Confession
>It started out innocently enough.
>
>I began to think at parties now and then -- to loosen up.
>Inevitably, though, one thought led to another, and soon I was more
>than just a social thinker. I began to think alone -- "to relax," I
told
>myself -- but I knew it wasn't true. Thinking became more and more
>important to me, and finally I was thinking all the time.
>That was when things began to sour at home.
>
>One evening I had turned off the TV and asked my wife about the
>meaning of life. She spent that night at her mother's.
>I began to think on the job. I knew that thinking and employment
>don't mix, but I couldn't stop myself. I began to avoid friends at
>lunchtime
>so I could read Thoreau and Kafka. I would return to the office dizzied
>and confused, asking, "What is it exactly we are doing here?"
>
>One day the boss called me in.
>He said, "Listen, I like you, and it hurts me to say this, but your
>thinking has become a real problem. If you don't stop thinking on the
>job, you'll have to find another job." This gave me a lot to think
>about. I came home early after my conversation with the boss.
>
>"Honey," I confessed, "I've been thinking..."
>"I know you've been thinking," she said, "and I want a divorce!"
>"But Honey, surely it's not that serious."
>"It is serious," she said, lower lip aquiver. "You think
>as much as college professors, and college professors don't make any
>money, so if you keep on thinking, we won't have any money!"
>"That's a faulty syllogism," I said impatiently.
>She exploded in tears of rage and frustration, but I was in no mood
>to deal with the emotional drama.
>
>"I'm going to the library," I snarled as I stomped out the
>door. I headed for the library, in the mood for some Nietzsche.
>I roared into the parking lot with NPR on the radio and ran up to
>the big glass doors... They didn't open. The library was closed.
>
>To this day, I believe that a Higher Power was looking out for me
>that night. Leaning on the unfeeling glass, whimpering for Zarathustra,
a
>poster caught my eye.
>
>"Friend, is heavy thinking ruining your life?" it asked.
>
>You probably recognize that line.
>It comes from the standard Thinker's Anonymous poster.
>Which is why I am what I am today: a recovering thinker.
>I never miss a TA meeting. At each meeting we watch a
>non-educational video; last week it was "Porky's."
>Then we share experiences about how we avoided thinking since the
>last meeting.
>
>I still have my job, and things are a lot better at home.
>Life just seemed...easier, somehow, as soon as I stopped
>thinking. I think the road to recovery is nearly complete for me.
>> >>>
>Today, I registered to vote as a Democrat.
>
>
>I began to think at parties now and then -- to loosen up.
>Inevitably, though, one thought led to another, and soon I was more
>than just a social thinker. I began to think alone -- "to relax," I
told
>myself -- but I knew it wasn't true. Thinking became more and more
>important to me, and finally I was thinking all the time.
>That was when things began to sour at home.
>
>One evening I had turned off the TV and asked my wife about the
>meaning of life. She spent that night at her mother's.
>I began to think on the job. I knew that thinking and employment
>don't mix, but I couldn't stop myself. I began to avoid friends at
>lunchtime
>so I could read Thoreau and Kafka. I would return to the office dizzied
>and confused, asking, "What is it exactly we are doing here?"
>
>One day the boss called me in.
>He said, "Listen, I like you, and it hurts me to say this, but your
>thinking has become a real problem. If you don't stop thinking on the
>job, you'll have to find another job." This gave me a lot to think
>about. I came home early after my conversation with the boss.
>
>"Honey," I confessed, "I've been thinking..."
>"I know you've been thinking," she said, "and I want a divorce!"
>"But Honey, surely it's not that serious."
>"It is serious," she said, lower lip aquiver. "You think
>as much as college professors, and college professors don't make any
>money, so if you keep on thinking, we won't have any money!"
>"That's a faulty syllogism," I said impatiently.
>She exploded in tears of rage and frustration, but I was in no mood
>to deal with the emotional drama.
>
>"I'm going to the library," I snarled as I stomped out the
>door. I headed for the library, in the mood for some Nietzsche.
>I roared into the parking lot with NPR on the radio and ran up to
>the big glass doors... They didn't open. The library was closed.
>
>To this day, I believe that a Higher Power was looking out for me
>that night. Leaning on the unfeeling glass, whimpering for Zarathustra,
a
>poster caught my eye.
>
>"Friend, is heavy thinking ruining your life?" it asked.
>
>You probably recognize that line.
>It comes from the standard Thinker's Anonymous poster.
>Which is why I am what I am today: a recovering thinker.
>I never miss a TA meeting. At each meeting we watch a
>non-educational video; last week it was "Porky's."
>Then we share experiences about how we avoided thinking since the
>last meeting.
>
>I still have my job, and things are a lot better at home.
>Life just seemed...easier, somehow, as soon as I stopped
>thinking. I think the road to recovery is nearly complete for me.
>> >>>
>Today, I registered to vote as a Democrat.
>