[The following was copied and pasted from GPT-4 after I fed it a transcript of a 3 minute ramble I had recorded while walking just now and asked it to turn it into a 2000 word blog in the style of Morgan Housel]
The Rhythm of Everything: A Sinusoidal Perspective
A philosopher once said, “Change is the only constant in life.” However, as I delved deeper into this concept, I began to see a more nuanced pattern, something more rhythmical, oscillating – everything that lasts is sinusoidal.
Picture an AC (Alternating Current) voltage. It's not constant but varies between positive and negative poles. The peculiar thing is that AC voltage travels further than its steady cousin, Direct Current (DC), and does so with more efficiency. This sinusoidal rhythm can be seen across nature and life as well. Everything oscillates – from the seasons, day and night, to the ebbs and flows of our emotions. The very beat of our heart follows this pattern, contracting and relaxing in a rhythm that sustains our life.
This oscillatory pattern – an 'on-off' rhythmic dance – is evident in everything that withstands time and change. Sunlight doesn't always shine with the same intensity or wavelength. It oscillates throughout the day and across the year, altering its intensity and the wavelengths it emits. Like our world, our lives too are filled with highs and lows, work and rest, successes and failures – our very existence is sinusoidal.
Let's consider the intriguing parallel between a sinusoidal wave and a calendar. When we kick off a new year, we set intentions and resolutions, each acting as individual waveforms of what we wish to achieve. But as the year progresses, we often find ourselves deviating from these initial amplitudes. Life throws curveballs, distractions surface, and we end up getting out of phase with our goals. This is when our clear signals turn into noise, muddying our vision and making it difficult to find the path forward.
The magic of January 1st is in its universality, the collective “reset” it provides. It allows us to re-sync with our intentions and with each other, to phase shift our wavelengths back to where we wish them to be. While each of us may be out of phase by different amounts, every January 1st gives us the opportunity to bring our lives back into rhythm, to align our goals and aspirations with the phase of the new year.
Every lasting marriage, every triumphant leader, every successful person has ridden these waves, going through highs and lows. It might seem like the current phase will persist forever, for better or worse, but the wisdom lies in recognizing that it won't. The sun does not always shine with the same intensity, nor does it remain hidden behind clouds perpetually. It oscillates, giving us periods of light and darkness. This is the beauty of the sinusoidal pattern – it assures us that change is imminent.
The term 'resonance' takes on a new meaning when viewed from this lens. When we say we 'resonate' with something, we imply we're in tune with its frequency, rhythmically aligned with it. A hobby, a piece of music, or even a relationship can resonate with us, indicating we are 'synced' with its frequency, and thus it can keep our interest alive for an extended period.
The sinusoidal pattern is more than a mere mathematical curve. It's a representation of life and its oscillations. It highlights how, like the universe itself, we oscillate between phases, but, crucially, we always return. This constant rhythm offers comfort. It provides reassurance that while we will face adversities, we will also have moments of joy, that after every dusk, there will indeed be a dawn.
Like the AC voltage that can travel long distances due to its sinusoidal nature, our ability to withstand the tests of time lies in our embracing of this rhythm. Recognizing and respecting this rhythm can enable us to navigate through life with more grace and understanding. Life is not a straight line; it's an infinite series of sine waves, each representing a different aspect of our journey. This perspective can empower us to celebrate the highs, weather the lows, and find harmony in this beautiful, sinusoidal symphony of life.
So, as we step into a new year, remember, we're not just turning a page on a calendar. We're aligning our wavelengths, resetting our phase to embark on another oscillatory journey around the sun. The rhythm of the universe is within us, and every January 1st, we get a chance to tune into it once again.
And as we oscillate through another year, we'll find that in life, like in nature and the universe, everything that lasts is beautifully, rhythmically sinusoidal.