Everyday Musings > In focus

I have had this quote as my signature for while now - "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." - Robert Anson Heinlein.

I love this quote. Because it's how I think, and behave. I love doing and learning a dozen things at one time. It gives me so much joy. But I always thought that meant I'm scattered and lack focus, that there is no one single passion in my life, I need to channelize my energies into one specific thing. And let the others go etc etc.

One day, waiting for a friend at a tiny bookstore, I found a delightful book by Barbara Sher called 'What to do when you want to do everything'. The title struck me as being just what I was thinking of – at last here's someone who's not talking of focus, focus, focus. Bought the book. Came home, sat down with a cup of herbal tea to read it.

It spoke of people with multiple interests and talked of how everyone from Da Vinci to Aristotle had multiple interests. To be great and truly accomplished was to do many things in that time. Post industrialisation, specialists came in who did only one thing. And that has followed ever since. And she gave people like me, who like doing multiple things, a name – scanners. Scanners are essentially people who flit from one thing to another, or take up different things, study it in detail, and move onto something else, or those who get bored easily, or some who are very curious and thus do many things etc.

It felt great to know that there are many like me, with a dozen things to list as favourites and must dos. I forwarded that book to many friends who came up and spoke of their focus conflict.

Saw an enactment of a short story on Sunday at Prithvi. It was about a girl who felt she was being followed by this old, angelic looking man. Everytime, it turned out that he pointed out to her laces being undone. Finally he asks her, how are you going to teach your children to tie laces? Then he said that if the world were to end, we would need to forward our knowledge to keep civilisation going. Like Noah did. He saved two of every species so we could continue our existence. He said that he has been looking for Noah everywhere, but hasn't been able to find anyone who does one thing perfectly, even if it means tying shoelaces. One task does master.

Specialists are revered today, but the concept of being an all rounder is coming back into existence now. People are bringing back hobbies and learning to live lives that explore more than one facet of their personality. I wonder sometimes, what would happen if everyone in the world was appreciated for doing many things in their lives. Would people pursue more interests, take time out for a hobby, or explore their limits without any guilt? Would we be more adventurous as a race, more dynamic, more active? Would our children have more options to be happy about?

In this age of chaos and drama, doing many things is probably the one right thing to do.