I want to start off by looking at the title of this blog, “Perceiving is Believing ... Knowing is Growing”. While it is very true that the title is a run-on, cliché, and maybe even just the slightest bit corny, it is in fact, very true. Perceiving is what one person sees and computes but does not know for a fact. Perception is what we believe with a strong conviction to be true or hold for a fact even when its not. On the other hand, knowing is ones comprehension and/or understanding of facts. As an example, many people perceive that people from an affluent community are snotty and crude, but until we get to know them, we will never be sure of this for fact. Therefore, as to the second part of my title, a person can only grow when he has overcome his biases, looked into the situation, and learned the facts.
Now, there are several similarities between the two which make them hard to differentiate. Both relate to how we think and make decisions. In fact, every decision we make is based on the knowledge we have or do not have or our perception of the situation at hand. It is through our knowledge or perception that we eventually come to a conclusion and are then moved to act. As well, both knowledge and perception can be refuted. While knowledge is considered to be factual, knowledge is innocent (true) until proven guilty. Perception on the other hand, while it indeed may be right, it can also be refuted and if ones perception is wrong also proven to be wrong.
To be a little more specific, perception is humanly tainted. Perception is based upon every person’s own biases and will always remain that way until that bias is overcome with the hard cold truth. This differs very greatly from knowledge, as a person’s knowledge is factual information, backed by science, laws, or human nature. Unlike perception, one’s knowledge is unbiased and much simpler as it is right or wrong, black or white. When a parent tells their child that when they come to a problematic situation they will know what the right thing is to do, they can say this because the child will know that he has only two paths to follow: right or wrong.
As for the paradox which is perception and knowledge, one can not perceive an ideal unless he knows something before hand. An example of this, is one does not simply hate another person because he perceives that he is not good enough. He or she knows that somewhere along the line someone in his family might not have liked this other person or some other confounding factor. Very simply, our perceptions are based on parts of facts that we do not know the whole story behind, however we still know some of the background. And even if we do not know the whole story, what we do know is fact. Even the biases we have are based upon some knowledge. While it may not always seem obvious to us, we do in fact know why we do what we do. As for knowledge being first determined by perception, this is not always the case. Our perceptions can certainly evolve to become knowledge. We can first perceive something to be one way and then learn it to be another (hence knowledge), but knowledge can also arise by simply learning something new without having any original biases.
Here, my perception comes into play. Through writing what I am about to say and learning about it further, it might eventually become speculation and maybe someday even knowledge. For now, I do in fact perceive that there are different levels of knowledge. Some are in many ways superior to others. For instance, while knowing the batting statistics of every New York Yankee might be something you enjoy, it does not have a profound affect on ones life. In my opinion, knowing oneself is the ultimate knowledge any one person can attain. Through self knowledge, one can learn not only about how they work, react, think, and feel, but also how others do the same. By knowing ourselves, we can learn a lot about others and thus survive together. Also, knowing the truth is another one of the most important pieces of knowledge. If one does not know reality, one can not adjust to it and will eventually succumb to it. It is only through our knowledge that we can succeed. Hence, knowing is growing.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Friday, December 7, 2007
The Quest for Self Knowledge
“If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?” ~Rabbi Hillel
I remember the first time I ever heard these three questions. It was seconds before the bell at my Hebrew school and the rabbi was standing up in front of our class giving us a lecture on life or something along those lines. He had all but lost the attention of the class when he jumped up on the desk and repeated these words at the top of his voice. Just as he finished, the bell rang and began to file out of the classroom half of us in awe the rest confused. Over the ruckus of our parents who were all clamoring at the door, he bellowed, think about what I have just said and tell me how to answer these questions. I spent the entire ride home looking rather perplexed as I went over these questions in my mind. My contemplation continued into the next day and then into the next. These were not easy short answer questions on a test but rather questions that brought forth even more questions.
My realization came several weeks later when we rehashed this subject in class. My rabbi would not help us answer these questions but added a new statement to the mix. “Know thyself.” This of course I knew was said by the Greek philosopher Socrates but the history of who said it did not help answer my quandary. There was an obvious link between the two though. Just like that, the answer became clear to me, the three questions Rabbi Hillel asked were the keys to knowing oneself. A balance of these three questions was what made up the character of a person. For someone to truly know themselves, they would know how much they needed to be for themselves, how much they needed to be for others, and when exactly they would need to be there for either. Also, knowing oneself is the ability to know what motivates us to do for ourselves and others as well as knowing how and when we will respond.
Knowing oneself is the ability of a person to never lose sight of who he or she really is. Why exactly is this important though? Well, if we do not know how we will ever react in life, then we go through life blindly; making decisions that while they may have an affect on us, will end up meaning nothing when we look back on them. Therefore, life becomes meaningless. Now while that seems dark and gloomy it is the truth. If every human being on the face of this earth went through life with no meaning or purpose nothing would ever get accomplished. No one would have any drive because no one would have any reason to do so. Knowing oneself is knowing what we as an individual want to get out of the enigma of life. However, knowing oneself goes a step further than that, if a person never truly learns who they are, they can never learn what they are capable of doing, they can never know what makes them an individual and furthermore how they can make a difference. Knowing oneself is knowing that you as an individual are capable of greatness.
Knowing oneself is also the ability of seeing into the depths of your soul and seeing what your strengths and weaknesses are (pretty cool huh?). In my soul searching, I have found that I have many faults and while at first this disturbed me I have come to the conclusion that everybody does. These faults are what make us human what separate us from G-d. I feel that our goal in life is to overcome these faults and thus become closer to G-d. Ironically, my desire to be perfect is my greatest downfall. What I mean to say is I am a perfectionist. This encompasses many parts of my character. For instance, I find that in my life I try so hard to win over all my colleagues. Now, while this doesn’t sound like a bad thing, seeing that every man should try to be kind to another, my perfectionism takes it a step farther. Sometimes I try to hard and sometimes I have realized I am simply not capable of winning over another for whatever reason that maybe. I become overly distraught when this occurs and push more and more. Number one, this is unhealthy, both for me and the person I am trying to befriend. If someone doesn’t like you, sometimes no matter what you do cannot change that. Even though I know this, it has become my hamartia. Another example of how my perfection is my greatest weakness is something I wrote about in the blog before this one. The entire blog pertained to how I tend to micromanage. I do this constantly and while I am only trying to help or simply better a situation, micromanaging can become irritating to those you are working with. Finally, perfectionism is my greatest fault because it takes time away from other work that needs to be accomplished. For example, I am writing this blog several days in advance and on Monday night when this is due I will probably be up till midnight checking it over. This obsession leaves me stressed and often times very tired (since I am up till who knows when going over my homework). All in all, my obsession with perfection seems to make me less perfect.
