“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”- Gandhi
In college this was one of my top three favorite quotes. Of course, then I got to thinking, what do I want to see in the world? I self-righteously decided the world needed more selflessness, so I threw myself into a world of activism. It was great, and I’d love to go work in Haiti someday, but most days the politics of activism is too much for me to handle. But then.. what is the change I wish to see in the world?
Post-college I spent two years in Portland – where young people go to retire. After the intensity of undergrad – studying non-stop, gunning through experiments to finish a research thesis, interval after interval of track workouts, long nights spent causing havoc – working 40 hours a week left me uninspired and lazy. That said, Portland gave me tons of time to reflect, and develop my core philosophies.
Sidenote - I imagined Portland being a stage of life similar to when Jesus went to the Mount of Olives to get the hell away from everyone, meditate, and contemplate life. Maybe he was going through a quarter life crisis too – “What do all these people want from me? What should I do with my life?”
Anyways, in this time I read a book Katie owned called This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women. It’s what it sounds like – a compilation of personal credos written by a wide range of people from bartenders to Helen Keller. It has a slew of great ones like “There’s No Such Thing as Too Much Barbeque.”
Sidenote – my favorite personal credo? David Foster Wallace’s This is Water. It’s actually a commencement speech he gave at Kenyon College. I would say he believes in the struggle of life, it's extremely close to how I experience life.
So this bring me back to my own core philosophies - what do I believe?
Well, I believe life is a gray scale, and it can’t really be boiled down to simple maxims. I believe there are many roads to the truth. Some days I believe in fate, but most days I believe an individual determines their own fate. I believe in God and a higher power than myself. I believe in Kobe Bryant more than Chris Paul (this is definitely a future post, Kobe is the best player of the 21st century). Each of these could be its own post, but underneath all the complexity I believe in one important thing.
I believe in friends.
I’ve learned a lot of things in my 23 years of life, but the main thing I’ve learned is that life is about the same for most people. Rich or poor, drug addict or professional athlete, Harvard or UMass, stay-at-home mom or trophy husband, people aren’t that different. Life is hard for everyone, nobody's struggles are "not a big deal", and no one should be expected to survive by themselves.
There’s nothing like going to a bar with a good friend and breaking down the latest struggles of life. Or going for a long run without saying a single word and just getting away from life.
I could ramble on, but I’ll stop here since I’m already getting too long.
See you on the other side,
from ken
Ken Noguchi has made friends in Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Wyoming, Oregon, and currently makes friends in South Carolina. He is attending school in hopes of producing the second and third coming of Gleevac. When he grows up, he hopes to be his daughter’s favorite comedian.
Feel free to comment! I would love to hear your thoughts.
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