boring treatise on the law of fives

yesterday, i calculated that every bad habit i indulge, i balance with two good habits. i consider this a good ratio, and it protects me from acquiring new bad habits, as i am too lazy to expand my repertoire of good habits. speaking of which, it is unclear into which column 'laziness' falls -- though I consider it a good habit.

this calculation was predicated on me being a runner, which has not been the case for the last several months, but which is now once again true. in preparation for my travel during thanksgiving, i am taking up running again, since it's easier to bring shoes than a bike onto a plane.

the running brought me back in touch with another good habit of mine: meditation. it is something i do only while running, it doesn't happen on the bike, and certainly not while climbing and drinking.

i reflected today upon my mohawk. a month or two ago i was asked a curious question by a stranger: does my mohawk represent anything symbolically, or is it just fashion?

it's never been fashion, per se. originally it was a joke, then i realized its practicality, enjoyed its airflow, and eventually liked the way it looked -- which is similar to fashion but not quite the same thing.

The esoteric interpretation of the indisuputible Law Of Fives states, clearly: go looking for meaning, and you will find it.

So during my short re-introduction to running, I went looking for meaning in my mohawk, and found it, easily.

The mohawk symbolizes my supposed devotion to the essentials of my life, the notion that -- should i deem it necessary -- i could willfully remove everything but what i need: like robert de niro in heat when the heat was around the corner. all the bad habits, most of the good, they could all be shorn away, leaving only a small portion of me, the essential me, condensed into itself and surrounded by memories of what used to be but proved, after all, to be inessential. it is a monk's haircut, representing a core of spirit surrounded by crufty amusements and time-wasting distractions.

in other (slightly variant) words, the hair in the middle represents me, and the stubbly bits all around it represent Pink Floyd's "The Wall".

Anyhow, that's the theory, and it'll only be borne out if push comes to shove, whatever that means. but it's always a comforting fantasy to think i could do it, and a reminder of the time when I actually did do it.