June 16, 2010

Master This


Somewhere within these posts is a line about how the master plays the role of servant so convincingly. Then in another piece there's a story about how I'm sweeping the floor, like a servant. So the implication is that I'm calling myself a master, in a clever sort of way.

Well, stay skeptical. That's the only advice I like to give. That's the highest function of the human mind: Treating everyone that talks a good game as a con man until the evidence says otherwise, and as of now you have no hard evidence, so stay skeptical.

But I really am a master. I can sweep floors like nobody. Everywhere I go I see floors and the sweeping that's been done or should be done or could be done better or differently.

If we spend enough time doing something, we inevitably become experts, masters. 

When I was a youngster and swept the basement floor of my childhood home, I knew where to hide the dust bunnies from my father's inspection. I knew where to push the dirt under the furnace if I didn't feel like picking it up.

And now as an adult, that knowledge has matured within me and I can tell you in all honesty I am an expert at what it is I have done my entire life. I know where all my dirt piles are kept.

31 comments:

Lisa said...

Didn't somebody say every master was once a disaster.

Bernie said...

Don't worry about the piles, just enjoy being a Master.....whatever that may mean.....LOL
Have a great day....:-) Hugs

Brian Miller said...

but are you willing to let others pick through your dirt...hmm....

Anne Gallagher said...

In the Queen's court there is the Master of the Horses, the Master of the Pantry, the Master of the Dishes, etc. ad infinitum...

You may now bear the title of Master of the Dirt Piles.

Unspoken said...

Ed, this was good. Don't we all have stuff we want to push away and not look at? I liked the parallel you did with mastering something we have always done.

So now that you are done with the love letters, are you taking your blog down a more philosophical road? Curious.

Michelle DeRusha said...

I'm with you, Ed. I know where my dirt piles lay, too -- and more are created every day.

Kay said...

I figure it all to be a metaphor, I would never share my skeletons... they are mine, piled neatly and high

so you need not bother, if you want to hide your piles (perhaps pulling them out on a rainy day and admiring them)

it's okay, Master.

Ed Pilolla said...

ocean girl, well, there's hope then.

bernie, enjoying is key, yeah.

brian miller, an excellent question. i think i'm willing. i say my life is an open book. but once in a while someone still fires a question at me that makes me hitch. i do me best. all i kin do.

piedmont writer, i love it! master of the dirt piles. i'll take it. i can't accurately be called master of my domain.

she writes, i don't know where i'm headed. feels like a break between projects, so maybe this is a mini-project, or not at all. trying -- really trying -- not to define stuff too quickly, in life in general. thanks for asking.

graceful, we all got 'em. might as well know as much about their location and qualities as possible. sometimes i think it's our dirt piles that define us, whether we like it or not.

kay, i must say, i like that imagery tons. piled neatly and high. so you've spent that sort of effort in that area of your life. pull them out and admire them on a rainy day. i hope you get to share them with someone who can appreciate the scene. thoroughly evolved.

Duane Scott said...

You know, you are a very talented writer! You just earned yourself another reader. Really love this!

Ed Pilolla said...

duane scott, thanks so much!

Anonymous said...

You are so randomly perfect in every way! We all know where our dirt piles are... I can sweep a mean floor myself! Love this...

Tori said...

I sweep and I sweep, but I have yet to find a great hiding place for my dirt. It seems the more I sweep, the more it coats me like a second skin. Yeah, I'm not fooling anyone. :)

Wine and Words said...

Let those dust bunnies loose. Unsecret them. Draw a map to their hideaway...treasure maps to me. I like the dirt. You clean too much Ed. Let me play you a song of time that flies, and life that does not wait. Grab the broom...dance across the floor as if a lover...dust flying in the swirl of your delight.

Maude Lynn said...

I feed my dust bunnies.

LadyFi said...

It's important for us to know and be able to manage our own personal dirt piles.

Anonymous said...

Master of the Dirt Piles, pleased to get to know you better! I've forgotten where my dirt piles are but they do show up in the most unexpected places, and inappropiate times.

Ed Pilolla said...

love, evolution and resilience, we sweep a mean floor you and me, and yet we still have these dust bunnies. that's the thing of it.

tori, my hiding places don't last for long, no matter how i'd like to believe otherwise.

wine and words, i adore this perspective, as usual from you. cherish the imperfections, eh? show them off. bask in my burn marks, you say. maybe i like the dirt too. maybe i'm just looking for permission to live in openly.

mama zen, dust on protein:) too scary to think about just yet. one thing at a time for me.

lady fi, been working my whole life just located all the hidden dirt piles. and now the work just begins, i guess.

lynn, my dirt piles make their appearance, as you say, at the least desired time. as it is meant to be. maybe it is time to cover my face in the dirt like a warrior, which i am not:)

Su-sieee! Mac said...

I was once told never to trust anyone, even him, even myself. I would've thought he was jaded except he had much faith in the love of God.... What I've noticed lately is that the more I sweep the kitchen floor, the more it has to be swept.

Anonymous said...

Isn't metaphor just the most absolutely perfect way to look at everything? Hey, Brother Fish, I love when I can feel your loosening heart in your writing. Like now. Your book might be "done" (whatever that means), but you just keep lovin' up the Universe. Thanks on behalf of The All!

Earthianne said...

Love this piece, love the metaphor u used. With u I can't be skeptical for long.

Ed Pilolla said...

su-sieee! mac, utterly fascinating. the more i sweep, the more it needs sweeping. okay, this little nugget needs to metabolize within me. like wine and words says, just play in the dirt. big insights here in the comments.

rachelsnyder, this ol' heart of mine? this block of stone i try to pass off as a beating muscle? metaphor seems the only way possible to talk about some things. so the age of pisces is closing on us. it's fun representin' wich yew.

earthianne, shucks, so sweet. thanks so much.

IT'S MY LIFE: said...

Hi, I think we all have things we want to push away to one side and forget about. I enjoyed your post very much.

Thanks for your visit and lovely comment, very much appreciated.
Good to see a new face.

Enjoy your week-end;

Yvonne.

DEZMOND said...

I actually don't believe in being skeptical. Doubt and lack of trust create negative energy and are preventing creativity. I believe in trusting and believing everything's good until evidences prove otherwise. That's the only way to save innocent energy, positivity, love and faith which are the foundations of everything.

Lydia Kang said...

Great post. I think I've become a mini-expert on a lot of tiny subjects. But it's true--you do it long enough, and it's there for you.
As for my dirt piles? I got plenty. But only a few know where I keep them.

Ed Pilolla said...

it's my life, thanks for visiting.

dezmond, again, love your perspective. love your energy. and i agree, and somehow i also believe in the power and benefit of skepticism too. there's so much institutional and even personal propaganda out there, mostly under the banner or concept of marketing, finding authenticity is a process, or has been for me. but the energy you're talking about will attract authenticity to you. i get that. i dig it. maybe i'll always be a journalist at heart, eyeballing everyone's resume with a degree of doubt until i check it out:)

lydia kang, thanks for visiting. you're probably more than a mini-expert on a lot of things. your modesty comes through.

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

very enjoyable writing!

Anonymous said...

I know that I'll be coming back for more!!! Loved it.
:)

Ed Pilolla said...

jingle, thanks!

buttercup600, cool! and me to your place. :)

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