Friday's thoughts

Two mostly unrelated thoughts, on two great struggles in life:

I was watching "House" with Rob last night (our weekly TV "date"); in this week's episode, the promising cancer researcher - who had almost cured retinoblastoma already - decided to quit her job even though she was apparently very close to curing this particular type of cancer (right!). She said she had realized, after 8 years of education and 12 years in the lab (holy shit!!), that she wasn't happy and she hadn't done anything she really wanted to do in life: becoming a chef, taking dance and piano lessons, etc. All the other characters - doctors - on the show were super judgemental and acting like she had singlehandedly killed all the children who were dying of retinoblastoma and could have had a chance to survive if the "cure" was found blah blah blah.

I know it's just a TV show, but still... Should you follow your heart and do what makes you happy - maybe seemingly selfishly - or should you do what's most rewarding and will result in the most benefit to all of humankind? What if those two don't coincide in one person? I envy those who are so sure of what makes them happy and that's also what they find most rewarding. I am not sure about either. Yes, research I am sure can be so rewarding and can help so many people. But, so few of all scientists actually contribute something significant to the vast knowledge that's needed to cure a disease. I don't feel like I am putting even a tiny piece of the puzzle in its place. Maybe I am wrong, and it's just impossible to see the end from where I am now. Or maybe in order to achieve something, you can't look forward to the end, you have to set small, short-term goals and by achieving those, eventually you contribute to the big picture.

I asked Rob what a guy's perspective was on something. I don't even want to mention that something, because it's not worth my time to write or think about. But, what he said made me think. He said this about a guy he knows: he just doesn't know what he wants, and he didn't expect anything much, so when something did happen unexpectedly (really, how unexpected could it be???), he didn't know how to handle it, so he just disappeared without a word. Excuse me?? Didn't know how to handle an unexpected situation, which by the way, was not even unexpected, at least not by anyone who has half a brain!? The beauty of life is all in its surprises and wonderful unexpected events. The happiest moments in my life that I can remember were the ones in which I was utterly surprised. We just need to keep our eyes and hearts open, and welcome what comes along and enjoy that amazing feeling that accompanies the realization that something new and exciting has just happened to us. If it wasn't for those adventures and unexpected moments of happiness, life would be so boring! And honestly, I just feel really sorry for people who get scared and don't know how to handle those moments.