It was so easy to rattle off what my biggest fault was, but identifying my greatest strength is actually quite a bit more difficult. I think however, that my ability to see my faults and really look into myself may in fact be my greatest strength. I have been told on numerous occasions that I have an incredible sense of self. I am constantly looking for the greater meaning of things such as life and other enigmas and applying them directly to myself. It is my ability to look deep inside myself that has taught me how to look inside others and not simply judge a book by its cover. This ability allows me to simply listen, take everything in someone else is telling me and then give an honest and heartfelt response. It is my ability to know what I would do in a certain situation that allows me to help others. My ability of knowing myself also allows me to know what I want to do in life and has helped me understand that whatever career path I choose I want to make sure that at the end of the day, I have helped someone else.
Now looking back on what I have just written and seeing what time it is, I can tell you I spent a total of six hours on this blog. The truth is, I may not have even touched the surface. Writing about my faults was simple, because that is just the type of person I am. I dwell on my mistakes and give little credit to my accomplishments. This I think is due to the fact that most people are inherently modest. We don’t go out every day looking to toot our own horns. For me this is especially true, because I’d rather be the person in the background making millions of people happy rather than the person on the front lines who isn’t really making anyone happy at all. However for people on the other side of the spectrum, sometimes identifying ones faults is the hardest. Looking back on ones mistakes can be painful at times and possibly even frightening. It is human nature to shy away from fear and pain rather than to dive right into it. However, whether it is fear of self confrontation or fear of the limelight, knowing oneself proves to be incredibly difficult. At the end of the day though, when I look in the mirror, I want to see the real me and be happy with what I have accomplished.
I remember the first time I ever heard these three questions. It was seconds before the bell at my Hebrew school and the rabbi was standing up in front of our class giving us a lecture on life or something along those lines. He had all but lost the attention of the class when he jumped up on the desk and repeated these words at the top of his voice. Just as he finished, the bell rang and began to file out of the classroom half of us in awe the rest confused. Over the ruckus of our parents who were all clamoring at the door, he bellowed, think about what I have just said and tell me how to answer these questions. I spent the entire ride home looking rather perplexed as I went over these questions in my mind. My contemplation continued into the next day and then into the next. These were not easy short answer questions on a test but rather questions that brought forth even more questions.
My realization came several weeks later when we rehashed this subject in class. My rabbi would not help us answer these questions but added a new statement to the mix. “Know thyself.” This of course I knew was said by the Greek philosopher Socrates but the history of who said it did not help answer my quandary. There was an obvious link between the two though. Just like that, the answer became clear to me, the three questions Rabbi Hillel asked were the keys to knowing oneself. A balance of these three questions was what made up the character of a person. For someone to truly know themselves, they would know how much they needed to be for themselves, how much they needed to be for others, and when exactly they would need to be there for either. Also, knowing oneself is the ability to know what motivates us to do for ourselves and others as well as knowing how and when we will respond.
Knowing oneself is the ability of a person to never lose sight of who he or she really is. Why exactly is this important though? Well, if we do not know how we will ever react in life, then we go through life blindly; making decisions that while they may have an affect on us, will end up meaning nothing when we look back on them. Therefore, life becomes meaningless. Now while that seems dark and gloomy it is the truth. If every human being on the face of this earth went through life with no meaning or purpose nothing would ever get accomplished. No one would have any drive because no one would have any reason to do so. Knowing oneself is knowing what we as an individual want to get out of the enigma of life. However, knowing oneself goes a step further than that, if a person never truly learns who they are, they can never learn what they are capable of doing, they can never know what makes them an individual and furthermore how they can make a difference. Knowing oneself is knowing that you as an individual are capable of greatness.
Knowing oneself is also the ability of seeing into the depths of your soul and seeing what your strengths and weaknesses are (pretty cool huh?). In my soul searching, I have found that I have many faults and while at first this disturbed me I have come to the conclusion that everybody does. These faults are what make us human what separate us from G-d. I feel that our goal in life is to overcome these faults and thus become closer to G-d. Ironically, my desire to be perfect is my greatest downfall. What I mean to say is I am a perfectionist. This encompasses many parts of my character. For instance, I find that in my life I try so hard to win over all my colleagues. Now, while this doesn’t sound like a bad thing, seeing that every man should try to be kind to another, my perfectionism takes it a step farther. Sometimes I try to hard and sometimes I have realized I am simply not capable of winning over another for whatever reason that maybe. I become overly distraught when this occurs and push more and more. Number one, this is unhealthy, both for me and the person I am trying to befriend. If someone doesn’t like you, sometimes no matter what you do cannot change that. Even though I know this, it has become my hamartia. Another example of how my perfection is my greatest weakness is something I wrote about in the blog before this one. The entire blog pertained to how I tend to micromanage. I do this constantly and while I am only trying to help or simply better a situation, micromanaging can become irritating to those you are working with. Finally, perfectionism is my greatest fault because it takes time away from other work that needs to be accomplished. For example, I am writing this blog several days in advance and on Monday night when this is due I will probably be up till midnight checking it over. This obsession leaves me stressed and often times very tired (since I am up till who knows when going over my homework). All in all, my obsession with perfection seems to make me less perfect.
