My Saving Grace

Today I got my supervisor (who was previously my Statistics Professor) into a conversation about what one can expect if one is a retiring professor. My reason for asking about this was to figure out whether or not Professors got the opportunity to exercise their brain matter for as long as they wanted.

I think that it is important to be able to have some challenge in your life, whether you are young or old. If anyone is restricted from being able to challenge themselves, then how can they be happy? How can they be happy knowing that they've stopped being able to contribute to the world around them? I guess I don't see it as just an opportunity to do something for people (as noble as it is), but a constant opportunity to invest yourself into life. Meaningfulness is the name of the game here.

You might say that I am afraid of meaninglessness, and I would agree with you. It seems that I would not have to worry about that if I eventually became a Professor. My Supervisor told me that you can keep researching at your institution long after you have stopped your tenure at University. I think that it's such a beautiful thing. Not only are you contributing to scientific advancement in the understanding of the life in the world around you, bettering your environment, and providing opportunities that would not have been available if it wasn't for you, but you're also giving meaning to what YOU do. You are providing yourself with the opportunity to see as much of the fruits of your labour as you can. You're creating a feedback loop necessary for a succession of satisfying experiences (at least one should hope!!).

The problem was that after I had this conversation with my supervisor, it made me very restless and not able to do my work without being pretty distractable. I kept thinking about death. Scary word! 5 pm came around and I gladly took the opportunity to get out of the office wherein I work and prepare myself to meet a friend of mine. We walked on a trail, in a very natural park, near the school where we both work. It was such a great experience. It calmed me down, allowed me to stop and enjoy my surroundings, and also allowed me to connect with someone who is very nice to be around!

My saving grace in this world is enjoying what I experience. It sounds too idiotically simple but it's something which can easily be forgotten in our rushy world of commerce and mass production.

Stop and smell the roses, I believe the expression goes?