Newest
(In)Finite
There are a lot of ideas floating around in my head right now that I wish I had the time and energy (and funding) to attempt. Every day, my work as a grad student (read: professional Internet surfer) brings me new and interesting projects to attempt. Most recently, I stumbled across the Arduino development board over at Sparkfun (if you don’t know the website I’m talking about, this discussion might bore you anyway). There are at least half a dozen things I could instantly think to try with these, perhaps more. I have never considered myself much of an ideas person, so this newfound restlessness and eagerness to create has me a little off kilter. It has introduced yet another force into my life that competes constantly with other things like friends, education, work, sleep, etc for my time and energy.
A guy I work with here at ND had an interesting insight when I mentioned to him my time/priorities woes concerning an idea I wanted to try. He said, “In my many years doing this kind of design work, I’ve found that any human being has time for maybe a dozen or so serious projects in his or her lifetime.” It’s scary to think that I can come up with a lifetime worth of work during an idle moment on a busy afternoon. I’m quickly learning that despite the extreme creative, physical, or intellectual energy I may have, there comes a time where one begins to realize that such energies are tragically finite, and prioritization of ‘projects of passion’ is the key to happiness.
This is perhaps the key to getting old. When you’re a child, the sky is the limit and you’ll have time somewhere down the road to think, see, and explore every corner of your wildest imagination. At age 22, I have finally run headlong into the mortality of the human mind. What each of us does here is finite. Most of it goes with us when we are done. The key is to find those things that are so important to you, that your passion for them will endow them with sufficient love and energy to carry on into the future. That is immortality.
“What we do in life, echoes in eternity.”
posted 11 November 2008 @ 23:17 by friarbayliff » 0 Comments
Old Posts
Quick Update
I’m taking a short break from homework this evening to write a few things down. I haven’t updated here in quite and while - something which probably needs to change. I go through my days realizing that one of the personal advantages of blogging, writing, journaling, etc, is that it helps to sort out my [...]
9 November 2008 » read » 0 Comments
Secondary Feature
Rolling Right Along
The Michigan State game was a little disappointing, but nothing to get too terribly riled up about. Both teams fought hard and the Irish were unfortunately on the receiving end of some bad luck and unfortunate plays. I have a great deal of confidence in our schedule from here on out (that is, except for [...]