It was so easy to rattle off what my biggest fault was, but identifying my greatest strength is actually quite a bit more difficult. I think however, that my ability to see my faults and really look into myself may in fact be my greatest strength. I have been told on numerous occasions that I have an incredible sense of self. I am constantly looking for the greater meaning of things such as life and other enigmas and applying them directly to myself. It is my ability to look deep inside myself that has taught me how to look inside others and not simply judge a book by its cover. This ability allows me to simply listen, take everything in someone else is telling me and then give an honest and heartfelt response. It is my ability to know what I would do in a certain situation that allows me to help others. My ability of knowing myself also allows me to know what I want to do in life and has helped me understand that whatever career path I choose I want to make sure that at the end of the day, I have helped someone else.
Now looking back on what I have just written and seeing what time it is, I can tell you I spent a total of six hours on this blog. The truth is, I may not have even touched the surface. Writing about my faults was simple, because that is just the type of person I am. I dwell on my mistakes and give little credit to my accomplishments. This I think is due to the fact that most people are inherently modest. We don’t go out every day looking to toot our own horns. For me this is especially true, because I’d rather be the person in the background making millions of people happy rather than the person on the front lines who isn’t really making anyone happy at all. However for people on the other side of the spectrum, sometimes identifying ones faults is the hardest. Looking back on ones mistakes can be painful at times and possibly even frightening. It is human nature to shy away from fear and pain rather than to dive right into it. However, whether it is fear of self confrontation or fear of the limelight, knowing oneself proves to be incredibly difficult. At the end of the day though, when I look in the mirror, I want to see the real me and be happy with what I have accomplished.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Advice on Micromanaging: SIMPLY DON'T DO IT!!!
I stood outside, a sponge in one hand, a leaky hose in the other as I leaned over an empty patrol box now filled with suds. The mixture of water droplets from the spray of the hose and my sweat gleamed bright in the darkening evening. I grabbed a paper towel from the roll lying between my feet and mopped my face off as I looked over at the pinks and oranges that were strewn across the sky. Everything was absolutely perfect; the sun had come out for the first time all week, the food at the banquet which had just come to a close had been delicious, and now, after a little KP, I could walk down the hill to the concert we were about to hold for the participants of my course. I kept thinking to myself, that while my course had not been perfect, I really believed the participants had been given one of the best weeks of their lives. I couldn’t help smiling; I had taught sixty boys had to be leaders. What an accomplishment.
“Clang!” “What the (expletive removed)! There is no way I am cleaning that again. Tell Scott I am going down to the songfest.”
The sound came from the kitchen of the mess hall and I abruptly took off in that direction slamming the door behind me as I went in.
“Excuse me? What exactly do you want Ian to tell me?” I said as I rounded the corner nearly being smashed over as he threw his apron to the ground.
Dave, one of the members of my staff glared at me. “I have had it, this is it. I am not doing anymore work. Everyone is down at the songfest except for us. I don’t care what you say Scott, Ian and I are going down there.”
My eyes at that point must have glinted with rage because he suddenly backed down and said, “Look Scott, I am not trying to be an (expletive removed), but we aren’t doing anymore work up here, its not fair of you to keep us up here while everyone else is down there having a good time.”
At this point I had had it and matching my usual pacifistic attitude, I backed down, but for some reason, I couldn’t let him walk away having disrespected me for the umpteenth time that week.
“Fine you can go … but you are still being what you said you were trying not to be.”
I had said it, and it had really done no good. My only intention of keeping them behind was so that we could clean up the dining hall so we wouldn’t waste time the next morning. To me this was not much to ask. The whole week had been like this, with the members of my staff showing me no respect whatsoever just because I was making sure that everything got done. That was my job, I was the Youth Course Director, it was my first time holding this position, it was the first year this course was to be held for the entire state of Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts, I wanted the participants to have the best experience ever, and the list goes on. Simply everything in my mind had to run perfectly.
I walked back into the dining hall to find my final staffer who I had assigned to help me in the kitchen lying across one of the tables with his boots up playing on his laptop.
“WHAT IN THE WORLD DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!!!” At that point I had had it. While the other two had walked off, at least they had been working. Tim on the other hand had simply been lying there doing absolutely nothing.
“We have work to do. Let’s go already.”
He looked up at me and merely rolled his eyes. “Nope, sorry, don’t feel like it.” he said.
I honestly couldn’t believe what I was hearing. All week, my staff had disrespected me. They had turned to the other Youth Course Director whenever I had asked them to do something and he gave me no support. The only way anything got done that week came after I had had to force people to go and do it.
At that point I broke down. I told him to go down to the songfest and I sat alone in the dining hall. Tears began to mingle with the sweat and water droplets still on my face from before. In years past, this course had been fun. I really had enjoyed my time as a staffer. In fact it meant the world to me. What I couldn’t understand was what all the other Youth Course Directors had that I didn’t. Why had they received respect from me and the other staffers? It was obvious I was doing something wrong.
It was now pitch black outside and I trudged slowly to the staff cabin, no longer wishing to join my fellow staff and participants at the songfest. I walked in and went into the room I was sharing with four other staffers and sat down on my bunk to think. Not ten seconds after I had arrived there, did I hear the slamming of the cabin door as in walked my Scoutmaster for the course. He beckoned to me, asking me to follow him outside to his truck where I soon learned that he had blown his tire out. As I helped him jack up his car and remove the tire he answered the question that I had been trying to answer all week.
“Scott, I am not trying to come down on you in anyway, but you need to learn not to micromanage. When the last Youth Course Director and I picked you for this, we knew how much it meant to you and you really have put on an amazing course, but the one thing you need to learn is that you can’t control everyone. You have to let them go ahead and do what they know they have to rather than be on their backs every step of the way. I can promise you, they can do it.”
His words hit me like a ton of bricks. It had been just that day I had stood in front of all the participants and told them that in order to be an effective leader, you must let them seek out their strengths and weaknesses and even if they fail, they learn from that failure and become assets to you later on. I hadn’t taken my own advice. My Scout masters advice didn’t end there though. I couldn’t micromanage my own life either. If I was a perfectionist on every detail, I would never accomplish anything and I would be truly miserable as my staff had been this entire week whenever I was breathing down their necks. This was just as much their course as it was mine. I had to let them run it the way they best saw fit, because then and only then each of their unique strengths would lead to the betterment of the course.
