Fives and Overthinking

Fives are the great thinkers among us…curious, observing, investigating. Think Jane Goodall studying her beloved chimpanzees, or Einstein pondering the mysteries of the cosmos. Under stress, however, Fives can become overwhelmed and retreat from participation in the world – drawing inward and becoming detached and secretive. We all have a bit of Five in us, our busy minds careening through the day. What if we didn’t have to figure everything out? Our minds are clearest and most powerful when they are quiet. What might you do today to cultivate this quiet in yourself? The poet, Gregory Bateson, was a British anthropologist, social scientist and linguist, and the husband of Margaret Mead. The photo is of "Circles in the Sand" in Bandon, Oregon.

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So there it is in words Precise And if you read between the lines You will find nothing there For that is the discipline I ask Not more, not less Not the world as it is Nor ought to be - Only the precision The skeleton of truth I do not dabble in emotion Hint at implications Evoke the ghosts of old forgotten creeds. All that is for the preacher The hypnotist, therapist and missionary They will come after me And use the little that I said To bait more traps For those who cannot bear The lonely Skeleton of Truth.

- The Manuscript, by Gregory Bateson

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