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“Not all the pieces that may be counted counts, and never all the pieces that counts may be counted.” ~William Bruce Cameron
My gardener and I have been speaking the opposite day—his English damaged, my Spanish worse—however we discovered a technique to join.
He instructed me about his eight-year-old son, a vibrant, joyful child who loves baseball. The boy desires to play. His mom desires him in tutoring. And someplace in that hole, a much bigger query emerged: what issues extra—self-discipline or pleasure?
I didn’t plan to provide recommendation, however it got here out anyway. “Let him play ball,” I stated. “Let him be a part of a crew, fall in love with one thing, really feel what it’s like to provide your self to a recreation you care about.” Perhaps there’s room for each—tutoring on weekends or part-time. However I couldn’t shake the sensation that too usually, we push youngsters towards what’s helpful earlier than they know what they love.
That dialog stayed with me as a result of it displays one thing greater and extra troubling: nearly all the pieces in life now feels monetized.
From delivery to demise, we’re priced and processed. Being pregnant is a billing code. Daycare is a enterprise. School is debt. Even demise has been streamlined into packages—premium, normal, financial system.
Need to discuss to a therapist? That’ll price you. Need clear meals? That’s further. A protected place to reside? Depends upon your credit score rating. Even our time with family members feels rationed by work schedules and productiveness apps. There’s a price ticket on presence.
The monetization of all the pieces is extra than simply an financial system—it’s a cultural ambiance. It creeps in quietly, turning artwork into content material, friendships into followers, and values into branding methods. We commerce consideration for promoting, look after comfort. And because the world turns into extra globalized, centralized, and digitized, this mind-set spreads—environment friendly, scalable, and soul-numbing.
However there’s one thing that may’t be priced or faked: circulation.
Circulation is that immersive state the place effort disappears, time softens, and we’re absolutely absorbed in what we’re doing. It’s the sensation of being fully alive and centered—not as a result of we’re chasing a reward, however as a result of we’re in tune with the duty itself.
I keep in mind pitching in Little League after I was ten. I wasn’t the perfect, however for one temporary inning, all the pieces clicked. I ended considering. The ball moved prefer it was a part of me. I wasn’t attempting to impress anybody—I used to be simply there, inside the sport. That was circulation. And I’ve spent a lot of my life chasing that feeling by way of music, writing, instructing.
I’ve spent most of my life as a instructor, filmmaker, and author. Not as a result of it made me wealthy—it didn’t—however as a result of it gave me one thing to reside for. Now, at seventy, I assist look after my 96-year-old mom, nonetheless attempting to complete my life’s work with little to indicate for it within the financial institution. However the work nonetheless issues. So does she.
My mom’s caregivers—principally ladies of coloration—present up daily. They assist her eat, costume, and smile. They aren’t paid practically sufficient, however they transfer by way of their days with compassion, grace, and humor. Their labor doesn’t match right into a tidy spreadsheet of revenue. And but it holds the world collectively.
I ponder: What occurs to a society that forgets find out how to worth the issues that may’t be monetized?
We all know one thing’s mistaken, however we don’t know what to do. We nonetheless must pay hire, purchase groceries, discover a technique to survive in a system that rewards effectivity over depth, picture over presence. There’s no clear reply. Simply rigidity, quiet resistance, and generally—if we’re fortunate—a second of readability.
So I say once more: let the boy play. To not win, or to be the star, however to really feel the enjoyment of working with others, of belonging to a crew, of laughing, working exhausting, and studying—collectively. Let him construct friendships that may final a lifetime. Let him really feel what it means to be a part of one thing bigger than himself, the place enchancment issues greater than trophies.
And perhaps, simply perhaps, let him discover circulation. On the sector, and even in tutoring, if the circumstances are proper—if the educational is alive and the main target is actual. As a result of circulation is the aim, whether or not in a recreation or a classroom. That’s the place confidence is born. That’s the place pleasure lives.
In fact, I do know Little League may be its personal form of heartbreak. When the sport turns into about dominance, when adults challenge their very own regrets or insecurities onto the boys, when coaches overlook it’s purported to be enjoyable—it could injury the very spirit it’s meant to nourish.
That’s why it takes the proper coach. One who listens. One who is aware of it’s a boy’s world for a short time, and that this recreation, at its finest, teaches find out how to care, to lose with grace, to strive once more, and to belief others.
I instructed his father all this in our clumsy mixture of English and Spanish. I instructed him I hoped his son will get to play. Not as a result of it should result in something measurable. However as a result of it already is one thing beneficial.
Generally, the perfect factor we will do is willingly open the door—and let the gamers play.
About Tony CollinsTony Collins, EdD, MFA is a documentary filmmaker, instructor, musician, author, and guide with forty years of expertise. His work explores artistic expression, scholarly rigor, and nonfiction storytelling throughout the USA, Central America, Asia, and the UAE. In 2025, he’s self-publishing Inventive Scholarship: Rethinking Analysis in Movie and New Media on Amazon, difficult conventional tutorial evaluation in movie and new media. Web site: anthonycollinsfilm.com
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