After fixing the tire to his SUV we both headed down the hill to the songfest. For the first time all week, I took a step back and watched my staff run with their program. Not only were the participants having fun, but both my staff and I were having fun. When things were looking like they were about to get out of hand, I let my staff handle it and they did so without my guidance. Had I been running the program exactly as I saw fit, I would not have experienced my first time being lifted on my back across the crowd of participants. Very simply, to be successful, a leader, a sane person, one can not micromanage every detail, because by doing so he limits the productivity and possible success for himself but more importantly can stagnate the growth of those he leads.
This is what success looked like at the end of the week.
“Clang!” “What the (expletive removed)! There is no way I am cleaning that again. Tell Scott I am going down to the songfest.”
The sound came from the kitchen of the mess hall and I abruptly took off in that direction slamming the door behind me as I went in.
“Excuse me? What exactly do you want Ian to tell me?” I said as I rounded the corner nearly being smashed over as he threw his apron to the ground.
Dave, one of the members of my staff glared at me. “I have had it, this is it. I am not doing anymore work. Everyone is down at the songfest except for us. I don’t care what you say Scott, Ian and I are going down there.”
My eyes at that point must have glinted with rage because he suddenly backed down and said, “Look Scott, I am not trying to be an (expletive removed), but we aren’t doing anymore work up here, its not fair of you to keep us up here while everyone else is down there having a good time.”
At this point I had had it and matching my usual pacifistic attitude, I backed down, but for some reason, I couldn’t let him walk away having disrespected me for the umpteenth time that week.
“Fine you can go … but you are still being what you said you were trying not to be.”
I had said it, and it had really done no good. My only intention of keeping them behind was so that we could clean up the dining hall so we wouldn’t waste time the next morning. To me this was not much to ask. The whole week had been like this, with the members of my staff showing me no respect whatsoever just because I was making sure that everything got done. That was my job, I was the Youth Course Director, it was my first time holding this position, it was the first year this course was to be held for the entire state of Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts, I wanted the participants to have the best experience ever, and the list goes on. Simply everything in my mind had to run perfectly.
I walked back into the dining hall to find my final staffer who I had assigned to help me in the kitchen lying across one of the tables with his boots up playing on his laptop.
“WHAT IN THE WORLD DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!!!” At that point I had had it. While the other two had walked off, at least they had been working. Tim on the other hand had simply been lying there doing absolutely nothing.
“We have work to do. Let’s go already.”
He looked up at me and merely rolled his eyes. “Nope, sorry, don’t feel like it.” he said.
I honestly couldn’t believe what I was hearing. All week, my staff had disrespected me. They had turned to the other Youth Course Director whenever I had asked them to do something and he gave me no support. The only way anything got done that week came after I had had to force people to go and do it.
At that point I broke down. I told him to go down to the songfest and I sat alone in the dining hall. Tears began to mingle with the sweat and water droplets still on my face from before. In years past, this course had been fun. I really had enjoyed my time as a staffer. In fact it meant the world to me. What I couldn’t understand was what all the other Youth Course Directors had that I didn’t. Why had they received respect from me and the other staffers? It was obvious I was doing something wrong.
It was now pitch black outside and I trudged slowly to the staff cabin, no longer wishing to join my fellow staff and participants at the songfest. I walked in and went into the room I was sharing with four other staffers and sat down on my bunk to think. Not ten seconds after I had arrived there, did I hear the slamming of the cabin door as in walked my Scoutmaster for the course. He beckoned to me, asking me to follow him outside to his truck where I soon learned that he had blown his tire out. As I helped him jack up his car and remove the tire he answered the question that I had been trying to answer all week.
“Scott, I am not trying to come down on you in anyway, but you need to learn not to micromanage. When the last Youth Course Director and I picked you for this, we knew how much it meant to you and you really have put on an amazing course, but the one thing you need to learn is that you can’t control everyone. You have to let them go ahead and do what they know they have to rather than be on their backs every step of the way. I can promise you, they can do it.”
His words hit me like a ton of bricks. It had been just that day I had stood in front of all the participants and told them that in order to be an effective leader, you must let them seek out their strengths and weaknesses and even if they fail, they learn from that failure and become assets to you later on. I hadn’t taken my own advice. My Scout masters advice didn’t end there though. I couldn’t micromanage my own life either. If I was a perfectionist on every detail, I would never accomplish anything and I would be truly miserable as my staff had been this entire week whenever I was breathing down their necks. This was just as much their course as it was mine. I had to let them run it the way they best saw fit, because then and only then each of their unique strengths would lead to the betterment of the course.
After fixing the tire to his SUV we both headed down the hill to the songfest. For the first time all week, I took a step back and watched my staff run with their program. Not only were the participants having fun, but both my staff and I were having fun. When things were looking like they were about to get out of hand, I let my staff handle it and they did so without my guidance. Had I been running the program exactly as I saw fit, I would not have experienced my first time being lifted on my back across the crowd of participants. Very simply, to be successful, a leader, a sane person, one can not micromanage every detail, because by doing so he limits the productivity and possible success for himself but more importantly can stagnate the growth of those he leads.
This is what success looked like at the end of the week.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Live, Love, Laugh
Before I begin, I want to make it quite clear that what I am going to write about here is very hard for me to get into, yet I feel it is necessary to truly understand the meaning of life.
It has been four years since I lost my grandfather to aplastic anemia, a disease that stops the body from producing blood cells necessary to sustain life. This definition leaves me cold every time I think about it. My grandfather lay in the hospital for several months growing weaker and feebler by the moment. His death was a textbook example of a life threatening disease fully taking its course. While this cause and affect relationship is quite understandable in the scientific world, to me, someone who has always looked beyond the black and white printed text, his death was incomprehensible. His death made me question everything about life. Why are we here, what’s our purpose, and if they do will mine have meaning? After months of tear strewn nights and angry rants at G-d, myself, and even sometimes no one in particular, I began to find answers. Rather than focusing on his death, I felt it necessary to focus on the aspect he would have wanted me to: his life.
