Health & Fitness
Sitting on a lawnchair astride a molehill overlooking the peneplain.
Seated on a lawnchair, the peneplain is, by definition, quite flat. Even when the lawnchair is on a molehill, the horizon is still far off, broken only by the scrub plants. It’s a quiet place, but still the slowly meandering stream can only be heard when almost on top of it.
The three approaching visitors could be viewed for quite a distance. Visitors to the peneplain are far and few between, so the curiosity was engaged early, and the question remained unanswered for a while as to whether these three were just passing through to other areas or whether the person in the lawnchair was the destination. For this reason, the person remained silent. No need to detain these folks unnecessarily, was the thought.
Closer they came until it became clear that the lawnchair on the molehill was their destination. The person on the lawnchair recognized them…they were universally recognized. No one knew their given names, but all knew them by nicknames, usually different ones.
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The person in the lawnchair knew them as Seeker, Amby, and Eggie. Like all truly good nicknames, he wasn’t quite sure he remembered the story of how they came to be. Usually, they traveled separately, as discussions could get a bit heated between them.
“Hello,” the person in the lawnchair called out once the trio had gotten within a comfortable hailing distance.
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“Greetings,” Eggie responded. He was tall and muscular, stylishly flocked, and not a hair out of its proper place, despite the trip across the plain. His stride was confident, his demeanor self assured. Rumor had it that he practiced these things often. “We’re here to convince you to move on from the plain.”
“Correction,” Seeker interjected, pulling himself up next to Eggie. He was about as tall, but the muscles had been replaced by a bit of a comfortable paunch. “These guys are here to convince you to move on. I just want you to be happy wherever you are. We’ve been arguing about this for days.”
“Arguing over me for days, eh?” The person in the lawnchair mused softly. “I’m not sure whether to be flattered or concerned.”
It was then that Amby strode up and joined the conversation. As was his want, he stood, one leg in front of the other, but shoulder width apart. His chest was slightly pushed out. Many had said that when Amby spoke to you, it was if he was looking past you to a future only he could see.
“Look, let’s face it. The plain has been good for you for a long time, no doubt about that…but beyond the horizon you see here is a larger world…a world that is just waiting for you.”
Seeker openly scoffed at Amby, “Yeah, look at that horizon. Looks like there’s dark clouds over there … and there.. and there, too,” he retorted, slowly painting the picture around the person in the lawn chair. “Do you see dark clouds here? I don’t. I see gray clouds, but no dark clouds. Looks like there might be rain and storms out there.”
Eggie rolled his eyes and sighed. It seemed clear that he’d heard this argument before. To the person in the lawn chair, it appeared almost to be a stylized, well-rehearsed play that the three in front of him were performing.
“Yes, my friend. The horizon looks dark now, but other times, it sure looks a lot brighter over there than this overcast plain. What does rain and sun bring? Flowers, trees, grass, plants,” Eggie pointed out. “Wouldn’t it be much more satisfying to live in an area of beauty than this scrubby planted plain?”
Seeker, as expected, did not seem to be in agreement with any of Eggie’s argument. To him, Eggie’s world was one of rose colored glasses, oblivious to the dangers that hid in the shades of that rouge hue.
“Storms bring danger,” Seeker said, unnerved.
“Storms also bring life and renewal. You’re in an area that supports you in the good times. You have a stream, you have some plants. But what happens if the stream starts to dry up or the plants die? Then you’re strolling around with a tin cup in your hand asking your friends if they can spare a dime.”
“That can happen anywhere,” Seeker complained.
“Yes, but if you’re in a more verdant place, then you’ve got a little bit more of a margin for error.”
Seeker was visibly agitated. He was absolutely convinced he was right, but then again, all three were convinced of their correctness. The difference was that Eggie and Amby seemed to be on the same side.
“Haven’t you ever wanted to know what was out there,” Amby began, his voice full of wonder…a clear contrast to the arguing before him. “Haven’t you had a desire to explore, to climb the mountains, swim in the ocean, stare at the sunset from a different viewpoint? Haven’t you ever said, `I can climb that, I can swim that,’?”
“I can fall off that, I can drown in that, I can be eaten by that wild animal . . . need I go on?” Seeker responded, despondently.
Amby was dialing up his rhetoric, seemingly oblivious to the counterpoints raised by Seeker. When he reached his full fervor, Amby could preach like the most convincing televangelist, but today he was holding back.
“There are hills to climb with your name on them. You may not know what is beyond them, but the future awaits you. “
Seeker growled in frustration. He was clearly annoyed with feeling like the only “voice of reason” in this discussion. Why couldn’t the other two see this as clearly as did he?
“That’s the point, man,” Seeker intoned. “You don’t know what’s on the other side of the hill. All you know is that there’s something that stands just as much chance of being bad on the other side. You know what you have here. Maybe it’s not exciting enough for `Mister Visionary’ here or flashy enough for `Mister Extravagance” there, but it’s what you know, it’s safe, and it’s all yours.”
Eggie snorted, “Yeah, it’s all yours. . . because. . . no. . . one. . . wants. . . it. It’s a mediocre plain in the middle of nowhere with little hope of ever being anything beyond a mediocre plain in the middle of nowhere. I know you. You’ve got a lot more in you than just a mediocre plain in the middle of nowhere.”
