Month: October 2023

Staying on Pace

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When falling behind on something, it has to do with not catching up, or staying on pace, with the expected timeline. It could be there being too much work to do, or not having enough time to do it, or not having the resources or know-how to do it. But not staying on pace can be indicative that some things can’t be rushed, since quality matters more than quantity in certain cases.

Of course, some projects/assignments are time-dependent, because they’re based on a fixed/rigid schedule, or the sheer volume of tasks that have to be completed. But other things, like works of art, stories, scientific research, etc., can require months or years to complete. Sure, it can be rushed to completion, but it wouldn’t be the same–and not to the same calibre–if it had progressed at the pace it needed to become more than just a box to check off.

Finding Lost Items

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There are times when you go through an old box, storage bin, bag, etc., and you find something that you thought you had lost. When you find that item after months or years, it makes you wonder what else is lying dormant, hidden from sight, waiting to be found.

It could be a hat, flashlight, tools, or some note that you thought you had thrown away. It brings back memories, but it also makes you question why you had put it where you did. In the time since, you had replaced that tool or item (i.e. hat, shirt, shoe, etc.), and maybe you don’t need that found item anymore.

Now what do you do with it? You have two of a kind now (it, and its replacement). The found item functions as a backup, or else, you can store it away. But if you do, you won’t make the same mistake; you’ll put it somewhere where you know you’ll find it. That is until things get shuffled around, and you forgot where you put it.

Free Time

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Free time decreases the busier we are. But when there is an abundance of it, we look for ways to spend it. Free time has to be converted into time for something else. It could be reading, writing, watching TV, playing video games, finishing chores, running errands, working on a project, etc.

In this sense, free time is like currency. With the allotment we have, we have to choose what to spend it on. As soon as we drive home from work, free time starts to tick as the minutes and hours go by. Free time gets eaten up faster than we can use it. Making dinner. Cleaning the dishes. Folding laundry. Watching the news. Surfing the web. By the time it’s 10 P.M. or later, there’s no free time left. It was just pocket change.

However, free time can be converted into something worthwhile, something meaningful, even if it was spent on a challenging or arduous goal, much like work. When we invest it into something that not only brings us joy, but that improves our knowledge, skills, or is the product of our imagination, such as a painting or story, it can fulfill a need to express or discover something about ourselves or the world. Whether it’s art or music or a DIY project, once it’s completed, we can look back at it and say that it was time well spent.

Finishing a Story

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One of the challenges when writing a story is finishing it. It’s like a marathon where taking a break can result in losing or not finishing the race at all. Sometimes things get in the way, such as unexpected events, or other pressing matters. It requires persistence to finish a story, to keep going when the ideas and the momentum falters.

But in the end, when the story is finished, it is exhilarating, a weight off one’s shoulders. The reward is unlike any other, since it’s like reaching the destination of a long road trip after countless hours of driving and getting lost. And unlike those wins in sports where the whole team cheers, or the crowd cheers, it’s a private and quiet victory. No one else knows about it, since it’s not noticeable, and you reward yourself with something nice, like a day off from work, or a nice meal at a nice restaurant.

Thought Provoking

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When you don’t know what to make of something, you either give it time to let it sink in your mind, or you come up with some label that partially describes it. It’s like watching a movie that is nebulous and nonlinear and doesn’t have a clear ending, or like reading a story that has many subplots and tangents that you’re trying to piece together, but you’re not sure how they do.

You know the work is something that you haven’t seen/read before, and you can’t quite compare it with anything to memory. You’re not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing either. All you know is that you don’t know what to make of it.

But after a time, you realize that whether it’s good or bad, or something you liked or not, it stayed with you, made you think about it. And maybe that was the point.

Revisiting a Book

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In my previous post about reading a book halfway through, I mentioned how I would move on to the next book before finishing the one I had started. But weeks or months after putting that book down, I’d finally return to it, discovering it anew like a forgotten story I had once read.

At first, it’s like being flung into a scene where the characters are in a heated debate. You know not what’s going on, but you can’t help but finish the chapter given how tense it is. And as you turn the pages, the characters from chapter 1, 2, etc., slowly return to mind, and all the details and plot elements begin to take shape as you reconnect all the dots.

It’s kind of like reading a short story, even if you’re at the middle of the book you took a break from. For a short story can drop you in the middle of the action/scene, and as you read, you slowly catch up (and see) what’s going on.

As the book ultimately reaches its conclusion, it’s too late to put the book down and read something else. With the end in sight, to stop and read something else now would spoil the impact of the last pages. Besides, wouldn’t you want to know what happened at the end?

Theory

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When we have a theory about something, it’s essentially an understanding of how we believe something is supposed to work, or what its true nature is. It’s like an organized system with a network of branches that connect to different parts that permeate from larger categories to smaller ones in a harmonic way. These categories help to explain, what seem to be, random and unorganized events, using a methodical and holistic approach. In other words, a theory is supposed to be a predicator of varying events/outcomes using an algorithm like a flow chart, or a system of unbroken links like a mind map. When those predictions are verified repeatedly across different situations and or environments, the theory itself becomes more grounded, more real, until it becomes so undistinguishable from reality that it evolves into a formula or a scientific law, rather than just a strong conviction we have.

