Feeling that we were on the brink of a confrontation, I lifted a worn running shoe to table
height and said, “Will the scene make sense if I tie my laces backwards?"
“It would help,” Bonnie said, leaning forward to poke a finger through the slit in the side of
my shoe where he glue had given way. “You're due for a new pair.”
“That lets the water out.” I lowered my foot.
“Treating yourself poorly leads to acting poorly, which gives others permission to treat you
the same way. Treat yourself well, and you set a standard others must live up to if they want to
share your company.” Bonnie assessed my appearance, from head to toe. “Trimming your beard
might make people think that growing it was an intentional act, and buying shoes will make you
feel better about yourself. Maybe some shirts that aren't so tight would help, as well,” she said,
glancing at my paunch.
“I began running a few weeks ago,” I said.
“You must be very tired by now,” she deadpanned.
“I’m getting there,” I said crankily. “How does this encounter fit?”
“My characters couldn’t appreciate the abstract symmetry of their quest if they thought too
rigidly, which meant there remained a chance that they might improvise in a predictable way.”
“By which you mean like an average person?”
“I do. If they studiously practiced disrupting their routines, they will have become fluidly
unpredictable, and yet deliberate within their new way of thinking.”
“Meaning average thinkers couldn’t anticipate their actions?”
“Meaning that even if they did, average thinkers would defend themselves in predictably
inappropriate ways, leaving them equally vulnerable in a new circumstance.”
“Clever...vulnerable to what?”
“Impeccable acts. We’ll define those better, as we go along.”
I was looking through the picture window at a pedestrian drizzle that a soft rock jock said
would end by lunchtime, when the phone rang, and Bonnie saved me from having to dress like a
lobsterman to cross the bridge to her place. Forty minutes later, we were in our front booth at
Nolan’s having coffee and Danish pastry.
Taking new pages from an old envelope, she said her commune had designed helping
others into their way of life, so their children took little for granted while participating in
practical cycles of positive cause and effect. For example, the effectiveness of water proofing
boats depended upon surface preparation, the quality of fine cloth, if required, and the proper
blending of oils and saps. Not coincidentally, at some point in their early years, every child had
gone fishing in a leaky boat and become exhausted while learning the rhythmic art of bailing
water.
In this guided way, and at a pace suited to their individual abilities, children experienced
the two-step recipe for creating a beneficial personal momentum. The first step was paying close
attention to their economy of action; elders defined this as using the minimum amount of
materials and labour to complete a task, while neither skimping nor over doing any aspect of that
task. Achieving this balance required forethought, attention to detail, and precision in execution,
while mistakes were welcome because teacher’s properly viewed these as lessons in fine tuning.
In later stages, they were a source of humour, or a sign of illness.
