Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
This is the Doctrine’s contribution to the Six Sentence Story bloghop.
Denise is the host.
This week’s prompt word:
ENERGY
“Good morning,” the cigarette-and-coffee contralto from the far-side of the previous night’s negotiation table, (pillows for easels, stacked with cardboard charts of future performance and twisted sheets as silent concurrence to a final meeting of the minds), contained a confident slur on the first word and an evocative lilt to the second.
“ok, I guess,” his inflection characteristically added a bi-furcation of the first colloquial, (that failed to hide surprise), and to the second, a mishmash of excitement, as the minutes of the night’s board meeting read themselves back; “I can’t imagine where you get the energy,” batting away the snort of repressed laughter from the girl, the young man persisted, “I mean, it’s not about how important we are to me, it’s just that I get tired thinking about even hoping to keep up.”
“You’re using the word ‘energy’ instead of ‘enthusiasm’ because we’ve all been brainwashed into seeing the world subject to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, therefore bound to run down; enthusiasm is our acceptance of our relationship to the world around us and not some stupid inventory list,” she brought home her point by retreating, almost unnoticeably, to the bank of pillows, now somehow arrayed against the wall.
“You remember last night,” the girl, feeling, despite the sheets and blankets somehow shrinking on the bed, that her point was not established, held up her hand and continued, “When you asked me to dance last night, the volume of the band was, to anyone not there on purpose, deafening; you didn’t try to shout the music down, you put your lips as close to my ear as you dared and asked.
And afterwards, when we sat in your car, the silence was like our own blanket tent,” rising from the bed, blankets as ceremonial robes avalanching down from her shoulders, the coed brought her presentation on energy versus enthusiasm to a close.
“What you call energy is really only a shout in the silence, when the fact is, most of us spend our lives in silence because we don’t allow ourselves to remember the collective sound that exists among people, like a loud band in a nightclub; life is about enthusiasm, about how we choose to relate ourselves to the world, not how loudly we can shout.”
*
so, as it happens, history is not only informative, it can be enhancing of our enjoyment of the contemporary. For example, this week’s music vid is not really so much about today’s post, but rather provides a pleasurable echo from the before time, back when we were a student to school. From 1971 (fill in your own contemporary cultural landmarks), when rap and hip was just beginning ).
About clarkscottroger
Wow, Clark! This contains an excellent viewpoint on life.
“…life is about enthusiasm, about how we choose to relate ourselves to the world, not how loudly we can shout.”
I won’t soon forget this phrase. You have explained a mind-blowing essence in our ‘noisy’ existence. Thank-you.
Susan, you are spot on. If there was a neon sign over Clark it would say ” Not how we relate to the world but how we relate ourselves to the world!”
(Do I get a promotion, professor Clark?🙂)
no, thank you, Susan… we (all) write to affect the world…ok the Reader… if you insist, three or six or so people (lol) and the funny thing, it (the reaction) often strengthens whatever capacity we might possess and therefore be more likely to have it occur again.
Dude…first Nancy with her Bark at the moon, now you…what happened at the content warning…steaming hot, handle with care…not to be read while the sun is up …lol
thanks Nick the fun is all mine (and anyone else who might be inclined to join in)
Good distinction between enthusiasm and energy. Energy is just loud noise. Good point: “we’ve all been brainwashed into seeing the world subject to the Second Law of Thermodynamics”. Emphasis on brainwashing without forgetting there’s a point to that second law as well.
Thanks, Frank… it was an interesting challenge as I attempted it
bravo, and the music took me back
man, we don’t want to do the math!
Brilliant treatise on energy! May I add something? Energy transfer for charging a fee is one use of the word that baffles me.
Thanks R
Excellent and so full it takes a while to digest!
ry, MM
Pretty racy stuff this week, old chap!
ikr?
(well, the thing of it is, the metaphysics are never far away when I sit down (Full Disclosure: most likely is that I’m driving when day-dreaming a story/Six. talk about texting be a hazard to other drivers lol) so once I believed I had a handle on the ‘message’ I was all, ‘Sure, thats good for a lecture hall but these Sixarians are not as SITM as you are… lets do something a little… interesting for the delivery.)
That last sentence is excellent, it deserves a place in the annuls of history.
Thanks, Keith
Unfortunately, clark, the revolution is being televised; it’s simply not the revolution we were hoping for. ;-) Very cinema noir and philosophical this week. Pass me the Gaulois and the vin ordinaire.
ikr? How so not what any of us (or me, at any rate) has the future turned out… (and the rate of change, especially in the last twenty, thirty years*)
*and…and! the fact that I’m using numbers like 20…30 years ago!! lol we shoulda refused to leave them coffee shops and rathskellers
I’m still enjoying the vision of the co-ed wrapped in the ceremonial robes of the blanket.
lol
thanks….you’re welcome?