Do you switch on the lights or grope in the dark?
@lordwarwizard (35747)
Singapore
March 23, 2007 12:57pm CST
Before you jump to the reply screen and hurriedly type out a reply, I need to caution that this is a trick discussion. Well, nothing as scammy as losing your password, but it's just that if you have your eye on either a virtual medal or the best response, you need to answer both aspects of the discussion. For those who just want a "+", anything goes. :P
Alright, back to the topic. For those who keep regular hours and sleep during the night, you might find yourselves occasionally needing the toilet in the middle of the night. You wake up to the urgent call of nature and stare around you in pitch darkness. For those whose rooms have adjoining toilets, lucky you! For me, my room is quite a few metres away from the toilet. I have to either switch on one or all of the lights along the way, or grope my way in the dark. As and when such situations arise, I don't follow any fixed pattern and just do whatever I feel like doing. What about you? And that was the first part of the question - the literal interpretation of my topic question.
Now for the second part. I like you to see this question as an analogy to real life. In life, we sometimes find ourselves lost and possibly confused. Which school should I go to? Which job should I apply for? Which person should I marry? How do I get to that place? Etc. There is an endless string of unsure scenarios that we may face in life. So do you switch on the lights or grope in the dark? Do you usually seek help, or rely on yourself to find your way about? Do you approach friends, family or counselors, or do you trust your gut instinct and listen to your inner voice?
Do share your thoughts. ;-)
PS.: I have given out the virtual medals for my discussion titled "Where am I in this universe?". It is located at http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/837901.aspx . In particular, you can check out responses 1, 4, 9, 12, 17, 18 & 21. Additionally, I have chosen the best response for my "How to deal with THOUSANDS of email notifications?" discussion at http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/851483.aspx . For those wondering what the virtual medal is all about, you can please see the discussion at http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/892924.aspx .
21 people like this
65 responses
@mfpsassy (2827)
• United States
23 Mar 07
Our bathroom is at the other end of the house, but we have enough digital clocks all over the house to illuminate it enough not to have to turn on a light or grope around in the dark. All I have to worry about is stepping on the dog when she decides she needs to sleep on my side of the bed. And I am female so I don't have to worry about turning on the bathroom light either lol
As for life's questions it is a bit of both. Sometimes I ask for help, other times I just take a leap of faith.
5 people like this
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
23 Mar 07
I know it wasn't. I was just teasing. :P
4 people like this
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
23 Mar 07
Hahaha, hey is that supposed to be sexist? :P
4 people like this
@cloudwatcher (6861)
• Australia
23 Mar 07
Since I only need four to five hours sleep during the night, I never have to get up during the night. If I do need to get up for any reason, like closing the windows in unexpected rain (which hasn't happened here for years: we are in drought) I keep a torch by my bedside. Apart from the torch, I never close my windows or curtains, so there is enough light to move around safely.
In life, I follow the same trend. I keep a "torch" handy in case I need it. When faced with decisions to be made, I will ask opinions of trusted friends.
Primarily, I will commit the problem to my loving heavenly Father who, throughout 48 of my 70 years, has never failed to lead and direct me. He is my constant Companion and has undertaken for me in so many ways, that my FIRST action is to talk with Him about any problem, knowing that He is vitally interested in anything concerning me, and that He will lead me.
5 people like this
@brckoba (795)
• United States
23 Mar 07
I hate turning the lights on at night, when going to the bathroom. I don't turn them on for two things: 1- It really bothers my wife, trust me man! I don't want to upset that woman! 2- Usually when I go to the bathroom I'm half asleep, and I don't want to fully wake up since I have a problem getting back to sleep. I don't stumble into things because everything is always in proper order. Hey, it helps that my wife is such a neat freak!
As for the the second question. In my opinion in order to be successful in life, you must know yourself first. I always follow my instincts. I'm the kind of person who doesn't change his mind easily. I know my strengths and my weakness. I know how far to push myself. When it comes to picking a career or just living life itself the person that has the right answer is "me". Although, I must admit that it does help to have your family back up the decisions that you make...:)
4 people like this
@ricknkae (1721)
• United States
23 Mar 07
Well for the literal meaning, no such need because we have tose little nightlights which give enough light to reach the desired place ... LOL S I don't have to struggle in the dark nor have to switch on a bright light which will hurt my eyes used to the darkness...
