Ah, a new year, new goals. I wonder, do you have a resolution in place for yourselves regarding this turning of the clock? It’s been well-documented that a lot of people aim to do better, but never actually get to a point where they’re happy with what they’ve done. Luckily, I don’t set goals. But I can relate to wanting more.
I’m a person who dreams big, as is evidenced by the current tagline of this website. I can’t always foster the growth of simple things, though–whether that be in the physical realm (such as a plant), or perhaps in a more abstract sense. I say getting a long-held dream concretized, pinned down, and “accomplished” is easy because many people have distilled their formulae for doing just that.
But is it really?
That’s what I ask myself, literally all the time. And I think the trouble in me cycling through these thoughts repeatedly (other than me not finding an answer) is that there is no answer. For example: on forums I comb often, it’s accepted that everyone has a different learning style; but it’s also contested that anybody does. In my attempt to shake my brain down for a viewpoint on this, what I’ve decided is that some things can be truly objective… but a lot of times, subjective reasoning wins out. And that doesn’t mean the person utilizing the subjective process is illogical or unreasonable, not by a long shot.
Of course, yes, I’m one of those people. But I do run into other people making use of the same logical framework in their brains. And seeing how their minds work, in comparison with my own–plus the analysis implied–has really sharpened my own skills. It’s also what brought on that realization that everyone learns at their own pace, and learning needn’t have strict benchmarks in order for the content being covered to stick.
Someone close to me mentions a certain Swiss psychologist’s–Jean Piaget’s–theory of learning and growth quite often when we talk about how I can stall out and get frustrated with trying to conquer so many projects, including launching my career or building/reinforcing connections with people. It’s safe to say I love the initial phase of planning, and daydreaming what it’d be like to do various activities.
But what I love maybe just a little bit less is actually tapping into my go-getter self to execute the plan to achieve greatness.
So I’ve learnt to get around this problem by letting the goals come to me, as opposed to me chasing after the goals. Before it was a ceaseless hunt where I’d nearly always lose the game. But I’m really no hunter.
I’m really more of a bird watcher, or a kindly helper of woodland creatures. I garner trust with the butterflies and wishing dandelions that are my aims, and I work on them slowly, when I come out of my hand-built cottage full of creature comforts.
I’m not telling the readers of this blog post to live life like me, as it really isn’t an ideal way to live. As I said, there is no answer to life, because you don’t know why you were put here. Sure, your parents may have said, “You’re here because we love you, and all you need to do is live,” or maybe you’re more spiritually inclined and believe a higher power will light the way to your purpose. Either way, we aren’t born knowing the answer to the problem of life. What’s more, new issues arise all the time that you will need to solve–even those of life-altering importance that you may not realize carry as much weight as they do.
I know this is a language blog, but as it is one of my “callings” in life, I’ve decided to educate and illuminate those dark passages in the (seemingly) haunted mansion we all have to cross through in order to get to the dinner table with our loved ones, the study with a hundred books on our preferred topic, or the lawn where we can see the sunset just before all the stars shine down at our own star-studded selves.
A philosopher I am not, but a wanderer, yes. And in my wanderings, I find it quite good to be the wielder of a pen.
So grab that old ballpoint that you saved from exploding in your workwear, and capture the visions of those stars you spy just after dark. Write of your family’s journey from faraway lands to a better life, or just a better collective mental state. But don’t forget the haunting you felt when you were all alone, and remember the ghosts of “before”, so that you may create the living “now”.
Ghosts have feelings, too, you know.
If you seek to gain knowledge this year, look inward, and remember you’re someone’s ghost–most of all that person you see looking at you in the mirror.
And above all, remember: they are more useful to us than we perceive.
(Preview image by jr korpa on Unsplash.com)
For the Love of Words 