I cannot speak for people as a whole. I don't know who people are meant to be, and what their lives are supposed to exemplify, or the potential in their existence. I don't even know who I am sometimes. I know who I want to be. I think as individuals we choose the meaning of our life. It's up to the individual to discover their purpose, and honestly people can spend years trying to figure that out.
So in my own life, where I find meaning now, is in the people I am closest to, whether it be family or friends. There is meaning where there is hope, and constantly hoping for something better is where I find my solid ground. And all these people, hoping alongside me, for me, for us, are a beautiful picture of taking what we are given and working with it. How can anyone make meaning with nothing? It's natural to want to latch on to things that seem to be working out, that seem to make sense. And when good things happen, there's some reassurance of that. So I will continue to hope and to enjoy everything and everyone that I can. And if I can't, I will fall back a little and keep going.
I suppose, after all of the above rambling, the meaning in my life is motivation. What I will be motivated in. Who motivates me. And wherever that may lead.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Do Candide's Punishments Fit His Crime?
In the beginning of the book, Candide was innocent and naive. He didn't know the ways of a world he had not seen, and the horrors that existed beyond him. Having done little crime, his punishment in the military was severe. He was flogged nearly to death, until it "exposed every nerve and muscle from the nape of his neck to his backside". No one deserves this. Not even for trying to desert the military. Especially when Candide did not understand the way things worked yet.
Now Candide has grown much in experience and has killed three people. He has been spared his life throughout the book and has taken three lives. Whatever punishment for these crimes that come his way will be harder to dismiss. It's not so easy to overlook a murderer's deeds. There no longer is an excuse for Candide.
Now Candide has grown much in experience and has killed three people. He has been spared his life throughout the book and has taken three lives. Whatever punishment for these crimes that come his way will be harder to dismiss. It's not so easy to overlook a murderer's deeds. There no longer is an excuse for Candide.
How I Know What I Know
When I was little I was taught. You don't feed your little brother glue or dog food. He'll throw up and Mom will be furious. Don't say bad words or you'll get your mouth washed out with soap. Don't swallow gum or it'll be stuck for seven years. Don't talk back or you'll get a pop on the bottom. These were things I was taught by consequence. I remember because of what happened after, because of what I was told, what I believed, what I didn't want to happen or was afraid of. I know what I know because of what I have experienced.
Knowing something, and being aware of something are very different. When we know something, it's because we have first-hand experienced it. But when we are aware of something it is through someone else's experience. It doesn't necessarily mean we won't do the same thing as them, it means we know what might happen. For example, if one sees their older brother lie and get a spanking it doesn't mean they will not lie. They will only learn to take precaution with how they lie or who they lie to.
I know what I know because I have watched and tried, I have seen and eventually mimicked, I've tested what my mother has told me not to do, and what she has suggested. I've experienced and gained consequences that have resonated. And I continue to repeat the ones that haven't. In the end, it is true when they say that a person won't know until they've gone through it. An outside perspective is not worth much.
Knowing something, and being aware of something are very different. When we know something, it's because we have first-hand experienced it. But when we are aware of something it is through someone else's experience. It doesn't necessarily mean we won't do the same thing as them, it means we know what might happen. For example, if one sees their older brother lie and get a spanking it doesn't mean they will not lie. They will only learn to take precaution with how they lie or who they lie to.
I know what I know because I have watched and tried, I have seen and eventually mimicked, I've tested what my mother has told me not to do, and what she has suggested. I've experienced and gained consequences that have resonated. And I continue to repeat the ones that haven't. In the end, it is true when they say that a person won't know until they've gone through it. An outside perspective is not worth much.
Who is the Modern Gadfly?
Living in Chicago, a liberal city full of Democrats, I think a gadfly would be anyone who is a Republican or Conservative. A gadfly is supposed to be irritating to the general population and really if a true Republican/Conservative would begin to speak in front of a large crowd, in a classroom, or at work, in a restaurant or even sometimes at home, there would be strong opposition from the popular position. Whether or not one agrees with their stand does not change the fact that it is a rare stand to take in our city.
The Unexamined Life Just May Be Worth Living...
The Unexamined Life holds the security of ignorance, and of self-worth. If people are content with the purpose of their life then let them be. And really, they must be content to not have already examined the life they are living. And if they are content with their life then it is a life worth living. Many search for something else, and endlessly look until they have in the end lived a discontent life. Being ignorant of your own state in life can be blissful. Not comparing one's self with others causes a higher self esteem. What would the world be like if everyone actually felt some sort of self-worth, if everyone had a healthy dose of confidence? Life in general would be worth more to the population. People would have more of a value. The Unexamined life just may be worth living if we weren't all too busy examining the lives of others.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Eulogy
Victoria died too young, only 17 years old and leaving behind her family and a hideous empty room with butterfly wallpaper. She had an adorable nephew named Isaac who she loved more than anything. She loved being a big sister and had a little sister, Sophia. She had two younger brothers who were taller than her, (most people were), and she loved them a lot too. Jonathan affectionately called her "Ticky" and Gabriel "Toria". Whatever name one knew her by, they all remembered her as crazy and energetic.
She got along extremely well with small children and volunteered at her church in the nursery. She also got along oddly with elderly people who enjoyed her company. She liked to see other people smile and sometimes took it to heart when they didn't. She was always singing and laughing, and many her age called her "weird". But she always took this comment lightly. She was mostly herself around her family, the foundation of her craziness.
Victoria was both Polish and Mexican. Many assumed she was only Hispanic, to which she would reply "look at the nose". She loved her ethnic background and her favorite food was Borsch, provided by her mother's kitchen, and Tex-Mex food from "Gringos". Her nose may have been from her mother, but her wild curly hair was from her Daddy, along with a dimple on her chin. When she was born the nurses said she was kissed there by an angel. Only those close to her can recall her curly hair. After her freshman year she hid it under a straightener.
Her heart was always in Texas, deep in the heart, where she spent most of her early years. She was often seen in cowboy boots and she loved the ocean and bodyboarding with her brothers and father. She visited Texas and her father twice a year. It was her first home.
Victoria, we are all grieving with you absence and we hope you're looking down, laughing about a joke that isn't funny and singing a Miranda Lambert song.
She got along extremely well with small children and volunteered at her church in the nursery. She also got along oddly with elderly people who enjoyed her company. She liked to see other people smile and sometimes took it to heart when they didn't. She was always singing and laughing, and many her age called her "weird". But she always took this comment lightly. She was mostly herself around her family, the foundation of her craziness.
Victoria was both Polish and Mexican. Many assumed she was only Hispanic, to which she would reply "look at the nose". She loved her ethnic background and her favorite food was Borsch, provided by her mother's kitchen, and Tex-Mex food from "Gringos". Her nose may have been from her mother, but her wild curly hair was from her Daddy, along with a dimple on her chin. When she was born the nurses said she was kissed there by an angel. Only those close to her can recall her curly hair. After her freshman year she hid it under a straightener.
Her heart was always in Texas, deep in the heart, where she spent most of her early years. She was often seen in cowboy boots and she loved the ocean and bodyboarding with her brothers and father. She visited Texas and her father twice a year. It was her first home.
Victoria, we are all grieving with you absence and we hope you're looking down, laughing about a joke that isn't funny and singing a Miranda Lambert song.
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