Great expectations, Great reality.

           

 Get real, miracles don't happen, I hear this phrase all too often that it has lost its impact on my mind. It is told in different words but it tends to impact the same feeling that reality is set to prove us wrong. If the definition of miracles is instantaneously turning water to wine then of course they don't happen,at least not in this century.
           When reality doesn't meet expectations, we make jokes out of them and that marks the end of expecting. Well, if these expectations were not thriving for, its okay. Otherwise, I would like to explicitly say that miracles do happen. If you choose not to see them in your life then maybe you'll probably see in others'.

            You have probably heard a lot about Michael Faraday, his scientific achievements, fame and all his might and glory. What you probably don't know is where he came from and how he came to be appear in science textbooks. He was simply a boy with big dreams. Well, here is his story, if this doesn't inspire you I don't what will. Faraday was a son of a blacksmith and he never received any formal schooling. At the age of 14, he got a job as a bookbinder's apprentice. He made impressive notes of Physics that a rich customer sponsored him to attend lectures of Humphry Davy, a prominent scientist of the time. He eventually became Davy’s assistant. You would expect that his job description would include laboratory work or book binding. Well, he was the guy who washed the dishes and brought water when someone was thirsty. He took these opportunities to get closer to physics and physicists, he read and experimented whenever he got he chance to. He kept hope alive and somehow he ended up with the immortal name. That’s nothing short of a miracle.

            Miracles, I know many are uncomfortable with this word because reality seem to have no space for them. Well, miracles are not magic tricks, they are not the magic lamps that will solve everything. Miracles are the little things or big things that defy gravity. Sometimes we are too absorbed that we don't notice them. People who make a name for themselves, the healing power of time, when expectations meet reality, that’s magic. Miracles take time, a few months, a few years or even a lifetime. The good part  is we make these miracles, consciously or not.

            I have heard and read about people who have walked the walk and talked the talk. All I can say, keep the hope alive. Why? Because reality is not final until it has met expectations. Hold onto that dream, shoot for the stars because you will land somewhere in its vicinity. Miracles do happen, if you find it impractical to count on them, then just keep it that mind. You will know one when you see one...J

           

Passion

       The Wikipedia opening line for Leonardo da Vinci goes, “Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (Italian pronunciation: [leoˈnardo da vˈvintʃi] April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519, Old Style) was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. If I have counted correctly, those are 13 professions.  He mastered all these disciplines in only 67 years of his life.  How can one resonate to all these fields? That’s the big question, and the answer is nothing but Passion.

The poet Laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote “The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions.” The French philosopher Denis Diderot wrote “Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.” Both of these men make sense, lots of sense. Truth be told, there is something admirable about passion because with passion nothing else matters, not critics nor time, nor the weather. Even better is the fact that service comes in as a by-product. It’s a win-win phenomena.  

Passion is that elixir that makes everything else silent. What we do something passionate about, we can go on forever and still be energetic. There is also something about passion that we often misunderstand. Passion is not only found in art. Musicians, authors, exude their passion; we see it because they are performers.  Other people too show their passion in a different way. Programmers who write code until they speak in code, accountants indulge in numbers as if it’s some sort of meal, they are all passionate.  Passion is an element that can develop anywhere.

            How exactly do we find that passion? It can be confusing when everyone knows exactly what they want and you don’t.  Some people rely on school grades and others simply follow their heart. Neither is wrong, but caution is to be used here. Numbers on a piece of paper, they tell something about cognitive ability to a particular subject but they say anything about creative ability or love for the subject. Things we are passionate are simply put are “matters of the heart”.Try out different things, when you find it you will know.

            What happens when you wake up one morning and the things you thought you were good at are not that exciting anymore. It does happen; we humans are really dynamic creatures. The things we like today are not exactly what we will like 5 years to come. The solution is to keep searching. Da Vinci started his career with music, he then went on to painting, science and eventually engineering and a whole lot of other things. He kept trying different things, failing some, moving on to others. That’s life.

