Thursday, November 29, 2018


A friend shared the above on Facebook.

I felt my heart burst reading these words.
Life will always be far more than sheer utility.
A simple truth?
There are those of us who wouldn't still be here were it not for the intangibles.
We would be long gone, whether in body or spirit.
So we were given something to help us survive.
To help us see truth and beauty, in and all around us, and begin to comprehend it.
To give us life.

Art is vital - in every sense of the word.

Sunday, October 14, 2018

Continuing on the topic of Mental Health...

... I came across this video yesterday and it continues the trend of professionals responding to representation of their fields of expertise in popular culture and entertainment. This video was very interesting and I'm now actually hoping he follows in the steps of Dr Mike and LegalEagle and puts a channel together if he has the time and resources.

Real Psychologist reviews Mental Illness in Movies


Mental illness VS mental health problems - Reflecting #onmymind

This is a distinction I've been mulling about for a long time, particularly now as the world becomes increasingly conscious about mental health and mental illness and people are more and more encouraged to be open about their experiences. For years, I've been trying to better ascertain the point at which my own mental stresses and episodes of distress might actually be symptomatic of genuine mental illness as opposed to simply being due to character.

I've looked this up many times in the past but on today's particular little Google dig, prompted by a rather difficult couple of weeks, I found The Department of Health's page on 'What is mental illness?'

Somehow, this is the first time I've seen it so succinctly outlined in a way that seems to make the most sense of my general state of being. If I actually suffer from a mental illness, then I don't want to live in denial of a real problem, but if I don't, I don't want to fall into the belief that I have something I actually don't and I've admittedly been struggling with this distinction for the last decade or so because I've been often enough uncertain about how best to manage.

******

In mid-2003, I suffered a relatively minor setback during a time in which my health was also quite turbulent and proving disruptive to my life and study, being a third year at the time. It wasn't a death or anything so sad as that, but it was a loss that led to a difficult number of months. I dealt with it day to day and got on, it wasn't a total loss of positive emotion, and I am certain I recall having had normal days and normal joys during that period (funnily enough that I mentioned briefly in this very blog), but I was often very emotionally low and life and study just seemed to hammer at it.

Late November then came around and dealt another blow, this time it was a death, and what followed were a good few months of genuinely deadened emotional capacity. This could definitely be described as a depressive period as it was pervasive till about February of 2004 and suffered many days of genuine incapacity. I didn't go to anyone for help at the time, outside of my family and friends, because I saw it more as natural grieving. When the worst eventually passed, I moved on.

Health is always a fun trigger. In 2009, I was diagnosed with a new medical condition to add to my list and I had a bad time dealing with it so someone recommended I see a clinical psychologist. It was a short run because by my first appointment, I was largely doing much better and was attending out of sheer curiosity. Once it was done, I saw no need for it anymore and chose not to proceed.

However, it was also around that time that I began to notice that my PMS, the physical and emotional symptoms of which used to barely make any imprint on my life, began to get quite severe. I have always been very emotionally sensitive and that sensitivity has never been hard to trigger so if I was very preoccupied or upset and endlessly worrying because of a fight or a perceived slight or some other overwhelming situation, that was pretty much par for the course for me.

However around this period (pun originally unintended but now I'll run with it) I began to suffer from more severely depressive episodes after incidents and these episodes became quite marked by suicidal thinking. I'm unsure if that is an overstatement, but to be specific, I would know the entire time that I wouldn't harm myself, but I desperately wanted to or would hope something else would, so that the dark thoughts, the sadness, the sheer pain would end. I would be far too overwhelmed to identify it during, however then it would suddenly lift away and I could just cope again. Life wouldn't suddenly be perfect, but the crushing weight and cocooning darkness would be gone and it would become absolutely manageable again.

