[I’d like to start out by saying I sincerely apologize in advance for any confusion on the part of the reader of this piece. That said, enjoy.]
The dog was defecating not too far from the warning track of centerfield.
As soon as he finished his business he looked over his shoulder and saw a furry beast in the distance.
Immediately, if not sooner, he was atop it and chomping away.
His master, thoroughly vexed at this site of survival of the fittest in the middle of suburbia ran after his dog dead smack in the middle of the confusion.
He approached the dog and commanded him to leave his prey alone.
The dog obediently went back inside the house.
The man now realized it was a possum that had been felled by his dutifully protective best friend.
He went to the garage for a bag and a shovel to dispose of the furry critter with the long tail.
When he tried to scoop up the possum he experienced some difficulty placing it on the spade’s surface. He ended up unkindly and unintentionally flipping the possum over a few times like a pancake on the griddle before situating it for easy lifting and disposal into the large shopping bag he had procured for his nighttime project.
The possum was listless and safely tucked inside the bag.
He transported it to the garbage for disposal.
He observed the critter for a bit before taking a couple of already full smaller bags of dog scat and beginning to try and place them in the larger bag that contained the critter dispatched by the dog.
Suddenly, and confusingly so to him, the possum beat feet out of the bag.
All he could do was pound the blood-streaked shovel on the paver stones and watch as the possum crawled as quickly as a possum can the length of the back area of the yard before making a right and heading into the darkness that lay beyond center field.
…
Striving for everything to make sense to us as we go through life is at best draining and at worst death accelerating.
I recommend we do just the opposite or at least try to not be too concerned that we are deficient intellect-wise should we become confused over a certain subject, topic or experience (that requires some research before we are able to decide what to do).
It should not embarrass us or make us feel small when we fail to grasp a solution that seems obvious to others.
What matters more is to develop the ability to hit the pause button before racing impulsively to action that may not be in our best interests.
I have read that we should fail a lot in order to be successful.
However, I feel that kind of thinking may be a bit extreme.
Personally, I have failed some but am glad I overcame those failures by persisting until I succeeded–the old if at first, you don’t succeed, try, try again motto if you will.
Was I confused during those initial failures?
Indubitably.
In most cases, and if you are able to overcome whatever confusion that may exist during your initial attempts at mastering something, I would suggest you will ultimately be able to use your past confusion to your advantage.
Some would argue if you are confused a lot you are of less than uber intellect.
I would counter-argue that this is not necessarily so.
By learning from whatever confusion it is you experience, you could be better able to manage situations and advise people as a result.
An example might be a series of spreadsheets that appear confusing and require simplification in order for a particular workflow to be realized.
Or another example may be exactly what is happening right now.
So sorry for the confusion.