Something I realised today: While everyone was panicking and rushing their work like it was the end of the world, there I was, calmly sitting and doing my work at my own pace while the whole world was going crazy around me. It's not because I've done most of my work that I could sit there calmly and totally unaffected by the mad rush to complete the project. I've concluded that whether we are stressed or not, the work still has to be done and presented next Monday. So why do it under such duress? We can't change anything by being stressed out and insane. All these brings me back to one philosophy in life which I hold strongly to:
"Life is too short for worries. Be happy."
People ask me why I'm always so cheerful. It's because I choose to be happy no matter what. Or rather, I choose not to dwell on the negative aspects of life. Although recent circumstances have proved otherwise, on the whole, I can say that most of the time, I'm happy. Like today, while others went about panicking to the extent that they can't even form coherent sentences, I felt strangely at peace with everything. But really, what's the point in going about panicking and feeling all stressed out when eventually, the work still has to be done. So why panic and feel all stressed and depressed and moody when being so changes nothing? To make things worse, you make a big show of being stressed in front of a whole classroom of people trying to complete their work as well. Won't that make them feel worse? And then you go around complaining to the whole world that you're stressed. If the time you take to complain is put into doing your work instead, you'll definitely be more productive. That's why I was really glad when Dad picked up my Zen Micro from the service centre. I've waited for nearly 2 weeks for it to be repaired so I can shut myself out from the whinings in class.
If a negative circumstance cannot be changed, why go about worrying about it? Hence, I've chosen to be happy because life is short, and I want to make the most of it. Some say it's a pretty disillusional way to go through life, pretending that bad doesn't exist and denying the evils of this world. In fact, I don't deny that evil exists because good cannot exist without fully understanding the perspectives of evil. Simply put, there cannot be good without evil because if there is no evil, then what can be classified as good? Lost? Well, what I'm trying to say is that there are always two sides to a coin. Or, there is no right without left, no up without down, etc.
Like I was saying, I don't like dwelling on the negative aspects of life. Here's a saying that I came up with just now (or maybe I came across it in the past and stored it in my memory bank):
"Don't dwell on the storm because you'll miss the rainbow."
Similarly, don't dwell on the negative things in life, but rather, focus on the positives that it hands you. Sometimes when a negative circumstance arises, there's nothing we can do about it. In the event that we can do something about it, we always dwell on how negative it is and then we feel all bummed out and then we pass this feeling onto anyone we come into contact with and then it makes tackling the task all the more 'sucky'. Hence, why be sad and unhappy when we can choose to be happy and cheerful and positive about everything. There are always two ways to go about doing things: The positive way and the negative way. What's the point in making an already bad situation worse?
Sure, there are things to feel sad about. The recent string of tragedies around the world are nothing to celebrate over. But, as improbable as it seems, there can be good to be learnt from all of it. For instance, nations are now more prepared for similar situations. Furthermore, look at the amount of aid that affected countries receive from all over the world. The mettle of humanity really shines bright in the face of adversaries. It's really heartwarming to know that although different countries are separated by vast oceans, people can actually come together to help one another and to support each other in times of trials. Aren't all these positive things? If they aren't, I don't know what is. There's always a silver lining behind every dark cloud. Hence, in any negative situation, there can be positive elements to be gained. Therefore, there isn't much cause for anyone to dwell obsessively upon the negativities of life.
Coming back to the situation in school with the impending deadline and the pile of work that has yet to be touched, being negative about the whole thing does not help to ease the task of completing the project. Hence, I've chosen to do things at a steady pace. All I have to do now is to re-transfer all my songs back into my new (the people at Creative replaced my old one with a new one because they couldn't find spare parts to repair mine) Zen Micro and then I can do my work in my own world and not be affected by all the negative vibes in class.