After a few more cycles (pun semi-intended this time) of the same thing, I realised it was PMS. The severity of the negative affect did have me wondering if it was PMDD, though as always, the duration of symptoms and severity of disruption remains the distinction. Regardless, realising this has helped me moving forward because I have been able to identify these episodes for what they are and then manage them from there as best I can. Nowadays, when it hits, it can still be deeply and darkly consuming but after this many years, the capacity to cope, even positively respond, and see the light at the end of the tunnel steadily grows. In terms of trying to specifically understand why the mood symptoms have seemed to worsen over the years, my psychologist and I did have a discussion about lifestyle changes and impact on hormonal balances and I've been able to identify various aspects that either alleviate or worsen things during my cycle. It all remains a matter of management.

2017 ought to get special mention, but that would be an entire post on its own. I did, however, somewhat address it in an earlier post.

Finally I, like half the world, suffer from a general social anxiety (though these days, thanks to time and age, social situations are a far happier ground) and a fear of public or group speaking situations (I still have a very real fear of classrooms that still pervades my attendance at training courses, seminars, meetings, etc). This is also exacerbated by my body's tendency to make my skin often break out in rashes in these situations. Over the years, I have been able to gradually deal with gradients of these fears and I am no longer so incapacitated as I once would have been when they occur, but it is also very dependent on the overall situation and my resulting state of mental and emotional strength. As someone who suffers from self esteem difficulties, I quite comfortably know that this has more to do with my own need to build self-confidence and to worry less about non-constructive outside opinion (indeed, something I am always working on whenever I post anything publicly). I am also prone to worry, thanks to a vividly overactive imagination. Things that haven't happened often weigh on me and this is something I continue to work on.

******

Overall, I have found these experiences helpful because recounting them has allowed me to take stock of my actual mental health. I always will be reluctant to stake any claim to a legitimate mental illness, or any illness, that I may not have, particularly when those with real enduring conditions are suffering and living with the real thing day to day. Doing so feels on par with temporarily breaking a leg and then comparing yourself with someone who lives their life in a wheelchair, it just feels insulting and inappropriate.

Furthermore, the two are very different and, depending on the situation, will ultimately require different strategies for coping and overall management. Much like time to heal and undergoing physical or psychological therapy will finally heal that broken leg or get someone through a particularly difficult time, these strategies would only be part of a long term maintenance plan for anyone dealing with more chronic difficulty that may have less concrete cause.

What I have had, alongside the usual day to day difficulties, are quite severe bouts of mental health problems due to a number of factors, both internal and external. Furthermore, last year, I sought professional help to deal with a particularly bad bout because that help was genuinely needed and my psychologist was a much needed pillar of support during that time, even coming into this year which has definitely had its challenges. I can't cheers her enough.

As stated by SANE.org, it is one thing for us to be human and suffer quite natural emotional and psychological responses to outside stressors, but it is another when these problems persist, particularly despite the lack of an external cause or reason, and then significantly affect your ability to function in everyday life. Regardless of the source, if what you're experiencing is causing genuine distress, then anyone needing to, should seek help.

I think that in the end, the reason I tried to put this all together is because identifying the problem is usually the first step to working towards a solution and with the onslaught of information that gets thrown at us all day, every day, via the internet and social media, it is very easy to become overwhelmed or confused by it all and end up with addled conclusions about our state of mind. I know I'm definitely prone to that and as I mentioned, this was a distinction I have wrestled with for some time. This exercise has afforded me a kinder clarity on the matter and I'm genuinely glad about that.

I don't have many people read these entries, but it appears that some still do so I do want to clarify that this is entirely based on my own experience and character. I would never presume to advise anyone else of their own situation, particularly without any knowledge whatsoever. The links from the Department of Health and SANE were of particularly help to me and they may be of help to someone else who may have been pondering the same things I have so I'm happy to share them.

