Surfing channels, I caught a little part of one of these ubiquitous reality T.V. shows. The judge praised the contesting dancer and said ‘Good Effort!’. The dancer gushed, delighted.
‘Good Effort!’ I repeated, analyzing the sound of it. It can be used with sarcasm. But people probably won’t catch the sarcasm and I’d hate the waste of it. Effort! That’s not a flattering remark. Some things are beautiful only by virtue of seeming effortless. Like singing. Like playing an instrument. Like writing. And like dancing. If the effort shows maybe you haven’t put in enough of it. Ironic, isn’t it?
Effort probably is the only thing that you must make more of so that the evidence of its existence may be erased.
