What is Balance? Part 2
How do you come to accept new things and integrate it into your life? A very simple question is asking, what websites do you visit everyday?
I have three constant sites I will visit almost everyday (sometimes just merely opening the website and left it in a tab). They are Facebook, Google Reader, and Hotmail. Facebook is to keep updated with my friends, Reader is to stay connected with the world through RSS, and Hotmail is to check if I win any 1 Million Dollars lottery through email spams. These three websites are like breakfast, lunch and dinner to me. I forgot how I picked them up, but it just came in handy into my life.
Later on, I visit Humordatabase, a joke website. Then I started to look at 9gag.com, and then Cracked. Lately I have been reading FreeMalaysiaToday and Malaysia-today, especially since the Sarawak state election and now the BERSIH campaign. But it's 9gag that I will visit as frequent as the other three websites previously mentioned. Why?
The reason is simple: It is my personality. I love fun things, and I'm lazy to search for interesting stuffs all over the internet. So 9gag is where all the fun compiles together. Because of 9gag, I started to like the Meme phenomena, and fell in love with Rage Comics. These are all simple comical websites that keep me entertained, for they're not only silly, but I am able to reflect what the characters in the stories did on myself. That means, they are comics about our daily life which I can relate to myself.
I notice my pattern of expanding visits to more websites, and that I will most likely to visit websites which are related to me. Some websites I have left out in time, like the ones I can remember are k2nblog (for downloading k-pop) and yahoo NBA. Some I picked up lately, like reddit-ragecomic. It shows that my life is changing, and that what I used to love yesterday may not be what I want to want today.
And that's the beauty of balance.
Balancing oneself doesn't mean keeping a steady pace on the path you set for yourself. Sometimes you have to go detour, because you no longer want to walk that way, or it is inaccessible. Sometimes you have to break through. Like for me, my purpose of visiting the internet is to stay connected, and have entertainment (and information when needed). My method of staying connected is still the same, but how I find entertainment is changing (or rather, evolving). I used to read Japanese comics, but now I find it rather time-consuming because of the lengthy plot. Today I prefer quick shot of cocktails, things like rage-comic can provide brief blast of laughter without tying me onto the weekly scheduled release of comics. I can have it everywhere, and the best thing is, I can have it from any authors.
And I believe I will keep finding the balance in me using the internet, for the world of technology is changing rapidly, hence websites we used today may be obsolete in the future (Remember Friendster and IRC?). So, there is no point of sticking to one websites forever since the internet always promise us with more and more interesting websites.
That's the story of a moving balance. A balance with change in it. Change not only to cope with the lacking of something, but to feel the other side of your own world. For me, balance is not static, but rather a dynamic movement of elements in life which keeps me comfortable with who I am.
And I hope you can find your own balance.
Showing posts with label Idea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Idea. Show all posts
Jul 7, 2011
What is Balance?
What is Balance?
For some, it means equally divided portions between two edges. Like a mathematical equation: X/2, where X denotes any number. Their understanding of balance is simple, just divided the matter equally between both opposites. As an example, in order to share a cupcake between two person, the ideal balanced method is to cut it into half. Each person has half of the cake.
For some, it means a magnitude which they are most comfortable with. These people do not usually think dividing things equally means balance. For them, they divide the things in a way they please, depending not only on the item itself, but also other situation factors. For example, two siblings sharing two apples. The elder one has the bigger apple, and the younger one has the smaller apple. The apple is not equally divided, but both parties think it is balance.
Have you noticed, that many things in your life, you try to achieve the balance? Some of us call it stable, some name it routine. Whatever you call it, you know that whatever you do, you try to find the right way to achieve a constant result. It's just like driving a car, where you find a comfortable posture of your legs on the pedals, your hands on the steering, and your back on the right position of the cushion. You try to find the balance when driving.