As for the analogy, I would say it would depend on ths situation ....
As a general answer I would probaly say that I use the light and seek advice around me ... but for some special cases I would just decide on my own ... For instance, your question "Which person should I marrry?" ... hmm the which is tricky, makes me think one might hesitate between several people ,, when I?F I hesitate, and IF there are several people to choose from then I would say I am not ready to get marrried!!
What I mean is that for such a question as getting married to someone or not, there should be no need to seek the advice of others, either you feel it in your heart or you don't and if you don't ... why getting married ... unless there is another data ...
Hope it was clear enough LOL sorry for the ranting ;-)
@charms88 (7538)
• Philippines
23 Mar 07
To your first question, I'm lucky to have the bathroom nearby. I will switch on the light at the walk-in closet and not the one at the bathroom.
As for the second one, I used to listen to what people are telling me. I took Pharmacy during my first year in the University but my father urged me to switch to Dentistry and I obeyed what he said. I went through a lot of sweat and blood just to be able to finish my course. I liked to marry someone else but I was threatened by my own family. Because I love them, I obeyed. But I ended up marrying nightmares. If there is one hard lesson that I learned, it is to follow what my head and heart are telling me and not what others are pressuring me to do. So many regrets and wasted time that I'm afraid I will never ever see the lights again. I once groped in the dark for many years because I can't recognized who I was anymore. It was a very long and painful journey for me to finally learn how to accept my life again.
4 people like this
@liranlgo (5752)
• Israel
23 Mar 07
that's a nice one wizard..well i live at the second floor and do have a adjoining toilets..
but i still am going down to the first floor to the toilets in the middle of the night and prefer not turning on the light cause i do not want to wake anyone up..but i always find everything very easily the paper the toilet the bath..ouch..:(
so that is an analogy to my life..
not too smart but this is me..always finding the stupid interesting ways to do things ..usually in the dark..lol
but usually succeeds..lol
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
23 Mar 07
Stupid interesting.. and succeeding? Not bad then! :P
4 people like this
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
23 Mar 07
i don't have to switch on my light when i want to go to toilet late at night because my toilte is very near to my bedroom... and i already get used to walk in the dark... for your second part of question, i rely on God's guidance all the time to take care and guide my life... of course i still ask for opinion or advice from people that God puts surrounding me when i am in doubt...
3 people like this
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
23 Mar 07
For part one, I grope in the dark. I never use a light.
For part two, I pray and do what the Lord leads me to do. I don't usually ask others for advice. Perhaps, I will discuss the situation with my husband though.
4 people like this
@Willowlady (10658)
• United States
23 Mar 07
I could really care less about the medals and only want a best response if I indeed give one.
I know my property and am good in the dark. We live out in the country and we tend to have pretty good lights most nights. I pretty much move freely according to what I feel in my surroundings.
I also take jobs depending on how it feels and only if it fits into my life already. It should not take it over.I do ask an opinion of my kids and hubby sometimes.
3 people like this
@jeweledbluerose (3061)
• United States
23 Mar 07
Even though my bathroom is only a few footsteps down the hall from my bedroom I still need to turn on a light. Never fails I know exactly where I keep my fan placed, but I always end up stubbing my toe on it, when I am to lazy to just turn on the nightlight. Inadvertantly waking my husband, which I was trying so hard not to do in the first place. So to save my toes, and not deprive my husband of his sleep, I now make it a thing to keep a nightlight on in the bedroom, for those nights when I am to grogy to care about turning a light on.
As for the real life aspect of this discussion, mostly I rely on myself to get through things in daily life, but when things are particularly hard on me I will find the support from family and friends. In most aspects of my life my family and friends are my light in life, which at times can become rather dark to where you are groping for any form of "light" one can find.
4 people like this
@SpitFire179 (2536)
• Canada
23 Mar 07
My bathroom is about 20 feet from my bed, and included in that is walking around the bed, around a corner, through the door and straight into the bathroom.
When i get up at night and have to go i usually just leave the lights off, i don't want to wake anyone up, and i have this thing with conserving power, I'm a freak for that.
In life, I don't think i follow one or the other of your categories, i usually first try figuring things out myself, I'm very efficient, and can really get things done, learn things quickly and normally not have a problem.
