Burning Bridges Before You Cross Them
“There is always the temptation in life to diddle around making itsy-bitsy friends and meals and journeys for years on end. It is all so self conscience, so apparently moral...But I won't have it. The world is wilder than that in all directions, more dangerous...more extravagant and bright. We are...raising tomatoes when we should be raising Cain, or Lazarus.” -- Annie Dillard
An old friend of mine used to always say, "Life is, at best, boring."
I don't agree, though I can see why some people might think so. They dream of doing great deeds and experiencing great loves, yet they diddle around, as Annie Dillard says, with small things.
Those who diddle around must believe the risks of great deeds and loves are simply too high. They look at my wont to stir up trouble and they say, "Look at you. You burned most of your bridges before you got across them."
That's true, but they made glorious fires.
As a writer, I loved those fires. I also loved the consequences: getting wet while swimming across all those rivers. Now that is a living life as a story. I do not understand those who demand exciting fiction, but who settle for so much less in their day-to-day jobs and avocations.
Life is too precious to be summed up with a yawn.
--Malcolm
Malcolm R. Campbell is the author of the contemporary fantasies "The Sun Singer" and "Sarabande" as well as the Pushcart nominated satire "Jock Talks...Politics."
An old friend of mine used to always say, "Life is, at best, boring."
I don't agree, though I can see why some people might think so. They dream of doing great deeds and experiencing great loves, yet they diddle around, as Annie Dillard says, with small things.
Those who diddle around must believe the risks of great deeds and loves are simply too high. They look at my wont to stir up trouble and they say, "Look at you. You burned most of your bridges before you got across them."
That's true, but they made glorious fires.
As a writer, I loved those fires. I also loved the consequences: getting wet while swimming across all those rivers. Now that is a living life as a story. I do not understand those who demand exciting fiction, but who settle for so much less in their day-to-day jobs and avocations.
Life is too precious to be summed up with a yawn.
--Malcolm
Malcolm R. Campbell is the author of the contemporary fantasies "The Sun Singer" and "Sarabande" as well as the Pushcart nominated satire "Jock Talks...Politics."
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