Intro

Over the years, I have often heard this particular phrase applied to me, “You think too much”.

I have also heard, “Oh no, not again”, “Can’t you just let it go???” “Um, I have to leave now…”, and of course the ever popular, “Good point, but what can you do about it?”

Now, the concept of ‘thinking too much’ confused me for the longest time. Think too much? Don’t most of us think too little? Yet I have begun understanding that yes, it IS possible to think too much. In my case, I find that too much thinking often leads to too much seeking, too much finding, too much talking, too much hearing, too much overwhelm and finally, too little action.

And that brings me to ‘what can you do about it?’ The truth is, lots. I believe that the saying ‘you can’t fight city hall’ is untrue. We can fight city hall. We may not win but we can certainly fight. What I find I cannot fight is apathy either in others or myself.

So, when I’m feeling apathetic, (or depressed, or unmotivated, or uninterested or just plain exhausted) I allow myself to fall down psychologically as it were, and sometimes physically too. Which means there may be long periods of time where nothing new appears on this blog. But that’s why a comment link is provided isn't it? - so that when I’m busy hiding under the covers, everyone else can visit, write, brawl and leave.

As for the name, I have a way of looking at things – well, one of many – that I call my fulcrum philosophy. If one side of anything has been firmly embedded for a while, it will take more weight and/or energy applied to the opposing side to get the sucker to budge, hence the occasional necessity of extremes.

However, that can result in a sudden slam into the ground of the opposing side, nestling it into a form-fitting crater; or in too much weight being added and left to sit. Either way the newly landed end becomes as lard-bottomed as the previous one was, and that in turn perpetuates both imbalance and stagnancy.

The trick is that once momentum has begun on one end, there must be maneuvering towards the middle so that the extreme does not become the norm. Those Bambi-on-Roller-blades times are not often graceful nor easily maintained and sometimes unsuccessful, but when weight and energy are complimentarily present, there is both motion and balance.

I use this philosophy to explain my views on politics, economics, societal evolution (or the hope thereof), health and medicine, relationships, human behaviour, and why I don’t get on seesaws with small children. It’s how I understand the world and how I approach it.

In looking it up in a dictionary to reassure myself that I was using the word properly, I found out something interesting. The word comes from the Latin ‘fulcire’ meaning ‘to support’ and most often refers to something that props or supports (that part I knew). It also refers to connective tissues in human anatomy and hinged anatomical structures in zoology. One more definition I found was “An agent through which vital powers are exercised”.

That last one gave me a special tickle!

As for the ‘Freestyle’ part, well, first off, I liked the alliteration. But just as important was what I hope to engender in myself and in the environment of this blog. Everyone is a fulcrum of some sort; a support, a prop, a pivot point, “an agent through which vital powers are exercised”. I believe that free flowing thought and its exchange is very vital, and when grounded in reason (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) very powerful.

And of course, I liked the alliteration.

So, here I am, wacky thinking and all. Conspiracy, collusion, common sense, uncommon sense, theology, psychology, philosophy, public policy, and no doubt a touch of whining and a whole lot of venting. I bet you feel at home already.