Conquering Pace

Morning Thoughts #281

Symmetry of self, of traits, of place: a plea. Please return.

Ambition without patience is growth by tumor. The best conquests come to you organically, within reach of a strength honed beforehand, and are then born flexing, another gain of self.

Caesar in a rush is capable of growing only a lopsided empire. He presents as a lopsided figure. This, in time, impedes movement. That which began as a rush cannot sustain even a more modest yet still consistent pace. Real conquerors and real marathon runners are brethren in this. They must learn to pace. To conquer your life is no wind sprint.

The asymmetry of impatience is a necessary corollary. It is growth, a growth spill rather than a growth spurt.

There are false destinations toward which we unnaturally begin to slow before our time. For the sake of our ego, we lie to ourselves, we gently fool ourselves, convincing ourselves that this slowing is due to an impending arrival, one at which we claim we aimed all along. Thus we begin to perceive of pit stops as potential homes when, in fact, our fate is still a long way off.

Many of our previous self-additions, traits, even memories, gains in identity, will need to be lopped off to regain speed again, to maximize our aerodynamic potential.

Which ones need to go? The inorganic, rushed upon and greedily consumed into the self. What has become too much a part of me, sacrificing my symmetry? The foreign I.