On the first day of middle school, a teacher posed a question to my class.

What is Life?

Invariably the response was the same. Those biological components of survival; eating, sleeping, drinking, breathing.

Calmly the teacher walked to the window and opened the window to the breeze. The sound of rustling leaves floated in with the sunlight. Outside in the courtyard an oak tree stood silent, indifferent to the activities around it. The teacher’s gaze followed the visible roots above the sandy soil and rested at the trunk. Again he posed:

What is Life?

Years later I have come to understand the question. It was a science class, but he was not looking for a scientific answer. He was not searching for a right answer. He was prompting us to look beyond our surroundings. Up until that point, everything had a right and wrong answer for us. Correctness is a two dimensional landscape and he was asking for a third or fourth.

That is an idea that I rediscover every day. I have a fascination with discovering how ideas, concepts, and sciences affect each other.  Physics tells us that every action has an equal and opposite reaction and Niccolo Machiavelli tells us the ends justify the means. How do the laws of physics relate to ethics? This is a practice of taking ideas out of their original context and applying them to where they don’t seem fit. It’s a process of conceptualizing concrete ideas abstractly, in order to gain a greater perspective. In what way do symbols as in literature exist in our own lives, and how can literary elements be applied to subconscious levels of psychology?

It never ceases to amaze me the intricate connections of people and things and virtues and morals that influence the world. The stars move when you lift a finger, and so does the world. It’s a butterfly effect, the friction between two dominos, and everything is connected.

I have also discovered a fear of thinking. A wise woman once told me that “smart people think about thinking.” I was of a young age and I aspired to be smart and for a while I forced the issue. I tried to grasp what she was saying, but it was too abstract of a concept for me. Then one day someone asked me “what is life?” Once again I was stumped. I became frustrated with it and crumpled up my paper. It was only then that I saw the creases and the complexities. Finally my ideas had taken a shape. Some people don’t take the time to look up from their own frame of reference and they miss the big picture.

I have discovered that life is more than living. I have also discovered that the world is made of more than two dimensions and  understanding this simple fact is the most important thing.