Balancing yourself starts as early as your first breath in this world. You breathe in hard, and you exhale softly. You try to find the rhythm of breathing. Did you notice your pattern of breathing now? In certain condition you changed the rhythm. Like when you're angry, you breathe faster. When you're exhausted, you breathe deeper. Not everyone follows the same rhythm, but that's how you want it to be.
Then the idea of balance spreading wider into all aspects of your life. You start to walk. The first time you walk, you will definitely fall down (until today, you still can fall down). You try to control your muscles, finding the right amount of power to exert on your ankle to hold your body up. And then you raise your bent knees, with both your hands spreading wide like an eagle to divide your weight. It was a beautiful scene of balance.
And then you enter school. You try to cope with all the homeworks and revisions. You were told that the frustration of not being able to meet deadlines and score in exams is called stress. You try to learn to cope with stress, like drinking, eating compulsively, and even DBP (Denial by procrastinating). All those things you did, was trying to balance your study so that you can grow steadily.
Yes, the keywords are balance - steady. The reason you try to reach a balance is because you want a steady result. It's as simple as that. But are you aware of a situation, where reaching a balance requires you to pull yourself out of a steady state and enter the volatile once again, especially in a changing environment?
Con't.
For some, it means equally divided portions between two edges. Like a mathematical equation: X/2, where X denotes any number. Their understanding of balance is simple, just divided the matter equally between both opposites. As an example, in order to share a cupcake between two person, the ideal balanced method is to cut it into half. Each person has half of the cake.
For some, it means a magnitude which they are most comfortable with. These people do not usually think dividing things equally means balance. For them, they divide the things in a way they please, depending not only on the item itself, but also other situation factors. For example, two siblings sharing two apples. The elder one has the bigger apple, and the younger one has the smaller apple. The apple is not equally divided, but both parties think it is balance.
Have you noticed, that many things in your life, you try to achieve the balance? Some of us call it stable, some name it routine. Whatever you call it, you know that whatever you do, you try to find the right way to achieve a constant result. It's just like driving a car, where you find a comfortable posture of your legs on the pedals, your hands on the steering, and your back on the right position of the cushion. You try to find the balance when driving.
Balancing yourself starts as early as your first breath in this world. You breathe in hard, and you exhale softly. You try to find the rhythm of breathing. Did you notice your pattern of breathing now? In certain condition you changed the rhythm. Like when you're angry, you breathe faster. When you're exhausted, you breathe deeper. Not everyone follows the same rhythm, but that's how you want it to be.
Then the idea of balance spreading wider into all aspects of your life. You start to walk. The first time you walk, you will definitely fall down (until today, you still can fall down). You try to control your muscles, finding the right amount of power to exert on your ankle to hold your body up. And then you raise your bent knees, with both your hands spreading wide like an eagle to divide your weight. It was a beautiful scene of balance.
And then you enter school. You try to cope with all the homeworks and revisions. You were told that the frustration of not being able to meet deadlines and score in exams is called stress. You try to learn to cope with stress, like drinking, eating compulsively, and even DBP (Denial by procrastinating). All those things you did, was trying to balance your study so that you can grow steadily.
Yes, the keywords are balance - steady. The reason you try to reach a balance is because you want a steady result. It's as simple as that. But are you aware of a situation, where reaching a balance requires you to pull yourself out of a steady state and enter the volatile once again, especially in a changing environment?
Con't.
Jun 8, 2011
Uninvited feeling
When you are lonely, what do you feel?
Scenario: You are alone at your room tonight. All of your friends are out to town partying. You are looking at the Facebook Wall waiting for the notification button to light up.
1. Being alone and cold?
2. Sad?
3. Want somebody to accompany?
4. Admire others who have their own company?
(p/s: The list could be different depends on how you define loneliness)
Now let me ask you, please read the question patiently and answer it truthfully...
When you feel lonely, which specific feeling you noticed on yourself according to the list above? One, two, three, or all of the above?
