I haven't forgotten everything about Physics. My mind often drifts back to the First Law of Motion when I keep thinking about how busy I get everyday. How each day just rolls into one another and the weeks and months just pass me by. How often when someone asks me "How are you?", I would invariably say, "Good, good... busy" because I either can't remember what I've done recently that was significant enough to talk about because I've just been going through the motion of it all without reflecting on what I've done and why I do them. This is where the connection is between my topic today and the first law of motion.
The First Law of Motion states that :
"Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it."
You know, I've learnt that busy-ness is a uniform state of life, like that in the first law of motion. And unless we do something to counter-act that (ie. apply an external force), it will remain in that state. Has the light bulb turned on yet? Ever since I learnt that I've looked at life in a different light. I didn't have to be propelled by the demands of others on me anymore if I stop and think about where I am, what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. I could prioritise rest & relax, holidays and time-off into my schedule and not feel guilty about it because I know it's a necessity, not a luxury. Unless I do that, busy-ness will always prevail and it will seep into every free time I have like air filling up any vacuum it can sniff out.
Recently I heard someone mentioned a survey that was done on a group of elderly people and the question was, "What would you have done differently if you had the chance to do it all over again?". The top three responses were: 1. Take more risks 2. xxxxx (can't remember!)3. Reflect. (Unfortunately he didn't give any references and I can't find the source of it now.)
So, take time off, put something off today that you can do tomorrow if it can wait - most things can wait if you're prepared to leave it! Ask yourself questions like, "What's the worst case scenario if this is not done today?". See the bigger picture - are you being ruled by urgencies in life that surmounts to nothing much in the bigger scheme of things. Have you been proscrastinating doing something because you've been too busy? If so, maybe it's time to do some reflection and apply some external force to change the direction of things. Maybe it's just doing nothing. Maybe it's lending a hand to someone that's been in your heart for a while. Perhaps maybe the picture below will inspire you for something else! Follow your heart!
The First Law of Motion states that :
"Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it."
You know, I've learnt that busy-ness is a uniform state of life, like that in the first law of motion. And unless we do something to counter-act that (ie. apply an external force), it will remain in that state. Has the light bulb turned on yet? Ever since I learnt that I've looked at life in a different light. I didn't have to be propelled by the demands of others on me anymore if I stop and think about where I am, what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. I could prioritise rest & relax, holidays and time-off into my schedule and not feel guilty about it because I know it's a necessity, not a luxury. Unless I do that, busy-ness will always prevail and it will seep into every free time I have like air filling up any vacuum it can sniff out.
Recently I heard someone mentioned a survey that was done on a group of elderly people and the question was, "What would you have done differently if you had the chance to do it all over again?". The top three responses were: 1. Take more risks 2. xxxxx (can't remember!)3. Reflect. (Unfortunately he didn't give any references and I can't find the source of it now.)
So, take time off, put something off today that you can do tomorrow if it can wait - most things can wait if you're prepared to leave it! Ask yourself questions like, "What's the worst case scenario if this is not done today?". See the bigger picture - are you being ruled by urgencies in life that surmounts to nothing much in the bigger scheme of things. Have you been proscrastinating doing something because you've been too busy? If so, maybe it's time to do some reflection and apply some external force to change the direction of things. Maybe it's just doing nothing. Maybe it's lending a hand to someone that's been in your heart for a while. Perhaps maybe the picture below will inspire you for something else! Follow your heart!
Acknowledgement
The first photo above is from: http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040131/nc5.jpg
6 comments:
yes, taking time out is always good, but not always possible. i mean, of course, we can take time out. but there are deadlines, which when not met, chaos can ensue - which is probably why people end up going and going and going and then one day, just dropping dead (don't say that it doesn't happen - it happened to 3 colleagues of mine within 18 months - 1 had some kind of flu/pnemonia, 1 had a heart attack and 1 had a stroke). i'm not going to come into work tomorrow as i'll try and work from home - that's the only way to get things sorted! i've got a conference to go to next tuesday and i've yet to sort out my route to get there! also had 5 meetings back to back today (exception rather than the norm) - ahhh hectic! pam :)
Hi there again, Pam! Hearing your schedule is enough to tire me out! I feel for you coz I've been in similar work situations - deadlines and meetings so nothing gets done. I wonder if those who "dropped dead" thought it was all worth the while?! Chaos is the general state of life and fighting it is a 24x7 work! So rest we must from it. We never know (until we give it a go), that living with chaos might be ok and chaos might be able to look after itself! :o) Be kind to yourself!
I love that picture. Someone took the photo? Lovely, lovely, as always. Btw, the bird in the previous post, is that a kookaburra?
Mother Superior, the photo was taken by our professional wedding photographer. That was a pre-wedding shot he took for us. He's a brialliant photograhper, isn't he? You can see more of his work here: http://www.rvphotography.com.au
The bird is a cuckatoo - like a type of parrot. Usually you see a lot of the white ones but these redtailed black cuckatoos are quite unusual.
I am exhausted Sista. Please advise me. I have a new man in my life....Where do I fit him into my already crammed schedule?
Anonymous, most people won't even ask that question. Most people will just fit him after working hours. Obviously your crammed schedule eats into your normal working hours. That may either be work or be other commitments that you deem very important and cannot be cancelled. These other activities have greater priority over your life. It may also be that you take your commitments very seriously. Whether you drop some commitments or you finish what you've started, neither is going to be 'wrong'. We learn from people a lot of rights and wrongs - the truth is, what is 'right' or 'wrong' is 'right' or 'wrong' for each individual. At the end of the day, you only have to answer to God. He doesn't want us to strive but to rest in His peace, whichever decision we take. Obviously the new man is important so you'll need to prioritise some time for him too and even more time when things get even more serious between the two of you.
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