"I feel I ought to write a great novel, write numerous letters, be friendly with more of the interesting people in my community, give more parties, dedicate more time to my intellectual pursuits, play with my children, make love to my wife, go hiking more often, go to the Congo, be a radical trying to revolutionize society, write fairy tales, buy a bigger boat, do more sailing, sunning and swimming, write a book on the American picaresque novel, educate my children at home, be a better teacher at the University, be a faithful friend, be more generous with my money, economize more, live a fuller life in the world outside me, live like Thoreau and not be taken in by material values, play more tennis, practice yoga, meditate, do those damn RCAF exercises every day, help my wife with the housework, make money in real estate, and... so on.
"And do all these things seriously, playfully, dramatically, stoically, joyfully, serenely, morally, indifferently - do them like D.H Lawrence, Paul Newman, Socrates, Charlie Brown, Superman and Pogo.
"But it's ridiculous. When I do any one of these things, play any one of these roles, the other selves are not satisfied. You've got to help me satisfy one self in such a way that the others will feel that they are somehow being considered too. Make them shut up. You've got to help me pull myself together and stop spilling all over the goddamn universe without actually doing anything."
