What is this wanderlust thing that makes one want to travel again and again? To see new sights, experience new places, new food, new culture? Recharges one mentally and emotionally? Sometimes I wonder if this endless cycle of working just to save enough money to travel is a good thing.
Aim for minor improvements. Instead of trying to improve by a foot, aim to improve by an inch. It is easier to achieve, and not as daunting as striving for a foot.
But if I made 100 improvements of an inch, that will be 100 inches.
Inch by inch. Adding them up will be equivalent to a massive improvement.
Strive to be a little better than I am yesterday, each day.
Found this word ‘Pensées’ in a book that I am currently reading. It is French for ‘thoughts’. It is the name of a book published posthumously in 1670 by Blaise Pascal, the famous French mathematician, physicist and inventor. The book consists of ideas and jottings of Pascal, who was preparing for any apology for Christianity.
There are some gems in the book, for e.g., “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone. “, “Curiosity is only vanity. We usually only want to know something so that we can talk about it. “
Kind of reminds me of The Big Bang Theory’s creator Chuck Lorre famous trademark vanity cards, which usually reads like an editorial, essay or observation on life.
Anyway the main point of this post is that I am hoping I can start writing more Pensées here instead of leaving this blog empty for so long.
P.S Is it only me or does anyone else thinks the word Pensées looks like the word Penis?
Currently reading this book where in one chapter, the author mentioned that being average has become the standard of failure. This is because the culture’s standard of success is to be extraordinary as everyone is special and deserves attention. He said that in reality, the vast majority of life will be boring and not noteworthy, and that is okay. One will be much happier if one has a growing appreciation for life’s basic experiences.
I used to think that I will only share experiences, or feelings on social media or blog posts when they are extraordinary and noteworthy. Perhaps it is time to note down the ordinary stuff now, to appreciate there is nothing wrong with living a largely mundane life.
Perhaps things are ordinary for a reason; because they are what truly matters.
There is this saying that is often quoted about how we never appreciate anything until it is gone. I just realised how true this is.
My washing machine broke down recently.
I did not realise how much I have relied on my washing machine in my life. It had become so much part of my life that I have taken it for granted. After each run, just throw the sweaty running gear into the washing machine. Handles the washing of my clothes during the weekend. It was literally one of the tools that kept my house clean.
Now I have to handwash my clothes while waiting for the repairman to repair it. The last time I handwashed my clothes was, what, during my NS days. And repairmen do not work on weekends. Am I suppose to take a day’s leave just so I can get my washing machine repaired?
Now I hope my aircon do not break down next.
This sums it best, “Thanks for every thing you do.”
I was reading this book about running. I hardly have any time nowadays to read, so when I do get the time, I want to make sure it has something to do with what I am currently interested in.
The author mentioned that there will never be a perfect time to run. There will always be something that prevents from having a perfect run, be it the weather, a muscle ache etc, but what runners do is to just take everything in their stride, and run. It is this ‘can do’ approach to running which runners should also apply it to their life.
It’s true. After running for more than a year and half, there is always something that gets in the way of a perfect run. If it is not hot, then perhaps there is rain. If there is no rain, then perhaps I have not recover sufficiently from the run yesterday, or if I did, then perhaps the calf muscles are still aching. If I was to find an excuse not to run, I will have the whole book as thick as the dictionary to choose from.
It is the same with life. There will never be a good or perfect time to do anything. If I am forever waiting for the perfect moment to do something, I will most probably end up doing nothing. I will just have to know what is lacking, what is bad, find workarounds and just go ahead and do it.
Learning life lessons from running. Another benefits of running.
Today is one of those days that when I viewed it from another angle, I realised things that I was stressed out about were actually irrelevant. There is absolutely no need for me to be helpful as it was not my problem. I just need to voice what I think and not offer any solution because it is not my problem.
Sometimes life is so much easier when viewing it from another angle.
I think the reason why I love the songs from the 80’s is due to the fact that period had some of the happiest days of my life. The innocence, the youth, the eagerness, embracing everything life has to offer.
Or maybe this is the mid life crisis me speaking.
This song was like the unofficial anthem of my friends and I when we were much younger. The lyrics will so appropriate at that time:
It’s so hard to get old without a cause
I don’t want to perish like a fading horse
Youth is like diamonds in the sun
And diamonds are forever
So many adventures couldn’t happen today
So many songs we forgot to play
So many dreams are swinging out of the blue
We let them come true
We were young, carefree, naïve, innocent, and most importantly, we all had dreams.
When did our dreams died? When did the reality of life sink in?
When did my dreams died? I don’t remember.
