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I really like it Anne- and have some other thoughts as well.

The whole valorization of change or of stability continues to be a non-starter for me. Change for change's sake leaves one no sense of safety- I'm reminded of how it must feel to have Alzheimer's- constant change and newness because nothing is remembered to be able to provide stability and safety. On the other hand, stability is just a bit too close to rigidity and close-mindedness.

So I like your aphorism since it gets away from both of those (though "floors" give a sort of immmovable feel- but I can't think of anything better). I also like that you stayed away from habits and character. There used to be a Sunday school song that went something like "Be careful little children what you hear" and repeated that phrase with see and think as well, with each verse ending in something that implied going to hell if you weren't careful enough. It used to scare me to death thinking some thought might come into my head that would mean I was damned for all eternity (the Methodist training of the old EUB's was brutal).

Yet my favorite times are when my thoughts are just sort of flying in unplanned directions, often productive ones. That can be a habit- as Wil implies- a habit of process (and making time in one's life to allow that process to happen), but habits can also be limiting. Habits tend to become rote, and at that point, serendipity and emergence seem less likely.

The whole character thing is an issue for me. Character also implies a solidity, if not stolidity. It seems set, as if once you got it, you're never going to be questioned (nor question yourself?) again. Sad.

And yet, most grad speeches say something positive about character. Indeed, I was at Hershey Park last week and a whole class of high school seniors were all wearing the same turquoise shirt announcing "Character is what you do when no one is looking". Yet when we think of our children, we want them to believe in honesty and social justice and doing good (at least I do) and so what is that other than wanting them to have inherent qualities that lead them in those directions (Character?!?).

Anyway, my musings, for what they are worth, do not change the fact that I like your new aphorism, particularly the 'attending" part.

Judie