A Million D’s.
Life is vast, varied, expatiated. Life is divided. The dimensions of life cannot be plotted on a graph; it will be just too complicated.
Every so often, I see life as a sea of nothingness. The world seems to be at a standstill, with humans concerned only about their primary needs: food shelter, clothing, and perhaps connection.
At times, it dawns on me that there are intangible systems running the world, such as the laws of supply and demand, or educational hierarchies.
I also remember the inventions that fragile humans like us have created, despite our simple animal-like nature. Our sophisticated brains have separated us from the rest of the species in the universe, making us mental giants of this era, whatever this era is.
Despite our magnificent achievements, we have also created substantial flaws, sometimes even poisoning the very earth that allows us to exist. It is obvious that leaving these problems to foster without a well-designed plan will lead to our very own untimely death in a few decades or centuries, who knows.
I wake up at times and ask myself if there is meaning to our existence. We wake up every day and work hard to bring to life our imaginations. Then we go back to sleep, repeating this same routine the next day. Some of these routines accumulate, and when this accumulation leads to a change in the person or his surrounding environment, we say the human is experiencing personal growth.
We give energy by bringing into existence the things we think about, and then we take back energy in the form of food, sleep, and recreational activities. The cycle goes on until our bodies become old, weak, and feeble. Then we shut down and stop operating, with what is left of our physical form becoming one with the earth.
Some also say that we are more than the physical bodies we can visibly see. Some schools of thought say we are three in one: body, soul, and spirit, with the spirit ascending into a better place when our bodies perish; a place of no hunger, no evil, no suffering. Some have argued that this is the one sure truth and have shown evidence of their claims through supernatural activities such as turning humans into cats and water into wine.
The science we have relied on for industrialisation and innovation frowns upon these allegations but also agrees that we are more than one body. Science agrees that we are different components becoming one: the conscious, subconscious, and unconscious mind; our thoughts, feelings, and emotions; our needs, beliefs, and values.
Life is vast, varied, expatiated. Life is divided. Divided into conservatives and liberals, believers and atheists, white and coloured, rich and poor. The dimensions of life cannot be plotted on a graph; it will be just too complicated.
Despite this complication, I have given meaning to my life. Everything is not clear, but with the help of mentors and curiosity, the meaning I give to life keeps shaping up.
Currently, one thing is definitely true: I exist.
Another thing is also true: there is suffering.
Let’s apply some math here. Adding these two truths together, let’s see what I can get.
I exist + there is suffering = I can do something about this suffering.
“I can do something about this suffering” is also true, since one truth added to another truth equals a truth as well.
Well, what can I do about this suffering? I see that I am a gifted person. I have so many talents — from writing, to psychology, to music, to economics, to critical thinking, to being good at math 😊.
Currently, I am pursuing a career path in data science and software engineering. I want to help early-stage social enterprises scale and grow through data science, hence increasing the percentage of social enterprise start-ups that succeed.
I may not stick with this path forever, I may venture into psychology to help heal generational trauma and to promote peace in the world, who knows where my journey will take me.
But I do have one purpose: a personal purpose; To do good while doing well, planting seeds of hope wherever my vision takes me and taking others to “the promise land” through the manifestation of my dreams.
