Life Starts and Ends in Bed

Let’s clarify things first: I won’t talk to you about the beauty of oversleeping, nor will I give a magic formula for helping people who find a losing battle against insomnia. However, with absolute certainty and belief – with a plain and strong conviction inspired by the greatest sages of the past -- I am urging everyone to start and end their lives in bed! By this I mean that we ought to cherish life, complete with its joys and sorrows, from the moment we wake up until we hug our pillows for an adventure to dreamland. This is because the major source of worries and anxieties is our ignorance of this simple act. We worry too much about a lot of things and many people suffer from depressions and die with heart attacks because they try to live yesterday, today and tomorrow – all at the same time! We try to squeeze the heartaches of the past and uncertainties of the future inside a small pocket we call “today.” I want you to say these lines to yourself: “I will live for this day only. I’ll not drag with me the dead past and fear the unknown future. I’ll enjoy my life until bedtime.” Keep these words locked in your mind and in your heart today. Do the same tomorrow and I guarantee that you have one of the simplest yet profound truths about living and solving your troubles. As the poet Horace once told a few centuries ago: “Cease to inquire what the future has in store, but take as a gift whatever the day brings forth.”

                But why follow my advice? Isn’t it right to make plans for the future? Will it not make sense to remember the mistakes of the past so that we can avoid committing our most embarrassing blunders? Yes and no. It is important to be prepared and have expectations of a better life. Most of us dream of owning a car, to have a wife from the race of the most beautiful supermodels the world has known, and have the cutest and most adorable children that show the exquisite quality of one’s genes. Common sense should also remind us of our fallibility as humans and that we ought to be cautious in life based from past experiences. But we must not see life as if it’s carried by some kind of an imaginary time machine. Nature does not provide us with remote controls complete with fast forward and rewind buttons. The only option we have is play – to grab and seize the day! Today is the best time to honor the past and prepare for the multitude of possibilities that the generous future may bring.

                A fellow once told me that we are slowly dying everyday. All of us are terminally ill patients waiting for that fateful moment when we will close our eyes for eternity. Maybe you’re saying to yourself right now: “Oh! I’m only in my mid 30’s, I ain’t gonna die yet. I expect to reach 80.” It could be true, but the point I’m trying to make is that we should let go of all our past resentments, regrets, failures etc. Do not hold them like precious little trinkets of gold. Most people do that and they live with a permanent scowl – a mark of sadness that make them close cousins with the Grinch. Most of us fail to welcome a new chapter of life offered by the bright new morning sun. A lot of women right now had given up the search for “Mr. Right” because “Mr. Wrong” had blown their hearts to pieces (and sometimes, their virginity, too). On the other hand, there are some of us who cringe in fear and despair even at the remotest possibility of a pimple on the cheek turning to a life-threatening cancer, or a slight pain in the stomach to a severe form of ulcer. I am not a believer of harboring depressions nor to a deep and destructive obsession to success. Let us think that today is enough. It’s the only day that matters.

                Now let us turn our attention to those who are masters of the no-worry attitude – our pets. Have your ever heard your dog worry of its prospect of bitches? Did your cat complain because it didn’t like the brand of cat food you bought? I haven’t heard of monkeys grumbling and picketing the governor’s office for illegal cutting of banana trees, raging themselves over the possible extinction of bananas. Sounds unreasonable to you? Yes it is absurd! Quite absurd – on our part as humans! You may say that animals are dumb and they do not think like we do. I agree indeed, for that’s precisely the tragedy that humans face. Sadly, unlike our barking and fluffy friends -- despite our superbly developed medulla oblongata and fine quality of our neurons -- we still fail to realize the beauty of a day lived well. We choose to live our lives dreaming of a Never Never Land where we can play with Peter Pan and Wendy. When we’re small children, we say to ourselves: “Oh! When I go to grade school, it’ll be so much fun! I really don’t like kindergarten!” Then as grade school pupils: “I think I should go to high school and college because this school and my teachers suck.” Then as we grow and enter college years: “I can be truly happy if I become a doctor, a pilot or an engineer and get married!” After finding the right job for us and the perfect partner in life: “Maybe I should wait for my retirement and enjoy my life.” Finally, as we enter retirement with all our greying hair and years of hard labor behind us, reason suddenly knocks us face first to the ground with the realization that we had missed it all. The roller coaster of life rode fast, swerved, twirled and spun upside-down while we only watched from afar – dreaming of another roller coaster that will never come. When will we ever wake up from the illusion of chasing happiness? It’s already with us, right here, right now.

