...and teaching an old dog new tricks.

(as a continuation from the previous post)

Till this day, i wonder what might've happened if i had been exposed to more extra non academic activities when i was a sponge brained kid (now, brain is like a tough and old coral). I was blessed to have had piano lessons and art classes, though the latter was short lived. I pursued the piano, but after a dwelling location shift, the lessons stopped altogether and besides, i wasn't too keen on picking it up again because i didn't appreciate the classical music training (why do we need to be trained based on classical music anyway?).

It might've been a mistake to cease, because who knows what else i could have picked up from the techniques even if classical music was ugly to look at on paper and too tough for my short fingers. (pessimism?)

Other times, i look at myself and think... Why do i have all these muscles for?! Why didn't i pick up/given an opportunity at (whatever sport i liked and was good at) earlier and why wasn't i given a chance to excel? I'm not trying to glorify myself here, but from an objective point of view, i WAS born with more muscles mass than most females and i did/do have a natural advantage in certain sports. Back in school, i've always been picked to sprint, to do javelin and shot put.
No prizes for guessing why. *pokes thunder thighs and bulging biceps* 8-P

And more recently, i had a bout with the archery national team, which in the end didn't fully materialize due to politics and i believe, happened only to teach me humility.

Ah well, maybe in future, i will be using these muscles to carry tons of boxes of medical aid and stuff to people in need... Erm. Ok, i really have NO idea. Aiya, it's all about the timing and God's plan for me, which i need to learn to have no quarrel with but to be obedient and humble enough to listen and obey.

There're so many things i want to try. A new sport, a new skill. But each time i voice out such a desire, i'm told: Don't be a jack of all trades and master of none. Concentrate on one area and be good in it.

Guess it's not just me who curbs my own growth, huh.

I believe that there is wisdom in that, however, i also do think that it's myopic if one were to take that as 100% true and follow it religiously.

I believe that one should be given chances to find out where the talents lie, and you cannot do that by concentrating in one area and hammering at it like your life depended on it. You need to feel around, try out the basics of an activity, see if your mind and body feels comfortable when immersed in doing something.

It's when people give themselves ample opportunity to experiment, when their horizons begin to broaden, where the mental, physical and emotional aspects of the human being is refined. You sharpen your psyche, you attune your body to deal with the rigours of various physical demands, and better still when you are able to fuse these aspects into one, as you allow interaction and application between the two.

And you wonder why some people are so well rounded, and i don't mean in physical shape.

Of course this is not limited to *learning something* per se, but you might include something like overcoming a personal struggle or fear, doing something out of your comfort zone or coming to terms with old ghosts and skeletons in the closet, etc.

I don't want to wait till the day my mind fossilizes, when my finger curls into gnarled claws, when all my money is spent on family expenses, when i come of age where there's a high chance that my eyes fail me, when my strength is close to zero, when my heart cannot take bungee jumping,... (you get the idea)

I don't want wait until i am an old, stinky, slobby dog with severe incontinence before i begin my quest to quench this thirst of curiousity. The exploratory and dare-to-do journey must begin, as i turn the knobs (and maybe pick the locks) and step through the many doors before me. I surely hope that the doors have Exit signs when i turn around to see them from the inside, in cases when and if i have to turn tail. But most of all, in my journeys, as i step into the enticing worlds that beckon to me beyond the door frames, i want to discover and be revealed THE path.

And if i do venture onto treacherous grounds, boggy sandpits, deep dark jungles where no light reaches...

:-) I know i am not alone.