The meaning of life is not that simple, in fact it is not simple at all. Buddhists believe that one does not truly find out the meaning of life until or just as they die and then must use this knowledge in their next life. Well, I have a different outlook on the meaning however, it came with the price of losing my grandfather (maybe Buddhists are not that far off after all). To really understand it, I have to give a little background on his life. My grandfather immigrated to the United States in the early years of the past century from the Ukraine. He entered the United States in Pennsylvania and his family would eventually move to New Haven, CT. He learned the meaning of hard work at a very early age as he and one of his brothers went into the clothing business or "schmarta” business as they called it in Yiddish. He owned that store for nearly seventy years. There were two things in his life that were important, that store, but more importantly his family. He and my grandma had two children, my dad and my aunt. I don’t really know much about how my dad grew up and exactly what style of living they experienced, but they were a close knit family from my understanding. My grandfather faced many hardships in his life, such as losing his brother at a young age, watching my grandmother have several strokes, as well as having a few heart attacks himself. While I don’t know whether fighting in WWII was a burden to him, my guess was that it was a hardship. Now that I have given this entire background I still don’t feel I have emphasized enough how much family meant to my grandfather. Just to give you an idea, he came out to everyone of my soccer games growing up, rain, sleet, or shine. His family was his world.
Now, this is my opinion on what exactly life is. The meaning of life is to experience pleasure, joy and happiness. Referring back to the poem, Psalm of Life again, the purpose of life is to enjoy and make the most of things. I feel that Green Day is trying to make that same exact point. I think my grandfather understood that too. He had two things in life that made him truly happy: one and most importantly his loved one and two his work. One could say he did not change the world, but in a way he did. For over seventy years he provided a service to people. Even though clothing is a material entity, some people find joy in buying new clothes, wearing new clothes, whatever else you do with clothes, and he provided that joy for them. As I am writing this I am realizing, the meaning of life is more than just having joy, it is sharing that joy with others. That is our purpose here on earth. We were all placed here so that we could all make each others lives as enjoyable and fulfilling as possible. He did that for me and I only hope I can do that for others. A life has true value when a person has done something for others and not simply him or her self. That is the only way ones life can be determined as having value and can happen at nearly anytime. It is truly unfortunate that we never really know or stop to learn the true value of someone’s life until they have passed away.
Now as for me, before I become sands in the wind, I want to leave an impact; I want to experience several things that in the end can show my true value as a person. For one, I want to be a family man. While this is something so far down the road, I really want it. I look to my grandfather, my father, my mother, family means everything to them. My mother has told my sister and me that both of us are her life. I want to have that same experience. I want to share my love with someone and take care of them and help them grow into a person that they can be proud of. As for humanity, I can only hope that my children will have a huge impact. I don’t mean that I want them to necessarily create Utopia, but I want them to have an impact on the world in anyway they see fit. I want to have children so they can receive the same amazing feeling I do after I have helped another. I want them to be proud to make an impact.
This world is filled with the words I want and “gotta haves” and most of the time people are referring to material items that change with the passing of the wind. I don’t want money, but I want to have a job that I am happy everyday that I have. My grandfather as I mentioned had his store, for me, right now I want to be a politician. While in today’s world politicians are considered corrupt and even sometimes “flip-floppers”, I want to make a difference. I want to have this in life, so I can have an affect on the lives of others. I know I could be a doctor, or a teacher, and those are fine professions, but I want one that has a grand affect on all people, one that can truly bring great prosperity and eventually happiness.
The last three things I want in life I will group all together. One, I want to possess the knowledge of multiple languages. I feel the world is too small for me not too. As I have grown, I feel that Orange is truly a gated community, what better way for me to truly experience and be able to help others than know what they are saying and here what they have to say. Language can be a great divider of people as we see with the Tower of Babel, but if I could speak many, I could bridge that divide. Another thing I want to have is something a little abstract. I want to have made an impact on someone’s life. I don’t mean I want to force someone to respect me, but I want to find some way to bring light to another. I teach leadership training to Boy Scouts across the state and this is one way I contribute. I do it to give these boys the same confidence I once gained when I went through the course. I want to have that same ability somehow in some capacity. I want to be able to influence others in a way that they can be proud of themselves. The final thing I wish to possess is a sense of dignity. When I pass on, I want to know in my heart that I did everything in power to leave an impact. I do not need any title, I do not need fame, what is in a name really anyway. At the end of the day, all I want really is a sense of accomplishment. I simply want to be happy and I want to make others happy. I want it so very badly. So, in order to do so, I leave you with this.
THE TRUE MEANING OF LIFE…
Monty Python and the Meaning of Life
Lady Presenter: Well, that's the end of the film. Now, here's the meaning of life.
[Receives an envelope]
Lady Presenter: Thank you, Brigitte.
[Opens envelope, reads what's inside]
Lady Presenter: M-hmm. Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.
[Large corporate boardroom filled with suited executives]
Exec #1: Item six on the agenda: "The Meaning of Life" Now uh, Harry, you've had some thoughts on this.
Exec #2: Yeah, I've had a team working on this over the past few weeks, and what we've come up with can be reduced to two fundamental concepts. One: People aren't wearing enough hats. Two: Matter is energy. In the universe there are many energy fields which we cannot normally perceive. Some energies have a spiritual source which act upon a person's soul. However, this "soul" does not exist ab initio as orthodox Christianity teaches; it has to be brought into existence by a process of guided self-observation. However, this is rarely achieved owing to man's unique ability to be distracted from spiritual matters by everyday trivia.
Exec #3: What was that about hats again?
Exec #2: Oh, Uh... people aren't wearing enough.
Exec #1: Is this true?
Exec #4: Certainly. Hat sales have increased but not pari passu, as our research...
