Force (01/13/09)

Force
by Maria Reylan M. Garcia

A legend was told about two heavenly supremes, the Sun and the Wind, who seem to have an eternal rivalry unto who reign more powerful. One day, both decided to settle the dispute once and for all through a simple contest. They looked down on the face of the earth and saw a man walking towards the wheat fields. The Sun and the Wind both agreed that whoever could let the man take off his hat would emerge as victor. The impulsive Wind went first; blew hard and relentlessly hoping to tip off the man's hat. But, the man only clung more to his hat, he didn't want his head cold. The patient Sun came next; shone brightly over the man and waited for the result with a warm smile. Soon the man's head was drenched in sweat and eventually took off his hat. From then on, the Sun gained the throne of most powerful in the heavens.

I once thought that the moral of the story was man's preference of being warm rather than cold. I could not blame myself after being on suspension for frozen delights after my traumatic tonsillitis. Biased, I know. But, after resuming to my tower-high ice cream fantasies, I realized that the moral was, not everything can be gained through force. The Wind was rash and thought that the hat will come off the man's head through might and force. But it didn't. Nevertheless, the Sun remained calm and achieved victory through a more tolerant course. Our nature of persistence in order to get what we want predisposes ourselves unto developing the much talked about OC (obsessive-compulsive) personality. I won't deny that I submit to raging temper, boiling blood, ruthless nerves and in some occasions, impeccable tantrums.

I took two subjects of Physics, one from high school and unfortunately another requisite one for college. I may suck at anything that has to do with numbers, but surprisingly I did pretty well in both Physics. If I remember correctly, Force is defined in Physics as a physical influence that changes a position of an object with mass. How related it is with a layman's view of force; it is indeed an influence that drastically pulls or pushes something according to someone's whim. But, Physics again tells us that too much force causes too much pressure, because both are directly proportional. Pressure is the result of force divided by a unit of area. Indeed, the more we force something, the more it becomes pressured and hopefully it won't reach the point when it couldn't hold further pressure and just simply rupture and burst.

Forcing a child to excel academically given her limited capacity in studying could later on give her episodes of misery and eventually breakdown. She may be profound in athletics but mom wanted her little girl to carry out her long lost dreams of becoming valedictorian. So mom forces the little girl to study beyond her limits. I won't be surprised if the little girl would become rebellious in the end or put her life in a totally opposite route. Forcing yourself to be as beautiful, dashing and perfectly figured as the skinny and slim models posing for men's magazines given your impossible fate of reaching a size two may later on bring you internal conflicts and false self-esteem. Good, if you have gained what you wanted. The mother and the little girl may feel jubilant and on Mt. Everest's highest peak if the little girl turn out to be topnotch of the board exams one day. You may internalize all the happiness in the world if despite your flat nose and weight problem after intense artificial methods have kicked Jessica Alba's off her beauty throne.

But what if even with all the might and force, you still didn't get what you wanted. Like the Wind, you'll end up questioning yourself if you are really powerful, strong or good enough. Goodbye self-esteem and optimism. Take the example of the Sun, doing what he does best of shining brightly; in the end he took home the bacon. You can excel in athletics as well. You can be beautiful even if you're plus sized. You can be appealing with your flaws, if you just know how to make the best of them.

Then, Physics blurts out in defense that force is not all bad, that an increase in force will result to an increase in work done. But, let me add that it will only happen if movement is present. Because work is equal to force multiplied by the distance moved by the object. Force is indeed helpful in one way or another, but too much of it can cause a destructive pressure that may hurt us in the end. This is what Physics taught me.

You can't get everything through force.
Take the Wind's case as an example.
Learn to be patient and tolerant.