Outlook

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Our outlook can change at a moment’s notice. It just takes one life changing moment, or a series of life changing decisions, and then everything we had believed in can get dismantled.

The ideas we hold are simply that: ideas. Can they resist the change of time, the course of unexpected events? Are the principles and values we hold onto dearly immutable, or are they subject to change and modification?

The way we handle difficulties, as well as respond to conflict and disagreement, speak volumes compared to the ideas we simply believe. There can be a duality between the two, similar to someone who says to do one thing but does the opposite. The truth is in the way we act, in what we choose to do.

Our outlook can be positive or negative, and thus, they can give us confidence and certainty, or make us dejected and pessimistic. Between the positive and negative outlooks, there’s a middle ground: being realistic. But what does that mean exactly? To be realistic, we are not overly optimistic, nor overly pessimistic. We’re in the middle. We see that things can go both ways. But if we’re stuck in the middle, we might not take chances, might not achieve great success or change.

Our outlook determines a great deal about our attitude and the way we approach forks in the road, but as we mature and age, our outlook becomes molded not by our own ideas, but by the complex interaction of life-changing moments and events, and the decisions we make during and after they occur.

Preparing

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To prepare for something, you must know in advance what you need. We could prepare financially for an amount we want to have saved, or to make a large purchase. We can prepare for emergency situations, road trips, parties, etc. Preparation takes time, and the length of time depends on the event and how much resources are required for it.

The same could be said for our own projects, like writing a book, a DIY project, a painting, etc. But just because we prepare, doesn’t mean things go as planned. There are always unexpected twist and turns that happen along the way, things that shake the foundation of our planning. Preparation can only take us so far, but we also must be able to adapt when the unexpected occurs.

Collection

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Collecting things can be a fun hobby, especially if it’s something that we can enjoy like books, movies, etc. I used to collect books, buying various books from authors I enjoyed reading (even if I didn’t get to reading all of their books) and housing them on my bookcases. As the years past, I would revisit the books, open them up to read a few pages, then put them back to read another.

But in general, collecting things never seem to have an end. Not only that, we run out of space, have no place to store the newest items for our collection. Overtime, the collection will gather dust, and we might even forget about what we had bought–or grew out of them.

Some people donate their collection to make more space, or because they no longer have an interest in the hobby or the things they collected. In my case, I donated boxes of books, not only because I did not read them anymore, but because I didn’t have the space for them.

It felt good to have less stuff, to make room for newer things. I still think about the books I read, the ideas and characters they implanted in my mind. Even though the physical books aren’t in my possession, the books themselves have stayed with me in how they shaped me and influenced my life.

When Things Aren’t the Same

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During one of my day trips, I got this feeling that things weren’t the same anymore. With everything that has transpired, the vibe was different at the place I visited. The scenery was the same, and so was the environment, but my outlook was different. I couldn’t unplug myself from the memory of what it was like before.

It’s similar to meeting someone you hadn’t met in years, or visiting a place that you hadn’t been to in who knows how long. You can’t help but compare the present experience with the last–hope that it is the same or better.

Things have changed a lot. They seem quieter now, and less crowded too. My last memory was one filled with activity, noise, energy. But things have calmed, and the experience was like seeing shadows of the past.

Questions

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To advance knowledge in science, it has to begin with a question.

Which leads the scientist to a hypothesis. It doesn’t mean they know the answer, though they might have a sliver of an idea of what it might be. And to find the answer to their question, it involves a series of tests, or experiments, to see if their hypothesis is correct. Maybe it’s not. And if not, they have to investigate why, see what the patterns are, what went astray.

When we think about math or science, what comes to mind are facts, formulas, and well-established truths. But what doesn’t come to mind are the questions that led to them, the trial and error and mistakes that steered the scientist and mathematician on the right path in making the discoveries that are known today.

Why is that though? Perhaps we’ve become accustomed to caring more about the solutions, the immediate answers, rather than the impetus which lead to them: questions. It is with questions that truths and facts become known. Questions lead to investigations, and investigations lead to discoveries. Thus, without questions, there would not be investigations, and without investigations, there would be no discoveries.

When we think about all of the technology that science, math, and engineering made possible, it’s easy to accept cellphones, computers, TVs, etc., for what they are, to buy and use them because they are available to us. But how did they get there? They weren’t always there, and they didn’t get there by themselves.

Didn’t it begin with people asking why something is the way it is, how to make something work, how to make something better, how to create something . . . ?

Hiccups

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We’ve often heard stories about the struggles of filmmaking, and how there would be setbacks during the production, including issues with the budget, the location, casting, scheduling, etc. Nothing ever seems to go smoothly, and it requires a great amount of time, resources, and energy to overcome all the obstacles along the way.

Similarly, when we’re focused on trying to get something done, there will usually be hiccups along the way. The hiccups can be minor or major, or they can add up overtime and snowball into something that can seem insurmountable.

They can be come from our own doing, such as when we procrastinate or overlook the minute, but very important details. When writing a book, for example, this can take the form of not writing often, or not developing the characters or the storyline thoroughly. In the end, this can result in inconsistent characters, or an incoherent plot.

Externally, hiccups can come from delays or unexpected events or obligations that come up during the day/week. We have no control over when they occur, and we can’t ignore them either. They must be addressed or else they will snowball and lead to other hiccups down the line.

