The Folly of Effortless Spectacular Runouts

Fast Mikie wins again, 5-2.
(APA 8-ball, vs. Michael A. skill level 6)

That's the good news.
And of course winning is better than
a sharp stick in the eye,
but I am still not pleased with my game.

I want to win more easily,
with more Flow,
where each shot follows effortlessly
from the previous shot, and
each position appears natural and simple,
and there is no Angst,
no "Sturm und Drang".

My game must be painful to watch
because it seems so painful to me.
I feel that pool is, in the main, a competition,
and yet almost equal part performance art.
Winning is the Primary Requirement,
but Style is also mandatory.

El Maestro says that
I go for unlikely, unreasonable runouts,
that I need to play more safeties,
to push a ball in front of a pocket,
to tie up my opponent
and let him make the mistakes.

I do see the Truth of this approach.
It it incontrovertible.
And this causes me much conflict.

My spirit is filled with Unbounded Optimism.
I just naturally feel drawn to finding
an extraordinary solution to the runout,
even if it is low percentage,
and maybe so much the better!

I want effortless spectacular runouts.
Is that asking too much?

It seems that my life has been
a succession of inventing extraordinary successes
gained only after creating extraordinary challenges.
It's the Brinksmanship I enjoy.

To play safe at times of greatest challenge
seems to be like drinking day old champagne.
Yes, I see the Zen-like simplicity and elegance
of a perfectly finessed lockup safety,
and yes, I understand intellectually that
such a ploy would give the better odds of victory.

It must be my Ego which is the block.
Grotesquely bloated after years run amok,
my Ego needs to find Humility.
I need to absorb Sun Tzu's Art of War
wherein he teaches:

Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles
is not supreme excellence;
supreme excellence consists in
breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.


Therefore the skillful leader
subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting;
he captures their cities without laying siege to them;
he overthrows their kingdom
without lengthy operations in the field.

I must learn this.
I need to resolve this conflict within.
And I yearn to play with more Flow.

I will work diligently on this.

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