If you read the papers, you might have come across a piece of news, that was published just a few days ago, about the discovery of the so-called “God particle” at the CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research). The name of the scientist who long, long ago, had first talked about the possibility of finding such a sub-atomic particle, is Peter Higgs.
It may be a news concerning a topic many people might not know too much about and/or they might not even be interested in. Nevertheless, I want to bring it to attention. As everyone knows who Einstein was and most certainly has at least heard of his “theory of relativity,” they should now also know who Peter Higgs is. Why? Because he has recently achieved something “important,” because for a long time he had believed in something, which no one else believed in, something that has finally been proven to be right.
I see Higgs as one human being who can give us a perfect lesson in Positive Thinking, specifically in humility, self-assurance, trust/faith and forgiveness. So? Who is Peter Higgs? He is a theoretical physicists who taught for many years at Edinburgh University. Talking about himself, he says that he was never good at working in the lab, and his school teachers never thought too much of his skills. Saying that takes some humility, doesn’t it? How many people are willing to admit that, as students, although they had dreamed of becoming, for example, one an outstanding lawyer (a sort of Perry Mason) the other a brilliant architect (a new Lloyd Wright) then… they realized that they just “didn’t have it”? Don’t they prefer to find reasons and excuses for their not pursuing those careers and settling for something less fancy? And, in “settling,” didn’t they give up the possibility of being “excellent”? Peter Higgs realized that practical science was not his field, so he dedicated himself to theoretical physics.
He ended up devising a theory about a powerful subatomic particle, the boson, (that has been given his name) which could explain how the Universe was “created,” i.e. how galaxies, stars and planets actually came into being. That’s why the Higgs boson is commonly known as “the God particle.” The interesting thing is that, although he “imagined” this possibility almost 50 years ago, his colleagues never gave him credit and never accepted the possibility for this particle to be actually found, either.
As a matter of fact, the Swiss Center CERN stated that Higgs theory was “of no relevance to physics”! Now they welcome it and praise it as “the biggest advance in knowledge about the cosmos for over 30 years, which will open the door to probing… ideas that were once the stuff of science fiction.” WOW! What a switch! Why am I talking about all this? Simply because Peter Higgs can be considered as a perfect example of what I am trying to convey in my writings.
Creative, positive thinking says that you must not presume too much of yourself, and Mr. Higgs innocently admits that he was no good in the lab and did not persist in trying to pursue that career. Creative Thinking also says that you must believe in your capabilities, believe that you can “do” what, deep inside, you feel you are capable of achieving. Higgs did just this. He had a theory he felt to be true, he kept believing in it and never gave it up. He trusted, he had faith and persisted in working toward it, in spite of other people’s incredulity. How often do you behave in an independent way and are not affected by what others say about you, your decisions, your beliefs? And, finally, how forgiving are you? Are you able to forget past hurts and renounce holding grudges? Higgs did and is still doing that as well, because in the past he never had harsh words toward those who criticized him and now he is accepting the praise he is showered with by the scientific world without any resentment with regards to his past denigrators.
What a man of belief! What an example of persistence! What a generous spirit! What a lesson for us all to learn!
P.S. After reading an article on “Arab News” related to this subject, I would like to acknowledge the great work of Indian scientist Satyendranath Bose, after whom the word “boson” was coined.
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