My Best Theory

There seems to be a multitude of streams in life. Let me break that down.

First, I elect not to use the overly-applied word "myriad" because I think it's currently a buzz word for people who are trying to sound smarter than they are. Instead, I use "multitude", its predecessor in the world of buzz words, because it has fallen back into more colloquial use.

Second, I think the term "streams" can conjure up a lot of mental images. On the geeky end, people might think back to the movie Ghostbusters. (Don't pick on me for not underlining the movie title; I'm typing on my phone, and it doesn't have that feature) On another foot, some might think of spiritual references and ideas and the personification of things like the universe, as in, "The universe wants me to be an artist, and has put things in my life to test my resolve to do so." To yet others, like me, it sounds like the many patterns one can observe in life that at times make it nearly predictable.

You may have heard people say that a guy can't get girls to take interest in him until he has a girlfriend. This is not what I'm talking about. I'm discussing the various patterns that take place outside the control of the individual, but that the individual can observe.

I use the term "there seems" because I don't have sufficient proof to establish my statement as fact rather than theory. I think that just about everything can be measured. This departs greatly from the idealist point of view where one believes that most things cannot be.

Let's suppose that we look at any given individual in the western world (I use the Western world only because of my intended audience), and more specifically, his professional life. I think that if one measured the "joy" of this that it would be somewhat sinusoidal with respect to time. He would enjoy good times and endure bad times. Some would be longer than others, of course there would be outlying blips, and so on. But I think the stream (dare I say wave) of things would almost be predictable for one who had little to no interest in influencing the graph; things simply "happen" to this person. On the other hand, the graph of one who chooses to be an active agent in his life looks much different.

I often think about this in regards to my own life. Certainly I have met those rare individuals (I can think of two) whose resolve and direction has left a profound imprint on what behaviors I consider worthy of imitation or I might even say study. I have also met many more who have a great deal of drive, but perhaps developed that through experience rather than reflection. There are other categories of people with regards to drive that I can think of, but frankly those categories are of only great use in determining which attitudes I wish not to adopt.

There are, of course, drawbacks to every approach, so don't think me careless in choosing which approach stands out. The extremely driven people tend to be more emotionally unavailable, or have past experiences that they have permitted to shape them so. The ones who learn by experience tend to have spent much valuable time doing so, and the remainder, well, are the remainder.

So, which am I? I would like to say that I'm in the first group, but it's not nice to lie. I would place myself squarely in the second group, spending valuable time (I'd like not to use the word wasting, but that has been the case many times) learning while others are out applying. In the grand scheme of things, however, I don't honestly believe that I will make the history books (not that doing so is either bad or good except in vanity), so what is the benefit of comparing my life's directions to those of the lives of others if not for the sake of learning itself? At what point did learning about others' approaches take on an egotistical form? Certainly I have learned that an ego will likely lead to oversight?

Ideally, I learn that my directions are wholly independent of the directions of others with regards to the value of comparison. But somewhere along the line, I've convinced myself that comparison is a means of competition that determines social and self worth, happiness, and some other (currently) immeasurable values.

Side Note: By the time I'm finishing this idea's skeleton (I would write a book on it, but I don't have the time or inclination, so this post is a skeleton), its' getting pretty late (23:45, and I work on ideas like this over the course of several days), so forgive me if it comes off a little lacking in the style of the upper portions. As well, this entire post was written from my phone, so forgive me if it doesn't flow well.

So, back to my "wave theory."

If one were to divide a river into vertical slices and isolate the lateral influences, it would be possible to easily visualize the influences on the flow patterns within each slice (however complex). Suppose that in one's life, there are thousands upon thousands of these slices that compile the river of influences, events, and other such things in his life. It's probably dipping into chaos theory a bit here, but observing the entirety of these fluid events is probably impossible. Looking at the major "movers and shakers" however, can give a pretty good idea of where the river is flowing, and how it is influenced.

Suppose further that you are not in this river, but looking over it (maybe taking a lunch break?). I think that's where I am. Perhaps other people who see things in life as happening to them without their permission are in a constant state of being swept up in the river. If you're looking at the river, and decide that it needs to meander further to one side, or that its velocity needs to be lowered, you can shape the borders somewhat, thereby changing the course before you hop back in your raft.

Recognizing these patterns is useful, especially in troubling times, times of transition, uncertainty, or loneliness. I am presently in a situation of the latter three. At any given point, I should recognize that I have, for the most part, taken a greater hold on the direction of my life than many choose, and that in itself is a comfort. However, in the immediate term, if I am to recognize this experience as one that shapes the course of the river further down, in the larger scale of things, this is an opportunity, and not a depressing burden of cultural and linguistic differences.

The water won't stop, just as events and time won't stop (yet?). Close to ten years ago, I came up with a personal goal, namely to be, "One step removed, and two steps ahead." The first part is easy to do, but it's the second (that I now related to shaping influences) that requires a more focused mastery of observation.

OK, it's time to sleep. Feel free to post your thoughts.