Osmosis
Science classes formed a large part of my high school and university education; there were elements I heartily disliked and have forgotten as quickly and completely as possible (dissection, and memorizing Kreb's cycle, amongst others)... but there were other topics that pleasantly surprised me at the time, and continue to intrigue me to this day.
Osmosis is defined as "a process by which molecules of a solvent tend to pass through a semipermeable membrane from a less concentrated solution into a more concentrated one, thus equalizing the concentrations on each side of the membrane."
As students, we often joked about playing tapes while we were sleeping or putting books under our pillows in hope that the knowledge would somehow seep from those concentrated sources into our less-concentrated (i.e. fairly empty) brains... but I'm not sure that those inanimate sources were really able to play any role in the process.
My fascination with osmosis these days is more on a personal level, and more about the idea of balance. Life seems to be full of opportunities to take things in, to receive learning, listening, love... and we are given equal opportunity to put things out there, to transmit teaching, talking, tenderness.
I think the trouble happens when we forcefully alter our "semi-permeable membrane" and make it an impermeable one, stopping the flow in one direction or the other out of fear or greed or pride. We can refuse to learn anything new, to let anyone help us... or conversely, we can refuse to share any of our wealth (material, emotional, mental or physical) with those around us. Neither of those choices ultimately enriches us or those around us.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, renowned psychology professor, formulated the concept of "flow" to explain both creativity and happiness... a concept that deserves more time and space than I can offer here today, so I include a link to watch his TED talk on the subject and invite you to explore a bit further on your own.
And as we move into another busy Monday, I wish you all a day that flows with opportunities... to give and to receive.