We get the best from life when we follow a simple mantra: “Explore more, expect least.” Life is an experiment in which one might fail or succeed. But  once we proceed with a mindset to explore and enjoy, it becomes worth the experience.

Rightly has it been said, “If we were meant to stay in one place we’d have roots instead of feet!”

 

Quirky explorations

Exploring is just about getting out of your comfort zone , venturing into unknown, sampling new things and discovering unknown territories.
It is said that until you explore you can’t discover. However, many discoveries also happen on their own. One such landmark instance is that of the discovery of penicillin. A dirty dish that Sir Alexander Fleming discovered on his return from a vacation turned out to be a group of antibiotics used to combat a variety of bacterial infections. This fungus killed off all surrounding bacteria in the culture dish, and since then modern medicine was never the same .

Sometimes all you need to make a leap in science is a snack! Percy Spencer, a radar engineer had walked in front of a magnetron , in which a vacuum tube was used to create microwaves. There he noticed that the candy bar in his pocket had melted .Thus was invented a machine called microwave. Snacking, since then has been a boon for science.

The discovery of velcro by George De Mestral is yet another such example. A combination of velvet and crochet, it has been used by NASA as well as the material for flight suits and to help secure items in zero gravity.

The inventor of Coca-Cola wasn’t a shrewd businessman, or a dreamer looking to strike it rich in the beverage business. John Pemberton, a pharmacist by passion, just wanted to cure headaches. He used two main ingredients – coca leaves and cola nuts and mixed them with carbonated water as ingredients for his headache cure. And the simple mixture gave the world the beverage which grew into a soft drink empire. Sadly, Pemberton died two years later and could not see his empire for himself.

And we have the landmark incident where two people meet up at a bar. One orders H2O ,the other says “I’ll have H2O too “ . The second man naturally died, but we also come to understand that  chemicals may be misleading can be misleading as well, which, of course, is yet another discovery.

 

Exploration- the deeper truth

These ground breaking discoveries may have happened by accident without much of arduous exploration; but these could not have happened without the workings of the adventurous and curious mind. So there we arrive at at the soul, or the spirit of exploration- “Not all those who wander are lost. “ Whether it is the depth of the Mariana Trench ,the deepest point of earth, or the majesty of the moon, the mysteries are unraveled only on exploration. It is said,  “Travel makes one modest, you see  yourself how little space you occupy on the Earth”, opening up the vast territories of the world that remain to be explored.

That shiny blue marble continues to fascinate us; it still remains the only planet we know of where life thrives. We have learned much about earth over the past few centuries which has only deepened our fascination to explore it more and more. 

Finally, to pay our optimum tribute to the spirit of exploration let us “not follow where the path may lead . Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

 

About the author

The article has been contributed by Shubham Mahato, a student from St Augustine’s Day School, Barrackpore.