With everyone on the planet dealing with Covid-19, it is a definite time of chaos.
In my own circumstance, it has resulted thus far in a need to adopt and develop new strategies for teaching, and I am working diligently to figure out how to best proceed in a way that is as fair and as equivalent for my students. This immediate need for change is of course stressful. It is mildly interesting how many of my pipe smoking behaviors arise innately without any conscious thought as I go about my work to figure out my changes in teaching. I have absent-mindedly and reflexively reached into the pocket of my sport coat to rummage for my pipe so many times in the last 36 hours to only remember it is not there. The pipe has always been a great companion in both happy and harsh times to me, I have known that. But it is interesting to me how ingrained a behavioral mindset I have with pipe smoking to function when there is stress. It is a sort of “fixed-action-pattern” apparently for me, which is a bio behavioral construct I often talk about but did not recognize in myself.
Back to working though changes and adaptations for me, now, however.
PipeTobacco
............................................ ............................................ A blog devoted to the ramblings of a small town, middle aged college professor as he experiences life and all its strange variances.
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Friday, March 13, 2020
3 comments:
I appreciate all forms of comments on my writings. I find that I miss the sponteneity of coming to read them here when they were unmoderated. I believe I wrote less due to the moderation. I have decided to adopt limited moderation. Hopefully the prior problems with unfettered comments will not arise again. Please feel free to comment as you wish about the essays I write. I will maintain those comments that offer kind-hearted and gentle opinion... be it positive or negative. The opinions of your comments will, of course, need to have relevance to the post as well.
Would you feel more at ease with an un-filled/un-lit pipe in your pocket?
ReplyDeleteSome time ago, I heard a quip that I liked very much: "A pipe is half furnace, and half furniture." If your pipe cannot or should not be a furnace at the moment, might it still be useful furniture to keep around, to keep you comfortable while you plan?
In my absent minded approach today, I think I was really more that wanting a pipe to hold onto (sometimes that is what I do want), I instead was actually missing more the actual pipe tobacco itself. There is a beautifully rich component of pipe tobacco that can feel very soothing, and I think that is what I kept wanting to experience during the stress.
DeletePipeTobacco
It is interesting to see how ingrained that behavior is.
ReplyDelete