In the novel Pale blue dot, Carl Sagan tells about the Marsh of Kamarina!
Kamarina was an ancient city on the southern coast of Sicily. It was founded by Syracuse in 599 BC, but destroyed in 552 BC.
In the 5th century BC, the Kamarinians were plagued with a mysterious disease. There was a marsh which sorrounded the city and like most marshes, it was stinky! It was suspected that the marsh was the source of the strange illness and the idea of draining the marsh to end the epidemic became popular . The town oracle was consulted who advised the leaders not to drain the marsh, suggesting the plague would pass with time. But the discontent was widespread and the leaders opted to drain the marsh against the oracle’s advice. They went ahead and drained it and razed it to the ground! Unfortunately they did not realize that the smelly stinky and wet marsh was the only thing which was protecting the city! Once it was dry, there was nothing stopping the Carthaginian army from advancing. They marched across the newly drained marsh and razed the city, killing every last inhabitant!
The marsh of Kamarina is thus a necessary bad but tolerable thing which we must endure so that a more bad and dangerous calamity does not fall upon us!
It can also mean how one bad decision to avoid a small problem can actually lead to a bigger problem as described by Morgan Housel in his novel Same as ever where he tells about the Donner Party.
The Donner Party originated from Springfield, Illinois, and departed Independence, Missouri, on the Oregon Trail in the spring of 1846, behind many other pioneer families who were attempting to make the same overland trip. The journey west usually took between four and six months, but the Donner Party made a bad decision of taking a ‘Short cut’ and not following the established route and instead crossed the Rocky Mountains’ Wasatch Range and the Great Salt Lake Desert in present-day Utah! The route turned out to be more tough and more long! By early November, the migrants had reached the Sierra Nevada but became trapped by an early, heavy snowfall near Truckee Lake (now Donner Lake) high in the mountains. They were supposed to cross this by fall and not peak of winter. What happened later is a gut wrenching account of human survival; killing, looting and even cannibalism…
So as Morgan Housel says, some things in life cannot be hacked! There is no life hack for success! There is work and then some. Like the sketch of birthday celebrity Shreyas Talpade who actually does not have many recognizable features is a work in progress which I could attempt only after consistent practice and persistence!
Now to get over a bad thing of not getting sleep, do not start doing a worse thing like watching reel!
Put that phone down or read a blog!
ramadocblog 