The Act of Noticing
Learning is Serendipitous.
There is an old proverb — perhaps I am just making it up — that life finds a way to give you what you need if you have the awareness to look for it. As I enter my mid-twenties, this has perhaps never been more true. Stress and anxiety are perennial passengers aboard my vessel to discern life’s purpose. Adulthood can feel like navigating a foggy shoreline. Although there may be glimpses of the destination, the path is often obscure and unsure. Social media only complicates things as self-inflicted holes of comparison need regular mending to avoid capsizing.
With knowledge comes clarity — learning is the best way to navigate unknown waters and be equipped with the tools to overcome any mechanical failure on your proverbial boat. Although it may sound paradoxical coming from someone within institutional education; there is no better teacher than life itself. I came to this conclusion not in spite of my time at University but because of it. Formal education typically fails to teach its consumers ways to navigate feelings of uncertainty and address existential questions. What constitutes value in life? How do I align work with my passions? How do I better humanity? These and other questions find their way into the minds of many with relentless recurrence. Academics are great for specializing within a field, but courses that procure skills to undertake these broader questions are irregular. As such, I constantly find myself stressed or anxious about situations outside of my control in which there is no formula or framework to apply.
Something academia has brought me, however, is an abundance of amazing colleagues to confide in. I take full advantage of this opportunity! A diverse, global student body cultivates a community that is plentiful with learning opportunities. With a mind full of contrasting and competing ideas, bearing the weight of graduate school is onerous. As such, I unload my mental baggage whenever a colleague gives the green light. This past week as I was cutting loose unnecessary cerebral cargo, life sailed in to provide a lesson about perspective. It was not a colleague who would resolve my uncertainties, but rather a man whom I did not know.
While grumbling over the complexities of academia and petitioning for guidance, a man serendipitously led my brain to its resolution. Walking past the table, he began to prod the trash for his next meal. With glee, he packed the deformed styrofoam to-go container into his bag and proceeded down the sidewalk. Talk about a wake-me-up slap to the face. Here I was in a world of privilege and prestige lamenting things of inconsequential significance. Did I have a meal to eat, a place to sleep, and a way to get around? Then why was I complaining? Not to make light of many pervasive issues affecting those coming of age — including mental health — but too often we live in bubbles that re-define ‘dire’ and put too much weight on minor obstructions. Stopping to see the broader picture, you realize the luxuries of life and how meaningless many worries are. A rapidly modernizing and globalizing world obfuscates the most important thing about being human: people. Relationships provide the safety and security we all desire. People teach each other. Talking with someone relieves stress and validates feelings. Without others in this world, what would be our purpose?
There are many people out there who would be beyond happy to be dealt my hand. Rather than lament the fortunate position I find myself in, I should use the time I am typically stressing to lend a hand to others. Many scenarios I find myself in daily are not real problems at all — they don’t endanger my health and safety — I should approach them this way. Is this lesson the cure-all qualm for my anxieties? Probably not. But, life found a way to remind me of my blessings when I wasn’t expecting them. Sometimes being present is the only antidote you need. Life provides many lighthouse moments that can guide you safely ashore… if you look for them.