But, when i get into a situation that being just myself doesn't work, i look for further help.
I will usually go to my husband, and my close friends. If that still doesn't help, I'll talk to someone else, but it's my last resort.
I'm a picky person, I'll admit, i don't do things the conventional way, and i don't think i can be classified as any typical person, but one thing i can say is that i know myself, and i know what my strengths and weaknesses are.
Thanks for this intriguing discussion, it really makes a person think about who they really are.
@kelly60 (4547)
• United States
23 Mar 07
My eyes are very sensitive to the light, so I would much rather grope in the dark than turn on a light. (Actually groping in the dark can be fun.)
In other aspects of life, I tend to try to find my way on my own as well, rarely asking guidance from anyone. It may take me forever to figure these things out on my own, but if the answer comes from within I tend to trust it more than an answer given to me by someone else.
@kaperkitty (1097)
• Canada
23 Mar 07
tricky you a two part question OK i will do my best to answer both..first in my apartment i have now it is a fair jaunt to the john lol or a fair loop to the lou lol..and i can't see but an inch in front of me without glasses and in the absence of light.besides having two cats that love to trip you up and secretly laugh at you..i have found the wonderful invention of these push lights to be a great saver of my big toes.I have them strategically placed making my way to the washroom once there however i aways forget to turn on the bathroom light why i do not know and up up sitting in freezing cold toilet water my better half sees no reason to put down the sit last pee of the night for him grrrr i think he secretly laughs at me too.. so now cold wet and more than a little miffed i stumble back to bed careful not to smush a cat on my way and pressing push lamps too lol..beautiful home decor i might add lol.finally back in bed i hope not to have to repeat the experience before morning..
now about life decisions when life sends me unpredictable decisions or changes in direction like just this week buying a home which as of Tuesday i had no plan to do and no today i own a home lol...i'm a pretty level headed person extremely organized i swear my lists!! and i depend of my core family and friends opinions to help me make smart informed decisions..sometimes i do screw up but then again we all do but most time i do weight my pros and cons and come out happier for it
Cheryl
@kaperkitty (1097)
• Canada
24 Mar 07
my pleasure as always you give us somethign to think about
have a great weekend
cheryl
@hello_cancer (183)
• United States
23 Mar 07
i tend to grope in the dark. switching on the light causes a lot of squinting and momentary blindness anyway, and my night vision is pretty good. also i know my way around my house intuitively. i can tell how many steps it is from my bed to my door, my door to my bathroom, my bathroom door to my toilet.
sadly enough this tends to be the way it is in my real life too. granted i will gather a little bit of information on something before i instincively say yes, but in the end if my mind is set on the thing that may not be the BEST choice, thats still what i'll do. i guess you could compare this to using the light of your cell phone or a little flashlight to see the path right in front of your feet and off to each side, but not the entire room. i tend to follow my intuition and do what feels best adn most beneficial to me, rather than "switching on the light", so to speak.
great question.
4 people like this
@GardenGerty (157551)
• United States
24 Mar 07
Response to part one: I have always said I was blind as a bat, anyway, so I walk around in the dark, easily, including to the toilet at night. However, nine years ago I married a "switch on the light guy", who is afraid of stumbling, and stubbing toes. According to sleep experts, if you turn on the lights you reset your body clock to wake up at that particular time every night. Even regular night lights can be a problem. Like you, we wander down a long hall to our destination. We have solved this by stringing a long string of tiny Christmas bulbs near the ceiling, from our bedroom to the bath. Red lights are least likely to disturb your sleep patterns. Metaphorically speaking, I seek help, and turn on the light, as best I can. I read directions, consult experts, pray, and seek "light" in my understanding.Most of the time I have a pretty good gut, but I like to educate it, as well.