But if anyone is struggling or battling, I do urge you to get help. Talk to someone, a family member, a friend, a doctor, a teacher, a religious or spiritual mentor, and ask for help. Hell, talk to me if you can't think of anyone else, I mean it. Otherwise, there are a ton of resources available to anyone who needs them and again, should anyone reading these words right now need them, I will happily share them here.

All the best to you on your journey 😊

Australian Crisis support lines 24/7 
Obtained from the Mental Health Commission:

Lifeline 13 11 14

Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467

Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800

MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78

Family Drug Support 1300 368 186

Worldwide Crisis Support Lines

List of Suicide Crisis Lines from all over the world, courtesy of Wikipedia (nice, Wiki!)


Monday, October 01, 2018

Long Weekend Fooding - Destination: Melbourne!

Had a lovely break out of Sydney over the long weekend with one of my best. Our mantra for the coming days in Melbourne? Markets, Massages and FOOD. Considering how constant a theme Food has proven to be in this space over the last year in particular, there was no way I wasn't going to continue the tradition, especially considering how many excellent, allergy-friendly foods there were.

Onwards with the drool! 

Friday

Pork Bellying it up at Borngo in Chinatown. After landing on the Friday afternoon, we decided to just go for a walk in the city and see what the place had to offer by way of culinary options. After a nice, long amble, we ended up in Chinatown and decided what better to eat there? Korean BBQ, of course. 


Afterwards, we decided to walk off dinner and go on the hunt for dessert, as you do, and we ended up at San Churro. Ok, yes, they have this back in Sydney but who wants to truck all the way out to Harbourside on a work night? Heading in, I thought I might just grab some churros, but then I happened upon this sign. YES.


Again, YES. This was so good! Yes, quite sweet, but not sickly, and the little honeycomb balls were weird at first, but they gave it a nice bit of crunch. I'm so pleased to have yet another ice cream option!
Ruby Chocolate at San Churro. So I'd heard there was now a fourth chocolate for the first in years, but this was the first I'd seen of it. Ok, not necessarily allergy-friendly, but it looked interesting so I bought some to take home to the family. They seemed to enjoy the fruitier flavour in the chocolate.


Saturday

Saturday morning at Queen Victoria Markets. Alright, this packaging may not look all that flash, and the picture below is messy as all get out, but these churros were BOMB. Freshly made, crisp, not too oily, just right. They came in packs of 6, but I went for the single tester first, lest the allergies come roaring up. When all was clearly safe, I went right back for the 6.

Again, not the most glamorous of photos, but they were so good, who cares? The icing sugar seemed a bit much at first, but then they melted onto the churros into this smooth and surprisingly not too sweet icing. Yum.

Yes, so yum, I couldn't even stop for a photo.

Saturday Eve may have ended in an unsuccessful attempt to patronise the vegan desserts at Girls and Boys in Fitzroy, but we did have a lovely dinner at Lantern Lounge on Smith Street in Collingwood. It was apparently day two after a grand opening so we felt bad having to say we were from Sydney and therefore wouldn't likely be back for a while, but the food was excellent. Those vegetable spring rolls there were crunchy and full of flavour and my Char Siu was delicious. Mench got herself some dumplings and sticky Pork Belly, which sounded a bit sweet, but were still good.

Sunday
Sunday Morning in Camberwell! Hot vegan jam doughnut balls! That didn't kill me! Life could literally not be sweeter than that! Yes, did the single tester and went back for the 6 because OF COURSE I WOULD. 

Sunday Night in the CBD and we went for something easy and familiar because unfortunately, I wasn't feeling too well. Crust was a reliable option and there we discovered a new vegan pizza - Mediterranean Romesco, pictured on the right. To the left is Mench's usual - Vegetarian Supreme.