The thing about creating and finishing any project, whether it is a film, a book or a DIY project, is that it is an adventure, similar to trekking down a hiking path that has unexpected twists and turns, and rocky and uneven trails. There will be times where you will get exhausted, get lost, or come across a wall or a dead end. You must adapt and be creative in finding solutions, or start over or backtrack to get on the right path. Thus, to reach the destination, it not only takes talent and knowledge, but perseverance and resourcefulness to get there.

Theories

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In our lifetime, we’ll come up with various theories about the world. Theories about people, human nature, the universe, etc. Even though we might not publish or share them, they will have more value to us than the ones we’ve read or learned elsewhere. 

The theories we’ve read or learned are stored in our mind, catalogued and retrieved as a sort of talking point whenever they’re discussed or mentioned. They can be useful when we need them to be, but we’re quick to put them aside when they don’t have application anymore.

The theories we’ve developed overtime are a combination of both experience and reasoning, and they stay with us because they have relevance to our everyday life, and in how we function in the world. Even though we’ve learned and heard a lot of interesting theories in our lifetime, we don’t channel them through our actions unless we’ve adopted them, accepted them as if they were our own.

There have been times when we’ve been captivated by a theory, took it for a grain of salt. But it’s questionable how long that theory will stay with us. If we truly care about its validity and usefulness, we have to think about it deeply, see how it plays out in reality, evaluate its strengths and weaknesses, and analyze it until we truly understand it. And once we do so, we’ll improve our own understanding of the world and know that no theory is perfect. 

Notes

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When we take notes for an academic class or for a meeting, it’s usually to help us recall what was discussed and to highlight important facts. It’s not something we hold on to dearly, for after the test or project, we discard the notes–forget about it as a sort of timestamp of the past.

But the notes we jot down for a book or a work of art have more meaning and importance to us. They were the blueprint for the creative work, the outpouring of our thoughts–a timestamp of our creative mind at work. We could look back at them months or years later and see how much we’ve grown, how much time and energy we put into what we created. They can be timeless for us, just as the paintings and books from the past still leave an impression on us today.

Even the though our notes might not be special to an outsider, they were instrumental in developing and fine-tuning the creative and intellectual abilities we have today.

Shortcut

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I was returning from a day trip when the GPS alerted me to a shortcut that would save me approximately 15 minutes. I reluctantly took it, knowing from experience that GPS shortcuts can take you down a path that would make you think that you’re lost.

From the highway, I turned onto a narrow road that weaved through a forest. A truck was close behind me, and a storm had swept through the area not too long ago. Debris, leaves and branches littered the road. Driving over them, branches snapped and leaves rustled continously since they were in both lanes.

The shortcut was only a few miles long, and I was hoping for it to end soon, since I had been gripping the steering wheel tightly. The oncoming traffic would zoom by near the turns, and I couldn’t really see beyond thirty or a forty feet. With the road still wet from the storm, I drove cautiously, slowing down near the bends and wherever I saw puddles.

I was relieved when I had made it to the last mile of the shortcut. That was until I saw a police vehicle parked in the middle of the road. The officer stood in front of his vehicle holding traffic wands, and had on a reflective vest. The truck ahead of me began to make a sharp U-turn, and I sighed, knowing exactly what that meant.

The officer gestured with the traffic wands to turn around. I noticed the driver in the truck behind me shaking his head, visibly irritated by the bad news. I peered down the road past the police vehicle before making the U-turn, but couldn’t see what was blocking the road. Maybe a fallen tree? Maybe something further down the road–out of sight?

As I drove back the way I came, my GPS tried to reroute me back toward the roadblock. It was like it wouldn’t change its mind, didn’t want to give up on the original route. Clearly, it didn’t understand why everyone was turning around.

The drive back wasn’t as bad nor stressful as when I first drove down the road. I knew what to expect along the way, and there was a truck in front of me to serve as a sort of guide.

Along the way, I kept thinking about how easy and simple the highway would’ve been, how much time it would’ve saved if I hadn’t taken the shortcut. The GPS couldn’t have known of the roadblock if it was recent. If it had been updated earlier, it would’ve notified me for sure–redirected me to the next shortest route.

After getting back on the highway, the GPS took me on a new route–one that took me through a series of backroads and small towns where there was hardly any traffic. I drove past gorgeous pastures, farms and animals, and areas that were lush with vegetation and greenery. It was quite the opposite of the experience I had driving for most of the day: highways.

Highways can be fastest route to a destination, but it doesn’t really offer the same experience and adventure that an offbeat path would give us. Even though I lost time on the shortcut, I did get to experience a new adventure on the trip.

Returning Books

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It’s a different feeling when you return a book to a library as oppose to a bookstore. When returning books to a library, it’s more like you tried them out, took a chance to see if you were interested in them or not. When you return a book to a bookstore, however, it’s as if there was something wrong with it, something that convinced you not to keep it.

Of course, when you return a book that you’ve purchased, it means that the book wasn’t worth the value you paid for it. You had spent a decent amount of time and energy to drive to the bookstore, to leaf through the pages, and bring it to the cashier to buy it. In keeping the book, it means it had some value, whether it was for enjoyment, or if it had some educational/informational value.

But to reach the point where you decided to return a book, it means that you no longer have any intention of reading it. It’s as if the book bored you to tears, or was so difficult to get through that it wasn’t worth the time or money you put in to buying it.

When returning books to the library, it’s not so bad, since you probably checked out a bunch of books to read. But if there’s a book in that pile that’s worth reading, a book that brought tremendous value to you, then returning it is a sad goodbye. You wish you could keep it instead.

In fact, you might drive to the bookstore afterwards to buy it, or at least, order it online. When a book has that kind of effect on you, you know that some books will stay with you forever.