“The power of focusing can be seen in light. Diffused light has little power or impact, but you can concentrate its energy by focusing it. With a magnifying glass, the rays of the sun can be focused to set grass or paper on fire. When light is focused even more as a laser beam, it can cut through steel.”
I revisited “The Purpose Driven Life,” a book gifted to me by one of my professors 18 years ago, a long-forgotten treasure that had nearly slipped from my memory. To my pleasant surprise, I stumbled upon passages that resonated deeply with me—ideas I had unconsciously adopted for self-guidance in recent times.
It’s intriguing how my background in optics played a role in shaping my perspective on daily life. While I had prided my intellect for these profound ideations, upon reflection, I realized they had stemmed from literature. The ideas had imprinted themselves within me over time, only to organically resurface as internal compass points when needed - an awe-inspiring epiphany.
There’s a poignant adage that eloquently encapsulates this sentiment: “Your character is the accumulation of the books you’ve read, the journeys you’ve embarked upon, and the people you’ve cherished.” This sentiment reverberates profoundly within me as an acknowledgment of the influence these elements wield in shaping who we are.