Dream Dream Dream

I was depressed, so I needed something to cheer me up. Some sort of a life lesson that would inspire me-breathing in the meaning of life. And Jennifer Baltz seemed to be the right one. As I was reading her blog posts, I became calm and tranquil.

On this particular blog titled, "An Old Dog Teaches His Humans Some New Tricks," Jennifer talks about what her old dog Wunjo taught her. Wunjo was very sick and was always in pain that the doctors recommended her to put her into "sleep." Whenever the dog saw her talking to the vet, the dog "rallies immediately, letting me know in no uncertain terms that he’s not ready to go … yet." The dog, Wunjo, he had passion. Passion for life.

If you're thinking that she is just exaggerating the facts, I must say..."same here." I felt that way too when I read this post. But that is not the point she is trying to make is it? Whether you believe that the dog was insisting on its owner to give him some time or not simply doesn't matter (if you're a pet lover, go ahead and interpret it that way). But she is here talking about the passion of the people that drives our lives. Without a set of goal, without the willingness to achieve the goal, without expectations, nothing can be done.

There is an old saying in Korean which could be translated to this: Don't look up the tree if you can't climb up the tree. Yes, it is a realistic advice and a practical one too. But if we just do things that we already know so well and do not take challenges, what is the fun of life? Your life would be too plain and banal. Why can't we look up at a tree and dream about climbing up there? If you don't dream, or in other words, if you don't crave something, you won't even be near to reaching your goals. Just like when you try to grab an apple from a tall tree, you must stretch out your arms up high and at least have hope that you would reach it. If you have the willingness to reach your goal, "just do it." Don't let others look down on you.

Everybody has the right to dream about a dream.
Dream when you can.
Life is just a little too short to hesitate-don't you think?

Self-Sufficiency

I was cruising down my lineup of cable channels one day, and I sat idly only to end up watching Nickelodeon. The archetypical plot of a good versus evil was so obvious to me now, unlike the days of my youth when I was so fascinated and intrigued, or rather distracted by the flashy animation and setting, only to become totally oblivious to the concept of good versus evil and self-sufficiency. As in any children’s story, the good vs. evil phenomenon is noticeable to even the most inattentive reader or watcher. Take the Wizard of Oz for example. Here, the Witches of the North and South and Dorothy play the role of ‘good.’ They have superior power and control over the ‘axis of evil,’ which is portrayed through the Witches of the East and West, and the Winged Monkeys in some parts of the novel. When these creatures come to assault Dorothy and her friends, they take notice of the ‘kiss’ that the Witch of the North gave to Dorothy, and stops attacking. The concept of self-sufficiency also proves to be as prevalent as the theme of good versus evil. The major characters of the novel, Dorothy, the Tin Woodsman, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow seek to obtain qualities that they already possess through magical power. The Tin Woodsman initially believes he lacks human qualities, especially feeling emotions. This is proved wrong, however. There is a scene in which he cries and the tears forces his jaws shut. This reflects the fact that he does indeed possess a human heart. He also kills a beetle lying around, and cries in lament. The Scarecrow, also yearning for a brain, demonstrates that he can think analytically as humans do in chapter six. The Scarecrow reacts to the Tin Woodsman’s problem by loosening his jaw with oil in an amazingly swift manner. This, in turn, proves the Scarecrow’s appropriate use of logic. The Lion is constantly found thinking to himself that he is a coward; however, he does not realize that courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the ability to act despite the fear. He displays sheer courage when killing the giant spider. Dorothy is met with a want for an abstract idea: the path to home. At first, she is stressed out and lost. However, she provides the stepping stones to return home by acting crisp and clear, and by showing a resolute attitude toward her goal. She is serendipitously given the Silver Shoes to help her meet the Wizard of Oz, and through a hard fought battle, she ends up reaching Kansas. These characters demonstrate what self-sufficiency is in a manner that I have yet to realize. The simple nature cartoons and animated shows were of seldom significance and hardly a source for understanding the big picture of life in any way. However, I have yet a long way to go, since I have only now realized the inner values and ideals simple cartoons and G-rated shows can provide.

Delayed Gratification

Life is like a box of chocolates, said some boy in that movie, Forrest Gump. Truly, that is something everyone can concur with. But not all of those chocolates are sweet. Some are sweet, but most are not. Some are bitter, black, and foul in taste. An assortment even comes with different size, shape, not to mention flavor. We can likewise laugh in triumph and satisfaction, or grimace in pain and failure. And in the mist of these crossroads of emotions and mixed feelings are expectations and goals. Whether it is scoring in your first soccer game, getting an A in your chemistry test, or counting down the days till Christmas, goals remain as goals to be achieved, and goals remain as profound sources of happiness and satisfaction when we achieve those goals. But I can daresay that these goals have different degrees of happiness and satisfaction involved. It is hard to describe in words the entirety of the concept of delay of gratification. The longer we wait for something, the happier we are when we get that or achieve that. But I recently realized something. I realized that sometimes, the excitement of the anticipation and the expected happiness that comes just at the moments before the actual “thing” itself is sometimes more sensational. Sometimes, it just so adds up to be that the actual “thing” is not really as good as what it expected to be. In that case, the moments leading up to that, the hours, days, or weeks waiting for that “thing” to take place is more worthy. This unorthodox form of delay of gratification can be used to tell what really is worth it for you. If the happiness and satisfaction of that actual “thing” exceeds that of which you get from the moments leading up to that, then voila, your pursuit was well rewarded and for good reason and purpose.