What Dave writes » legacy

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Dave — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 03:38:16 +0000

People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don’t deserve them, or that they’ll be unable to achieve them. We, their hearts, become fearful just thinking of loved ones who go away forever, or of moments that could have been good but weren’t, or of treasures that might have been found but were forever hidden in the sands. Because, when these things happen, we suffer terribly.

There are many reasons why we don’t go after our dreams. The main reason, I believe, is that our dreams have faded away along the years. We dream as kids to be firemen, doctors, pilots or astronauts. Because at that point of our lives, everything is clear and everything is possible. Kids are never afraid to dream. But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their Personal Legend.

We grow to believe that we are unable to achieve our dreams; and we become fearful. Why don’t people’s hearts tell them to continue to follow their dreams? Because that’s what makes a heart suffer most, and hearts don’t like to suffer. Fear is the main obstacle to almost everything in life. The fear of suffering, fear of disappointment and naturally we’re afraid that, in pursuing our dream, we might lose everything we’ve won.

The Alchemist is a book about listening to your heart and following your dreams. It tales the story of a shepherd in search of his dream and treasure. It describes his journey and the lessons he learns along the way. And by following his heart, he is able to overcome his fear and gain the most important treasures in life. Follow his magnificent journey and may it be inspiration for you to follow your heart and dreams. Because when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.

*in italics are quotes borrowed from the book, either directly or paraphrased.

When you look back, it seems that everything was planned

Dave — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:30:49 +0000

My interest in biology began when I first sat in the class of my year 9 biology teacher. I just enjoyed biology but I was much better at maths. I continued studying biology in high school and did equally well in maths and biology. Then came university and I had to enrol in something. I never thought about what I wanted to do after university but chose to do a Bachelor of Science. I got in and had to choose subjects; having no clue I just chose to follow the 3 year biological science plan. I finished my degree and got the best results in a subject called genomics and bioinformatics. I applied to do honours with many group leaders involved with biological projects but was turned down for many reasons (mostly they had no room). All that was left was a project in bioinformatics and I got accepted. I finished my honours and started looking for work, any work at all. Lab technician, lab assistant, soil tester, lab cleaner, anything! Alas I was unsuccessful. One day I decided to look at the CSIRO webpage and found a work experience program. I applied and got accepted. After 6 months of work experience I was hired by them. My first real job. When it neared the end of my term I found a job advertisement, a position just around the corner. I applied and got the position. A major snafu occurred just before I started and it would haunt me for the entire time I was there. Determined to set things straight I worked tirelessly. My efforts would not go unnoticed. Recently I was told of a PhD opportunity by a previous colleague, something I’ve always wanted to do. It was an opportunity that fitted to every requirement I had. I had rejected the opportunity once, but it still came back to me. So I applied. And I got the position.

And here I am about to start my new journey. You can argue that everything that has happened shaped the future, rather than having everything planned. But I still feel that I had been destined. Had I not only one last honours option, would I have worked as hard as I did? If I had not been rejected so many times when I applied for work, would I have cherished my CSIRO position as much and worked like I didn’t need to sleep? Had I not made a major snafu just before the start of my position, would I have had the cause and focus to work like there was no tomorrow? And had I not been doing extra work, would I have ever been noticed and been told of the PhD opportunity?

And what if I had never bumped into Dr. Davies my grade 9 and 10 biology teacher? Mathematician? Astronaut? I’ll never know since that wasn’t the plan.

Movie interpretations

Dave — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 04:47:53 +0000

“You’re free to speculate as you wish about the philosophical and allegorical meaning of the film — and such speculation is one indication that it has succeeded in gripping the audience at a deep level — but I don’t want to spell out a verbal road map for 2001 that every viewer will feel obligated to pursue or else fear he’s missed the point.” – Stanley Kubrick

I just finished watching 2001 A Space Odyssey, and as always the first thing I do after seeing a movie is to visit its wikipedia page to read the plot and interpretations of the movie. Even for movies that weren’t meant to be particularly deep, I always read up. The quote by Kubrick was given when asked for an interpretation of 2001. By and large, I totally agree. Since we are all different, we all pursue our own intellectual thoughts.

So the question on my mind is what was this monolithic block? One of the reasons I always read up on a movie is because I’m afraid I missed the point, which Kubrick pointed out. I’m afraid to make connections, which differ from the director/author’s intentions. But just like how Tarantino has his interpretations on the song “Like a virgin” (which perhaps wasn’t the song writer’s original intentions), shouldn’t we all have our interpretations on things? Maybe this is why 2001 is highly acclaimed.

As for what I got out of the movie, I guess it was the special effects. For a film made in 1968, it is pretty spectacular. The “Dawn of man” was particularly boring for me (and I kept thinking back at The Simpsons awesome parody of it) and the lack of dialogue and prolonged cinematic effects didn’t do it for me. I loved the HAL 9000 portion of the movie, and finally understood all The Simpsons references made to it. The only thing gripping about the movie was the monolithic block, and trying to figure out what it is. I’m truly a mystery fan boy, with favourites such as The Maltese Falcon and Chinatown.

The block will remain an enigma, just like the intentions of the movie. My overall interpretation of the movie? Computers will eventually get smart enough and take over us (which it has probably achieved already on my part, since I spend a crazy amount of time in front of a computer).

The Frighteners

Dave — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 05:08:13 +0000

A scene in “The Frighteners” reminded me about something I read a while back. By memory I think it was in Stephen Covey’s Eighth Habit. It asked the reader to visualise something very powerful; imagine yourself sitting at your own funeral. You are about to listen to your friends and family give a summary of your life; what would you like to hear from them? Do you want them to describe you as someone who was intelligent, friendly, giving, loving, confident? In other words, what would you want your legacy to be.

In the movie, the main actress’s husband had recently died. He was at his own funeral and a man who knew him described him as someone who wasn’t the most generous and most giving person but however without doubt had a heart of gold. I always imagine myself as a ghost sitting at my own funeral, which sounds pretty terrible, but I would like to hear about the legacy I left behind or there lack of. I would like to leave behind a legacy that brings the best out of people, one that reunites people and one that gives people the energy to be generous and helpful. I know if I died today, that wouldn’t be the eulogy I would receive. So sometimes it is good to think about my death, because it helps me refocus and think about my life.