Do I think too much?
Nathan Hatch would say no. He says, ” Our danger has not been too much thinking, but not enough.” I say, he’s never met me.
I think so hard and so long about everything that it is almost as if I’ve done it. Somewhere in my head I am satisfied, it is as if I do not have to complete the task because I already have it all figured out. I have always thought that I think too much, but in Clifford Williams’ The Life of the Mind he encourages this self exploration, but suggests that in order to live the life that God wants for us all we need to find the balance between our hermit and our explorer selves. Without my hermit side and my extreme hermit years I would not have spent all the hours trying to learn my inner workings – what are my dreams, what are my motivations, what are my beliefs, my morals, my values, my fears, etc? Now, with the answers to all these questions at least temporarily answered I should have the courage to start exploring.
In the Questions for Reflection in Williams’ The Life of the Mind he asks, “Is the life of the mind an escape from real life?” I think it can be, and for me it has been an escape and to a certain degree an excuse. With the support of my family and friends and God I am moving away from this.
I liked this!
Clifford Williams
June 21, 2010