One of the puzzles I’ve been struggling with is about the nature of human beings. Does our physiology dominate our psychology, or vice versa? Most importantly, how can you tell the difference?

An example from today. I’ve been playing volleyball an average of three times a week. It’s my main form of exercise. I hadn’t played this week since Monday, and had missed my usual Friday night game because of a project deadline at work. Today, I went into the office at ten to finish some more work on the same project. I was hoping to make a one o’clock game on the upper west side. I got cranky and frustrated when it started looked like things were going to take longer than that.

Was the root of that frustration: (a) psychological: work encroaching on my personal time; (b) physiological: endorphin deprivation; (c) another psychological and/or psychological factor that isn’t directly related to work or volleyball?

I don’t really know. I tend to think that it’s (a). Anyone would be frustrated by having work interrupt their volleyball schedule. But (b) and (c) are possibilities and I have no solid way of telling.

A definite mind-bender. And it doesn’t get any clearer or more comfortable when you start applying these questions to relationships, love and sex.

As it turns out, I pushed the project live and hopped a ten-dollar cab uptown, where I secured one of the last slots open. It was on the advanced-play court. It was interesting to be playing above my game. I’m used to be being one of the best on the court and being a solid strong side hitter. In today’s games, I was a weak-side hitter who was in utter awe at the hitting and setting skills on display by my some of my teammates and opponents.