                The author Dale Carnegie, in his book “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living,” made this very important remark: “One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We dream of some magical rose garden over the horizon – instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our window today.” Let’s not be dreamers of magical rose gardens and fairylands. Our happiness lies in our acceptance of what the day brings. Forget the dead past – it has been done and it will never resurrect itself to something different. Nor should we worry about tomorrow’s “daily bread.” A good thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time. Let’s not forget that today is yesterday’s tomorrow. And how do we start reforming ourselves? Simple: smile and appreciate. Be happy for your good health, your eyesight, the food you ate, your friends and family – all the things you have. Appreciation is the key to a cheerful mental attitude towards life. Why not stop right now and think about the things you’re lucky that you had? Our lives have started and will end as we sleep tonight. This is a new day. Carpe diem! Seize the day. Live it. Love it. Cherish it.

Life: The Greatest Lesson We Ought to Learn as Citizens of the Earth

We live in a world where answers to the most profound questions of existence are manufactured in one place: Google. From self-appointed philosophers to experts of astrology, from science geeks to stock market analysts, from (sincere?) politicians to glamorous couples in showbusiness – all their ideas are contained within the vast expanse of the World Wide Web, making it a giant recipe for omniscience. The world seems to drown in a heartless and cruel ocean of information. We are satiated with images, sounds and varying ideas on anything humans can talk about. But the question remains: Despite all the googling, despite all the fuss about the NBA, Hollywood movies, national politics and alien conspiracy theories, did we already arrive at a full understanding of ourselves? Were we able to fully comprehend life and its innumerable questions that make it a sort of an idealist labyrinth?

            We can say that we are the dominant specie in the animal kingdom due to our thorough grasp of Science and Mathematics. In our younger days, we became familiar with these fields in the classroom – had known the likes of Aristotle, Socrates and Plato – and became active in philosophic thought and discussion with our Philosophy teachers. The internet can be regarded as another type of classroom, virtual and colorful, replete with “quotable quotes” and vague sayings from the anonymous to the famous. However, the availability of information fails to push us even an inch to an understanding of what really life is and how we should see ourselves. It is easier for us to define “water”: a chemical compound composed of a single Oxygen and two Hydrogen atoms and has a boiling point of 100 degrees centigrade. Life, on the other hand, is too tough a word to define and is usually filled with philosophic clichés and scientific confusions. A thinking and feeling person can find it inadequate to say that life is a chemical process brought on by signs of metabolism and growth. If we are individuals with a deep concern for the pursuit of knowledge and happiness, then it is imperative that we solve the challenging conundrums of life.

            Sadly, we find ourselves trapped in a crossfire of opinions and conflicting worldviews about life – and the best thing we did was to ignore the raging war altogether and play Farmville or something else. We became negligent of our existence. We never wake up from our dreams of accumulating millions and travelling to South Korea to meet K-Pop stars. It’s a sad truth but we cannot do something about it -- unless we in ourselves develop a sincere desire to learn about the nature of human life and the true value of our existence. Before we cheer in the talents of American Idol champions, before we taste the sweetness of a comfortable and luxurious life, before we embrace the prestige of hard-earned recognition and titles, shouldn't we give thought about the mystery we call life? Shouldn't we ask ourselves on how must we carry on living in this infinitesimal planet that revolves around a giant nuclear reactor in space?