Ok, as I wasn't well at the time, I was wary, quite wary, but this turned out to be happily unnecessary. I love my Mediterranean food and flavours and this was amazing. The vegan cheese was also better than previous ones I've tried, so I also got to enjoy the usually melted 'cheesiness' of pizza whereas normally my toppings are kind of loose due to the lack of cheese gluing everything together. I liked it so much that after getting back to Sydney the next day, I ordered it again for dinner. Whoo!
CUPCAKE CENTRAL! Come to Sydney, please! We found these entirely by accident while wandering around Melbourne Central and holy crap. They had so many vegan options, four of which are visible in the box to the left. Clockwise from the upper left corner, we have Birthday Cake, Vegan Chocolate, Snickers and Cookie Butter. In Mench's box, she got Baklava, Red Velvet, Salted Caramel and Snickers. So fresh, so moist, absolutely heavenly, the right level of sweet and savoury. I would make a move south for these bad boys.
It was definitely an excellent weekend overall, but the food absolutely took it up there. Cheers to Melbourne for the options!

Friday, September 28, 2018

Just something I can't get out of my head these days...

This has admittedly been prompted by the currently #1 trending Youtube video in Australia entitled 'All Men Are EVIL'. It feels like a dangerous admission acknowledging that I agree with him pretty much 100% but I do. I think what largely maddens me is that in the efforts to fight for justice for genuinely disenfranchised and underprivileged groups of people, efforts that should continue to happen and causes that should continue to be fought for, instead what seems to continually end up happening are these apparently 'acceptable' broad stroke judgements about entire groups of people and I actually feel myself recoiling when I read them. Very current examples? So many statements related to men and white people these days. For the record, I am neither. I'm simply someone who will always feel physically uncomfortable by broad generalisations and narrow assumptions and genuinely confused as to why people are so willing to make them. 

Harmful generalisations, stereotyping and blanket assumptions make this world miserable. The odd thing is we like it so much. Sure, it seems simpler somehow to say that one group's action allows us to define a whole bunch of people's identities because at that point, we get to just stop trying and land on a conclusion. What I've never understood is why people are happy to do such a thing. Is it really that comforting to be able to say to yourself that an entire race/religion/star sign/any other arbitrary identifier is evil or horrible and therefore not worth any further human consideration? 

Humans sure can be weird sometimes. 


Thursday, September 27, 2018

Humans of New York - Lagos, Nigeria



“I’m studying human development. A few years ago I came across an article that said there were no successful black nations in the world. It really angered me. I thought: ‘Some fellow is trying to run us down.’ But then I discovered the author of the article was Nigerian. And the more I read, the more I realized it was true. And I started to think that maybe we should be mad at ourselves. I always hear my friends complaining about the politicians in this country. I tell them: ‘Imagine that lightning strikes and suddenly you’re the president. Would you know enough honest people to form a government?’ And they freeze. Because our culture doesn’t ascribe a premium to honesty. People will laugh at you for being honest and broke. Nigeria has the highest concentration of black people in the world. So this is where it should happen. But development doesn’t begin with things, it begins with people. I’m not saying that self-criticism is the answer. But it’s the beginning of the answer. Maybe we should be a little less proud and a little more discontent. Maybe we should stop blaming our immorality on poverty. I grew up in the slums and I don’t want to hear it. Don’t blame it on colonialism, nepotism, racism, or any of the ‘isms.’ And don’t blame it on the slave trade. Because slavery didn’t begin with white people. White people purchased slaves from our shores—that’s true. But black people did the selling. And we were paid for what we sold.” (Lagos, Nigeria)
A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on

My (edited) response to the above post and various comments from people about the validity of his opinion, his experience and HONY's right to share his story:

'Reading the majority of comments from people who are actually from Nigeria leaves me disinclined to disagree with this man's perspective and ultimately it sounds like what he's trying to say is that where people can make change and take responsibility for their future, they should, in spite of what has happened in the past. That's how positive change and forward movement work. 

It's also oddly condescending reading some of the statements of those who disagree, almost like they don't believe he can know his own country and own mind. I mean, if that's what you think, ok, but maybe give the guy some credit without immediately assuming he's a brainwashed simpleton. 

