Musings and Ruminations, pt. 1

Sometimes you strive for something, care for something, go after it, and find it. It's an unbelievable feeling of elation, pride and joy. Sometimes, you do the same thing and fail. The subsequent sadness. And other times, you follow your desires only to find that there was nothing there at all, tricked by a mirage, having seen only what you wanted to see. That's an unbelievable feeling of disappointment, a feeling of time and effort exhausted without consolation.

What has this taught me? Well, you only learn through experience. You don't learn from not trying. Failure hurts. Disappointment hurts more. Expectations, and even hopes for that matter, can seem like exercises in futility, tossing coins into a pond. But even these seemingly useless activities can help create an environment for new, better opportunities.

So what has that taught me? Well, that all proverbs are entirely silly, given that each has its equal and opposite pairing. And that means that no one can sum up an experience, a place, a person in one way. Everything runs the gamut. It's everything all of the time. Yes, we each experience the world individually, and each breath we take is entirely subjective.

You see it 15,000 feet in the air, as some people struggle to keep their heart from playing double-time while others cruise along without a care in the world. You see it in certain movies, books, politicians and religions that people swear by while others swear at. And you see it in people, where they can treat some with such love and respect, others with such disdain and disregard.

I won't quite drop the Hobbesian bomb of "nasty, brutish, and short," but life is interesting out here. For those who live here, for those who pass through, and for me.

The hours of walking through Sagarmatha National Park have given me a lot of time to think, to reflect. Maybe too much, given my penchant for overanalysis.

Below is a short list of conflicting proverbs to illustrate my point.

All good things come to those who wait.
Time and tide wait for no man.

The pen is mightier than the sword.
Actions speak louder than words.

Great minds think alike.
Fools seldom differ.

Practice makes perfect.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Silence is golden.
The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

You're never too old to learn.
You can't teach an old dog new tricks

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Out of sight, out of mind.

Birds of a feather flock together.
Opposites attract.

The best things in life are free.
There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Slow and steady wins the race.
Time waits for no man.

Look before you leap.
Strike while the iron is hot.

Hey, if the glove fits...