Oh my, but I do love a good sturdy paper clip, the bigger the better. Having thought about this phenomenon at some length, I have come to believe that a really skookum paper clip, keeping a stack of like-minded papers safely organized, is a visual representation of putting up firewalls in one’s brain. The human consciousness being something like a huge Greek chorus that has had insufficient practice, I’d say the more organizational tools that can be applied externally, the better off we are.

I recently joined a program to help me manage my daily habits and create a healthier lifestyle for myself, and these good folks divide my clamoring, frothing brain-pan into two parts: the elephant and the rider. Consider, my friends, the good elephant: the largest land creature currently stomping around topside of the dirt, eminently excitable, capable of stomping a mud puddle into one’s chest and then stomping it dry, yet easily convinced that a tiny silver bracelet can keep her from leaving town.

Consider now the rider: a small frail human with only psychology on her side. Do keep in mind that controlling an elephant by fear may someday backfire. I am reminded of a farmer who decided to protect himself from his Jersey bull (of all the breeds, one of the meanest, or so I understand) by keeping it afraid of him. His strategy was as follows: every time he encountered the bull, he screamed at it and threw rocks. For some time, this worked; the bull would crook his tail and run like the wind to escape. Then one day, instead of running, the somewhat older, wiser, and bigger bull stood still and silently regarded the tiny, gesticulating creature. . .

I digress.

As the “rider” for my elephant, I am determined to gently place firewalls where needed, to manage my dear elephant, whom I have named Nellie so that I can say “Whoa, Nellie!” whenever I feel like it, with kindness and understanding. I wonder if I can teach her to appreciate the concept of paper clips.