In my previous post, we looked at the two lobes of the brain and its functions, and also touched upon the two paradigms of thinking.
We pictorially represented the stark contrast between the lobes, to better highlight their polarity.
Let’s dive a little deeper into it.
YOLO
Let’s relook at our infamous illustration of the left-right brain in our earlier post.
Mighty Righty
Why is it, that the right brain is depicted to be so vibrant and colorful while the left is dull and lifeless?
Biologically, the brain demonstrates criss-cross wiring. Meaning, the brain’s right hemisphere controls the muscles on the left side of the body, while the left hemisphere controls the muscles on the right side.
So, if I try to be more left handed, am I more vibrant?
Not really, No.
We busted this myth in our earlier post itself. The above diagram, is more a representation of the pristine and logical personifications of the brain, rather than the anatomical segregation of it. That said, the diagram still holds some relevance because as previously stated, Mr. Pristine is more influenced by the right brain and Mr. Logic more by the left.
It still doesn’t explain the tinged delineation of the compartments though.
What’s so colorful about Mr. Pristine and so lifeless about Mr. Logic?
Let’s try to understand that differently.
The enigma of life
Now, if I stood in front of you as God, and gave you an opportunity to relive your life, what do you think would flash in front of your eyes?
Is it your academic & professional qualifications?
The certifications & scholarships?
The assets & heritage?
The awards?
No, I don’t think it would be any of them.
I think, it would be our life’s key moments. And what are these key moments?
It could be our first bicycle ride…
The nonchalant cheekiness of our first crush…
The smiles that ornament our loved ones faces…
The struggles, the disappointments, the victories, etc.
Now, what do you think makes these moments?
These are moments, that took our breath away… These are moments when we truly lived.
These are our expressions… our feelings… and this is how we survive.
We express our life. We don’t just live it.
Life is about expressions. It’s an adventure ride. It has its ups and downs, but these ups and downs are the ones that give meaning to it.
The pain, the sorrow, the struggles, the hardships, the effort, the fear, the anxiety, the success, the happiness… all of it.
It’s only these emotions, that fabricate this illusion called life.
Without these, life is nothing more than a meaningless void.
Whether they make us or break us, its through these emotions we express ourselves as humans for a little while.
So take the chance and live life to the fullest. After all, You Only Live Once (YOLO).
So express yourself at every opportunity.
Smile, Laugh, Shout, Live & Love, and more importantly, tell people that they are being loved.
Its an amazing feeling that… being loved… A blissful one.
You might not have done it before… But now is the time…
Run to your parents, siblings, children… whoever you think has moved your life… And tell them how much they mean to you. Hug them if you can.
You’ll make their day… their week… month… even their year.
I know its hard… But YOLO.
We’ve done so much so far; of all things, you think this would be a challenge?
Go for it!!
Why so vibrant?
Alls well… but how does all of the above, justify the vivacious representation of the right brain? How do they add up?
Well, expressions and feelings are all the franchise of the right brain. That is where it all happens. And life, is an expression of our feelings. No more, no less. So right-brain is literally, the backdrop of “life”.
Alright! Makes sense. But still… why so colorful?
That’s because, life is colorful silly!
Life is beautiful and vibrant, the way it is. And that is why right brain is depicted with that splash of shades.
Its so awesome, but there’s hardly a schema to it. It just a splash. A mixture of colorful surprises that always keeps us guessing as to “what’s round the bend”.
Being Human
The left brain on the other hand, is a milieu of mundane, methodical processing.
Doing the same thing over and over again, with a routine.
That’s so ROBOTIC.
A robot, no matter how similar to a human it may seem, is NOT a HUMAN and never going to be. (discreetly trying to avoid any AI reference again)
It can walk, talk & learn, but it cannot portray the traits exhibited by a human.
You can argue that a robot is folds better than a human, since it can repetitively do the same task over and over again, with at most precision, absolutely the same way… saving time and money and what not!
But that’s exactly what differentiates a human from a robot.
Even when we repeat tasks, we do it differently each time. There is a different ring, a different rhythm, to our every action.
There’s a thousand leaves in a tree, but it would be hard to find two leaves, that are shaped exactly the same. They look so similar, exhibit the same symmetry, but, they are not shaped the same.
They are unique.
And if you take a close look at the symmetry of the leaves, even this symmetry, is not perfect, not precise.
Even if you search the billion trees worldwide, it would be hard to find two identical shaped leaves.
That’s because we are not meant to be perfect… We are imperfect and imprecise. And this imperfection is what makes us alive. It’s this variety that adds flavour to this existence.
We are born to be real, not perfect.
And what is real?
It is this imperfection and uniqueness, that is real.
Not time, Not money.
Money and Time are artificial constraints that we, humans created, just to understand this enigma of life.
And in the process, we forget to enjoy it. What an irony! Facepalm!!!
As we wallow in our self-induced apathy, we seek for “fun” and “pleasure” outside of ourselves, quoting - Life is Short
What do you mean damnit!!!
Life’s the longest “anything” you will ever do!
How is that short? And why measure it? There is no such thing as time! Just go live life.
Enjoy yourself and express yourself.
There is no point to life except doing that.
Express yourself through your work, your walk, your talk, your smile, your fear, your vocation, your hobby, etc
Express yourself by being what you are!
Remember,
You are your universe,
your audience,
your collateral,
your friend,
your enemy,
your everything
The left brain being a hub of mundane processing, lacking life-like attributes, is thus tinged a robotic grey. So, go on and enjoyy life and get back as we look at more [marvels of the brain].
Footnote
I wish to highlight that through this blog, we are not cracking T-Nuts to get past an interview or scrape through an examination, etc. All those are by-products of our action. Through T-Nuts, we wish to express ourselves.
We are trying to become sharper, learn to question anything and everything, learn to accept our mistakes and in the process, keep improving and keep moving forward in this journey of life.
But why are we solving T-Nuts???
Because, we love T-Nuts.
Frankly, we are doing it just for the LOLz, because life is all about LOLz.
So, if you love puzzles and love to question everything you see and hear. Well, you are exactly where you need to be.
