less busy, less stressful place you know how much “less” can bring more to your life. More time to do the things you love, see the people you love, to sleep. More headspace to think clearly. More connections with the people around you. More room at home, more chance of a backyard, with grass!
Technology these days has us so constantly over-connected. The energy buzzing around is frantic.
For me, it means getting back to basics and living a more conscious life.
[Reply]
that is deadly!
hey! I am just sitting in the garden doing that which I don’t do, and have picked up a book I havent had time to read … and even though im only on the first page, I already highly recommend it to y’all: Survival In The 21st Century – Planetary Healers Manual – by Viktoras H Kulvinskas.
i really think alot of you folks out there will love it – maybe even you too sarah?
it does look a quite a bit ‘out there’ but when you start reading it …. makes A LOT of sense and seems to be the words for how i feel about the world and life and rammin’ … cool!
thought some other people might find it useful and comforting too! some of my social circles don’t know how to talk about this kinda stuff – seems so weird to me …
… oh and listening to cat stevens!
from the Introduction by Dick Gregory:
“They got the educational system together to teach you how to make a livin’. Y’all know how to make a livin’, but how come y’all don’t know how to live?”
dunno what made me tune in here in the middle of it … but back to it i must go!
[Reply]
When I cram too much in, my chiropractor gets to see me and my personal trainer doesn’t. Today I had to cancel the personal trainer and visit the chiropractor. Thankfully, he’s a lovely man and really good at what he does.
[Reply]
This is just what I needed this week. I was rammin’. But I read this, and stopped rammin’. Stopped to re-assess. Stopped to do it differently. 3 days later and I feel lighter, more at ease. I’ve stuck the poem up on a wall in a place I’ll see everyday. A perfect reminder to stop rammin’ – thank you Sarah.
[Reply]
Funnily enough this seems to be one of the messages I know, but have to learn over and over. I push and ram and try… But when you go with things instead of against them, it is less tiring, and more effective. My problem is I keep forgetting!
[Reply]