Eggie paused, wondering if he had gone too far, or perhaps not quite far enough. There is often a fine line between spurring to action and causing someone to dig in their heels…and he wasn’t quite sure which on which side of the line he was standing.
“The hills and valleys are calling you. They’re saying that they need to be explored,” Amby explained patiently, his eyes again fixed somewhere in the distant horizon that only he could see.
“The hills…the hills. Why don’t you just name one of them `Solsbury Hill’ and break out the Peter Gabriel songs while you’re at it,” Seeker replied cynically. “Might be the only way your idea would have merit. You’ve got the plain. Maybe as Eggie says, they’re not exciting and the future here isn’t filled with fireworks and cotton candy machines, but this is a safe place, away from things that can go bad.”
The way the three men almost immediately rebutted the attacks of the others made it clear that they’d had this discussion before, perhaps many times. Perhaps the argument would be won by the first person who came up with an idea that the others had not considered?
“Don’t you remember five years ago, when everything went to crap?” Eggie responded. “How safe was it then? A lot seemed to go bad, and only through the help of others did you make it through that time. You’ve thanked them often, but wouldn’t the best thanks be to put yourself into a better situation, one where you could be the one giving help instead of receiving it?”
Eggie again was concerned about where the line was in relation to himself. He appeared oddly uncomfortable, as if wondering if he was dooming his own argument through being a bit rambunctious.
Seeker was clearly annoyed. “Why don’t you guys see this plain for what it is? Perfectly acceptable, except for in the rare outlier of times.”
Again, with nary more than enough time to take a breath, Amby launched into a refutation of Seeker’s statement. Unlike before, he dialed the theatrics down quite a bit.
“Acceptable doesn’t cut it, buddy. You’ve got to strive for excellence and to be better, “Amby responded.
“Why settle for acceptable? Acceptable is just like being average…the best of the lousiest and the lousiest of the best,” Eggie pleaded.
Seeker threw his hands up and looked at the sky as if to implore wisdom from above, “One of the guys is pulling out Peter Gabriel references to make his case and the other one Paul Harvey. Too bad there’s not a third one on your side, maybe he could channel some Stephen King.”
There was a pause. It was almost as if this were the point in their previous discussions and debates where each had thrown out their points and counterpoints and had very little left in their verbal arsenals.
“Gentlemen,” the person on the lawnchair began. “This has been a truly entertaining discussion in which I was almost an active participant. Especially entertaining it was since it was about me, in front of me, and largely, again, without me.”
The three men appeared somewhat taken aback. Could the person in the lawnchair not see that they had his best interest in mind? Each was about to rebut, but a hand was held up.
“I am going to, for now, remain here in the lawnchair on the peneplain.”
To this news, Seeker gave the smallest of celebrations while Eggie and Amby grimaced.
“However,” the person in the lawnchair continued, “It is because when I look around, I do not see that it is yet the right time to move on from this spot. It is not, Seeker, because of any perceived or actual safety from danger or hazard. “
Seeker tempered the mild celebration, knowing that his argument had only partially won the day. The other two appeared to be questioning where this monologue was heading.
“Eggie, Eggie, Eggie… as always, you play your hand toward me having a bit too high of self importance. While this is not the gleaming tower or the verdant plain, it is still a worthwhile place. Both you and Amby are correct in that it should not likely be a place where one remains longer than one should, there is a time and place for it. As I said to Seeker, my time here is now, but it will not be forever.”
Eggie appeared somewhat chastised by the remarks. Seeker looked smug, as if he had won a side argument between the two.
“Amby, my adventurous friend. You’re always on the lookout for a rise in rank, power, or status and assume us all to be of that same mindset. When trying to persuade, it’s always important to know the other’s desired end game and how your argument can lead them there. To you, the peneplain is lowly, and like Eggie, you seem to err toward me having a bit too high of self importance. To me, the peneplain is a currently a place for rest and reflection…a place where perhaps the next steps can be plotted out and planned.”
The three men looked uncomfortable with how their “perfectly planned” arguments had been dismissed. Eggie and Amby seemed more discouraged than Seeker, who had at least somewhat maintained the status quo.
“Sunset is going to happen soon, boys. It usually leaves a very majestic palate of colors as it dips below the horizon, even on a gray day like today. You’re welcome to join me, as long as you realize the topic you came to talk about is over.”
The three men each looked at each other unenthusiastically.
“With the sun going down soon, I think I’d like to be closer to my home than I am right now,” Seeker responded nervously.
“Across the way is a beautiful lake. When the last rays of sun reflect off the surface, it is a gorgeous thing,” Amby replied. “It makes you almost unable to wait until tomorrow to see what the next day will bring. I will watch the sunset from there.”
“Very nice,” the person in the lawnchair acknowledged. “Someday, I shall like to see that. But not tonight. Eggie? How about you?”
“If I hurry, I can get back to my condo in time to see it. I’m up a little higher, so I can see it a little later and see some things you can’t from the peneplain.”
It was the exact answers that the person in the lawnchair had expected. They had all played the hands that they knew so well to the end. They departed as they had arrived…together.
“Have a good evening, gentlemen,” the person in the lawnchair called out as they slowly wandered out of sight, turning the chair slightly to see the sun sliding down toward its date with the horizon.