Sunday, August 26, 2007
Humanity and the "self"
Sometimes there comes a time when you have to really reflect. I was thinking about a random movie quote, as I normally do. I thought about the Archangel Gabriel in the movie Constantine. The archangel told Constantine that the humanities best moments are in times of suffering. That is when we are most noble. I find that is an interesting topic of discussion. Normally I would argue that no, humans are best when they are suffering. I tend to think that Humans are best when they know themselves. However the discovery of self is often aided by cases of extreme suffering. The "self" are those things which are integral to what one really is. So in once sense yes bad brings out the best in people but really its always trying to come out. Just that when we face huge perils we tend to react in the best possible way in order to overcome them.
Now obviously there are those exceptions to the general rule. For example the people looting New Orleans after Katrina. If there were no exceptions then we would live in a perfect world and last time I checked that is not the case. I do however think that humanity can benefit from other tragedies. For example, global warming which I know is a topic that can be debating for years, and it will be. However lets just for arguments sake say its true....I will not give my opinion on this one (wink)...then the future is what we are worried about. We are not panicking for nothing, we are worried about the future of our species. And this worry which is not imminent is causing us to do great things. For example cars, more efficient and less polluting methods of travel are being developed. i read a story today that Sony made a battery that is run by sugar. Yes sugar. This battery harnessed a natural process of breaking down sugar and was strong enough to run an MP3 player. A few weeks ago i read about new technology being developed involving wireless electricity. Yeah that was my idea at happy hour a few years back, but someone got up and actually did it. The general idea was that electricity was transmitted via radio waves. i mean all of these advances mean two things. People are going to get filthy rich, but the second is that the future does have the potential to be less destructive to nature than it is being now. I don't know how I got on this tangent but OK. roll wit it.
I think that technology will either kill us or make us better. We are either going to come up with ridiculous ways of killing each other or we are going to discover that "self" that unites us to the other. Those others that even though we may never meet them, we are preparing the world for them. I know and I trust that Humanity will be able to use technology to better lives and bring out the best in all of us without have to face a catastrophe or some disaster.
Remember 9/11? I do, i was completely oblivious to what was going on. I went to 8 am history class and as i walked in my teacher was crying and she turned on the news. At the time I did not know it was the news, but anyways we saw live the second tower get hit. The image almost surreal was replayed in my mind over and over and over. All I could think was, who influenced such evil and why did no one do anything to stop it. The will to stop that evil is a grassroots effort that begins with all of us, I think. I know that it is easy to say that because i personally did not have family or friends in the towers, but as an American I know how it felt to lose confidence in Humanity. I also know how many people united under one cause to rally for the families and the country. I wish that global warming, the death penalty, or the end of nuclear warheads would be such a cause. I wish that without having to suffer humanity could see the issues and really come together, become one, one "self."
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Freedom
I promised myself that I would never attempt to write about a subject that I did not know a lot about. I figured, the way to express oneself is to talk about what you know and not about what you don't. Pretty simple stuff. However I have recently encountered a feeling that I usually don't have, freedom. Yeah I know what the immediate thought is, what the heck are you talking about. I saw the following:
It made me reflect about what I do that had caused me to not be free. I always had a feeling that I was either doing something wrong or acting in some way that I should not. Which a lot of the time is true. For those of you who know me, you know that I act pretty stupidly sometimes, not gonna lie. But, there are a lot of cases where I felt that I was doing the right thing, just not in the right way. Better yet, I was doing something with the best intentions, however the action or the via I chose would always or typically end up achieving the opposite result.
For example...I thought that telling a best friend how you feel on the spot would be the best way to act. I figured the person knows you and understands that sometimes, especially in my case, the first thought in your mind is not the most developed thought. However they, being your best friend, would understand and be able to empathize with your plight. I was wrong. I learned that the first thing out my mouth is often times the exact opposite of what I actually mean. Its a concept that is meant to relay an feeling and not the complete thought I wanted. It does not actually mean what is stated. Better way to put it, i put my foot in my mouth. Sure enough I am going to pay for it and will continue to. However, back to freedom.
I feel that I am free. How does knowing that you consistently put your foot in your mouth have anything to do with freedom. It does. I am taking responsibility for what I say. I know this may seem revolutionary given the state of our country where you have people saying one thing then changing their views right away. The way that I think about things is that when you say "i put my foot in my mouth" you are actually excusing your actions and separating them from you. You alienate yourself from what you said so that you did not mean it and hence are not taking responsibility for what was said. I now feel free because I accept responsibility for what I said, and even though I did not mean it I know that it caused harm and that I am an idiot for just running my mouth before I could actually put the whole thought together. I accept that it is my fault and no one else; that makes me free.
