Sudah lama aku nyatakan mahu menulis pasal graviti kalau kau terbaca di salah satu atau dua entry ku sebelum ini. Jadi, hari ini diizinkan sudah.
Living in Wellington got me used to two things at least.
Firstly, walking in general. We go everywhere by foot. Except the too far away places, like Pak N Save or Kill-burn-nie *actually I forgot how it was spelled but that’s how it sounds, basically*. And we walk fast; as the locals trained us.
And the second one has to do with the reason why it was hard for us the Wellingtonions during the few early weeks there: the hills. So the second thing that we got used to was: walking up steep roads and stairs. Especially the steep hill on where the main campus is situated. And the steep stairs of short cuts too.
Walking up steep roads and stairs was as tiring as we all know; look at each others’ face when we climb that stair up to the academic building here in *P*A. Going down, on the other hand, was so easy that we could run or roll down like a big furry ball. Maybe exclude the furry.
Anyway, it’s science. The motion contradictory to gravity will need more force. Is that sentence correct? Sorry if it’s not. *excuses: (1) I learned physics in Malay (2) I l stopped learning it since almost 6 years ago.
So, gravity.
Let’s use our big imagination here. Imagine that you have this really looonggggg ruler, or whatever it is that can stand up straight. Well, this really long horizontal thing represents a continuum. The higher the level is, the more positive things will be. The lower the level is, the more negative things will be.
Whatever it is that you put on this continuum; your general opinion about your life, your trust to someone, your job-satisfaction, your self-confident, your knowledge, your Iman, it will most probably would not stay static. Some days they are up, some days they are down.
Common sense, yes, I know. But that’s not what I want to tell myself today—no, not where we put ourselves, or other things, along that continuum. I’d like to present to you today my reminder to myself about: the motion. The motion of either going up or going down.
Analogy: When we climb a hill, we climb for a reason. Maybe our house is on top of the hill, maybe we want to have a picnic there, maybe we want to jog up so that we could be fitter, maybe we simply want to conquer the top. But the motion going up is always hard. And it’s harder when we are not used to it.
Maybe on our way, we could get stuck. Resting, maybe. Talking to passers by who are apparently on their way going down. Got injured? Or just taking a minute or two to look at the breath-taking scenery.
Alas, suddenly we have to go down, even before we reach the top. Maybe because of the sudden change of weather. Sudden change of plan. Some business call. Nature’s call? Or anything else.
But at some point, let's say we do get to the top. We have the sense of achievement. Even then, still, there is a possibility that we could fall down. Or suddenly again we have to go down for the same or different reasons as the time when we’re on our way up, before we reach the top.
Or there’s even the possibility that once you reach the top, you realized, you haven’t actually reach the top—so you continue hiking.
See. The motion is endless. It’s unpredictable.
Applicable situation, EXAMPLE SAJA:
I have an aim. This aim is obviously a good one. People with bad aims and goals and dreams should be slapped. ‘cause I think s/he is not really in their senses. A positive aim would be somewhere higher on the continuum.
Darn. I need a concrete example. Let’s try that one more time.
Applicable situation, EXAMPLE SAJA:
I have an aim: to be somewhat a better person. I really don’t know where to start. But no matter what I do—it is inevitable to move on that continuum. Because it is not that we put ourselves on the continuum, it’s actually that we are already on it.
So, if I have the aforementioned aim I need to move upwards. And like any other 'hiking' experiences like walking that steep road to Kelburn Campus—it is hard. It is tiring. Not just that, at some point, I could have even forgotten my aim and I could lost my way.
At some other point, I could 'fall' (ie do something bad therefore the effort of being a better person is defeated). At some other--other point, I could even suddenly realized that I was back to square one; back to the place where I started, wherever that might be (ie being someone who is nowhere near ‘good’, let alone better..tsk).
But even if I convinced myself that I already reach somewhere higher and I thought I have reach that aim (of being a better person) I should have known that the key word is ‘better’ not ‘best’. Because the word ‘best’ will never suite with any of us, oh flawed human. So, there is no ‘top’ actually, and I should continue hiking.
So. The motion is endless. And it’s unpredictable. Oh wait. It does have an end. Our death. But as long as we’re breathing, the force of gravity will keep on going. Thus, we have to keep on being in motion because we simply cannot stop even if we want to due to that 'gravity'.
To illustrate, in the previous example: even if I decide that I am satisfied enough of how good a person I am (which should never be the case), the force will always find a way to bring me back down on the continuum. Or if I am already on the low level and think that I am at a good enough place, there'll always be a lower level and this force will never stop bringing me down; no matter how low I am already.
Thus because of this ‘gravity’ force, do remind ourselves that it is always harder to move upwards and easier to move downwards. Just because whatever it is on the positive end of this endless continuum, it will be always be on the higher level. Not lower.
Therefore maybe, with these thoughts in mind, we would be motivated enough to continue the effort to move in motion and chose the upward direction no matter how hard it is. Until one point, we'll get used to the hardship and hopefully, going against 'gravity' in this sense would not be so tiring anymore.