It has been said that idle hands are the devils playground. The meaning is simple enough. Those with time on their hands, nothing to do, nothing to motivate them, idle people are more likely t get up to mischief than those with a full book before them, and I dare say that its a true enough statement. How many idiots have stood before the beak in a court of law saying that they did such and such because they were bored. Children especially, in this day and age of entertain me!!! rather than years ago where we entertained ourselves.
Idle hands.
Want to know something worse?
An idle mind.
I dare say the two are inextricably linked, for the hands cannot perform unless the brain wills it. Idle hands cannot motivate themselves. That's where the devil comes in, sitting on your left shoulder dressed in snazzy red leotards, horns shiny, little goatee like in the cartoons.
No.
The devil's in the mind.
I have four kids, one away at school, the others much younger. I have a wife who through little fault of her own has become a burden in that she no longer cares what is good for herself. I have a job that I hate - I think I've mentioned that before - three puppies that are my emotional support, a book to write, a TV series to construct, an online business harnessing the talents of others as well as my own, a reading habit I would love to get worse and a few choice friends I like to spend some time with. Then there are the hobbies.
So, I hear you cry, perhaps from boredom or maybe some slight interest, when is your mind idle?
Pretty much most of the time.
I have been called an overthinker. Been called a lot of other things, some a lot worse than that, but I'll take the overthinker tag and display it proudly. Many times it has saved my life, but many more times it has come too late to save me from a terrible mistake.
There's been a lot of mistakes.
So, idle hands.
My kids - like many, many others - are addicted to their screens, like welded, man. If it ain't right there feeding the attention deficit monster behind their eyes, then scroll on until it is. When I was a kid I was told that I'd get square eyes if i watched the TV more than an hour or so a day. Go outside and play. I'll ask now, many years in the future from those days: have you ever tried to get a kid outside to do something other than grow roots on a lounge watching inane shit on their phone? Easier and more relaxing to pull teeth from a chicken.
My middle child, JP has though, taken up archery. Still mostly indoors but its broken - for a short time at least - that stranglehold electronics has on his consciousness. He craves a job, though I'm not really sure why. Some days its because of a small income, sometimes its for social interaction, sometimes for personal growth. All very, very good reasons. The big one now has a job, and a girlfriend, and a dog and a cat and responsibilities he may one day grow to actually live with and respect. My lil princess KattKattKatt has decided nursing is her calling, and a view to achieving it through the Army(!?!). The smallest one, well ... idle hands, idle mind.
Gives me another thing to work on.
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