Balancing the Equation of Life in Your Chemistry Laboratory
The uncommon chemistry lecture
Let me walk you down the memory lane. Let’s rewind to the days of middle school. It is one fine day in early Autumn when your science teacher announces that he/she would be taking the class to the Chemistry Laboratory. The largest swathes of the class are buoyant to step afoot a new world. The notorious ones of course are scheming the right strategy that they can pull off and the nerds are excited to impress the teacher with their prowess and offer their expertise to the ones who are still figuring their way through. There is the overthinking lot that belongs to the “what-if-xyz-happens”, armed with their list of what-ifs that is longer than your Amazon wishlist.
Then the golden hour when you enter the laboratory for the first time! All those solutions in the glass bottles seem like magic potions, the beakers and conical flask that are luring you to pick them up just so that you drop them and eventually end up paying exorbitant prices.
When was the last time that you ever felt this stoked about something? Something that got your adrenaline pumping and your heart thumping?
Ask yourself this,
When was the last time I did something for the first time?
One of the most underrated books that I have come across is The Unposted Letter which professes this among a myriad of other things,
Be excited to be alive.
Pursue a new proficiency every year and see how exciting life can be. Let there not be a phase in your life when you aren’t enrolled as an active student.
As we progress in life, this very innate nature of being inquisitive and the vigour to experiment fades away. The routines become mundane and robotic with no sign of true excitement that awakens the child within us¹.
There is scientific evidence that shows learning a new skill can sharpen the mind — even the ageing one.
How can the story of Chemistry Laboratory be complete without the mention of those chemical equations?
Remember those equations that gave us all a tough time?
Let me prime you up a little about the fundamentals of an equation. On the left of the arrow are the reactants which are the elements that we add. These reactants react with each other to synthesize the product on the right side of the arrow.
For the equation to be correct, it is imperative for the coefficients which denote the number of atoms of each element to be balanced on both sides of the equation. Thus a balanced one.
This balance is what we are sought after in our lives as well. We dictate our time and effort to various activities that constitute the reactants. These reactants produce the end results or the products which are the tangible results — materialistic or emotional outcomes.
What goes in this equation?
Consider the above-mentioned equation— they are all fundamental elements from the periodic table. They have just been combined in different ratios and proportions to form their existing state.
Like the 118 elements comprising the periodic table, there are multiple elements in life’s table — love, adventure, travel, passion, people etc.
Choose the elements that you are really penchant about. Eliminate the rest. Choose your reactants carefully because these are the ones that produce the products.
There are so many elements that we humans need in life — work, family, money, health, having fun etc. All these constitute the reactant side of your life’s equation.
The products can constitute your peace of mind, happiness, wealth, satisfaction or whatever you choose to add.
How to formulate this equation?
Unlike the equations that we mugged up back in schools, there is NO right or wrong equation. You are your own chemist who is responsible for the potion that you brew using this equation that you formulated.
Even those chemical equations back in school could be balanced ONLY by trial and error. There was no secret formula to balance the left and right sides (unless you decide to follow the equation of some other chemist). As daunting as this trial and error might sound, the simpler the equation, the faster and easier to balance it, right?
There are people out there who would tell you to add/subtract/multiply/divide these elements to create the “perfect” symphony in life.
If you are ambiguous about the choice of reactants, then reverse engineering might be helpful. Pinpoint the products that you would like to see yourself experiencing. Then trace back to what activities stimulate those products.
Multiply these elements in the proportion that you want to, so that the end product is a content life that is worth watching years down the lane when it flashes before your eyes.
I would be intimidated by those boiling pot of talents on the Internet who would be adorned by accolades and feats. They seemed to have effortlessly cracked the code. But it eventually boils down to the fact, “Do I want to have the life that they have?.” It is plausible that they are similar but more often it is not. They might be distinguished dancers, art maestros or prodigies. But do I want those in my equation?
The most foolproof way to formulating is to be clear about your vision and the endpoints.
Those oops moments
The Chronicles of the Chemistry Laboratory cannot miss the instances of obnoxious incidents — the synthesis of pungent-smelling gases, the burn marks on the hands or the spillage of solutions. It was all part of the Chronicle nonetheless.
In fact, it is highly likely that these are the only moments that you possibly remember. But it is all inescapable. Similarly, there will be hiccups when we try to whip up something new in life. But it is a sign that you are trying to whip something up.
The theory classes vs the practical lessons
I am sure no matter how daunting the practical laboratory sessions might have been, but the practical lessons were the clear winners over the nonchalant theory classes.
This is owing to the fact that we preferred experimenting and getting our hands dirty even if it meant getting our hands burnt occasionally as youngsters. Don’t let that wane.
Lesson outcomes
- Don’t let the inner child in you become dormant.
- Formulate your own equation with trial and error and reiterate it over and over until you find The One.
- Don’t let the fallbacks dishearten you.
- Don’t just imbibe theoretical facts. Put them to action.
Happy formulation!
Footnotes
[1]: This poem about not letting go of our inner child is truly delightful. Watch it here.
