What is love? It is a perplexing and curious question. Poets describe it; writers document it; people tell us they love us – but still, we do not fully know the answer. Why not? This is because love is not external. It does not exist in time and space. It must emanate from the self. Once we feel and grasp the love of self – self-love – we are able to extend that emotion, that unique feeling, to our fellow man. In a world so inundated with media-generated negativity, how do you possibly come to the point that you can begin to understand yourself, let alone love? As with any skill, I believe it must begin with a desire to learn. If you look at nature, you will see that there is an expression of order in things.
Beauty
Have you ever had one of those days: you walk in a park and the green of the grass seems greener than ever, and then, when you look up into the heavens, the blue of the sky appears bluer than blue? You may wonder if it is something to do with your vision, but in reality, you are having – what I would like to call – an aesthetic epiphany. You have stumbled into one of those moments that everything around you is truly at “one with the universe, your universe.” (1) Subsequently, you can ponder the question, what is beauty, or maybe even reflect on its concomitant query, what is art? These are not easy examinations. They are obviously not the same, are they?
Movement
As I pulled away from home recently, I was confronted by a myriad of images: neon signs, bustling people, pulsating traffic – overall, a general sense of movement: dynamic and ongoing change. It is hard to believe in “a constant,” a sense of permanency when we experience, what appears to be, the ephemeral nature of life. But one viewpoint holds that this is not true. Life in its very essence is not changeable: it is life. Of course, the body dies and goes back into the ground and changes into something else, but that substance – DNA or whatever it is — is immortal. Life is always life. The absence of life – death – is always death. The two concepts are mutually exclusive. (1)
Rest
Rest: it is a concept I am sure that, as a society, few of us reflect on. (1) We are all so busy leading – for the most part – pointless, directionless lives. I say this because the consumption of drugs and the most pernicious drug of all – alcohol – is at an all-time high. (2) Surely, these are not the actions of a contented, mission-driven population. So, how am I going to find my way? I suppose the simple reply is that all answers lie within. This we hear ad nauseam, I would summit, in philosophy and the social sciences. But what does this concept actually mean? Succinctly put: it denotes that you are the controller and arbiter of your life. Few, of course, accept its obligatory measures. Action and an element of risk are necessary if the summit, the meaning of life, is to be viewed. We must pass through the initial mist and haze of adolescence to the sunlit pathway of adulthood: however, only through contemplation can the correct route be discovered.
Great teachers
What makes a good and memorable teacher — the kind of person who brings out “the very best” in us? This individual must surely be unique because he or she is adumbrated by many thousands of characters that we would obviously like to forget. (1) What can ever expunge, from our shared memory, the embarrassment of being hauled in front of a class, belittled, and made to feel small and insignificant? Now to be fair, many teachers begin optimistically only to be browbeaten by the system and by the students. (2) What is the solution for the future?
The mystery of life
We often hear of the sanctity of life. This is undoubtedly true. Existence is miraculous. I am unique — there is no one like me, there never has been and there never will be. However, as I have often said, I will remain closed to my potential unless I open my personal portal, of which only I possess the key. If I fail to put it in the lock and turn the latch, a two-step process – in other words, you desire to learn, find your mission in life and you act on this knowledge — you will remain sealed. Look at the vast majority of mankind; take some time and study the eyes of people. Most are not fulfilled and enlightened: why not?
My precious treasure
Time is a precious treasure that cannot be replaced or returned. It is a gift that, once opened, will only end with the cessation of our mortal life. Or as St. Augustine (354-430) notes, “Indeed, we cannot truly say that time exists except in the sense that it tends towards non-existence.” (1) How then do we properly manage our personal time? How do we give our time value and, ultimately, immortality, so that its lessons can be utilized by our grandchildren?
The weather
“The heavens opened” the other day and it rained and rained and rained. I was reminded that I cannot control the inclement weather: I am not God. I can only dictate my response to it. Why then do so many of us lament a poor climate when it occurs – whether it is extremely cold or blisteringly hot – it makes no sense, does it?
The grand trek
A friend of mine, quite unexpectedly given her conservative nature, announced that she wanted to travel around the world: a most monumental trek. We can all feel the stirrings in our hearts that this concept evokes. Throw caution to the wind and embark on an epic voyage, the outcome of which is unforeseen and unforetold: “O to sail in a ship, To leave this steady unendurable land, To leave the tiresome sameness of the streets, the sidewalks and the houses, To leave you, O you solid motionless land, and entering a ship, To sail and sail and sail!” (1) It is up to the heavens to bring you safely back to port.
Age is mostly in the mind
This morning, I realized that I felt “pretty good.” I believe that many of us have had that same feeling. I have yet one more birthday approaching. This reminds me that time is relentless — it marches on: the body continues to age. But where is the pain and suffering that I anticipated at my age when I was 18 years old? It has not yet appeared. It would be false to claim that the 63-year-old body mirrors that of a 23-year-old: it doesn’t. But the frustrations and anxieties that I associated with physical age are not with me.