Lastly, for anyone decrying this story being shared at all? The world is full of stories, experiences, opinions and ideas that may or may not be in line with yours, that is reality. Hiding from them or avoiding them doesn't help anyone learn anything. Engage, disagree, argue, do whatever, ignore if you really must, but they have a right to be spoken and shared, just like any of your own opinions, opinions that might seem equally as heinous to someone you may have never met and whose life is nothing like yours.' 

Saturday, August 11, 2018

NRL Round 22 - Panthers VS Titans - CBus Super Stadium

Been a while since I've written about a game and it would have been good to get something up about last Sunday's game at Pepper Stadium but admittedly, as awesome as it was to be in the crowds for that win, my favourite thing to come out of that game was actually after it, courtesy of Cleantertainer, now linked below for your viewing pleasure.


Honestly, unlike my other posts, there was literally not much to write home about for the first 75 minutes of the game (15 errors, 12 penalties conceded, no need to say more). Greg Alexander himself acknowledged that overall the Titans were the better side and frankly watching it was just stressful. It's been a dramatic enough week for the team what with Griffin being let go and all the resulting speculation around Ivan Cleary (though good on him for clearing that up today, some people need to retract their declarations about his being a dog, thanks), this game was definitely being very closely scrutinised, the commentators pointing out quite truthfully that with a Titans win, any resulting coverage would barely mention their role so much as it would be all about the Panthers' loss amidst coaching confusion hell.

However thankfully, that wasn't to be. With less than 6 minutes left in the game, the guys were down 10 points and the likelihood of a win could have been considered a no go. Of course, being the Panthers, I wasn't ready to hang my head just yet because I've seen these boys pull out some pretty insane wins from behind, even with just a minute or so left in the game so I was still stuck well in. Down 16-6, the ball's in their hands and as they charge the field, Cleary gets it out to Whare who breaks through the defence and makes a good run in before passing it back to Cleary who deftly scores the try while I yell my head off at the TV and my brother watches in impressed disbelief from the side. Cleary then converts to get the score up to 16-12.

Then, with less than 35 seconds in the game, Kikau gets the ball from Maloney and runs, offloading deftly to Blake who then expertly gets it to Watene-Zelezniak on the inside and boom, another try to make an even 16-16 (again with the jumping up and down and yelling, again with my brother's amusingly impressed surprise). However, the win wasn't quite secured yet, particularly after Cleary missed the conversion taking the game into Golden Point.

First chance at the ball was with the Titans who failed to make it out far enough to try for the point and so the Panthers began their assault, all eyes on either Cleary or Maloney to make for the goal. Cleary got a chance in and kicked, aim decent but lacking the necessary power, giving the Titans another chance that went unfulfilled. Soon enough, the boys were back in decent position, Cleary gets the kick in and makes up for his earlier miss to bring us up 16-17, much to the dismay of the Titans' home crowd.

What a finish. Another insane win from a seemingly inevitable defeat which made up for an otherwise shockingly woeful game. Up we go into 4th spot on the ladder. Up the Panthers!!!



Sunday, July 29, 2018

On my brain's recent vacation to the world of Cosmology

When I thought of the above title for this post just now, it seemed a somewhat clumsily inadequate metaphor, but now as I think more about it, I have always associated my vacations and holidays with a broadening or rebirth in perspective and a resulting eagerness to learn more and that is exactly what this last week has been for me so I think I'll run with it.

A few months ago, a friend of mine lent me two books, both of which I somewhat hurriedly finally consumed in the last week because she asked for them to be returned for other friends to read. I'll ignore my regretful complacence in not reading them sooner and as it happened, I was (now in my opinion, quite fortuitously) able to finish both before finally returning them to her last week. 

