There are so many things to learn about, and explore in life. I have interest in a great many of them, but if I examined each one, I would be inundated with masses of information, and left with not much time to use it.
For instance. I wish I knew so much more about the workings of world history. Not just when things happened, but also how that event influenced the whole scheme of things. The tumbling dominoes. Each morning, I get a couple of “history” feeds in my email. It is enough to whet my appetite, making me dangerous at times, but not enough to truly know the big ball of wax, the full nine yards, or even the whole shebang.
This morning, one of the entries said, “1943: Burma railway completed, built by Allied POWs and Asian laborers for use of the Japanese army.”
I realize this event is significant, because the history guys thought enough of this to highlight in the day’s “History Headlines.” And I can make educated guesses that it is relevant to the workings of World War II, just from the date. But what I do not know is why Myanmar, and a railroad there, made a difference. Was it even Myanmar back then? And, how/why did all the Allied POWs get to that region?
The listing of the fact gives me the Historical nuts and bolts of the thing, but it doesn’t give me the relevance.
And there you have it. Relevance. To be relevant to something, or someone, is to be “closely connected, or appropriate, to what is being done or considered. Appropriate to the current time, or circumstances.”
Which of course it extremely close to being relative. “To be considered in relation or in proportion to something else; existing or possessing a specified characteristic only in comparison to something else.”
I love words, and their meanings. (Another thing I could study endlessly.)
But as I mentioned, there are many things to learn, and explore in life. But it seems like the ones that are relevant to us, take precedence. Sometimes, by necessity, and sometimes by desire.
For instance. All those recipes on Facebook. Mostly we just watch them, and marvel at those hyper-sped-up hands that do the chopping and the magic mixing, and the spreading of goo on pans of baked whatevers. But until we are overcome by necessity, or desire, we normally don’t act. Then there is that one. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars. It becomes a need: You HAVE to have them so you explore the recipe, buy the ingredients and bake the goods.
And then, of course, eat the goods.
It could be anything. What was once an obscure concept, floating through digital space, is now, a learned skill, an event, and a memory. All because of that first relevant connection.
So much out there? What do we choose? How do we know?
What will be relevant to us today?
And then, of course, what are we going to do about it?
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“What we find changes who we become.”
― Peter Morville
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“Truth waits to be found. It searches for no one.”
― Suzy Kassem
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“There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you, and there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.”
― Lemony Snicket, Horseradish
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