Clint

In The Elemental

Pain occupies a unique place in human life. A thing to be avoided and a thing mythic in its nature to overcome. A thing to be nurtured in our hearts and that drives some of humanity's greatest accomplishments. The broken heart or an isolated soul suffers constantly.

In conversation with a pair of artist friends, welcomed into their studio and enjoying the muted light of a rainy afternoon, I mentioned that I held some pride at navigating a painful situation as best one could and one of my friends observed that an aversion to pain was often more dominant as we age. I am unsure that such is truly the case.

So many friends suffer the slings and arrows of age with dignity or resignation. And I know a good number who still retain a sense of adventure, particularly in romance, despite the possibility of pain. My own thought is that when some possibility presents itself one should simply go wholeheartedly and do the best you can. Make no mistake, the red flags are not a parade in your honor, crimson banners that wind and beckon. There was at one time a restaurant in Seattle called The Doghouse who featured an inspired drawing on their placemats of all the ways a person could wind up in the proverbial doghouse. An appreciable percentage were redheads.