Short Break #3
Welcome back to another short break.
Everyone always gets on my case for eating super fast. If you’ve met me, you may be surprised at how fast I can wolf down food.
One time, my manager timed how fast I could eat a whole plate of Indomie Goreng Jumbo and rice because we had a meeting in 5 minutes.
I finished the plate in just over one minute.
My argument for eating fast is always the same — you feel the same amount of pleasure in a shorter period of time, resulting in a more intense feeling. I have nothing against people who take a long time to eat (well that’s a lie, I usually mock people who eat slow), but eating fast has always been the way to go for me.
But what is truly better for pleasure and enjoyment — an intense sense of pleasure in a short period of time, or a lesser sense of pleasure over an extended period of time?
When it comes to pain, there has always been the discussion of whether to rip the bandaid off quickly or rip it off slowly. Based on Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational and esteemed professor at Princeton University, it’s better to rip it off quickly so that the pain is felt intensely but very briefly.
Can the answer for pleasure be the same as pain? I’m not sure.
I spent tonight working from the minute I woke up up till the sun went down, and so with no energy, I resorted to watching Bojack Horseman. Particularly one episode, Fish Out of Water.
A brief summary of the plot: Bojack is a ex-TV star that has just shot a Hollywood film and is now making the circuit around film festivals — including the Pacific Ocean Film Festival which is the “largest underwater film festival in the world”. When Bojack arrives 20,000 feet underwater, he discovers he can’t speak and is soon in a wacky adventure trying to return a baby seahorse to their father.
The whole episode has nearly no dialogue, and relies on emotional cues, expressions, and music to tell its story. It’s one of my favorite episodes of television, and I’ll talk more one day about how animation has the ability to tell stories beyond utilizing mere dialogue.
But what hit me the most when watching it this time around is seeing how Bojack can’t let go of this baby seahorse and is dedicated to making sure the baby returns home to their father safely. The entire series of Bojack Horseman is dedicated to portraying that Bojack is mostly an grade A a-hole.
But this episode shows something different. It shows Bojack as someone who could be a parent. It shows Bojack as someone who, if given another chance at life, could have been someone good.
But Bojack doesn’t get another chance. Nor do most of us.
When we miss our opportunity, we miss it forever. Second chances are rare. Third chances are even more impossible.
That’s part of what makes life so scary. The fear of messing something up. The fear of missing out on something. The fear of sticking with something too long that when you realize it’s a mistake, it’s too late.
There’s a quote from the episode saying “In this terrifying world, all we have are the connections that we make.”
But it’s not just about the connections we make.
It’s about the connections we are able to keep. Because people leave. Because we miss out on something. Because we forget to keep the connection alive.
So keep the connections, especially with those who matter.
Second chances won’t always come. All you have is this one shot.
Don’t waste it.
See you in the next break.
