I was walking Fox the other morning and he saw a squirrel. He tried to chase the squirrel, so I put him on a tight leash. The squirrel ran by a tree and stared at Fox.
Fox stared back.
I stood there, slackened the leash, and wondered how long Fox would watch the squirrel.
They were locked in a staring contest for about two minutes. Neither blinked or moved. A jogger ran nearby, and Fox looked away. The squirrel kept staring. Finally, Fox and I left.
This got me wondering about the staring contests kids have, where they look at each other until someone blinks. Why do we play such a game? It is part of an animal instinct?
As I watched the game, I realized it wasn't a game. It was a case of predator and prey, and who ever blinked first would lose. If the predator turned a away, the prey could escape. If the prey loses it, then he's dinner.
This blog is about the little and big thoughts that pop into my head. I once read that when Flannery O'Connor walked into a bookstore, she would want to edit her published works with a red pen. In the digital world, we have the luxury of tweaking things up after we've hit the publish button. I can be a perfectionist/procrastinator, where waiting for the ideal means little gets done. Here I will share what is not--and likely will never be--perfect.
No comments:
Post a Comment