Exec #3: [Interrupting] "Not wearing enough"? enough for what purpose?
Exec #5: Can I just ask, with reference to your second point, when you say souls don't develop because people become distracted...
[looking out window]
Exec #5: Has anyone noticed that building there before?
And finally…
It has been four years since I lost my grandfather to aplastic anemia, a disease that stops the body from producing blood cells necessary to sustain life. This definition leaves me cold every time I think about it. My grandfather lay in the hospital for several months growing weaker and feebler by the moment. His death was a textbook example of a life threatening disease fully taking its course. While this cause and affect relationship is quite understandable in the scientific world, to me, someone who has always looked beyond the black and white printed text, his death was incomprehensible. His death made me question everything about life. Why are we here, what’s our purpose, and if they do will mine have meaning? After months of tear strewn nights and angry rants at G-d, myself, and even sometimes no one in particular, I began to find answers. Rather than focusing on his death, I felt it necessary to focus on the aspect he would have wanted me to: his life.
The meaning of life is not that simple, in fact it is not simple at all. Buddhists believe that one does not truly find out the meaning of life until or just as they die and then must use this knowledge in their next life. Well, I have a different outlook on the meaning however, it came with the price of losing my grandfather (maybe Buddhists are not that far off after all). To really understand it, I have to give a little background on his life. My grandfather immigrated to the United States in the early years of the past century from the Ukraine. He entered the United States in Pennsylvania and his family would eventually move to New Haven, CT. He learned the meaning of hard work at a very early age as he and one of his brothers went into the clothing business or "schmarta” business as they called it in Yiddish. He owned that store for nearly seventy years. There were two things in his life that were important, that store, but more importantly his family. He and my grandma had two children, my dad and my aunt. I don’t really know much about how my dad grew up and exactly what style of living they experienced, but they were a close knit family from my understanding. My grandfather faced many hardships in his life, such as losing his brother at a young age, watching my grandmother have several strokes, as well as having a few heart attacks himself. While I don’t know whether fighting in WWII was a burden to him, my guess was that it was a hardship. Now that I have given this entire background I still don’t feel I have emphasized enough how much family meant to my grandfather. Just to give you an idea, he came out to everyone of my soccer games growing up, rain, sleet, or shine. His family was his world.
Now, this is my opinion on what exactly life is. The meaning of life is to experience pleasure, joy and happiness. Referring back to the poem, Psalm of Life again, the purpose of life is to enjoy and make the most of things. I feel that Green Day is trying to make that same exact point. I think my grandfather understood that too. He had two things in life that made him truly happy: one and most importantly his loved one and two his work. One could say he did not change the world, but in a way he did. For over seventy years he provided a service to people. Even though clothing is a material entity, some people find joy in buying new clothes, wearing new clothes, whatever else you do with clothes, and he provided that joy for them. As I am writing this I am realizing, the meaning of life is more than just having joy, it is sharing that joy with others. That is our purpose here on earth. We were all placed here so that we could all make each others lives as enjoyable and fulfilling as possible. He did that for me and I only hope I can do that for others. A life has true value when a person has done something for others and not simply him or her self. That is the only way ones life can be determined as having value and can happen at nearly anytime. It is truly unfortunate that we never really know or stop to learn the true value of someone’s life until they have passed away.
Now as for me, before I become sands in the wind, I want to leave an impact; I want to experience several things that in the end can show my true value as a person. For one, I want to be a family man. While this is something so far down the road, I really want it. I look to my grandfather, my father, my mother, family means everything to them. My mother has told my sister and me that both of us are her life. I want to have that same experience. I want to share my love with someone and take care of them and help them grow into a person that they can be proud of. As for humanity, I can only hope that my children will have a huge impact. I don’t mean that I want them to necessarily create Utopia, but I want them to have an impact on the world in anyway they see fit. I want to have children so they can receive the same amazing feeling I do after I have helped another. I want them to be proud to make an impact.
This world is filled with the words I want and “gotta haves” and most of the time people are referring to material items that change with the passing of the wind. I don’t want money, but I want to have a job that I am happy everyday that I have. My grandfather as I mentioned had his store, for me, right now I want to be a politician. While in today’s world politicians are considered corrupt and even sometimes “flip-floppers”, I want to make a difference. I want to have this in life, so I can have an affect on the lives of others. I know I could be a doctor, or a teacher, and those are fine professions, but I want one that has a grand affect on all people, one that can truly bring great prosperity and eventually happiness.
The last three things I want in life I will group all together. One, I want to possess the knowledge of multiple languages. I feel the world is too small for me not too. As I have grown, I feel that Orange is truly a gated community, what better way for me to truly experience and be able to help others than know what they are saying and here what they have to say. Language can be a great divider of people as we see with the Tower of Babel, but if I could speak many, I could bridge that divide. Another thing I want to have is something a little abstract. I want to have made an impact on someone’s life. I don’t mean I want to force someone to respect me, but I want to find some way to bring light to another. I teach leadership training to Boy Scouts across the state and this is one way I contribute. I do it to give these boys the same confidence I once gained when I went through the course. I want to have that same ability somehow in some capacity. I want to be able to influence others in a way that they can be proud of themselves. The final thing I wish to possess is a sense of dignity. When I pass on, I want to know in my heart that I did everything in power to leave an impact. I do not need any title, I do not need fame, what is in a name really anyway. At the end of the day, all I want really is a sense of accomplishment. I simply want to be happy and I want to make others happy. I want it so very badly. So, in order to do so, I leave you with this.
THE TRUE MEANING OF LIFE…
Monty Python and the Meaning of Life
Lady Presenter: Well, that's the end of the film. Now, here's the meaning of life.
[Receives an envelope]
Lady Presenter: Thank you, Brigitte.
[Opens envelope, reads what's inside]
Lady Presenter: M-hmm. Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.
[Large corporate boardroom filled with suited executives]
Exec #1: Item six on the agenda: "The Meaning of Life" Now uh, Harry, you've had some thoughts on this.
