Of Men And Multitasking

For Big Mac, the consequences of meditating while running were disastrous.

- Bruce Pinnock

BIG MAC RAN INTO A LAMPPOST. Running into things isn’t particularly unheard of. Objects such as cat’s eyes can rear up and trip even the most diligent runner; Zola Budd’s outflung bare feet once took out fellow Olympian Mary Decker Slaney.

I myself have collided with a stationary taxi.

Lampposts, taxis and Budd’s size nines are (usually) hard to miss. But should your mind be fully occupied with meditative thoughts such as Will I get to the top of this hill?, you might not notice obstacles until it’s too late… Boom! Crash! You stagger backwards, and then sit down abruptly, holding your painful pip. You express yourself in the same language a seagull uses after it has flown into the side of a cliff.

“FAAARK!” it exclaims – loudly, and in an aggrieved tone.

But I digress. 

Big Mac ran into a lamppost.

It all started when his doctor advised him to take up yoga – or some other relaxing pursuit, such as chess. But yoga and chess weren’t sound options, on account of his large body and small brain size respectively.