Equilibrium

I watched the movie Equilibrium just now. This post is not a review of the brilliant movie, but some musings it inspired. This movie raises a very important point - what is a human being’s purpose in life, if not to feel? Without emotion, all achievements or failures are alike. Friends, lovers and family will have no meaning because we do not feel anything for them. The uniqueness of the individual, the creative urge, the passion and drive to make things better; all gone, nonexistent.

Feelings make us vulnerable. They are also our greatest strength. Controlling emotions, expressing and channelling them correctly; is the way to making feelings a person’s greatest strength. But this is easier said than done. Emotions are unwieldy. They resist control. A crime of passion has a lighter sentence because the person committing it is perceived as not in control of their own actions. Their emotions have taken them over.

Feelings make life worth living. The feel of the first raindrops of a shower on sun-parched lips, the smile of a baby, the brilliance of a sunrise, the tenderness of a goodnight kiss - feelings evoked by different things in different people - these are the essence of humanity. They need to be controlled, however, or all hell breaks loose. Wars erupt, empires crumble, people live in fear, hunger and desolation. On a smaller scale, relationships sour and people are hurt.

Emotions get the better of judgement many times. But these setbacks should not depress humanity as a whole into thinking that the entire endeavour is pointless. Without emotion, without feeling; there is no progress. The urge to better oneself, and humanity through it, comes from deep within the psyche where primal instincts of survival and desire for perpetuation of the species reside — the emotional part of the mind.

Emotion is human. So is failure, and resurgence along with it. Human nature is elastic. Equilibrium in the case of humans can never be static, it needs to be dynamic equilibrium to truly achieve the full potential of our race and keep us from destroying ourselves. How do we achieve it then? That’s the eternal debate, but at least we can rule out the total removal of emotions and concentrate on the million other theories. 

School's Out. What Next?

I’ve been asked for advice on which branch of engineering would be more suitable or lucrative, which stream of education to choose after school, what the “growth” was like if they joined the multinational behemoth I was working for at the time, and so on. I think the most crucial of these questions is which direction to go after tenth standard. While it’s not a hard and fast rule, for most of us, it determines the shape of our future. Here’s my two cents:

So you’re done with tenth standard. People all around you - parents, friends’ parents, parents’ friends, uncles, aunties, and folks you don’t even know keep asking what “stream” you’re going to join for the next two years. It’s important, no doubt. These next two years will determine a large part of your near future and early career.

Many children in India grow up with lots of expectations imposed on them, some straight from birth. Excellence in education has been almost the sole parameter of judging a child’s ability to succeed in the grown-up world. But keep in mind, you will be the one pursuing whatever stream of education you choose. You will be the one studying engineering  or medicine, or commerce, or the arts. You will be the one working in these fields after you graduate, and maybe you will work in this area until you retire.

Take all the advice you get, but don’t take a decision until you have thought about it well. List your interests and abilities, and what kind of work you’d like to do after college. Some of us are lucky enough to know from the start what we want to accomplish in life. But many don’t really know what they would really want their future career to be. Not everyone is sure of their path, don’t put pressure on yourself that you can’t say right away what your choice will be.

You’ll find that you can narrow down some options yourself. If you like natural sciences, you won’t want to choose engineering. After narrowing down these options, think about which subjects interest you the most, and if you’re good at them. Think about the kind of career you can have if you pursue these subjects more. If you’re happy with the conclusions, congratulations! You’ve chosen a stream.

If you still can’t decide, talk to seniors, your parents, and teachers, list their advice and think about their suggestions. See if you would want a career in any of these fields. Most likely, you’ll find one option you like more than all the others. That’s the way to go.

No matter what path led you to choose a stream of education, remember that dedication, hard work and passion are what really matter in the end. It’s okay if you didn’t know what you wanted immediately, what really decides your future success is the commitment and work you put into your choice.