The Silver Lining

I've been jaded and frustrated with work more than I ever have before. I've never felt this level of hopelessness as far as there being a meaningful future as a result of hard work, especially on a universal level. Needless to say this has made it difficult to be motivated.

But it dawned on me this afternoon: the benefit of the frustration is that I am learning and growing. If my advisor was okay with a mediocre dissertation proposal, then I wouldn't have better understood higher-level stats. This is what has helped me to be critical of research and better understand research principles than my colleagues who were able to breeze through the program.

And it also dawned on me that my being jaded and "negative" just means I'm perceptive and paying attention, and not taking things for granted. I see the holes and downsides that I wouldn't see if I was wearing rose-colored glasses. I could be perceived as too pessimistic and distrustful, but I see it as being realistic, wise and careful.

Trust, particularly in this world and in this time, is not something you just give away....

The Shift

I was so excited to see this clip-it is along the lines of what I said in my last post:

http://theshiftmovie.com/

The line I found most heart-wrenching is:

We are the only species that kills its own kind most frequently in the name of God.

If that doesn't motivate us to try to do more to better our world, I don't know what will.