More And Less

I may have Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) when I was 6 or 7. Can't blame me, being the firstborn in my family and the first grandchild in our family tree, friends and relatives always said I was over-spoilt by my grandmother. I couldn't recall whether it was to get more attention from grown ups or to annoy them further or both (worse!), I liked to pluck feathers from our feather duster that our domestic helper used to sweep dust (as name implies, feather duster). I hated it when these plucked feathers didn't stay in one place, they were flying everywhere and worst when there was breeze aroound. I couldn't recall how many tons (exaggerating perhaps, hahaha ..) of feathers I have chased in the past. The more I chased, the further they flew. Although I didn't give up, I burnt out thinking of ways to run faster and ahead of the lightweight feathers. So, I asked my grandpa.

Pancakeism: Grandpa, how to make feathers stop flying?

Grandpa: What's the purpose of you plucking all feathers when you decide not to let them fly as they want?

Pancakeism: But I hate the feeling that the feather was so close in distance, and yet as I approached it flew effortlessly further and further.

Grandpa: What's the problem with that?

Pancakeism: But I want them to stay as they were. 

Grandpa: Will you be happy that way, if they stayed as they were? Most things in this world will not stay constant. The faster and harder you chase after the feather, the faster it will fly when you exert too much pressure around it because its weight is too light. 

30+ years later

Pancakeism: Now I know. What should fly, don't trap. What should go, don't keep. The letting go process may be painful, but it's by letting go and re-assessing the opportunity cost that you'll find new solution/s and new direction for your life.