I am free to think about what I am going to say before I say it because like the quote implies we do dread freedom since when free we must be responsible for what we say and do. I know that I cannot make up for lost time or that I cannot make up for all of the hurtful things I may have said because of my pathetic attempts to alienate myself from stupid statements. Believe me I have said stupid things trying to "fix" retarded statements, which either worked kind of, or were ignored because my best friend was kind enough to give me the benefit of the doubt. I have even been called a "Mexican president". Any of you familiar with Mexican political parties knows that is not a nice thing to say. In Mexico there is a a general consensus that the president is a liar and simply misleads to get into power then when they become president, rob the country, make some money then split. Yes so as you can see not very nice.
I don't talk to this person anymore. Which sucks but that's just the way it has to be. Like Johnny Cash said "I don't like it, but i guess things happen that way." There were a lot of other issues that caused it to be that way. But I have learned something and I think that they would be happy that I have, honestly. As i had stated before I try to keep this blog as impersonal or alien as I can because i feel that adding names or situations will simply show my perspective which is always in my favor, of course. So the other issues I will leave as such. But I can thank them a lot for giving me the benefit of the doubt for so long. I think that it is going to make me a better person and hopefully help out with law school, j/k.
Nah but honestly I think that the most valuable thing that I am going to take away (that i can share) is freedom. the freedom to be responsible and even though it sucks, fess up and never say I put my foot in my mouth, excuse what i said and clear it up right there. So there are no issues, no situations and no problems. So I hope that anyone reading this would really think about that expression, "put your foot in your mouth." I think its just a way of using language to separate ourselves from stupid statement without having to admit that we are wrong. Is that a life worth living? I will leave you with this thought:
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Been a While
Its been a minute since i have written anything. In the last few weeks i have learned a lot of humility. Not because i got my ass kicked or anything, which is what i know a few people out there would love. but i was taught humility by a test called the LSAT. Its a tough cookie to crack and I have gained a whole lot of respect for those who perform well on it. Anyways
I went to Mexico this month. I was on vacation in Michoacan, Mexico from the 14Th to the 22ND. It was great. I got to see a lot of the places that I had mentioned in my philosophy paper of Senior year. It was very refreshing to know history of the place before i actually saw it. i took some pictures which are available on my website. I visited Morelia, Patzcuaro, Janitzio and a few other places. I think that I enjoyed this vacation so much because I totally felt like a tourist. I went to many of the places that i had read about and it was exciting to see history in everyday life. There was history everywhere. At one point while walking in the center square of Morelia our attention was drawn to a marble square that seemed out of place. This marble square marked the spot where a revolutionary hero was shot by a firing squad. It was amazing to see that it was just there. Nothing separating anyone from it. It was a good time. I also very much enjoyed the food. I miss it already. I tried odd foods and normal ones as well, just to see a different interpretation of it.
Lately I have also been playing a lot of chess. I remember when I was younger, not that I am old or anything, I wanted to be a grandmaster. I loved chess so much it was crazy. Now as I reminisce about the things that I used to love I remember why I liked it so much. I think I always saw chess as the great equalizer. There are 32 pieces and 64 square, each opponent exactly the same. No one has an unfair advantage, no one can be blamed for mistakes except yourself. I just think that the game a sort of mystic to it. I don't know why. But I have been playing a lot of it lately.
So now you know, I am a nerd...what am I going to do. Also I am now going to become a grease monkey. yup thats right, I have a 62 VW that i am going to be working on so that will be a lot of fun I think
Its been a minute since i have written anything. In the last few weeks i have learned a lot of humility. Not because i got my ass kicked or anything, which is what i know a few people out there would love. but i was taught humility by a test called the LSAT. Its a tough cookie to crack and I have gained a whole lot of respect for those who perform well on it. Anyways
I went to Mexico this month. I was on vacation in Michoacan, Mexico from the 14Th to the 22ND. It was great. I got to see a lot of the places that I had mentioned in my philosophy paper of Senior year. It was very refreshing to know history of the place before i actually saw it. i took some pictures which are available on my website. I visited Morelia, Patzcuaro, Janitzio and a few other places. I think that I enjoyed this vacation so much because I totally felt like a tourist. I went to many of the places that i had read about and it was exciting to see history in everyday life. There was history everywhere. At one point while walking in the center square of Morelia our attention was drawn to a marble square that seemed out of place. This marble square marked the spot where a revolutionary hero was shot by a firing squad. It was amazing to see that it was just there. Nothing separating anyone from it. It was a good time. I also very much enjoyed the food. I miss it already. I tried odd foods and normal ones as well, just to see a different interpretation of it.