What I want you to notice is that, most of the time, you don't have all of the elements of loneliness happened on you at the same time. Let me explain my crude assumption:
Scenario: You are alone at your room tonight. All of your friends are out to town partying. You are looking at the Facebook Wall waiting for the notification button to light up.
You saw your friends upload their pictures. Couple pics, activities pics, those pics made you felt... like you are not like them. You did not have the same experience as they do. You start to think that you are single. So in a Saturday night like this, you have nobody to date.
You suddenly felt... empty. Then you go into your mind. Try to define this feeling. What is the name of this feeling?
The closest answer your brain gave you is:
LONELY
You agreed with your brain. You then tell yourself, you are lonely. Then naturally, you recall the feeling of loneliness. What do you always feel when you are lonely? Your mind tells you, you will feel: "alone and cold, sad because nobody is around to share the moment with you, want somebody to accompany you now, and admire your friends who are having fun out in town".
Naturally, you start to recall those feelings. You start to notice that you are still alone in the room, with nobody around you to talk to you. You start to scroll the Facebook wall, trying to find someone to talk to you or comment on your status update. You could even find your phone, open the phone book, and find someone to message to him/her. You feel sad, because nobody responds to you. The time seems so long, and you hunger for the notification button to light up. You may open a new tab, but you don't know which website you should visit. You feel restless. You feel wanting a partner very much. You think you are desperate, but you do not want to be desperate. You try to act cool, but the void (emptiness) in your heart is beginning to grow wider and wider and wider.
Now stop.
And look back to the above paragraph. Ask yourself.
What did you feel before you start to "feel" lonely? Do you think after you "feel" lonely, you start to feel worse?
This is what I realized tonight. If you understand what I am conveying, then you will feel a sudden chill in your bones.
We are actually making ourselves feel more than what we felt,
when we define our current feeling with a term.
I can elaborate much more, but I'll let you do the job for now. I'll allow you to learn about yourself, by yourself, for yourself.
Good night.
Jun 7, 2011
Coffee or Tea?
Coffee or Tea?
I was asked to expand my imagination on this title. Coffee or Tea? The first thing that popped out of my mind is Romance. Sweet~ Oh, but why? I'll tell that later.
So, another opinion given is that coffee and tea each possesses distinctive and inverse personality. Coffee lovers can be wildly perceived as people who are passionate in their adventures, who embrace life to the fullest, and do not say NO to any opportunity presented to them. On the other hand, Tea enthusiasts can be imagined as people who are calm and steady in the face of violent tides, carry themselves well in proper manner, and always have a mild sense of humor.
See? This isn't any stereotype, but a form of expanding your horizon to a given topic. A diverged mind can magnify a grain of idea into gigantic fantasies, just like a little candle when lit in a dark room, the whole room is filled with the light of that little pal. Ideas are expansive, ideas are ever changing, and good ideas can revolutionize not just ourselves but also to people around us. Remember Gandhi proposing peace without violence? I'm not born at that time. But I believe that his idea of acquiring peace is almost impossible to the others' view. Yet Gandhi stood up for his ideology, and the rest is history.
Oh, why is that the title make me think of romance?
Coffee, tea, or me.
I was asked to expand my imagination on this title. Coffee or Tea? The first thing that popped out of my mind is Romance. Sweet~ Oh, but why? I'll tell that later.
So, another opinion given is that coffee and tea each possesses distinctive and inverse personality. Coffee lovers can be wildly perceived as people who are passionate in their adventures, who embrace life to the fullest, and do not say NO to any opportunity presented to them. On the other hand, Tea enthusiasts can be imagined as people who are calm and steady in the face of violent tides, carry themselves well in proper manner, and always have a mild sense of humor.
See? This isn't any stereotype, but a form of expanding your horizon to a given topic. A diverged mind can magnify a grain of idea into gigantic fantasies, just like a little candle when lit in a dark room, the whole room is filled with the light of that little pal. Ideas are expansive, ideas are ever changing, and good ideas can revolutionize not just ourselves but also to people around us. Remember Gandhi proposing peace without violence? I'm not born at that time. But I believe that his idea of acquiring peace is almost impossible to the others' view. Yet Gandhi stood up for his ideology, and the rest is history.