Exec #2: Yeah, I've had a team working on this over the past few weeks, and what we've come up with can be reduced to two fundamental concepts. One: People aren't wearing enough hats. Two: Matter is energy. In the universe there are many energy fields which we cannot normally perceive. Some energies have a spiritual source which act upon a person's soul. However, this "soul" does not exist ab initio as orthodox Christianity teaches; it has to be brought into existence by a process of guided self-observation. However, this is rarely achieved owing to man's unique ability to be distracted from spiritual matters by everyday trivia.
Exec #3: What was that about hats again?
Exec #2: Oh, Uh... people aren't wearing enough.
Exec #1: Is this true?
Exec #4: Certainly. Hat sales have increased but not pari passu, as our research...
Exec #3: [Interrupting] "Not wearing enough"? enough for what purpose?
Exec #5: Can I just ask, with reference to your second point, when you say souls don't develop because people become distracted...
[looking out window]
Exec #5: Has anyone noticed that building there before?
And finally…
Sunday, September 30, 2007
A Psalm of Life
42, “…a mysterious arrangement of merciless logic for a futile purpose”, “the property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and inanimate matter, manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, and response to stimuli or adaptation to the environment originating from within the organism.” 42, the meaning of life, the universe, and all things from Douglas Adam’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Conrad’s definition, and finally the American Heritage Dictionary: each of these are viable definitions of the meaning of life, but they leave out a very important detail, one that most humans do everything ignore, death. Many might feel death should have a definition of its own, but in reality death is just as much a part of life as the conclusion is to a story. Life is a story that at some point has to come to a close.
In Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh himself, the man who was two thirds god has to deal with the doom and gloom of death when Utnapishtim states “There is no permanence” (106). Throughout all of history and time mankind has been obsessed with this notion of escaping death. In the days of the Conquistadores, Juan Ponce de Leon went to the Americas to find the fountain of youth. In the very first Harry Potter the Sorcerer’s Stone has the capabilities of turning man immortal. Whether it is a part of history or literature, we are consumed by this need for immortality.
What does it truly mean then, that we can never be immortal? According to most literature, man eventually is either consumed by the fact that he can never be immortal and destroyed or is able to understand that life comes to an end and enjoys it. Man will always take one of those two roads. In Harry Potter for example, we see how Voldermort’s greed leads to his downfall and Harry’s compassion allows him to destroy the stone. Dumbledore explains later to Harry that Nicholas Flannel is actually quite content because he is ready for a long awaited rest. Everything seems to work out in the end. In Star Wars the result is similar. At the end of the original Star Wars, A New Hope, Obi Wan tells Darth Vader, “If you strike me down, I will become stronger than you ever imagined.” In the third movie of the new movies just released, it is Anakin’s fear of death that leads him to the dark side. These are two very contrasting perspectives. Yoda however explains it best when he says that death is a natural part of life that we all must accept. What do Yoda’s words mean though and how can mankind move on? The answer comes in Yoda’s next words, “Luke, when gone am I... the last of the Jedi will you be ...Pass on what you have learned, Luke.” Man is able to move on because we plan for our future now.
I am the youth course director for a Boy Scout Youth Leader Training conference held each year. Each course my staff has to make a presentation on why we train others to be leaders. Looking at Yoda’s quotation answers this. We are able to continue on as a race, as a specie, simply because we train our younger generations to be leaders. This is also what gives us meaning in life. Many people would say it is how much money they make or how many friends they have, but what truly gives us meaning, what truly allows us to leave our mark is that we have prepared our future generations for the travails and travesties that we have encountered so that our future generations can succeed.
Now, how in fact can we live life and not be overcome by the doom and gloom of death. Well, Henry Wadsworth Fellow explains it quite simply in his poem, and the name of this blog, A Psalm of Life.
WHAT THE HEART OF THE YOUNG MAN SAID TO THE PSALMIST
TELL me not, in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty dream ! — For the soul is dead that slumbers, And things are not what they seem.
Life is real ! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal ; Dust thou art, to dust returnest, Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, Is our destined end or way ; But to act, that each to-morrow Find us farther than to-day.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting, And our hearts, though stout and brave, Still, like muffled drums, are beating Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world's broad field of battle, In the bivouac of Life, Be not like dumb, driven cattle ! Be a hero in the strife !
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant ! Let the dead Past bury its dead ! Act,— act in the living Present ! Heart within, and God o'erhead !
Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time ;
Footprints, that perhaps another, Sailing o'er life's solemn main, A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate ; Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait.
We are able to create an order in our lives, a desire to live, because there are things worth living for. Life is what we make it and at any time we can truly take advantage of it. If we look at the Bible, we can say G-d put us here on this earth for a purpose, while we might not know this purpose, we can in fact know that it was not to be consumed by the thoughts of death. “Lives of great men all remind us, We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us, Footprints on the sands of time.”
Monday, September 17, 2007
Harrowing over what is a Hero
The label of hero for an individual is tossed around quite freely these days, but what exactly makes a person or character a hero?
“We need a hero, courageous sacrificing people, setting examples for all of us. Everybody loves a hero, people line up for 'em, cheer for them, scream their names, and years later tell how they stood in the rain for hours just to get a glimpse of the one who told them to HOLD ON a second longer. I believe there’s a hero in all of us that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble. And finally gets us to die with pride. Even though sometimes we have to be steady and give up the thing we want most, even our dreams.”
- Aunt May: Spiderman 2
“The hero is one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by.”
- Felix Adler
“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.”
- Joseph Campbell
According to Peter Parker’s Aunt May, from the movie, Spiderman 2, a hero is a person who simply sets a good morale example for everyone else to follow by. Felix Adler an author of several books interprets a hero slightly differently seeing a hero as a person who lights the way for all of man kind. Finally, Joseph Campbell another author says that a hero gives his or her life for a bigger cause. Just from these three examples, we can see that there is quite a large range of views on the exact definition of a hero, but rather than discount all of them, all these views help determine the grand picture of “What is a hero?”
