THE EENCY, WEENCY SPIDER by Bob Talford Eency, weency spider, Crawled up the water spout. Down came the rain And washed the spider out. Out came the sunshine And dried up all the rain, So the eency, weency spider Crawled up the spout again. Who doesn’t periodically get frustrated with their pool game? Nobody, and I mean nobody. Why? Because  mistakes are unavoidable, as is the emotion that follows it. Why? Because we’re human! Man, oh, man! This  human stuff’s a pain in the butt! I don'’t want to be human! I don’t want pain! I don’t want a butt! I don’t want! I  don’t! I! ..................... We’ll sometimes find ourselves in that place between heaven and earth called the  “flustered zone.” The dictionary definition is “a state of agitated confusion.”  Frustration. Something we all have to deal with. Either a conniving spider entices us into its web, or we weave  our own. Whichever it is, it will happen. Learning how to deal with it is crucial to maintaining consistency, or  should I say maintaining at all. Many a hustler knows this and will prey on our inability to deal. These are the  spiders. They know all the moves. Spidey is lord of the fliers, waiting for you to take that next one. He weaves.  He waits. He’s ready to pounce. And pounce he will, when his opponent goes airborn.  “Life is not an easy matter... You cannot live through it without falling into frustration and cynicism unless you  have before you a great idea which raises you above personal misery, above weakness, above all kinds of perfidy  and baseness.” — Leon Trotsky  Here’s a great idea—forgiveness! Strange? Yes. What does forgiveness have to do with playing pool? It’s a  game! Yet for many who play it seriously, it is much needed, because of how seriously they take it. For some, an  inopportune missed shot can create so much anxiety that they can’t deal with the next week, let alone the next  shot. On the flip side, a great shot at the right moment can  produce so much euphoria that they can fly on its cloud  for days.   Therefore the lack of forgiveness can cause a repetitious  entry into the “flustered zone.” Forgive yourself for  giving away three games in a row. Forgive spidey for his  “win at all costs” weakness. Forgive the waitress who  forgot that drink you ordered while you’re watching  your opponent run out. Forgive the player on the next  table for a lack of pool etiquette. Forgive your teammate  for choking. Forgive him, and you’ll be forgiven. Be  quick to do it. Don’t just ignore it. Forgive it. Practice  avoiding liftoff. It’s all about awareness, mindset, and  preparation. Be prepared to forgive yourself first. Then,  and only then will you find the ability to forgive all alse.  The inane arguments spidey weaves are meant to lure  you into its web. The inane thoughts that we weave  inside ourselves are even more detrimental.  “But I’m not deserving of forgiveness!”  “I know  better!” “I didn’t put forth my best effort!” “That low  life’s not deserving of forgiveness!” “I do it over and  over and over!” “I missed on purpose. I must have!” “I  must not want to win!” “I’m a loser!”  No one, and I  mean no one is a loser! We may lose a game of pool, but  that doesn’t make us losers. We’re all players of a great  game. That’s all that it is. A game. A difficult one to  become proficient at, but one that most of us play for  only one reason—to have fun. And how can we have fun in the flustered zone? In reality, we are the lord of our  fliers. We’re the dream weaver. Take control. It’s a way of life. In reality, we are the lord of our fliers.  Oh, about the nursery rhyme above—for the sake of this article I’ll render this interpretation. The “eency,  weency spider” is that unavoidable mistake, whether it be yours or someone else’s. It will always crawl up your  spout again. We have the option of how to deal. It’s an inherent part of life. The “rain” we can produce is  forgiveness. The “sunshine” that follows it, dries the pain and creates the peace that many of us long for.  To close, I’ll quote from the ending refrain of an old song performed by The Fifth Dimension—“Let the sun  shine. Let the sunshine in. The sun shine in. Let the sun shine. Let the sunshine in. The sun shine in.” Etc. Etc.  Etc.