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American Koans: KEEPAWAY.

October 25, 2011 by David Gordon

by Mark Saltveit

 

When a kid takes something from your kid (say, their hat) and won’t give it back, they are playing the game of Keepaway.
 
There are two ways to win this game.  Your kid can
 
     1) beat up their tormentor (which has complications), or
 
     2) stop chasing, in which case the other kid will get bored and drop the hat.
 
The only sure way to lose is to keep trying to get your hat back.  Even if you grab it, you can be sure you’ll play this game again and again.  Tattling is not much better, a short term victory at best.
 
The trick is recognizing how a teaser wins:  by keeping you mad.  It's a lot easier to control your own anger than it is to control the other kid.
 
Also: “not ticklish” means “the tickler gets bored before you visibly react.”

Filed Under: Mark Saltveit.

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