Dating back to first recorded text, with “The Epic of Gilgamesh”, a character referred to as a “hero” was born. In texts ranging from Greek mythology to modern day literary pieces the use of hero has not waned. Literarily speaking, a “hero” is a strong protagonist who is confronted by either a large task or burden and eventually goes on an adventure to conquer or overcome it. Frodo Baggins, the protagonist, in J.R.R. Tolkien’s, “Lord of the Rings”, is just one example of what many consider to be a hero. Frodo’s travels take him across Middle Earth to dispose of a mythical ring which has brought evil forces upon all of its inhabitants. His conquering of dragons, wizards, and other black magic at the expense of himself are what define him as a hero.
The definition of a hero though goes further than just the literary sense of the word. A hero is an individual who encompasses all the moral values and characteristics desired by and individual or society. Therefore, the violent hero of Greek mythology such as Odysseus, one who is heroic because he defeats large beasts with swords and daggers is just as much a hero as the firefighters who saved lives on September 11th, 2001.
Looking at the gender tilt of whether females can indeed be “heroines”, the truth is that they can. Since a hero is determined by what a society treasures most, if the female character had the same qualities necessary to meet the requirements of the society then she in fact could be. In the case of Beowulf, The Odyssey, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Star Wars or even Indiana Jones, females were not the heroes simply because the society didn’t perceive them to be capable of saving a kingdom, nation, or even galaxy from the clutches of evil.
When trouble is afoot, why is that we always look to the skies, or toward the horizons. Do we need heroes in life? Looking back to the Aunt May quotation earlier in this blog, we look to the skies in search of that someone who can help us hang on in life for one second longer. Whether this person helps us hang on to our goals or more dramatically the ledge of a building which Aunt May is describing. Aunt May also helps answer the question further by explaining that there is a hero within each of us that keeps us moral. If this is indeed the case, then the answer is clear, we all need a hero in order to live happy and successful lives.
Bertold Brecht has a different opinion of whether a society needs a hero. He states, “Unhappy the land that needs heroes.” His reasoning is that a hero is determined upon a society’s desires not the other way around. A society can in fact accomplish its goals without a hero, so one needing one is simply unhappy because they do nothing for themselves to accomplish their goals, only waiting for another to accomplish them. While, both Aunt May’s and Brecht’s opinions are quite different, following our definition that a hero is the embodiment of a society’s morals and ideals, having no hero means there are no morals or ideals and chaos is allowed to wreak havoc. Thus, we do in fact need heroes, however, we may in fact be the heroes ourselves.
“We need a hero, courageous sacrificing people, setting examples for all of us. Everybody loves a hero, people line up for 'em, cheer for them, scream their names, and years later tell how they stood in the rain for hours just to get a glimpse of the one who told them to HOLD ON a second longer. I believe there’s a hero in all of us that keeps us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble. And finally gets us to die with pride. Even though sometimes we have to be steady and give up the thing we want most, even our dreams.”
- Aunt May: Spiderman 2
“The hero is one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by.”
- Felix Adler
“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.”
- Joseph Campbell
According to Peter Parker’s Aunt May, from the movie, Spiderman 2, a hero is a person who simply sets a good morale example for everyone else to follow by. Felix Adler an author of several books interprets a hero slightly differently seeing a hero as a person who lights the way for all of man kind. Finally, Joseph Campbell another author says that a hero gives his or her life for a bigger cause. Just from these three examples, we can see that there is quite a large range of views on the exact definition of a hero, but rather than discount all of them, all these views help determine the grand picture of “What is a hero?”
Dating back to first recorded text, with “The Epic of Gilgamesh”, a character referred to as a “hero” was born. In texts ranging from Greek mythology to modern day literary pieces the use of hero has not waned. Literarily speaking, a “hero” is a strong protagonist who is confronted by either a large task or burden and eventually goes on an adventure to conquer or overcome it. Frodo Baggins, the protagonist, in J.R.R. Tolkien’s, “Lord of the Rings”, is just one example of what many consider to be a hero. Frodo’s travels take him across Middle Earth to dispose of a mythical ring which has brought evil forces upon all of its inhabitants. His conquering of dragons, wizards, and other black magic at the expense of himself are what define him as a hero.
The definition of a hero though goes further than just the literary sense of the word. A hero is an individual who encompasses all the moral values and characteristics desired by and individual or society. Therefore, the violent hero of Greek mythology such as Odysseus, one who is heroic because he defeats large beasts with swords and daggers is just as much a hero as the firefighters who saved lives on September 11th, 2001.
Looking at the gender tilt of whether females can indeed be “heroines”, the truth is that they can. Since a hero is determined by what a society treasures most, if the female character had the same qualities necessary to meet the requirements of the society then she in fact could be. In the case of Beowulf, The Odyssey, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Star Wars or even Indiana Jones, females were not the heroes simply because the society didn’t perceive them to be capable of saving a kingdom, nation, or even galaxy from the clutches of evil.
When trouble is afoot, why is that we always look to the skies, or toward the horizons. Do we need heroes in life? Looking back to the Aunt May quotation earlier in this blog, we look to the skies in search of that someone who can help us hang on in life for one second longer. Whether this person helps us hang on to our goals or more dramatically the ledge of a building which Aunt May is describing. Aunt May also helps answer the question further by explaining that there is a hero within each of us that keeps us moral. If this is indeed the case, then the answer is clear, we all need a hero in order to live happy and successful lives.
Bertold Brecht has a different opinion of whether a society needs a hero. He states, “Unhappy the land that needs heroes.” His reasoning is that a hero is determined upon a society’s desires not the other way around. A society can in fact accomplish its goals without a hero, so one needing one is simply unhappy because they do nothing for themselves to accomplish their goals, only waiting for another to accomplish them. While, both Aunt May’s and Brecht’s opinions are quite different, following our definition that a hero is the embodiment of a society’s morals and ideals, having no hero means there are no morals or ideals and chaos is allowed to wreak havoc. Thus, we do in fact need heroes, however, we may in fact be the heroes ourselves.
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