Phases

Once I was a Buddhist. Well, so I thought. When I was in 7th grade, my social studies class delved into the alluring concept of Buddhism. I became engulfed by my intrigue towards this ideology. For my 14th birthday, my mom took me to a shop and got me a buddha, a singing bowl, and some stones with words engraved on them. There are three of them: balance, patience, and courage. 7th grade me was a massive wimp, and I still lack balance and patience today, so I really don't know why I chose those particular stones. Perhaps my reasoning was to try and develop those qualities through meditation? Truthfully, I really don't care what my reasoning was, as I am no longer a Buddhist. One might wonder why I scrapped my mission to become a bodhisattva. Frankly, I ended up having no desire to find inner peace; I began to feel that there were better ways to utilize my time. My main reason, however, was that my quest to reach nirvana became what I have come to call a phase.

I have always struggled to maintain one single interest. To an extent, my life is organized in phases which I often materialize into trophies that I keep in my room. Though, most of my "trophies" are not really trophies. In fact, the only real trophies that I have are the ones from my chess phase. The other so-called "trophies" that I have in my room include: my keyboard, camera, microscope, coin collection, and historical novels/biographies. Each of these objects represent a particular phase in my life. One might wonder why I keep my trophies if they no longer spark an interest within. My answer is simple, and it's a mindset that I live by: don't throw away learning.

All of the skills and knowledge that I have learned throughout my various phases are still utilized by me today. The concept of learning is exponential; it builds upon itself. For example, the notion of thinking ahead that is heavily practiced in chess is a very useful tool. It lends itself to my high-capacity to plan and maintain control in my life. Another example of utilizing my phase skills is seen post photography phase. To produce the perfect photograph, one must be meticulous and have a stellar eye for detail. This practice of precision is amongst the most useful of my retained skills. It yields for top-notch quality analysis, and now, years later, nothing gets past my eye.

By keeping the various "trophies" in my room, I maintain all that they represent within my mind. All I need to do is take a glance at a trophy, and I am then imbued with the knowledge that I once worked so hard to acquire. All learning can be recycled. By repurposing skills, I am able to enhance my everyday education. I take what I have learnt over 18 years and throw it into the melting pot that is my typical day which then yields the utmost productivity. In essence, all phases, no matter how trivial they might seem, have a purpose: they enrich our learning and, in effect, our lives.