LordoftheMorning
Smash Champion
Link to original post: [drupal=3653]My Spiritual Experience Induced by a Chili-Cheese Hot Dog[/drupal]
So I'm entering into my second week as a college freshman. Although I'm attending the University of Las Vegas, and I live in the city, I'm staying in the dorms because my parents thought I should experience it. UNLV is known around here as just another average college. By no means does it compete with internationally recognized schools. The only reason I ended up here was because I procrastinated on my out-of-state applications and missed the deadlines. With a combined math and reading SAT score of 1460 and a diploma from the International Baccalaureate program, I could definitely be somewhere better, but I'm alright for now. I feel a little fatalistic about it. It just seems like I was meant to stay instate, at least for my first year of college.
The topic of this blog, my realization, occurred in the dining hall of this UNLV. They've got some pretty decent food (omelets for breakfast, salad bar, grill, etc.) and they rotate it out so you don't get tired of having the same thing every day. It was a Monday. I don't know if that means anything in particular, but there were hot dogs available. To my delight, there was also melted cheese and chili standing by, so I served myself up a chili-dog with cheese. I went back to my table, wrapped several napkins around the thing (which didn't really help me much), and took a bite.
...I almost cried.
It was so GOOD. I was overwhelmed with such an intense sense of joy and vigor as I ate this hotdog. I quickly scarfed it and finished my dinner. I was grinning like a fool all the way back to my dorm building. It was at this time that I really appreciated how blessed a thing is existence in general. How could I, a pretty-smart college freshman, without having fulfilled my potential... an awkward, lonely guy without connections or even many friends, get SO much happiness just from a simple hotdog? It was incredible.
At that moment, I saw the potential of humanity, all of the ideas that we as a race have given birth to. I wondered how anybody could feel that life is pointless. There are nearly 7 billion unique people to make friends, there's literature, science, the establishments, the sports, the videogames, the food, the love, the communities, the competition, the collaboration, and oh god the intelligence! There's so much out there! The only word to describe this revelation is 'overwhelming'.
Of course, we have our drawbacks and negative aspects, and some are more severe than others, and I think it's important that we don't ignore or forget that. However, maybe it's a condition that makes us able to enjoy the good things of life. If I was never sad, then how would I know what happiness feels like? I wouldn't have anything to counterpoint happiness with, and thus mood would simply become a neutral state, offering nothing.
The other part of it is that I'm not even close to the height of the happiness. As I said, I haven't fulfilled my potential. I'm probably more than a little lazy, and at times I am arrogant and self-conscious all at once. I have my flaws, I've made loads of mistakes, and I have a long way to go. All this means is that if and when I make myself a better person, I can find a new level of pleasure that makes my current state look like a guttering candle held against a blazing sun in comparison.
If I think I know what creativity is like, then how will I feel if I were able to separate myself from all familiar concepts in order to create totally original ideas? If I think I am enjoying my attendance at UNLV, then how would I feel in an ivy league school? If I think I am at peace, then how would I feel in harmony with a soulmate that I have yet to find? If I think I am happy now, then who knows what the happiest man on earth is feeling? If I think that this Earth is a beautiful place, then what would heaven be like?
It never ends. It spirals upwards to an indefinite point that will never be reached. Not because we are not destined to be happy, but because there is no limit to the potential.
I hope I've managed to keep my clamoring, scattered thoughts contained long enough to properly express this sentiment to the rest of you here at SWF. In some ways it really defies words.
So I'm entering into my second week as a college freshman. Although I'm attending the University of Las Vegas, and I live in the city, I'm staying in the dorms because my parents thought I should experience it. UNLV is known around here as just another average college. By no means does it compete with internationally recognized schools. The only reason I ended up here was because I procrastinated on my out-of-state applications and missed the deadlines. With a combined math and reading SAT score of 1460 and a diploma from the International Baccalaureate program, I could definitely be somewhere better, but I'm alright for now. I feel a little fatalistic about it. It just seems like I was meant to stay instate, at least for my first year of college.
The topic of this blog, my realization, occurred in the dining hall of this UNLV. They've got some pretty decent food (omelets for breakfast, salad bar, grill, etc.) and they rotate it out so you don't get tired of having the same thing every day. It was a Monday. I don't know if that means anything in particular, but there were hot dogs available. To my delight, there was also melted cheese and chili standing by, so I served myself up a chili-dog with cheese. I went back to my table, wrapped several napkins around the thing (which didn't really help me much), and took a bite.
...I almost cried.
It was so GOOD. I was overwhelmed with such an intense sense of joy and vigor as I ate this hotdog. I quickly scarfed it and finished my dinner. I was grinning like a fool all the way back to my dorm building. It was at this time that I really appreciated how blessed a thing is existence in general. How could I, a pretty-smart college freshman, without having fulfilled my potential... an awkward, lonely guy without connections or even many friends, get SO much happiness just from a simple hotdog? It was incredible.
At that moment, I saw the potential of humanity, all of the ideas that we as a race have given birth to. I wondered how anybody could feel that life is pointless. There are nearly 7 billion unique people to make friends, there's literature, science, the establishments, the sports, the videogames, the food, the love, the communities, the competition, the collaboration, and oh god the intelligence! There's so much out there! The only word to describe this revelation is 'overwhelming'.
Of course, we have our drawbacks and negative aspects, and some are more severe than others, and I think it's important that we don't ignore or forget that. However, maybe it's a condition that makes us able to enjoy the good things of life. If I was never sad, then how would I know what happiness feels like? I wouldn't have anything to counterpoint happiness with, and thus mood would simply become a neutral state, offering nothing.
The other part of it is that I'm not even close to the height of the happiness. As I said, I haven't fulfilled my potential. I'm probably more than a little lazy, and at times I am arrogant and self-conscious all at once. I have my flaws, I've made loads of mistakes, and I have a long way to go. All this means is that if and when I make myself a better person, I can find a new level of pleasure that makes my current state look like a guttering candle held against a blazing sun in comparison.
If I think I know what creativity is like, then how will I feel if I were able to separate myself from all familiar concepts in order to create totally original ideas? If I think I am enjoying my attendance at UNLV, then how would I feel in an ivy league school? If I think I am at peace, then how would I feel in harmony with a soulmate that I have yet to find? If I think I am happy now, then who knows what the happiest man on earth is feeling? If I think that this Earth is a beautiful place, then what would heaven be like?
It never ends. It spirals upwards to an indefinite point that will never be reached. Not because we are not destined to be happy, but because there is no limit to the potential.
I hope I've managed to keep my clamoring, scattered thoughts contained long enough to properly express this sentiment to the rest of you here at SWF. In some ways it really defies words.