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
24 Mar 07
Right. Sometimes, I don't want to switch on the lights because I don't want to spoil the peace of the night. If you get what I mean... :P
@greengal (4286)
• United States
23 Mar 07
In answer to your first question I usually grope in the dark, the bathroom isn't very far off from where we sleep so I rely on my senses and have often reached my destination with no mishaps..lol I rarely wake up at night so on those very rare occasions I prefer to not switch on the lights as I don't want to wake up my hubby dear:)
Now for the second one, I'm actually going through one such phase in my life now.I came to the US very recently and being an immigrant I have to cope with a lot of legal issues to do almost anything here in the States. Right now I'm unable to work due to lack of work authorization and to apply for one I'm dependent on hubby. Well that's one part and I'm undecided what to do. Secondly, all my life I've been into either the commerce or finance fields as far as my education is concerned. I've done my MBA in finance already but want to do another Masters here in the US. Of late I've been interested in cooking and feel like pursuing a career in culinary arts. I'm at a stage where I can choose my career path, either its do another accounting/ finance masters and work in that field or take up a culinary course and change my career path. It is a big decision as far as I'm concerned.
On the former I took my cousin's advice on whether to wait till hubby dear is settled or not. On the culinary thing I took my mother's advice. She is the culinary "queen" for me, so what she says is the best..lol
So this should answer your second question, I don't grope when it comes to life situations, I prefer to take help and make informed well thought decisions:)
2 people like this
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
24 Mar 07
I hope things work out for you somehow.;-)
1 person likes this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
24 Mar 07
For me to get from my bed to the bathroom, I have to leave the bedroom, stumble down the hall, down the stairs, down another hall and into the bathroom. I almost never use lights for this process, they would just make it harder for me to go to sleep.
As for your part 2 - I think we are always in the dark, no matter how much light we think we have, for example I had over 22 years in with a company, I got a Master's in my field, yet I lose my job, because people in other countries will work for less. So here I am in my mid-50's starting all over again, making less money then I did 25 years ago.
I thought I knew what I was doing...man was I wrong.
2 people like this
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
24 Mar 07
No. There is nothing wrong with you. It is something wrong with the world.
If there is a God, I am sure he didn't mean for this to happen.
@xParanoiax (6987)
• United States
23 Mar 07
I can usually navigate in the dark pretty well. Sometimes I'll walk over to th wall and feel around for the switch..but most of the time I'll stumble over some toys on the floor and into the bathroom. Flipping on the light switch'd be kinda counter-productive anyway..my eyes would've already adjusted to the dark by that point, turning on the light'd blind me for several mnutes..and if you have to go to the bathroom, sometimes you don't have several minutes lol.
As for the other side of the question, yeah..the way I deal with going to the bathroom late at night is like how I eal with life lol.
*is partly kidding*
Anyway..I don't often feel lost unless I've wandered around some flea market, got my head all turned around and I TRULY am lost lol. I cn get disoriented in some situations..but when making decisions I'll start at the most logical thing and work my way to the answer..or at least the moslogical answer. I don't rely on others, no..I usually deal with stuff on my own. My instincts don't tend to steer me wrong, thankfully. Ocasionally I ask friends for help..or their thoughts on the subjct at least.
Interesting question. ++ Rated
2 people like this
@whyaskq (7523)
• Singapore
24 Mar 07
I am fortunate enough to have "natural lights" in the room with adjoining toilet. Yet, I still have to grope in the dark if I did go to that toilet as I walked with my eyes closed if it was an urgent call. But then once in the toilet, I will switch on the lights.
I was afraid of the dark and that miserable ray of light, source of which I know not, somehow cast eerie images to my brain. So often, before I switched off all the lights, I will put switch on a tiny little energy saving corridor light at the hall. This ensures I need not grope in the dark should I decide to go by the hall.
Physical darkness can be overcomed by using lights. In real life, this is not so. No matter how bright the room or environment is, it may not shine into our inner self. The darkness within can only be brighten by oneself, be it seeking help or experimenting and groping around for a solution. Sometimes it helps to close one eye, sometimes both eyes. I tend to take the easy way out now - open the 3rd eye. It beats going round the circles beating around the bushes. My big head is dangerously running low in capacity now. I can't find my charger.
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
23 Mar 07
From what I understand, lmfao stands for "laugh my f*cking *ss off".
I apologize for such a humorous post. If you need an operation to fix your *ss back, I hope you are covered with adequate insurance.
Fellow myLotters, let us join hands to pray for his speedy recovery.
3 people like this
@crackhead (1826)
• India
24 Mar 07
LMFAO ??? what kind of reply is it lol .. he might have thought he can gain some easy bucks on replying to posts anyways it aint my business let me post my views in my own responce.
2 people like this
