Thank Goodness It's Monday #428

WHO’S ON FIRST?

ZEN WISDOM WE CAN EASILY RELATE TO

“Good pitching will always stop good hitting. And vice versa.”
 

That classic bit of Casey Stengel’s wisdom was repeated in a recent conversation about the 2013 Major League Baseball pennant races (and the floundering performance of the Yankees).

And it prompted a bystander observe –

 

“Very Zen.”

 

Now, I’m no authority. Let’s be up front about that. Not about things Zen or baseball.

But that perhaps-snarky comment in passing felt like it made some sense although I’m not sure that, in Zen mindset, you can maintain that things make sense precisely. (As I said, I’m no Zen authority.) 

TGIM CHALLENGE: So I began poking around for my entertainment and education to see if I could come up with additional semi-contemporary western “wisdom” that seemed to fill the bill and enlighten me and -- since I’m sharing via this message – you in some way.

When I expressed that idea aloud to the gathered sports fans they, of course, maintained that there were many Stengel-isms that probably qualified. And, of course they’re right. But you can check those out for yourself.

And Casey leads invariably to Yogi. Not a Far Eastern mystical yogi, of course, but our own baseball-centric Jersey neighbor, master of the mangled phrase, Yogi Berra.

Here’s a Yogi-ism that feels particularly right: “How can you think and hit at the same time?” 

Something Zen-like lies in that utterance, don’t you think?

So let’s quickly and very broadly sketch out an operating definition of Zen for our purposes, and then I’ll share some of the Western wisdom I’ve come across in my brief and peripatetic search for this unique way of looking at the world and our place in it.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: How about this non-sectarian premise: A Zen mindset is grounded in the idea and ideal that asserts that enlightenment can be attained through meditation, self-contemplation and intuition, rather than through formalized and prescribed scripture.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: How about the “enlightenment” inherent in these non-sectarian insights:

►“Computers are useless. They only give you answers.” Pablo Picasso said that.

►On her deathbed Picasso patron and novelist/poet Gertrude Stein asked: “What is the answer?” No answer came. She laughed and said, “In that case what is the question?” Then she died.

► “There is nothing either good or bad but that thinking makes it so.” Shakespeare gives that line to Prince Hamlet in Act 2, Scene 2 of the eponymous play.

► “Must it be? It must be!” Beethoven wrote that (in German) under the introductory slow chords in the last movement of the String Quartet #16 – the last major work he wrote. The whole movement is headed “Der schwer gefaßte Entschluß” ("The Difficult Decision"). 

► “We are here and it is now. Further than that is moonshine.” Journalist, critic and notorious curmudgeon H. L. Mencken made that pronouncement.

► “No ideas but in things.” Poet, MD and Jersey Boy William Carlos Williams said that.

► “I believe a work of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars.” Poet and buried-in-New Jersey Boy Walt Whitman said that.

► “see without looking, hear without listening, breathe without asking.” Poet W.H. Auden wrote that in For The Time Being, a long poem written during the dark times of World War II.

► “He did each single thing as if he did nothing else.” Charles Dickens shares that description in the novel Dombey and Son. 

►1. Out of clutter, find simplicity.

2. From discord, find harmony.

3. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

These so-called “Three Rules of Work” are widely attributed to Albert Einstein (although I can’t find an original citation)

► “When making your choice in life, do not neglect to live.” Dictionary creator Samuel Johnson said that.

► “Life is what happens to you while you’re making other plans.” John Lennon famously used that line in his posthumously released song “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)”.

► “Ah but I was so much older then; I’m younger than that now.” Bob Dylan sang that refrain in his song “My Back Pages” on his 1964 album Another Side of Bob Dylan.

TGIM TAKEAWAY: I’ve got more, but that’s nearly enough for now. 

Let’s wrap this TGIM up with a return to our –

Baseball starting point. While we were light-heartedly sharing ideas about the Zen/baseball confluence, the observation was made, “You know, the Abbot and Costello classic ‘Who’s On First’ has a Zen-like riff to it.”

 

I kinda agree. To help get you remembering here’s a bit of how it goes in one version:

On June 26, 1992, the city of Paterson, NJ
—in conjunction with the
Lou Costello Memorial Association—
erected this "Lou's On First" statue.

Costello: You gonna be the coach … ?

Abbott: Yes.

Costello: And you don't know the fellows' names?

Abbott: Well I should.

Costello: Well then who's on first?

Abbott: Yes.

Costello: I mean the fellow's name.

Abbott: Who.

Costello: The guy on first.

Abbott: Who.

Costello: The first baseman.

Abbott: Who.

Costello: The guy playing...

Abbott: Who is on first!

Costello: I'm asking YOU who's on first.

Abbott: That's the man's name.

Costello: That's who's name?

Abbott: Yes.

Costello: Well go ahead and tell me.

Abbott: That's it.

Costello: That's who?

Abbott: Yes.

You can also take about 8 minutes to see the complete version of it from the 1953 “Actor’s Home” television episode, here: Abbott & Costello Who'sOn First. (The heart of the routine starts about a minute in.)

Then consider this: In my quote gathering I came across the following dialogue, central to Zen studies -- 

“I am going to pose a question,” King Milinda said to Venerable Nagasena.  “Can you answer?”

Nagasena said, “Please ask your question.”

The king said, “I have already asked.”

Nagasena said, “I have already answered.”

The king said, “What did you answer?”

Nagasena said, “What did you ask?”

The king said, “I asked nothing.”

Nagasena said, “I answered nothing.” 

Oh. One way or another, hoping to hear the sound of your one hand clapping out there in the stands. 

Enjoy pondering. Chopping wood and carrying water in the meanwhile. 

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373

tgimguy@gmail.com 

P.S.  “I’m astounded by people who want to ‘know’ the universe when it’s hard enough to find your way around Chinatown.” Woody Allen, perhaps profoundly, said that.