Random Thoughts

Hmm.. talk about pressure man. haha. Very well, I'm updating at long last after a really long break; due in some part to an increased workload and also because I didn't quite know what to post. In any case, an inspiration struck me this morning and hence this post. =)

Randomness. Haha. Sometimes, it is these random thoughts and feelings that makes life so colourful and worth living. Perhaps it is one of those things which defines us as humans. Strange and paradoxical as it may sound, humans may just be the most irrational and rational creatures around. Rational because we are unparalleled in the realms of science and mathematics; yet irrational because our emotions can sometimes drive us to do great deeds beyond what we would and could normally do. Our emotions sometime overides the rational concept which all other species adhere to - that of survival. Besides emotions, 'randomness' and spontaneity is perhaps also something else unique to us humans. All other species make decisions with only one golden rule in mind - that of the need to survive and outdo other members of their species so as to be evolutionary favourable. We humans, however, are at liberty to choose. We could of course, consider all decisions with the primary objective being to reach our goal at all costs, or we could just sometimes decide to have fun and go with the flow.

If you consider the desire to enjoy life and have fun as a reason, than I suppose it is true that every decision we make has an agenda or reason behind it. I suppose one could then attribute 'randomness' or spontaneity to the desire to sometimes go along with the flow of life, to soak in and enjoy it. It is important of course, to not lose sight of your goal, but I feel that life isn't all about achieving goals. In a sense, I suppose its a little like driving around sightseeing in a foreign country during a vacation. One can choose to get to a destination in the quickest possible way by means of a direct and wide expressway through a bustling city, or alternatively, you can choose to drive a longer route through the countryside. Assuming you don't give up, you will get to your destination at the end regardless of the route you take. It is probably true that you'll get there first if you had gone by the expressway, but had you gone by that way, you would have defeated the purpose of the vacation which was to see the new things and the beautiful scenery which you don't see back at home. The countryside route may take a little longer, but the things you see more than make up for it. Besides, as a friend of mine noted, if your car does break down, people on the expressway would probably be too pre-occupied with rushing to their destination to help you whereas had you gone by the countryside route, you're more likely to get help despite the fact that there are normally more cars on the expressway as compared to that of the countryside route.

Spontaneity and 'randomness' adds spice to our life; it adds colour and flavour to it. Personally, I feel life is about experiencing all the various experience and emotions a human being is capable of experiencing. The happy times, the sad times, the victories and triumphs, the defeats, love, pain... you name it. Quite honestly, a life without tribulations would be, ironically, a sad one. It is sad in the sense that you wouldn't have known what it was like to have lived as a human being. It is the difficult times which allow us to embrace and appreciate life fully. Those are the things which you look back at when you drink beneath a full moon on a clear cloudless and quiet night. I guess that's when you realise how precious those moments are as you reflect upon them while being bathed in the pale moonlight under the innumberable stars. That said, I wish not for more suffering, no one does; but I'm merely pointing out that ironically, it is these sufferings that makes life worth living. Of course, suffering isn't the only thing that makes life worth living... it is also the happy times that makes it worth living. The happy times which includes the fun and crazy things which you do at random, the feeling of being loved and the ability to love, the victories and triumphs, and of course relationships with God and other fellow human beings. It is these myriad of emotions which makes life so worth living and colourful.

It is curious how we are randomly happier and more optimistic on some days, but more sad and pessimistic on another. Random perhaps, but let us embrace it.