Lately I have also been playing a lot of chess. I remember when I was younger, not that I am old or anything, I wanted to be a grandmaster. I loved chess so much it was crazy. Now as I reminisce about the things that I used to love I remember why I liked it so much. I think I always saw chess as the great equalizer. There are 32 pieces and 64 square, each opponent exactly the same. No one has an unfair advantage, no one can be blamed for mistakes except yourself. I just think that the game a sort of mystic to it. I don't know why. But I have been playing a lot of it lately.
So now you know, I am a nerd...what am I going to do. Also I am now going to become a grease monkey. yup thats right, I have a 62 VW that i am going to be working on so that will be a lot of fun I think
Been a While
Its been a minute since i have written anything. In the last few weeks i have learned a lot of humility. Not because i got my ass kicked or anything, which is what i know a few people out there would love. but i was taught humility by a test called the LSAT. Its a tough cookie to crack and I have gained a whole lot of respect for those who perform well on it. Anyways
I went to Mexico this month. I was on vacation in Michoacan, Mexico from the 14Th to the 22ND. It was great. I got to see a lot of the places that I had mentioned in my philosophy paper of Senior year. It was very refreshing to know history of the place before i actually saw it. i took some pictures which are available on my website. I visited Morelia, Patzcuaro, Janitzio and a few other places. I think that I enjoyed this vacation so much because I totally felt like a tourist. I went to many of the places that i had read about and it was exciting to see history in everyday life. There was history everywhere. At one point while walking in the center square of Morelia our attention was drawn to a marble square that seemed out of place. This marble square marked the spot where a revolutionary hero was shot by a firing squad. It was amazing to see that it was just there. Nothing separating anyone from it. It was a good time. I also very much enjoyed the food. I miss it already. I tried odd foods and normal ones as well, just to see a different interpretation of it.
Lately I have also been playing a lot of chess. I remember when I was younger, not that I am old or anything, I wanted to be a grandmaster. I loved chess so much it was crazy. Now as I reminisce about the things that I used to love I remember why I liked it so much. I think I always saw chess as the great equalizer. There are 32 pieces and 64 square, each opponent exactly the same. No one has an unfair advantage, no one can be blamed for mistakes except yourself. I just think that the game a sort of mystic to it. I don't know why. But I have been playing a lot of it lately.
So now you know, I am a nerd...what am I going to do. Also I am now going to become a grease monkey. yup thats right, I have a 62 VW that i am going to be working on so that will be a lot of fun I think
Its been a minute since i have written anything. In the last few weeks i have learned a lot of humility. Not because i got my ass kicked or anything, which is what i know a few people out there would love. but i was taught humility by a test called the LSAT. Its a tough cookie to crack and I have gained a whole lot of respect for those who perform well on it. Anyways
I went to Mexico this month. I was on vacation in Michoacan, Mexico from the 14Th to the 22ND. It was great. I got to see a lot of the places that I had mentioned in my philosophy paper of Senior year. It was very refreshing to know history of the place before i actually saw it. i took some pictures which are available on my website. I visited Morelia, Patzcuaro, Janitzio and a few other places. I think that I enjoyed this vacation so much because I totally felt like a tourist. I went to many of the places that i had read about and it was exciting to see history in everyday life. There was history everywhere. At one point while walking in the center square of Morelia our attention was drawn to a marble square that seemed out of place. This marble square marked the spot where a revolutionary hero was shot by a firing squad. It was amazing to see that it was just there. Nothing separating anyone from it. It was a good time. I also very much enjoyed the food. I miss it already. I tried odd foods and normal ones as well, just to see a different interpretation of it.
Lately I have also been playing a lot of chess. I remember when I was younger, not that I am old or anything, I wanted to be a grandmaster. I loved chess so much it was crazy. Now as I reminisce about the things that I used to love I remember why I liked it so much. I think I always saw chess as the great equalizer. There are 32 pieces and 64 square, each opponent exactly the same. No one has an unfair advantage, no one can be blamed for mistakes except yourself. I just think that the game a sort of mystic to it. I don't know why. But I have been playing a lot of it lately.
So now you know, I am a nerd...what am I going to do. Also I am now going to become a grease monkey. yup thats right, I have a 62 VW that i am going to be working on so that will be a lot of fun I think
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