            I may sound to you as an old grouch complaining about how the world works. But, the point I’m at pains in making is that we should wake up and make an effort to understand and ask the most important questions that bother humanity from time immemorial. What is life? What does it mean to “live”? Life is like the air we breathe: we pay no attention to it but it’s utterly important for an organism’s survival. Life is that something that gives you the capacity for experiencing pleasure, discomfort and the total experience of living. We go on each day with all our cares and no one even stops to reflect and say: “It’s a good day today. I’m glad I still exist. I’m still alive.”Living is so innate in us, so natural that we even forget it’s there. Life must not be neglected nor feared; it is to be understood. As this article’s title states: life is the greatest lesson that everyone (you are no exception) should learn. It is the biggest university and everyone is its student.

            It is not my intention to parade myself as a philosopher in writing this message. I am no member of the academia nor a holder of those MBA’s. PhD’s, ABC’s and XYC’s. I am a mere human being; a sentient organism of this planet we call Earth. It is my firm belief that we will only have but one lifetime. While we’re here, we may accumulate wealth, be a responsible citizen of a particular country, become a professional or even a celebrated statesman. Some of us may choose to be actors, public servants, bank owners and businessmen. We will grow, play, experience the magic of our very first kiss, start a family, enter old age and die. It is my sole aspiration, however, to remain as a student seeking to contemplate and marvel about the depths of our existence. I hope that each of us should ask these questions even once: Why are we here? What does it mean to have a fulfilled life? How must we go on and spend the limited days of our lives in the most meaningful way? What does life have to offer for each of us? These are the questions that I -- as a Humanist and a student of life – will continue to wrestle with until the last of my breath. It is my deepest hope that we can be good classmates of this world.

I do admire the courage and philosophy of Sam Berns, a 17-year-old boy with a case of Porgeria

Humanism 101: The Humanist Manifesto III -- A Glimpse Into the Humanist Perspective

What is Humanism? Do you value life and the welfare of others? Do you feel an appreciation for nature with all its beauty and magnificence? Do you feel that you have the freedom to achieve your own personal goals and happiness in life? Do you base your values and moral judgments from reason without recourse to the supernatural claims of religion and superstition? Then, you are a humanist -- and you are not alone! Check out the video and the full text of the Humanist Manifesto III here as released by the American Humanist Association.

A Blog With a Purpose

                I am a lover of books and a collector of ideas. I never let a day pass without finishing at least five pages and that my day usually ends in contemplation about the truthfulness or soundness of the things I've read. There are even times when I lose track of time just staring at the vastness of the sky, thinking about an ocean of conflicting worldviews, opinions and philosophies pertaining from the smallest scientific fact to the wholeness of life. I made it my quest to seek out for the multitude of meanings that existence possesses in itself. The only purpose I know is to understand life in general and share any understanding I obtain with my fellow citizens of this planet. It is a lifelong quest and a noble one.

                Hence, this blog was born. The internet is the fastest way of exchanging ideas in this modern century. This is my own little way of inviting everyone in this eternal conversation we call Philosophy. We all have our philosophies in life. This is evident in the patterns of behavior that we possess and subscribe to regardless of whether we recognize them or not. Most of us obtain satisfaction and wisdom from religion without realizing the theological assertions that a person makes when he says “I believe in God.” Some of us are apatheists who shun away and ignore questions about the existence of gods and on divinity; while others are simply hedonists who concern themselves with those things that bring them earthly pleasures. This blog is dedicated to everyone with a curious attitude towards life and its many-sided realities.

                I for one am a Humanist. I do believe that the life we have on this planet should be well-cherished for we will only live but once – and that the highest moral ideal is service towards others. We have the capacity for happiness and success in this lifetime and that we must also help others achieve that same realization. Reason, Science and Philosophy are the compasses that guide humanity in an expedition for the ideal Human society. It is my delight to share with you these ideas for this blog is in itself made for ideas. It doesn’t matter whether readers agree or disagree with part or all of my conclusions. Responses, be it positive or negative, are truly appreciated for they can wake me up from my ignorance or further strengthen my own philosophy. This blog was made in light of the democratic spirit.

Thank you and happy reading.