Microstory 737: Credos, Convention Nine: Commitment, Chapter Two

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For a long time, the girl was embarrassed of her shameful jalaxian harmony bowl performance. She immediately gave it up, and fell into a depression, spending her days in self-pity and remorse. Her father decided that she needed to get out of her own way, and stay busy. If she couldn’t play the jalaxian harmony bowl, then maybe she needed to help other people play it. Though he was not known for designing the bowls himself, he was an accomplished metal worker, and knew he could figure out how to do it. He brought her on board for a new department in his small business, where they learned to make harmony bowls together. She took to the trade quite well, enjoying the tediousness and focus that metalwork forced her to adopt. She was starting to think that she should go into the family business permanently once she was finished with her general studies. Meanwhile, her infamous recital piece was uploaded to the global network so that anyone and everyone could see it, and make fun of her. Some of the comments on her video were offensive, but many were more playful. A not insignificant number of people were actually suggesting that she become a comedian. Those closest to her made their own remarks, saying that what she lacked in talent for the harmony bowl, she made up for in her stage presence, and comedic timing. When she wasn’t in school, or building harmony bowls with her father, she was practicing her comedy act at local establishments. This was becoming difficult to manage, however. She never had time to sleep. Her studies faltered, her work at the factory was subpar, and her comedy routines were rather weak. She asked her mother, “what am I to do? I cannot handle all this at once. But I must study to earn my degree, and I have an obligation to the factory, and comedy is my passion.” The mother sat down and spoke. “You are trying to do too much. You cannot divide your attention to so many things at once. If you want to be good at any one of them, you must devote all of your time to it.” “But what will happen to the other two things?” the girl asked. Her mother answered, “you will not be able to do all three. You must decide what is most important to you.” “I don’t know what that is,” the girl said, “they’re all important.” “I cannot choose for you.” So the girl made the decision on her own. She stopped working at the factory, and started concentrating most substantially on her education. She continued to work on her comedy, but only when she had extra time, for no matter what she ended up doing with her life, she would need her degree to fall back on. When she grew up, she refocused her efforts back on comedy, committing to her skill with vigor. She utilized what she learned in school to make her jokes more meaningful and thought-provoking, able to make references to history and pop culture she would not have been able to without a well-rounded education. She even incorporated a little manufacturing into her routines, building her own custom-made props to accentuate the skits. And she became one of the most famous comedians in her world.

Microstory 736: Credos, Convention Nine: Commitment, Chapter One

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The wandering boy lifted his lower leg from the canister. “Wow, these stories all seem to be about people working together.” He filled his special communication cup with water and sought help from the fish woman. “What am I to learn from these canisters?” he asked. “They all seem to be teaching me the same thing.” “Be patient, my child,” the fish woman said. “You will understand, but you must finish the canisters first.” “Has anyone else been on this quest before? Or am I the first? If so, will I be the only?” “The canisters are meant for but one. They are meant for you. Others have tried, but failed to learn. Because of this, they have lost the new light...and have lost themselves. You must complete the task, and you must figure out what it means.” “I will,” the boy affirmed. “I will.” And so the boy placed his leg into the much deeper ninth canister, and watched the next lesson, which was much shorter than the others. There was a girl who wanted to play the jalaxian harmony bowl for scores of people. But she never wanted to practice. She dreamed of the day when she would be able to walk on stage and start playing and everyone would be soothed and happy by her music. But she didn’t understand what it took to get to that point. She figured all she had to do was decide to become a jalaxian harmony bowlist, and one day, she would be good enough. She failed to recognize all the hard work in between. Her teacher kept asking her to work harder, but she would not listen. She could not hear her own notes; that she was not playing them correctly. Finally the day of her first recital was upon her. Still she thought she was good enough to play, for she had never truly listened to herself. The performance was a disaster. She made a fool out of herself, and made it awkward for everyone else. She had not committed to her trade, and because of this she could never be great.