Wednesday, June 15, 2011

the Pine vs. the Sequoia


If you are anywhere near me in age then you too are a product of what I will call the “Instant” generation. As a generation we have grown up with everything ready and at our disposal in an instant; instant messaging, instant meals, instant delivery… everything ready at the moment we want it, and because of this as a generation we suffer from “Instant Gratification”. 



Symptoms of “Instant Gratification” include, but are not limited to:

· Lack of patience
· Lack of foresight
· Lack of loyalty
· Easily frustrated, etc.

And although instant gratification feels wonderful in that moment, we continue on in our ways much to the future detriment of ourselves. We have lost the joy of sewing the seeds and watching a small sapling grow into a giant Sequoia. No one wants to dig in the dirt and get their hands dirty to even plant the seed and rather than waiting years for what will eventually become the marvelous Sequoia, we would rather have an everyday backyard Pine instantly instead. Some aren’t even aware that they could grow a Sequoia – the everyday Pine is all they know.



It isn’t until that moment where we plant that seed and give up on it thinking it was never going to grow only to return later in our travels to that spot to find General Sherman (Worlds Largest Sequoia Tree) before us where we forgot we had planted the seed, that we realize the beauty of long-term investment. We have become so accustomed to putting in little work and having things immediately that many of us don’t know the worth of putting in work on the “ground level” in hopes to reap the benefits of our labor further down the line. Those who put in little work for immediate return are stuck continuing that never-ending cycle of little work, little return. Accomplishing great things takes great time, but once you have reached that goal your return will be far greater than you could imagine and now for that same little work you put in your return will be tri-fold, all because of initial hard work and patience.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

The Idiot Gear


They always say if you go looking for something you will find it… and promise if you test the theory it will continue hold true for you. But the true test is to fight your human nature and the curiosity that is innate and be strong enough to leave things as they are without ever wondering what it is you would have found had you not gone looking; and if you’re not strong enough to fight your instinct then pray your strong enough to deal with your findings.


Dr. Walter Bishop*


Dr. Walter Bishop* (a character from Fringe – not a real doctor) was explaining to a group of children a similar theory. He stated that imagine as a child you believe that there is something hiding beneath your bed. Now as long as you remain in your bed grasping your covers as a security blanket you remain safe from what ever lies underneath. It is not until that crucial moment where you must know what lies hidden that danger begins to present itself. Up until that moment you were safe, in bed, under your blanket with only the day ahead to worry about, but instead of settling for this peace, you allow yourself to worry about what is hiding under the bed. Now of course you could look and find that you were imagining everything and there was truly nothing hidden, but if this were the stronger possibility you would have never been concerned in the first place. The greater likelihood is that you look underneath to reveal a Monster that then leaps from under the bed and consumes you whole. Now you lie in the belly of a beast wishing that you had just remained in the bed under your security blanket, because had you not gone looking for monsters, you wouldn’t have found monsters.


Monster under the Bed 

Thanks to incredible storyteller and hip-hop artist Louis Logic, I affectionately call this symptom “The Idiot Gear.” The idiot gear is when you don’t want to know something, but you just have to know, even though you are aware that acquiring the knowledge will probably be to the detriment of you. Now having been consumed by a monster before, you think I would have learned to not go looking for monsters again, but that idiot gear always tends to get the best of me. Now in my years I have found a solution to the idiot gear, but its easier said than done – the simple solution is to have faith and trust… but if your anyone who has been through anything ever, you know that having faith and trust is a lot easier said than done, but if you can… I encourage everyone to do so – if not have a weapon when you go hunting for monsters so that when you do find them you can at least battle it to the death!