"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?" ~Robert Browning
The dialogue below is from Season 3 Episode 16 from the TV show, Star Trek: The Next Generation. The episode is entitled, "The Offspring", which is one of my favorite episodes. In this episode, Data, a self-aware, sapient, sentient and anatomically fully functional android has designed and built an offspring. His offspring is an adult android daughter named, Lal. Lal notices that her father aspires to be more human. She wonders why he does this since he will never be able to be fully human because he lacks emotions. As Lal gets to know the humans on board ship, she realizes that the android's struggle to become more human is 'futile'. ; )
Here's the discussion between Lal and Data:
"Lal: "I watch them (humans), and I can do the things they do, but I will never feel the emotions. I'll never know love."
Data: "It is a limitation we must learn to accept, Lal."
Lal: "Then why do you still try to emulate Humans? What purpose does it serve except to remind you that you are incomplete?"
Data: "I have asked myself that, many times, as I have struggled to be more Human. Until I realized, it is the struggle itself that is most important. We must strive to be more than we are, Lal. It does not matter that we will never reach our ultimate goal. The effort yields its own rewards."
Lal: "You are wise, father."
Data:"It is the difference between knowledge and experience."
I love finding gems of wisdom in the scripts from the movies and television. I found great meaning in Data's answer to Lal in this scene:
"...it is the struggle itself that is most important. We must strive to be more than we are, Lal. It does not matter that we will never reach our ultimate goal. The effort yields its own rewards."
What a meaningful passage! This is so true for us "Humans", as well. We are all incomplete in that we can always aspire to be better, wiser, more loving, etc. It is not important to reach our ultimate goal. The goal is not all that important. It is what we become through the struggle that is most important. That is why I think it is important to reach for the stars - our reach should exceed our grasp. Sure, we may never achieve some goals, but we will grow so much more through the effort. This is not to say that we shouldn't have other goals that are within our grasp. We should, but we would do well to have some goals that are beyond us. It is a way for us to grow stronger and more expansive in our experience. So as we journey through life, let us seek new challenges and strive to be more by reaching to grasp what we are incapable of grasping. Let us strive to be more than we are.
I may not have reached the goal but look how much further I goed. : )
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