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| This guy is a six-year-old? |
10. The simplest things are the most relate-able.
It's easy to forget that other people, especially strangers, probably don't want to discuss Multi-level Marketing, or polynomial approximation of functions. But it stands true that one of the best ways to connect with people is in the little things. Calvin and Hobbes teaches us what Facebook statuses and Twitter updates have recently caught up on; there's a lot to share in life's simple nuances.
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| Too relatable. |
9. It's easy to get worked up over the details.
I used to
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| Schools are different in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. |
8. To be creative, one must embrace the new.
As Pablo Picasso says, “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once the child grows up.” The world we live in today educates children out of their creativity, by punishing mistakes and faulty ideas, and embracing one standard. For an inspiring and entertaining talk on the subject by a knight with a cool accent, check this out.
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| Art has many forms. |
7. Possessions are destructive.
I'm sure we all were read this riot act at some point in our childhood. Not to be an extremist here, but there's definitely truth to the statement that possessions own us.
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| Too bad Dad didn't know where to look for the best deals on binoculars. |
6. Experience is only what you make of it.
Age and maturity are simply numbers. I know of teenagers who act like they're 40, and 40-year-olds who act like they're 8. You can have all the experience in the world, but unless you digest it, you're liable to make the same mistakes over and over again.
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5. Time, all the time, is precious.
I never listened to this when I was younger, but life really does go faster the older I get. I remember how summer breaks kept getting shorter and shorter as I went through public education, and how I used to be constantly bored, without a clue on what to do next with my life. It's crucial to appreciate the down time that we get, no matter what we do with our lives.
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| "Give up on that sissy lighter fluid." |
4. Control is an illusion.
No matter how skilled or talented we are, there will always be an element of our lives that is beyond our grasp. It's important to realize when time and energy are wasted on something that we really shouldn't have control over. Whether you believe in religion, chance, or fate, denying the presence of outside influence is futile.
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| Mad with power already? |
3. Live, attempt, fail, learn, try again.
Max was a character that Watterson experimented with, seeing if he could add a new element to the comic strip in its earlier days. However, Watterson then reasoned that Max "didn't bring out anything new in Calvin," and was, therefore, redundant. What this indirectly teaches us, though, is that creativity is all about the release of inhibitions, the freedom to make mistakes and then learn from them.
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| You can almost feel the awkwardness. |
2. Life is simple, focus on the basics.
Of all of the life lessons discussed in the strip, this is my favorite. I think that as we get older, it's easy to overcomplicate things and forget how simple life really is. We eat, metabolize, sleep, and (if we're lucky) reproduce. Everything else that derives from that- i.e., money- is secondary. So why not enjoy life the whole nine yards? The promotion won't make you as happy as you think it will in the long term if your motivation is only to profit. Wealth is measured in the ability to have freedom, but Americans tend to sacrifice their freedom for it. Don't be one of the herd.
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| My life story. |
1. Children are imaginative, creative, under-appreciated, and inspiring.
This should go without saying, but for some reason, it doesn't.
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| Arise from the grave at midnight as a flesh-eating zombie? Typical. |
