The Dreamer

I figured out my problem.  I’m a dreamer.  This is not a new revelation to me, but I’ve been giving it some thought recently.  I guess I’m the classic “left brainer,” if that old left brain/right brain distinction still has any currency.   The things I enjoy include literature, music, history, political science, social psychology, primatology, and philosophy.  Put me in an empty room and my imagination will take off.  I’m not merely a “dreamer,” which is to say a person who reflects on the big questions of life, but I’m a goal-oriented individual.  So over the years I’ve racked up a collection of mediocre skills and talents in my pursuit of the ethereal—songs and stories galore.  I only wish I had a decent mind that could have put these things to some use!  I suppose the challenge for me in this life is to push aside my dreaming when circumstances dictate and take on a more assertive or authoritative persona.  Sometimes the challenges are fun and rewarding; at other times they’re burdensome and vexing.

Take this weekend, for instance.  As acting company commander, I had to break up a fight in the making between a second lieutenant platoon leader and the acting first sergeant.  The former is an ex-Marine “type A”, while the latter thinks he runs the place.  Anyway, I spoke with each of them one-on-one and, with a combination of diplomatic skills and firm resolve, I told them how they could have handled things differently.  Whether I sufficiently resolved the situation is an open question.  While this was going on, though, I’m thinking to myself: What the eff?  What am I doing here?  Still, getting my hands dirty in the trenches once in a while provides a nice counterbalance to my sedentary, daydreaming lifestyle.