Both books were fascinating beyond measure and allowed me to go on the journey from the intricacies of the Cosmos all the way right down to the complex ecosystem of the Gut. I adore the fact that the mind has such capacity for travel across such different worlds and on that concept alone, I imagine I could write a whole other post, although for now I've decided to narrow it down to the first book and its ongoing and wonderful aftermath - Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson

This is an incredible book about a subject I've always loved. The Universe and all its mysteries have always fascinated me on countless levels - the sheer size of this mysterious entity in which I somehow reside, the scale of such a thing in reference to Earth which in itself is a mass of histories, concepts, beings, and everything we could possibly imagine and more; the billions of galaxies and billions more celestial bodies and objects that reside within it; the composition, evolution and sheer beauty of all those objects; the capacity to see, observe and learn from them all... I could really go on, but ultimately, it is an area that I and millions of children before me have always looked upon with such awe and interest.

Incredibly, I just remembered one of my favourite literary encounters as a kid. There is an Aussie book called My Place in Space by Robin Hirst and Sally Hirst. In it, a little boy and his sister are catching the bus home and when asked by the driver where they live, the boy says, 'Home.' When the driver mocks him for not providing an address, the boy then proceeds to give the most epic address ever. 

Ok, I've now literally just re-looked up the book  and purchased it on my phone and am in the process of re-reading it. The edition I've found is an updated edition which now includes Pluto's change in status from a planet so thankfully the book is still accurate and only goes to show the continuing evolution of our scientific knowledge. Another update I've noticed that I think I have correctly remembered, is that now Henry and his sister both contribute to the address where previously it was just Henry talking while his little sister sort of just did funny things behind him. It reads a tad clunkier if you remember the original, but is a nice change, particularly if it does encourage more little girls to feel less left out by notions of Astronomy. 

Returning from that brief but fun detour into one of the likely roots of my personal interest in space (mind travel is awesome, no?), I've since read a fair amount about astronomy and astrophysics. I took an Astronomy Gen Ed course at uni, I've read books, I've watched documentaries and read tons of articles, however as years have passed, my overall retention of information has been pretty poor because despite being an area of intense interest, it has been far from one of any real personal focus. When I get to read about, I read about it, that's it. I have had to live life, work and of course focus on things of more importance than my own wish to broaden my cosmic understanding. 

Then about two years ago, a friend of mine introduced me to the star gazing app on her phone. It hadn't yet occurred to me to search for an app to let me do this and it was awesome. That evening, we sat on top of her Coogee rooftop and looked at the stars and planets in a way I hadn't really done since my Gen Ed observation nights. Unfortunately, at the time, I didn't have enough space on my phone so when I downloaded the app, it kept crashing and I ended up having to delete it. It wasn't until April of last year when another friend mentioned his own app whilst telling my friends and I that Jupiter would be visible that I attempted to download the app again, this time on my newer phone. Since then, I've used the app and enjoyed the added convenience of getting to engage more with the Night Sky and more particularly in the last few months since I've begun taking more photos of the various planets on my phone. 

In the wake of this recent resurgence of engagement and interest, reading deGrasse Tyson's book has been one of the most enjoyable things I've done this year. That is not an overstatement. I loved it so much. He takes the reader through the fundamentals and the history and he did so in a way I found so surprisingly comprehensible after other books have left me completely dumb and overwhelmed by how little I understand and how much more I have to learn to simply understand a sentence. Don't get me wrong, I still had a few moments like that while I was reading the book, but overall, I found each page fascinating and found that it all made some form of logical sense to me from one concept to the next. While taking me along the cosmological journey through time, space and theory, it explained concepts that I had previously held vague ideas about, like neutrinos and the lengths and functions of the different waves. It re-introduced me to planetary trivia that I'd long forgotten, like Jupiter's vital role as our protective Big Brother. It allowed me to finally get jokes I'd heard on TV about spherical chickens in a vacuum (frankly, this book made so many Big Bang Theory references suddenly make worlds more sense!) and it gave me insight into everyday things I knew existed, but hadn't fully understood, like the fact that InfraRed and UltraViolet were the bookends to ROYGBIV. Reading this book was the most fun I've had in a long time while learning so much. 

