Self-Contained

(Have you ever considered that your physical shape is the result of an incredible magnitude of gas molecules bouncing against you and holding you in your usual mold of air?)


A younger version of myself poked through my dad's old bookcases, reading snippets and stories of Greek myth and history. Milo, I read, was a man of immense strength and size. He would entirely conceal a pomegranate in one fist and dare others to retrieve it. No matter how many pushed or pried at his fingers, not only did they never extract the pomegranate, but after all had given up, Milo would unroll his fist and reveal the pomegranate, not even bruised.

Whether pushing or pulling, he met strength with equal strength and held his ground precisely.


I found and read Heart of Darkness sometime during my high school years because it was a book that everyone spoke highly and mysteriously of. It may have been a bit above my level, but, especially when I left for college, I took the image with me of one man, left to his own devices, in an environment with none of his familiar external controls or pressures. Embedded in an unfamiliar (or lack of) external structure, how does one choose to conduct oneself?

Not only what is chosen, but how?


Recently, I found a comic book in the MLLL called Mouse Guard. In a Winter issue, the most senior guard is talking with the newest guard recruit. He describes two of their fellow guardsmice (I think the names are Saxon and Kenzie), a great pair since in handling situations, Saxon's aggressive and impulsive nature is balanced by Kenzie's more wise and reserved intellectual assessment. This is not ideal, says the Old Guard, -- Saxon lets himself go since he trusts that Kenzie will delay or correct him if he acts too rashly. And, Kenzie dwells and deliberates too reservedly because he knows that Saxon will spur him on.

They each depend on the other, but, the Old Guard recommends, be self-contained, and cultivate balanced aspects within yourself.