We should wear this civilization without being bothered by it, without ignoring it, without being caught by it... Be like a boatman. Although he is carried by the boat, he is also handling the boat. This is how we live in this world. -Shunryu Suzuki, Not Always SoMy end-of-the-year reading is M. McCarty's How Philosophy Can Change Your Life: 10 Ideas that Matter Most (2009). These 10 ideas are themes that, according to the philosophy professor, you and I need to grasp if we want to live a truly fulfilling life. They include:
- Simplicity (philosophers discussed: Epicurus and Charlotte Joko Beck)
- Possibility (philosophers discussed: John Stuart Mill and Simone de Beauvoir)
- Joy (philosophers discussed: Shunryu Suzuki and Jane Addams).
2009 for me is a testament to the power of ideas: their power to create new things, to unite people, to transform a society. If philosophy is, as a child tells the author, "upside-down thinking," there were times when indeed it felt like we were going against the tide. But we can look back to this year, with its storms both natural and human-made, and remember with gratitude the forces within us that allowed us to rise above them together. 2009 is a story of kabayanihan or heroism, but above all it is a story of love: love lost, love found, and love regained.
May we choose our public servants wisely and have a peaceful transition of roles in 2010. Stay involved and have a Happy New Year everyone!
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Thanks to Noel Cabangon for the song "Natutong Umibig Muli" from the Christmas album Noel.
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