This, combined with my most recent shift in overall life objectives and plans, particularly around reading much more and writing much more, left me with a brain thrilled and primed to find out more, to fill in the gaps that the book could not possibly cover if it were to be aimed at 'people in a hurry'. One of the most fascinating points he makes in the book is how much everything we learn only leads to more questions and more debates between the experts in the field, highlighting that science isn't so much filled with indisputable facts as is so often over-simplistically touted, but rather a field rich with ongoing theories, tests, findings, analyses, questions and debates and constantly reminding us of what we know and don't know. 

Due to my literally being 'in a hurry' to finish this book and the other lent to me, I moved on to the world of the Gut straight after, but having finished that the day I finally returned both books, I have looked up more reading and decided to delve into an area that would make sense for me to look into considering my own personal beliefs, the relationship between Cosmology and Theology. I ended up on this excellent page in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy by Hans Halvorson, a professor from Princeton. Brilliant read leaving many papers to read in its wake, I highly recommend it. It does an awesome job of laying out the historical cosmological models and the various arguments put forth by many of the field's minds, past and present, regarding these models' relationships to the notions of theism and atheism. Again, a cornucopia of debate and insight (often leading me to turn to Google for some of the concepts that once again baffled me!) that again highlights that concepts that have been widely accepted are still being challenged, like the Big Bang, which is challenged by both Loop Quantum Cosmology and String Theory. Of course, even taking the Big Bang as the prevailing model, interpretations of its either confirming or not confirming the existence of an omnipotent creator also vary and the debates go on. 

The more I read, the more I want to read, and so I shall. I'm charging myself with a lot here, but my brain is enjoying every second of it and only feels more energised by its sojourn into the astrophysical world to fill its existing knowledge gaps by embarking on a better acquaintance with the basics of Physics. Youtube has proven a fun start considering visual demonstrations of motion and force better aid my physical and spatial comprehension. When I got home last night, after getting briefly distracted by a TED Talk on Organic Chemistry, I ended up on the Crash Course about motion in a straight line. Then this morning, I ended up going on a fun journey through the principles of flight, Bernouli's Principle and existing questions around that principle, Newton's Third Law of Motion, the means for travel into space and ultimately ending on a thought experiment about removing the existence of Time (not the man-made measurements of time, mind, rather the sequential nature of events). For just this Sunday morning alone (worthy of a whole post in and of itself, which I fully intend to start after I take a break), I'm grateful to Mr deGrasse Tyson and to my friend for lending me his words in the first place. 

I'll end this post with another video I watched this morning of the man himself on the Late Show with Colbert. 



His energy is infectious and his final point is a really good one, but admittedly, it's not one that will keep me up at night so much as it just reminds me that as much as we can know, there will always be something else, something new, something missed and while that can be disheartening for some, I see it as simply a statement of reality. Our limitations will always exist and we will only ever be able to grasp what little we can but what we have grasped thus far is endlessly fascinating and always will be and therefore provides only more motivation to keep searching, learning and shifting what we need to shift - just as we did when we found out the Earth was round, when Germ Theory was discovered, when we learned that the Universe was expanding as opposed to being in a steady state, when we learned about subatomic particles, when we learned that Pluto wasn't actually a planet... and basically every other time paradigms shifted. On personal, individual scales, we often find we have to do this all the time and while I couldn't possibly begin to have deGrasse Tyson's level of perspective on the matter, I tend to find that what we understand about our more visible, more immediate world constantly shifts and I keep having to incorporate that understanding into my perspective and any resulting attempt at a worldview. I've undergone countless 'paradigm shifts' in my own character and I know this will only continue with time and experience and I have faith that those entrusted with the search of these bigger answers will have the capacity to survive and learn as they have always done. 

This is why I love science and this is why I love life.