But a theory has to start from somewhere. It starts off as a question, which evolves into a hypothesis, because as we encounter events that are, on the surface, random and causeless, we try to rationalize and answer the “why” to know and understand what’s happening around us and in the world. But a theory can collapse if it doesn’t align with the predicted outcomes–the world–or with what it’s trying to explain. When that happens, we have to go back to the drawing board and see what didn’t work, why it didn’t stand up to the truth.

In the realm of science, the checks and balances of verifying theories is clearcut, because there are practical consequences if the laws of nature aren’t obeyed, or if the wrong processes or materials are used in the construction of structures or products, such as cars, buildings, airplanes, roads, bridges, etc. A car won’t operate, a building won’t stand, an airplane won’t take off, a road will crack or cave in, and bridges won’t stay up for long if the laws of nature are contradicted or if the materials or if the construction process is faulty.

But in our own lives, affirming or denying a theory is a bit more tricky. Although a theory will play out it in our choices and in their results, it’s up to us as to analyze it, modify it, and ultimately, to decide whether to keep or discard said theory. Furthermore, a theory could be interpreted differently from person to person based on how that theory interacts with the other theories they already hold, in addition to its compatibility with them.

Unlike the realm of science, the social realm is much more dynamic, since it involves people and the complex interaction of their choices with others given everyones’ experiences and values. We can read books and theorize about human psychology and human behavior to approximate what people’s choices will be. The same could be said regarding theories about how to go about achieving success or to be happy. But even if two or more people hold the same theory, it can play out differently for them, since the world is invariably complex, and often times, mysterious. That’s why we ponder after a life changing event, if it was chance, coincidence, luck, destiny, or the divine that caused it. And given that gray area of the unknown, a theory is more like a framework, a guide, since life isn’t just a theory, but an experience that has to be lived in order for us to grow from it.

Half Measure

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There’ll be times when I’ll come up with an idea and implement it briefly, only to realize afterward that it was only a half measure attempt. I’ll lose interest within a week (maybe even a day), although the idea itself was much more exciting on the surface.

It’ll be one of those “it sounds like a great idea” goal, when in fact, the effort and time required to accomplish that goal isn’t backed by the motive and willpower to do so.

In life, we change our minds frequently, and have to experiment with different ways or systems of going about things. Even our goals can be half measures if we’re not fully invested in them. We like the ends, of what they can bring us, but the work to get there isn’t something that interests us, at least, for the long haul.

But when we find goals that are we committed to and aren’t just half measures, then it won’t even seem like we’re just checking off boxes to accomplish them, but we’ll go above and beyond to get them done, and even, accomplish more than what we originally thought was possible.

Incentive

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There’s a clear incentive when it comes to things that are practical or job-related. For example, earning an income, or having tools to build something, or software to complete a task. But when it comes to the arts, the incentive comes from within. It comes from an internal drive, an incentive that is motivated by the thoughts and ideas themselves.

The characters in the story aren’t aware out of the outside world, how much profit is made from their story, since they’re contained within the prism of the story. They exist within the realm of an imaginative world, representing notions about humanity that transcend monetary value, since its value lies in the impact of the ideas within the story, whether the reader bought the novel from a bookstore or checked it out from the library. And with regard to paintings, sculptures, and music, they’re made not with respect to their utility, but with regard to the emotions that the artist conveys or evokes through them.

Therefore, the incentive for works of art is deeper than whatever monetary value that is assigned to them, or however many copies are sold. It’s not like a piece of furniture, or a tool that has a specific purpose for fixing or building something. The value comes from what the artist or writer has to say, what they want to convey. The incentive is something that’s communicated–the voice of the artist, the author.

Posted in Art

Grammar

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Grammar is something I’m always learning, continuing to increase my knowledge of. When I write the first draft of a story, I won’t even think about grammatical errors, punctuation, spelling, etc. The first draft is just getting the ideas down on paper (or the computer) in its unencumbered form. But when I start to edit, I’ll start to question if the way I wrote something is correct. Even if it might read correct, it won’t sound correct when I read it aloud.

I’ll begin to look up the definition of a word to see how it’s supposed to be used. One word I always look up is “passed” and “past.” Another is “further” and “farther.” I know “passed” has to do with distance, and “past” has to do with time, but I’ve seen them used interchangeably, which only makes it more confounding (not to mention the way it’s used as an adjective, adverb, and noun).

And with the rules regarding commas and em dashes, I’ve seen them use interchangeably as well. And with semi colons and periods, some writers prefer one or the other, or both, and their usage is almost dependent on style rather than form.

It seems that some of the rules of grammar depend very much on the context of the writing, whereas others are set and stone, even though some writers could abandon them for the sake of presenting a certain style or for dramatic effect. For example, if a writer was writing in the first person, or was writing in colloquy, or in a certain dialect, etc.

The rules of grammar are not as rigid as the rules governing mathematics, since grammar is more like an art, dependent on the reader knowing the rules just as well as the writer, whereas mathematics is like a science where one mistake produces an error in which the entire sequence collapses. But there are grammatical rules nonetheless, such as the word “I,” as a noun, must be capitalized, and the first letter of a sentence, and the first letter of a name. But whereas mathematics is about precision and consistency, allowing freedom only in the problem-solving approach, the rules of grammar are more like guidelines rather than axioms or unyielding laws, since their laxity depends on what a piece of writing is about.