On Being Middleful

The middle. An unfortunate moniker for a soldier with such potential. The middle, defined solely as being equidistant from extremes, is a victim of its on success. Over time, the term the middle has more closely aligned itself with the brothers of length versus the sisters of mass. Let me explain. In general, When we think of the middle we presume its orientation somewhere between the beginning and the middle - hence the expressions “the middle child” and “stuck in the middle”.

Truth be told, the middle is far more an indicator of mass, and more importantly of momentum, than anything else - especially when applied to circumstances of life.

Consider, is anything ever the measure of half of its length when compared to life. Are you half the person you will be at 13 as when you are 26. According to most, men are still 13 at 25 and women are something beyond that. Perhaps that’s conversely true as well,, but regardless, years are no measure for our lives.

In fact, the “middle” in life is adulthood - guarded by the extremes of infancy and old age (an ironic syllable for infancy itself). It is our rush (“act your age”) to the middle or our retreat (“will you just grow up”) that more naturally defines our position - GPSed by the norms of both our parents and peers.

Indeed, today I find myself perplexed and intrigued by the middle. Pursuit of the middle embodies most of our central beliefs - was it coincidence the Buddha guided us to the way of the middle or that Frost wandered the path less chosen? Is not the modern definition of diplomacy moderation, restraint - the middle?

In truth the middle is the dance of the ballerina, transplanted atop the head of a pin. No more magnificent is her balance, regardless of topology, is our own fight with this balance in life. They say when you fear heights and find yourself in positions of altitude, “don’t look down”.

Which brings me to my notion of middleful. Surely it is a term you won’t find in the dictionary, but naturally thy does not preclude you from its nature of influence.

Middlefullness is the proclivity of a system to pursue equilibrium. It is our nature to pursue the middle. This may strike you as odd, considering human nature pushes us to survive and capitalism pushes us to win. Truthfully, most people find life at the extreme quite difficult to maintain - not because of finances, influence, or willingness but instead to the natural inclination to “second-guess” our achievements and the “markets” inclination to flow.

Middlefullness, I believe, is what many pursue in life, and fortunately, many are able to achieve in their own pursuits and rationalizations.

You have received this short tirade on the matter of middlefullness becauseI find myself grabbing for the comfort of the buoy that floats between destiny and despair. You read this as I travel a voyage lined with thorns where I once say honeysuckles. I don’t deny their existence (the glass is half full) nor do I deny the prickly passage to the other side (the glass is half empty).

You receive this message because tomorrow was never more certain than yesterday and only now was more aware of that truth. You receive this because an infant sees all but knows not what to do with it.

You receive this because yesterday never was tomorrow - but we’re still here today.