a thought about Jack [2019]

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Is it? The topic states that all work and no play makes a person dull. I would like to begin my writing with my core idea that all work means staying focused on a particular task. No play refers to know physical activity long periods of downtime spent away from your task. Dullness is a societal construct. I believe that working with focus is far from dull. On the contrary the brightest minds work without distraction. I am firmly in favor of all work and no play when there are goals to be met.

The central idea of this essay is about staying focused. I think concentration is truly the one and only key to success or to new inventions and discoveries. I would like to bring to light something Stephen Fry the widely successful English actor comedian writer dislikes. He abhors sports and other diversions of the physical kind. Another relatable argument would be that during preparation time for a competitive exam or an international Olympiad or another assist assessment of bookish knowledge that plays an important role in academic future is, advisable to stay intent and immersed towards achieving whatever the creative gears are turning in one’s mind and work continuously building on momentum. If you hold a magnifying glass over a pile of dry leaves on the hottest day of the year with the sun shining overhead nothing will happen if you keep moving the magnifying glass. However, the instant you hold the glass still and focus the sun’s rays on a single leaf the whole pile of leaves erupts into flames. This is the beauty and simplicity of work focused work. If we are the magnifying glass, shouldn’t we try to bring together all are energy on a single leaf, a single point? When we do that fires kindle which can propel us and by extension the world forward.

You may be a dreamer, thinker, a philosopher or even a pure scientist. Whatever it maybe, you aren’t dull, are you? No, you simply need time for yourself to allow your mind to wander and come up with the next brilliant idea. I would like to bring to notice that Henry Thoreau, who was a flourishing American essayist greatly enjoyed and benefited from long walks amid nature. He claimed that it enhanced his thinking immensely. Also, if I touch upon the fact that Isaac Newton thinker and scientist without who modern physics would cease to exist was highly kinaesthetic. He fidgeted with his shirt buttons all the time. Newton’s kinaesthesia resonates highly with my thinking. I believe that time spent simply thinking is not dull but necessary and of profound importance. After all stars cannot shine without darkness. In the same way the brightest thought will not come to the forefront without peace and quiet in the mind. Also, if fidgeting subconsciously helps focus so be it. All of this constitutes all work and is interesting and unique, even to family and friends

With this I would like to say that focus and quietness is essential for the journey. I have seen a painting in a museum by Johannes Vermeer titled ‘the milkmaid’ and I love the beauty of mundane work done with such concentration. For all the reasons I have stated I firmly believe that all work and no play does not make Jack a dull boy. When Jack finishes the work, he set out to do the play that he would engage in would be that much sweeter. He would have stories to tell, experiences to narrate and there would be nothing dull about him. Oscar Wilde said, “a truth in art is that whose contradictory is also true” and as Niels Bohr also one said “profound truth is a statement whose opposite is also a profound truth’ let’s make a toast to all work and no play and no dullness.

[Teachers note: I couldn’t have agreed more. It is quite sad that not everyone will relate to the intense and deep understanding you have achieved. You are clearly a brilliant writer and more than that a profound think. Simply love your ability to articulate your thoughts so lucidly. God bless]