It has been some years since I last wrote any reviews. I still read plenty of stuff, mostly on my phone though, when I am on the bus, rushing off to somewhere. It seemed that I would only read a book properly when I am not engaged in any full-time job. Such is my life.
This book is again a present, and I am once more grateful for the people in my life, who would from time to time send me good reads. It is a very simple book; timeless and full of little life lessons that one can easily dismiss or ponder over. Being me, I tend to stop reading after one chapter and think about how it relates to me and the value I can take away.
The first chapter starts off with the idea that as humans in the universe, we are like molecules connected to each other in one big ocean. As children, to make sense of things, we have to use ourselves as a reference point, such as distance from “my house” or “my mother’s friend“. As we grow older, we should be able to move away from “ourselves” and use generic references. Failure to do so will result in us growing into self-centered adults who will never be able to see things as a big picture.
As part of the growing up process, we get bombarded with standard notions of what we should be, and what we should not be. The next chapter reminds us to attend to things that we feel deeply in our heart, and that we should live our lives based on our own experiences and build up our own values from there. We should not simply live as a “good person” based on others’ expectations. We need to feel.
In order to feel for ourselves, we need to be hungry for knowledge, and to be curious to explore. The next chapter had me confused for a while. The concept of questioning a seemingly self-evident thing will eventually lead to something one can no longer call self-evident, is a concept that I am not familiar with. Back then, adults were not that patient with me and to be fair, they had their share of worries and concerns. I was mostly taught to accept things as they were and not to question that much. Sometimes I do wonder, how I would turn out now, if there were proper mentors in my childhood? For now, I need to make effort to be conscious and to question things deliberately. Curiosity does not really come naturally enough for me. This chapter also ties back to the first chapter about humans being connected to each other. Through the relations of production, despite being strangers, we are all connected to one worldwide network, based on the things we need and use. So really, we are never alone.
The basic connection we have in the relations of production is one that is between a producer and a consumer. Some people are both. Guilty to say, I am an expert consumer and since reading this book, I have been wondering what I can produce to give back to this network. What, and how can I contribute? Contribution can be big or small; big enough to leave its mark in history or just small to impact people around me in this lifetime. Historic names like Napoleon leave their marks as they charge right at things that are painful and difficult, break through to the other side and take pleasure in it. In the long stream of human history, how will each of us bear up? Will we simply float along lazily or swim with might to our destination? What can each of us create to bring value to human advancement?
Fear is one of the greatest emotions that make us do brave or stupid things. It is far greater than we think, and it controls us much more than we can ever imagine. For a child, an action done out of fear could lead to a lifetime of regret. I wish for all children to have a chance to redeem themselves and not lead a lifetime carrying that kind of guilt and remorse. Life is such that sometimes regret is formed in that moment of lost opportunity. You know you cannot change anything anymore once that moment has passed. What we can do is to be brave to face up to it afterwards. Easier said than done, for sure. That is why it is a brave act, one that requires plenty of courage to deal with the pain that comes with it. But it is this pain that will make us a better person, for now we know better to grab tight and hold on to “that moment”.
How does the story end? I leave it to you to find out. 🙂
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