Maybe Da Vinci was a genius and it is impractical to walk in his shoes. Maybe that’s true, but there is a lot to learn from him.  Some people say, find your passion and stick to it.  I say find your passion, enjoy it and keep searching. My passion may be writing, or science, or music , I don't know for sure, that's why I'm still exploring. Whether you know your passion or not, keep searching, it’s what makes life amazing.

Our deepest fears.

            Sometimes when I think of the giants who walked this earth, I wonder what was going through their minds. I think of Marie Curie and I wonder if she always knew she was an exceptional woman. Wasn’t there any source of doubt as she entered the "man's" field? I think of Michael Faraday and I wonder how despite being a smith’s son he appeared in our textbooks. Wasn’t he at some point afraid that he was too inadequate to speak to the most intelligent people of the time? I wonder, but then I remember they didn’t live in isolated bubbles. They were humans, who lived in societies of ordinary people, Of course they had fears.

                       

Isaac Newton; he is the guy without whom Physics textbooks are incomplete. He is the man who would write about gravitation, head the Royal Mint, and sit in the parliament simultaneously. Those are just details of his achievements, what I haven’t told you is that he once asked the Parliament windows be closed so that no one would hear his stutter. The incredible Sir Isaac Newton was afraid? That’s an unlikely scenario, but he was human of course he had this pre-installed software.

            When Miss Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, I’m assuming a trail of thoughts went through her mind. The judicial consequences of her actions on not only herself but also her family, the financial consequences and everything everyone else feared of. But she did it anyway, she spoke her mind despite the fear she humanly had.

            Biologically, Fear is the brain’s reaction to a stimulus where chemicals are released that raise the heart rate. This definition is incomplete without mentioning the fact that it has the effect of causing pulling away/ hiding. Fear, it is the most inhibiting and negative feeling you will ever have. It’s the reason why people take their dreams to the grave. It is the source of regrets and the sad part is it is a requirement for every human being. That being said, It is totally fine to have fear.

            I’m a good fan of the phrase “Everything is possible” and how naive that sounds because in the real world some (if not many) things are not possible. But I still believe, well, because if you look around, the world is modeled by people who said “Screw fear, I’m going to do it anyway” and miracles happened. So I guess I’m right to believe that everything you are willing to commit is possible.

            “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” That’s a popular quote by Nelson Mandela and summarizes 1000 words. Most people say you shouldn’t fear; it doesn’t sound natural, I think what they mean to say is; be afraid but do it anyway.

The world’s biggest failures

            They say stories speak louder essays (well I said so). So, I just want to enumerate the biggest ‘failures’ to ever happen in history.

1.       Abraham Lincoln, I know he is cliché’  but Lincoln’s life story is practically told in terms of his losses. His mother died while young, he failed in business, lost several jobs, his fiancee’ died before marriage. Not only was his personal life a mess but also his political endeavors. He ran for congress 4 times and lost, he ran for senate twice and lost as well. It takes lots of strength and determination to endure all that and not quit. Well, he eventually became the President of United States, not bad for a happy ending.

2.       Albert Einstein didn’t speak until the age of four, he didn’t read until he was seven. He suffered the embarrassing torture of unemployment too! It turns out he was actually a genius.

3.       Thomas Edison’s teachers remarked that he was too dumb to learn anything. Turns he didn’t need to learn. The world had to learn from him.

4.       Walt Disney( the guy who built the Disney empire) was fired from his newspaper editing job because he wasn’t creative enough. Well Disney World is creative by all definitions.

5.       Eden Full, (www.edenfull.ca ) claims that only 3 of 50 applications were successful. I find it hard to believe but she is the girl that makes panels salute to the sun.

Need I say more? Life is amazing, right? Yes it is. Here is to all the ‘failures’ in the world. The next time you think you are a failure, think again, ‘failures’  run this world :) .