When inspiration strikes, you listen . . .
Today, I was hit with the answer to a major question I’ve been struggling with for a long time: what am I going to study? (Sorry for the cringe-worthy pun.) It wasn’t after hours of self-reflection or clicking through numerous websites listing major requirements or even talking to my advisor that I finally came to a conclusion. No, the answer floated down to me during a run, a gift from the universe, all thanks to Spotify.
via: Odyssey
This miraculous streaming experience, by some miracle, decided that today it would introduce me to a song that gave me knowledge I’d heard but not really given any validity. Logic’s “The Incredible True Story” (off of The Incredible True Story, which was released in 2015) contains a snippet of advice from British philosopher Alan Watts beautifully sandwiched between verses. It’s pretty lengthy so I’ll only include a few lines here, so you too can bask in the light of the inspiration that this man brings:
via: Green Label
“We’d like to be painters, we’d like to be poets. We’d like to be writers, but as everybody knows—we can’t earn any money that way. What do you want to do? When we finally got down to something which the individual says he really wants to do, I will say to him you do that—and forget the money. If you say that getting the money is the most important thing, you will spend your life completely wasting your time [pause]You’ll be doing things you don’t like doing in order to go on living, that is to go on doing things you don’t like doing, which is stupid! It is absolutely stupid! Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way . . . Therefore, it’s so important to consider this question [pause] “What do I desire?”
Related: Music Suggestions from your Local Melomaniac
Choosing between what is “useful” and what I love has always been a problem for me. By all means, this verse will not solve all of my problems or give me the answer to conquering the world. But as I try to navigate some of the Big Questions that every university student grapples with, it’s important to keep in perspective that there is no point in living a life just to make money if you’re not doing something you care about. That can be hard to remember at Duke. Somehow hearing all of this in the most unexpected context made it seem much more valid. Hopefully someone sees it hear and feels at least a tiny sliver of comfort or clarity.