Time

So, I have been thinking recently as to why most of us are so time-conscious these days? Time is something we, humans, invented yet we have allowed it to overtake us and somehow it is now controlling us rather than the other way around. What after all is so important about time that we gauge everything by it; be it a relationship, the amount of time required to do something and even finding time to spend with someone? It is a concept that is mostly popular in the ‘civilized’ world if you will. There are many countries around the world where time is irrelevant and the concept of wearing a watch or having a clock is unnatural. One may argue that those people are forever late for meetings, appointments, etc but the key to note is that they probably realize that the value of time should be judged by how it is spent not how much is spent. Who I wonder is better off in the long run if you will: the people who let their lives be controlled by time and therefore have no ‘time’ for their families or loved ones or those who continue going about living their lives without letting ‘time’ overrule them?

A mystery - The workings of the human mind

I thought I should discuss what has to be one of the oldest mysteries known to mankind: the workings of the human mind. In particular, I have been pondering why we react to certain situations as we do and the different factors (chemical, environmental) that are responsible for our reactions.

One simple explanation is: The human brain is a complex circuitary of neurons that are responsible for inducing the release of certain chemicals that send signals to different parts of our brains thus making us react. However, this does not provide us the complete picture as our environment has a lot of impact on our reactions as well. For example, one reacts differently to a bad news received at a social gathering then one would if the said news was received at home.

While all this makes sense, there is another factor that is also a big contributor to our reactions and at times seems to overshadow the rest: EMOTIONS. While one could argue that emotions are also part of the chemical factor, I disagree and believe this should be its own independent factor. I firmly believe that when one's emotions are engaged, the reaction is not always predictable. For example, if a stranger breaks your favorite heirloom one is naturally upset but if the said heirloom is broken by a loved one the reaction is much more intense because the loved one knows the sentimental value associated with the heirloom.

What totally throws me off is why one reacts strongly to little things that are insignificant but is totally blase about the so called 'major things' and take them in good stride. This particular reaction doesn't fit any of the above categories so I'm at a loss as to how to describe it. Is this reaction normal for most individuals and what causes it? Is this part of a defensive mechanism that we humans have built in us for self preservation?