A massive shout-out to JosephEParker who has been gracing this blog every tuesday for a couple of weeks. Joseph is feeling a little bit under the weather. So, if you have his twitter handle(@josepheparker) or if he’s your friend on bbm or Facebook, give him a shoutout for me.<\/p>\n
—-<\/p>\n
It started out innocently enough. I began to think at parties now and then to loosen up. Inevitably though, one thought led to another, and soon I was more than just a social thinker.<\/p>\n
I began to think alone \u2013 \u201cto relax\u201d I told myself \u2013 but I knew it wasn\u2019t true. Thinking became more and more important to me, and finally I was thinking all the time.<\/p>\n
I began to think on the job. I knew that thinking and employment don\u2019t mix, but I couldn\u2019t stop myself.<\/p>\n
I began to avoid friends at lunchtime so I could read Sun Tzu and Machiavelli. I would return to the office dizzied and confused, asking, \u201cWhat is it exactly we are doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n
Things weren\u2019t going so great at home either. One evening I had turned off the TV and asked my wife about the meaning of life. She spent that night at her mother\u2019s.<\/p>\n
I soon had a reputation as a heavy thinker. One day the boss called me in. He said, \u201cJoseph, I like you, and it hurts me to say this, but your thinking has become a real problem. If you don\u2019t stop thinking on the job, you\u2019ll have to find another job.\u201d This gave me a lot to think about.<\/p>\n
I came home early after my conversation with the boss. \u201cHoney,\u201d I confessed, \u201cI\u2019ve been thinking\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know you\u2019ve been thinking,\u201d she said, \u201cand I want a divorce!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Honey, surely it\u2019s not that serious.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is serious,\u201d she said, lower lip aquiver. \u201cYou think as much as university professors, and university professors don\u2019t make any money, so if you keep on thinking we won\u2019t have any money!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a faulty syllogism,\u201d I said impatiently, and she began to cry. I\u2019d had enough. \u201cI\u2019m going to the library,\u201d I snarled as I stomped out the door.<\/p>\n
I headed for the library, in the mood for some Nietzsche, with RadioNigeria on the radio. I roared into the parking lot and ran up to the big glass doors\u2026 they didn\u2019t open. The library was closed.<\/p>\n
To this day, I believe that a Higher Power was looking out for me that night.<\/p>\n
As I sank to the ground clawing at the unfeeling glass, whimpering, a poster caught my eye. \u201cFriend, is heavy thinking ruining your life?\u201d it asked. You probably recognise that line. It comes from the standard Thinker\u2019s Anonymous poster.<\/p>\n
Which is why I am what I am today: a recovering thinker. I never miss a TA meeting. At each meeting we watch a non-educational video; last week it was \u201cTom & Jerry.\u201d Then we share experiences about how we avoided thinking since the last meeting.<\/p>\n
I still have my job, and things are a lot better at home. Life just seemed\u2026 easier, somehow, as soon as I stopped thinking!<\/p>\n
Joseph E. Parker is a project manager for an NGO in Nigeria.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A massive shout-out to JosephEParker who has been gracing this blog every tuesday for a couple of weeks. Joseph is feeling a little bit under the weather. So, if you have his twitter handle(@josepheparker) or if he’s your friend on bbm or Facebook, give him a shoutout for me. —- It started out innocently enough. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[302,171,303,177],"class_list":["post-1989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspirational","tag-heavy-thinking","tag-inspirational-2","tag-pressure","tag-short-story"],"yoast_head":"\n