Letter No.29 - This Diwali, experiment!
Published by Aditya Jhunjhunwala,
When we were kids, we used to remove all the gunpowder from the Diwali crackers. Once there was a nice little pile of the silvery stuff, we would do all kinds of experiments with it. Light it with a matchstick, stuff it inside a matchbox and then light it, mix it in water, hell... I've even tasted it!
Not all experiments are great, and certainly not all experiments are safe.
But I'd like to take this opportunity to share with you the meaning of the word experiment.
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experiment
noun
a scientific procedure undertaken to make a discovery, test a hypothesis, or demonstrate a known fact.
verb
perform a scientific procedure, especially in a laboratory, to determine something.
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There you go. Experiments are conducted to discover or determine something. This means, that whatever the outcome maybe, I learn something. Or, I try another experiment from which I learn something.
That's it.
I am not attached to the outcome. I am focussed to the process of learning.
Humans have been experimenting for a long time.
Eratosthenes Measures the World - 3rd century B.C.
William Harvey Takes the Pulse of Nature and discovers blood circulation - A.D. 1628
Gregor Mendel plays with pea plants and discovers Genetics - A.D. 1855 - 1863
Isaac Newton tinkers with a glass prism and discovers the nature of light - A.D. 1665 - 1666
Michelson and Morley have experiment with mirrors discover how light moves - A.D. 1887
The list goes on and on.
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This letter is called 'Eat. Play. Love.'
Play and experimenting are close cousins. They have a lot in similar. When they come together, there is a lot of energy. Things happen. Tiredness vanishes. Discoveries take place. Failure ceases to exist. There is only joy and learning.
It is Diwali, and we are all meeting family, friends and cousins.
I wish you playful year ahead. I wish you live your life with the attitude of a laboratory scientist - experimenting, and not worrying too much about the outcome. I wish you learn from every outcome, grow from it, and find new experiments to have fun with.
Experiment with food, try a new recipe.
Experiment with love, send a loving letter to something you haven't in a long time.
Experiment with how you relate, surprise someone when they expect you to be angry by being relaxed.
Experiment with your body, make it do something it hasn't done since you were a child.
Experiment with your parents, tell them how much you love them and hug them a lot.
Experiment with a friend, surprise them with a gift and note of how much you value them.
See what happens!
When I live life with an attitude of experimenting, I stop fearing failure and rejection. Everything is an outcome that I can learn something from before I launch the next experiment!
Happy Diwali!
In friendship,
adi