Oh, why is that the title make me think of romance?
Coffee, tea, or me.
May 11, 2011
Better
Most of us have this hope, that we are better than the others. It may happen during a competition, it may happen before or after an examination, heck, it could even happen when peeing to compete who finish pee-ing first!
The issue is, how do you hope that you are better than the others?
Basically there are two situations:
A - We are better when the others slack
B - We are better when we outperform the others even when they give their best shot
We sometimes hope that we can win because of others mistakes. Like in a football match, the opponent kicked an own goal. Like in a swimming competition, other contestants did not rest enough the day before. Or even like in the movie (3 idiots), where Chatur issued ero mag to the students before exam begins.
I'm here not to condemn this but actually it is one of the many tactics businesses used (and continue using) to defeat their competitors. But before that we shall see the situation. If the reward is scarce, therefore impaling the competitors is a good way to success (ethics aside). If the reward is abundant, therefore it is no need to attack the other candidates but instead focusing on improving our ability to obtain the reward.
Dec 20, 2010
Tip
There's one book i read in my holiday that stands out differently from the other books I used to read before. I was holding "The Tipping Point" the other day but just couldn't make myself turn to the other page. Normally this happens on boring textbooks where I can stare at the first page for hours. Engaging books are page turners where I love to read as quickly as possible to get to the next story scene or ideas. However, this one is really different, outstanding I should say. I kept pondering a trivial idea from what I read.
Do you know about the equation y=mx+c? This is the straight-lined slope which always depicting gradual progress on the dependent variable as the independent variable increases. That's how most people view life to be as: Don't you agree that things develop at a gradual pace rather than...
Rather than steadily changes over time, most things in life happens strikingly so that you'd notice them. It's like the story of cooking a frog. A frog is placed on a pan. If hot water is poured into the pan, the frog will most likely jump out of it. Nevertheless, if you heat the pan slowly, the frog will also adapt to the heat until a point when it is totally cooked. Now, most of us are complacent to things happening around us, like it's okay to throw rubbish outside your moving car, it's alright to drink another can of beer at the party. Disaster won't usually happen because people did something radical, instead, it happens because of gradual taken for granted actions that silently lead to chaos. That's how pollution happens, that's how obesity-related illness happen, that's how undesired things happen as a result of continual misdeeds.
Well, think it like a logic karma, when a small good deed is performed over time, it'll lead to fruitful return, and vice versa. Normally people won't be bothered to change a petty but harmful behavior, they're more likely to concern the visible, loud happenings. And yet the silent one normally speaks louder and frightens the hell outta you!
Do you know about the equation y=mx+c? This is the straight-lined slope which always depicting gradual progress on the dependent variable as the independent variable increases. That's how most people view life to be as: Don't you agree that things develop at a gradual pace rather than...
Rather than steadily changes over time, most things in life happens strikingly so that you'd notice them. It's like the story of cooking a frog. A frog is placed on a pan. If hot water is poured into the pan, the frog will most likely jump out of it. Nevertheless, if you heat the pan slowly, the frog will also adapt to the heat until a point when it is totally cooked. Now, most of us are complacent to things happening around us, like it's okay to throw rubbish outside your moving car, it's alright to drink another can of beer at the party. Disaster won't usually happen because people did something radical, instead, it happens because of gradual taken for granted actions that silently lead to chaos. That's how pollution happens, that's how obesity-related illness happen, that's how undesired things happen as a result of continual misdeeds.
Well, think it like a logic karma, when a small good deed is performed over time, it'll lead to fruitful return, and vice versa. Normally people won't be bothered to change a petty but harmful behavior, they're more likely to concern the visible, loud happenings. And yet the silent one normally speaks louder and frightens the hell outta you!
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