The Prisoners

Fair warning – I’m not entirely sure where this one is going but the odds are good that I’ll be indulging my philosophical side. That is not to say that I consider myself a philosopher, nor do I have a burning interest in philosophy. Still, I do enjoy mulling things over and that’s a good thing because mulling is an inescapable part of my nature so, like it or not, mull I must. Maybe mullosopher would be more accurate but philosopher sounds better and my ego is quick to remind me that I’ve gotten more than enough feedback to suggest that my mullings pass the philosophical snicker test of many. Ergo lies the rub.

It’s natural to draw conclusions simply from what is obvious. Why not? It’s efficient and more often than not I’d bet that it’s sufficient too. The trick then is to recognize those situations that warrant a bit more scrutiny. That probably sounds simple and obvious too but I’d suggest that it probably isn’t. We take too much comfort in notions like the 80/20 rule which, in its original context, served only to narrow focus. It’s now applied like peanut butter absent of any context and, if it’s true at all, my guess is that the 20% is wrong 80% of the time. Whatever the numbers, I find more truth in the adage that it’s far easier to be certain than to be right. I suspect that the prisoners would agree.

What prisoners? By now I guess it’s obvious that garden variety thugs are off the table so the real question is, how metaphysical do we want to get? Aren’t the possibilities endless? To one degree or another we are all prisoners of our passions and aspirations as well as our flaws and limitations. Certainly that was more predictable than profound but it is none the less true. Be that as it may, it’s still a bit deeper than I’m willing to go, even on a dreary Sunday morning.

My prisoners are a bit more concrete. In the interest of accuracy, to say nothing of bad puns, I should say marble and not concrete. My prisoners are not mine at all but rather Michelangelo’s. His prisoners are a collection of statues that appear to be works in progress. Collected together they create the impression that Mike was far better at starting things than finishing them but that isn’t the case at all. Where we would see a block of marble Michelangelo saw the statue imprisoned within. He carved and chipped until the prisoner was released and not one chip more.

That’s pretty deep and not at all obvious. I’m not a real museum guy so let’s assume I just walked right past the unfinished sculpture exhibit. If I forever thought that Michelangelo was brilliant but a slacker would I be any better or worse off? Probably not, but I’m glad I didn’t just blow by the exhibit. It turned out to be a fond memory, good story and my favorite reminder that things aren’t always as they appear.