Tag: learning

The Troubles of Perspective

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30 Topic Challenge: Day 13- A problem you have

I guess you could call me blessed. I spent my entire week thinking up a problem, with no possibilities. Until today, I was convinced this would turn into a blog post about how wonderful my life is and how I have no feasible problems to bother the internet with. But, shower times are good times, and it finally came to me amidst the steam. Who else is inspired while in the shower? I hope I’m not the only one. That would be awkward.

What is my problem? You might enjoy this. I have a problem with the little things. Like so many in the world, I’m obsessed with the tedious, insignificant, troubles in life. They really shouldn’t even be problems.

I like how Joe Rogan and Duncan Trussell put it. We’re literally on an enormous mass of rock, rocketing through pitch black nothingness at enormous speeds around this massive ball of gas. We’re small, insignificant bits of production in a single universe, and we’re worried about getting to work on time? Do you realize how terribly STUPID that is?

So this is my problem. It’s all about perspective. “Don’t sweat the small stuff” honestly has never been so true. The stress in my life is so insignificant compared to everything else around me, yet I still consider it a big deal. Forget space for a second. People are dying from hunger and exposure to the elements and I worry that I won’t have money to buy gas or new make up. I worry about deadlines and future plans and I forget the big picture.

My Love always laughs at me because I freak out over Chick Fil A closing at 9 and say we HAVE to go right now, even though it’s still 7. Life is “boom boom boom” in my eyes, but to what end? If all we worry about is the insignificant parts of life, what will we have left? All of our energy will go towards the negative and then we die.

I think my life, and the lives of many, would turn out less stressful if we all took time to reflect on where we are in life. The good things. The positives.

Life can be so simple. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Don’t fear being 5 minutes late. Don’t cry over a home that has been used and loved. Schedules are framework, not stone works. I leave you with this quote: “Worry is praying for something you don’t want.”

Next: Your Fears. Time to meditate on the nightmares of my brain!

Straight Up Education

Miles of Life Lines5 Comments

30 Topic Challenge: Day 8- How important you think education is.

It’s been ingrained in me all my life that I have to attend public school until I’m 18, and then I have to go to college to get a degree. I thought that was the only way to do it, and if you didn’t, you were lazy and stupid. My friends began to talk about enlisting in the military and I turned up my nose like a snob, because they chose combat over knowledge.

FYI: a piece of paper should NEVER tell you how smart you are.

FYI: if you think so, I’m sorry friend. I’m here to tell you your intelligence goes farther than words on a page with pretty borders.

We live in a day and age where information is readily available at the tips of our fingers. Thousands of colleges and universities live within the internet. Youtube is full of legitimate instruction. Blogs, articles, websites, it’s all there. I can learn more browsing the internet in a few hours than I can sitting in a class all year.

With this in mind, I think education is still extremely important. I wish the whole world could be properly educated, and I hope one day it will be. But “properly educated” doesn’t necessarily mean going through the motions like I currently am. I’m stuck in the system, but I applaud those who make something of themselves without wasting money and time learning useless equations and advanced sciences that they probably won’t need.

It is still very possible for a PhD graduate to leave college without a career. They might end up working at McDonalds, and become socially shunned. But they have a PhD! They worked for 8+ years for that piece of paper! According to the glossy words, they are highly educated, and they’re not getting a job? Shocker.

My point: education does not mean degree. Education means knowledge obtained. The latter is the most important thing you can do for yourself. The former is only important by social standards. There is a difference. 

Dear Military people and friends: I love you all. You are smart beyond measure. I was a stupid child. Thank you for your bravery and service.

Next week I explore the murky waters of the topic: how comfortable I am with my body. Which I have turned into the social disaster that is body image.