Amongst everything else, there is a small bit of common knowledge that curious children and science students share.
This knowledge is about a strange substance that fights back when force is applied to it, but flows like water when left untouched. The science students may identify it as a Non-Newtonian fluid, but the children have a much more interesting name for it – Oobleck!
Oobleck, although given a rather abnormal name, is made up of extremely normal ingredients. When corn starch is combined with water at the right proportions, it creates a thick, milky-white fluid.
Oobleck takes on the consistency of a solid when kept in constant motion or placed under pressure. If not, it moves like a liquid. For example, if you were to fill a small swimming pool with Oobleck, you would be able to run across it if you moved quickly enough. On the other hand, if you attempted to stand in the middle of the pool without moving, you would begin to sink. This substance behaves in this manner because the small water molecules flow easily between the large chain-like molecules formed by corn starch, giving Oobleck its unique properties.
Oobleck is often used in science lessons to teach students about motion in fluids or it is used as a fun substitute for toys like play-doh. However in this case, Oobleck is an unexpected source for an important lesson – let life flow!
Many of us are familiar with Doris Day’s popular song “Que Sera, Sera”, meaning whatever will be, will be. These words are a gentle reminder of the fact that life is never completely in our control and that this lack of complete control is not necessarily a negative thing.
As young people, we are exposed to a plethora of new roles and responsibilities. Along with this, we begin to encounter more severe and long-lasting consequences for the choices we make and the actions we take. At this stage, we tend to experience a natural need to take control of every part of our lives in an attempt to manage the outcomes we experience.
When frustrated by our inability to successfully micromanage each aspect of our lives, we must remember that life is much like the curiously strange liquid discussed earlier. The more we try to force life to flow in a certain way, the more resistance we will experience in the form of unwanted and unexpected situations.
On the other hand, when we flow with life instead of fighting it, we will begin to find that there are more doors of opportunity opened up to us. Life itself becomes a river that carries us out to our destination without the need for rowing or steering. While it may be difficult to give up control during our youth, when we seem to long for the most control, we will soon realise that we are likely to reach our goals and desires much more quickly while also gaining a vastly wide range of special moments that are hidden in the beautiful randomness of life.
