mardi, août 23, 2005
maybe you'll get what you wanted; maybe you'll stumble upon it
At school this year Scott (fellow thirty-year-old) was my link to non-student world (he was still a student, of course). Obviously, as you get older and have had more life experiences, it's a little harder to relate to those younger folks. We would share a couple of bottles of wine and sometimes we would get into discussions with those same younger folks about what that subtle ingredient was that made them seem so young to us. I mean, it's not like they have less intelligence or anything. But a couple times it was volunteered that whatever naïveté or ignorance they had, they were fine with keeping it, if it meant sticking to their ideals and maintaining their enthusiasm and innocence. I think everybody looks at the generation ahead of them and gets scared, because they see a certain reserved demeanour as boring and resigned, or as having given up the fight or something.
That can definitely happen. It's easy to let life beat you down. But one thing I've learned is that life is cyclical. You really do gotta endure some tough stuff in order to get round to the better times. Not only that, but you're likely to appreciate both the good and bad more once you see what they can teach you. Life doesn't usually turn out the way you think it's going to, and that's something you can only learn by going through it.
I think one mistake that some people make, though, is mistaking pragmatism for cynicism or callousness. Throughout your life, the more you experience something, the less intense your reaction will likely be to it. I think somebody who doesn't become somewhat subdued in their reactions to something they've seen over and over again might be considered rather dumb. Isn't it just a psychological adaptation to be less reactionary in the face of conflict, disapppointment, or even good fortune? We have more controlled reactions, because we know that we all have our moments in the sun. And we all have our letdowns. But choosing to intensify them by fixating on them doesn't help anyone cope. Life keeps moving on.
I'm not less human because I don't like drama or the crazy ups and downs that I experienced when I was younger. I'm probably a little dumb for being less pragmatic about beer, however. | ¶ 12:03 a.m.
That can definitely happen. It's easy to let life beat you down. But one thing I've learned is that life is cyclical. You really do gotta endure some tough stuff in order to get round to the better times. Not only that, but you're likely to appreciate both the good and bad more once you see what they can teach you. Life doesn't usually turn out the way you think it's going to, and that's something you can only learn by going through it.
I think one mistake that some people make, though, is mistaking pragmatism for cynicism or callousness. Throughout your life, the more you experience something, the less intense your reaction will likely be to it. I think somebody who doesn't become somewhat subdued in their reactions to something they've seen over and over again might be considered rather dumb. Isn't it just a psychological adaptation to be less reactionary in the face of conflict, disapppointment, or even good fortune? We have more controlled reactions, because we know that we all have our moments in the sun. And we all have our letdowns. But choosing to intensify them by fixating on them doesn't help anyone cope. Life keeps moving on.
I'm not less human because I don't like drama or the crazy ups and downs that I experienced when I was younger. I'm probably a little dumb for being less pragmatic about beer, however. | ¶ 12:03 a.m.
