Circular Ruins

"After nine or ten nights he understood with a certain bitterness that he could expect nothing from those pupils who accepted his doctrine passively, but that he could expect something from those those who occasionally dared to oppose him." (Jorge Borges, The Circular Ruins, 58)

This experience that the man in the circular ruins has with his pupils, as stated above, reminds me of Newton's laws of motion. Newton's laws of motion are:

1. First, is an object experiences no net force, then its velocity is constant.
2. Second, the acceleration of a body is parallel and directly proportional to the net force acting on the body, is in the direction of the net force, and is inversely proportional to the mass of the body.
3. Third, when a first body exerts a force on a second body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force on the first body. This means that the forces are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.

Although Newton's laws are describing motion of physical objects, the same principle is evident in our lives if we can imagine ourselves like objects and challenges ("pushes")  presented to us by others as a force. These laws can be applied to any facet of our lives like education, work, sports, music etc. 

First, if a person is never "pushed" to improve then they will continue on their same path, continually doing the same things. Many times we make the same mistakes repeatedly. Maybe even worse, is being content with the same successes throughout our lives, never looking to improve.   

Second, if a person is "pushed" in a certain direction he will follow in that direction. How far he travels in that direction depends on how hard of a "push" he is given. As an example, my wife taught middle school children while also working as a lawyer, now almost four years later most of her students are studying law. Although she is small, her "push" was very large and her students allowed themselves to be "pushed".  

Third, when one is "pushed" by someone then they "push" back. As stated by Newton these "pushes" are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. Everyone knows the common phrase: "two minds are better than one". Examples of the importance of teamwork are found everywhere in life; partners lifting weights together and students studying together are just a few examples. 

Borges knew that to grow and improve as human beings we need to be "pushed" by challenges. If we are not willing to oppose these challenges (forces) then nothing great can be expected from us, just like the pupils in the circular ruins.