The joy of driving

Last night we were to pick up Charlotte at the Salt Lake City airport at the same time a major snowstorm was getting ready to hit Utah. Normally the 36 mile trip between our house and the airport only takes 36 minutes, but last night was a totally different story. We left at about 5:10 pm and traffic was incredibly heavy on the four-lane highway that leads to the Interstate; snow was starting and winds were very strong. Traffic was already backed-up and we thought that it was just rush hour and once on the main freeway, things would go much better. Well, not really, they actually got worst once we reached I-80 and the snow kept falling on very heavily; by that time every vehicle was bumper-to-bumper and traffic was crawling. The situation kept on deteriorating as we started to climb the Parley Summit hill to the point that nothing was moving anymore. Small trucks with bald tires and no load in the back were stuck spinning their wheels, huge trucks were stopped on either sides of the freeway, cars seemed abandoned on the shoulders and in the dark, without any visibility, the whole situation looked quite spooky. As we were barely moving, we kept on calling Charlotte whose flight was delayed out of San Francisco and made arrangement to have her brother pick her up and stay with him for the night. It had taken us 2 full hours to drive just 10 miles! We then slalomed through giant trucks, flirting with the ditch on the right and managed to drive to the Parley Summit exit, where we luckily turned around and drove back home on the eastbound lanes that were snow-covered, but passable. These monster snowstorms are not common occurrence, but when they happen and we’re on the road, we do remember them!

How many humans…

…can be sustained on this planet? Is it 6.63 billion (today’s number?) I seriously doubt it; intuitively, it would seem to me that around 3 billion might be earth’s maximum population if we are looking at sustainability and long term survival of the human specie. But of course, it could also be 2, 4 or perhaps 5 billion; who really knows? Before I start researching the subject, is there anyone who could shed a light on that issue?

Aging and flexibility

The older we get and the stiffer our joints tend to become. Exercise and yoga will help some, depending on how dedicated we are, but this pretty much is something written that we can’t fully control; Insha'Allah! Today, I’m going to talk about a different type of flexibility; that of the mind. When we’re kids, our minds are super nimble, malleable and adaptable. We can learn languages in a snap, mimic adults and we’re generally terrific actors. As we grow older, dogma seeps in and suddenly we use prefabricated concepts that we have concocted and accumulated over the years in order to respond to specific situations. Not only is our spontaneity gone, but we’re slowly sinking into tunnel vision and can’t see options other than our own when we’re faced with a choice or a decision. Sure, experience plays a giant role in shaping us in that manner, but I do believe that most of the time we overreact and build up think blinders for ourselves that deprive us from embracing audacious solutions. I’m convinced that we can get mentally much better as we grow older, but it simply is a matter of paying attention where our limited resources are channeled. I propose that we always focus on alternative possibilities when we reach a crossroad, and make a generous use of our imagination to envision a wide array of exciting new options. It’s about time we resurrected our inner child’s mental fluidity!

“F” as in "Failure"…

...and “F” as in "Fertilizer" go hand in hand. Failure should be seen as what fertilizes future success. Why is that? Simply because failure is loaded with great lessons for those who are paying attention; charged with painful emotions, these teachings are much harder to ignore and forget than the ones we learn at school or at the very best university. They also leave a deeper, longer-lasting imprint on ourselves and in the way we’ll behave long after the experience. So the bottom line is that we should never fear failure, but cherish it when it cares to stop for a visit.

Solutions that pop-up

Every question should always lead to a solution. At least that’s the way I tend to think about it. Usually, when I am confronted with an issue or a conflict, there has to be an incubation period during which my subconscious is looking at the situation and – I presume – searching for an angle to solve it. Suddenly, as I’m waking up in the middle of the night, or when I’m running, a solution pops op (no sorry, I have yet to have these revelations when I’m in the shower!) I’m not suggesting that all of these solutions can be fully effective, but at the very worst they’re a step toward some kind of resolution. I simply hope they keep on popping-up…

Managing uncertainty

Most of us would all like a black and white life, where most of the issues are clearly delineated and in which the so-called “gray areas” are few and far between. If that were the case, everything would be much easier. From going to school, to picking the right job, the perfect mate and living happily ever after... The reality is that we have very little choice but accept a certain amount of uncertainty. Generally, the more we can tolerate, the farther we’ll go and the more thrills we’ll get. As a result, the price tag required for that kind of elevated (albeit not guaranteed) outcome it a greater share of both anxiety and risk. So far, this makes pretty good sense. The next dimension to consider is that of time-frame. A generous dose of uncertainty is much more palatable at age twenty than it is at age sixty. Perhaps a more flexible approach would be to cut down on the amount of required uncertainty as we grow older?

Faith

Generally seen as a religious issue, faith doesn’t have to be. It can in fact be quite secular and removed from the spiritual life. I see it as the essential building block to someone’s optimism. For instance, the most elementary form of faith is to believe, at night, that the sun will rise again next morning. Most of us can do that. Taking it one step further, we can apply the same rule to our outlook towards the future. Is the planet going in a hand basket or is it going to survive, man’s imbecility. I, for one, believe strongly that the earth will carry-on, preferably with a good group of humans left on it. The fossil fuel crisis is another example of seemingly good reasons for despair. Conversely, I see it as great opportunity for inventing something that taps into renewable energy sources. We haven’t tried hard enough so far; that’s all. My simple form of faith is intertwined with all the cycles that are part of life, all the ups and downs. Sure there are moments when keeping faith is difficult, but this is what makes the exercise thrilling. Only totally unrealistic ideas are what make faith so hard to keep. My ideas are pretty simple and squarely rely on nature’s and man’s survival skills; certainly not miracles.