Monday, July 05, 2010

What if in the end the answer is as simple as it is incomprehensible?

They shrugged at each other.
Fook composed himself. "O Deep Thought computer," he said, "the task we have designed you to perform is this. We want you to tell us...." he paused, "The Answer."
"The Answer?" said Deep Thought. "The Answer to what?"
"Life!" urged Fook.
"The Universe!" said Lunkwill.
"Everything!" they said in chorus.
Deep Thought paused for a moment's reflection.
"Tricky," he said finally.
"But can you do it?"
Again, a significant pause.
"Yes," said Deep Thought, "I can do it."
"There is an answer?" said Fook with breathless excitement.
"Yes," said Deep Thought. "Life, the Universe, and Everything. There is an answer. But, I'll have to think about it."
Ford glanced impatiently at his watch.
"How long?" he said.
"Seven and a half million years."
Lunkwill and Fook blinked at each other.
"Seven and a half million years!" they cried in chorus.
"Yes." said Deep Thought.

[Seven and a half million years later.... Fook and Lunkwill are long gone, but their ancestors continue what they started]

"We are the ones who will hear," said Phouchg, "the answer to the great question of Life....!"
"The Universe...!" said Loonquawl.
"And Everything...!"
"Shhh," said Loonquawl with a slight gesture. "I think Deep Thought is preparing to speak!"
There was a moment's expectant pause while panels slowly came to life on the front of the console. Lights flashed on and off experimentally and settled down into a businesslike pattern. A soft low hum came from the communication channel.

"Good Morning," said Deep Thought at last.
"Er..good morning, O Deep Thought" said Loonquawl nervously, "do you have...er, that is..."
"An Answer for you?" interrupted Deep Thought majestically. "Yes, I have."
The two men shivered with expectancy. Their waiting had not been in vain.
"There really is one?" breathed Phouchg.
"There really is one," confirmed Deep Thought.
"To Everything? To the great Question of Life, the Universe and everything?"
"Yes."
Both of the men had been trained for this moment, their lives had been a preparation for it, they had been selected at birth as those who would witness the answer, but even so they found themselves gasping and squirming like excited children.
"And you're ready to give it to us?" urged Loonsuawl.
"I am."
"Now?"
"Now," said Deep Thought.
They both licked their dry lips.
"Though I don't think," added Deep Thought. "that you're going to like it."
"Doesn't matter!" said Phouchg. "We must know it! Now!"
"Now?" inquired Deep Thought.
"Yes! Now..."
"All right," said the computer, and settled into silence again. The two men fidgeted. The tension was unbearable.
"You're really not going to like it," observed Deep Thought.
"Tell us!"
"All right," said Deep Thought. "The Answer to the Great Question..."
"Yes..!"
"Of Life, the Universe and Everything..." said Deep Thought.
"Yes...!"
"Is..." said Deep Thought, and paused.
"Yes...!"
"Is..."
"Yes...!!!...?"
"Forty-two," said Deep Thought, with infinite majesty and calm."
— Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

Saturday, July 03, 2010

Fight for your love but know when to quit

I prithee send me back my heart,
Since I cannot have thine;
For if from yours you will not part,
Why, then, shouldst thou have mine?
~John Suckling
I always wonder why something so great, so big and so real can't be felt by the other person. I've seen countless examples of how a heart breaks to pieces but the one loved is numb, sometimes even unfeeling toward the weakness apparent in the lover.
Isn't that injustice?
That is not fair, at first glance.
But maybe fairness does not mean equality. Maybe the fairness lies in preventing the lover from being doomed to have a relationship that is only as strong as their love for the loved one. Who knows how long will that last? You are only as strong as your weakest link, so if your weakest link is your other half and all the burden to keep the fire burning falls on you there is no way it can withstand the realities of life.
So it is entirely possible for some to be almost dying with the want of love and the other just wished that all of that was not directed to them. It is just one of nature's cruel ways to prevent us from destroying our lives, committing it to a vain cause.
A question: will knowing this make it hurt a little less?
On the contrary, maybe it would make it hurt a little more but you will recover in less amount of time and with fewer bruises to heal.
It was not meant to be, so move on.
However, if you didn't fight for the love you want you probably never deserved in the first place.
Letting go is only applicable to the ones who try to hold on.

Thursday, July 01, 2010

Dare to rise and fly

If you are sad, do you look up or do you look down to lift your spirits up again?
Maybe the answer is the same with what you think of whether a glass is half full or half empty.
For me myself, it is not fixed. Sometimes all I see is a glass filled with something, not caring about the volume.
Well, something is better than nothing right?
Some people, especially the motivated and competitive ones would usually lift themselves up after looking up: see something not yet within their reach, striving to grab at it. Or seeing someone getting more than them, makes the drive to succeed stronger.
Another type of people would feel better when they see that the state they are in are not worse than others i.e looking down and that makes them thankful for what they have and sometimes it makes them strive harder too.
But there is another type I think: the ones that are oblivious of what other people around them have or don't have. These people have a benchmark that defined uniquely by them, a target made solely based on their priorities. Most of the time this target is to overcome self; to be better than thyself in the past. You yourself is the biggest critic. However, you also have to be your biggest fan or else what you end up doing is just clobbering yourself down and be your own worst enemy. Balance people, the keyword is balance!
But, the question that arises is what if what makes us down is out of our control? Maybe it is a person that is bugging you so much that it makes you want to tear your hair out or an unlucky chain of events that spiraled out of hand.
Maybe, just maybe it would be better for the preservation of our sanity that we retain some ability to pull ourselves up without requiring too much. Don't be too affected by the things revolving around us and at the same time not being too cold towards it either. The only thing we have control over is the way we react to things, how we conduct ourselves when faced with tough decisions, tough situations, tough people. The important thing is to keep moving, even at a snails pace. You would still be in front of those standing still, ever closer to your target.
So I think I'll leave you with something to think about:
Time is swift, it races by; Opportunities are born and die... Still you wait and will not try - A bird with wings who dares not rise and fly
~A. A. Milne