Grit

Grit as in grittiness. Granular.

So much of life is granular. The bits and pieces we see and work with every day, every hour and minute. The little things that add up to big in a hurry. We don’t always know this, the grittiness is that compelling and alluring of our attention.

Think about the country lane you may walk upon. Some of it is paved, much of it isn’t. small stones and pebbles along with sand. Gritty in texture. But the road appears solid and worthy of travel. It is hale and hardy until too much rain or snow turns it to soup and mush.

Much of life is like that, too. Isn’t it? I am not telling tales here. I am reflecting on fact and reality.

Grit allows us to appreciate the whole while dealing with the tiny piece of that whole. We see how it is put together and functions in our world. Grit also provides traction in slippery conditions. Like thought in confusing times, grit ideas provide the logical steps toward a broader understanding. This is how knowledge is built, assembled over time.

Dealing with the world higher up where grit does not appear, or readily so, much of life is muddied. We deal with the whole of complexity without the benefit of grit. That is for lesser people. The clerks, and worker bees that toil in the details. Not us. No, surely not us.

A chasm in reality slowly takes shape. The worker bees often understand the whole sooner and better than those who handle the whole without grit.

I appreciate grit. It has informed me my entire life. I know this now. I did not in earlier years. It took work, threat of danger, and toiling in the nitty gritty of life to learn lessons of value. That’s the grit I’m talking about.

We need to fully understand grit in our lives. It would be foolish to avoid it entirely.

June 3, 2024

 

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