Analyze This!

“Closer to Fine”

“...I went to the doctor, I went to the mountain,

I looked to the children, I drank from the fountain,

There's more than one answer to these questions

Pointing me in a crooked direction

The less I seek my source for some definitive,

The closer I am to fine...”

                              Indigo Girls—Amy Ray and Emily Sailers

I went to an Indigo Girls concert last night. They were backed up by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, which they deemed, “the best back-up band we've ever had.” It would have been a good concert if I had been able to hear it, but the crowd was uber-excited and knew all the lyrics to all their songs so I mostly heard the folks around me singing. I especially liked this particular lyric to 'Closer to Fine'. It spoke to the seeker in me.

Some of us are born to pry open the lid and look inside, to stir the tea leaves, to dissect every event and conversation like that worm we did in high school biology class. Some of us are simply going to analyze and ask questions until we're satisfied with the answers. And sometimes that's a good thing. There have to be seekers in this world—the ones who 'go to the mountain' and 'drink from the fountain'. We find our way by a crooked path...but we usually find our way.

There are others who are satisfied to walk a straight road, or maybe a country lane and allow the road ahead to be a mystery. I often envy them because their world is less complicated, less fraught with unpleasant possibilities. The answers for the non-seekers are clearer, not ambiguous in the least. They tend to decide early what is black and what is white and stick with it throughout life. And, as long as nothing 'gray' happens, they are seriously 'close to fine'.

“There's more than one answer to these questions...” There's room for all kinds of people, the complicated seeker and the unassuming meander-er. But, here's the rub—sometimes there are NO answers, at least no good answers. That's when life gets uncomfortable for us analytical types; we dig in and redouble our efforts. We lay awake nights and burn the midnight oil in searching. But the non-seekers say, 'oh-well, there's always Tara', and off they go, cool as a cucumber. We hate them for their ease of transition.

If you can choose to be born a non-seeker, go for it. You'll be closer to fine. If you're cursed with the probing gene, welcome to the very crooked road.

                                              In the spirit,

                                              Jane