Let me start today's reflection with a short story about two monks and a lady, here it is:
A senior monk and a junior monk were traveling together. At one point, they came to a river with a strong current. As the monks were preparing to cross the river, they saw a very young and beautiful woman also attempting to cross. The young woman asked if they could help her.
The senior monk carried this woman on his shoulder, forded the river and let her down on the other bank. The junior monk was very upset, but said nothing.
They both were walking and the senior monk noticed that his junior was suddenly silent and inquired "Is something the matter, you seem very upset?"
The junior monk replied, "As monks, we are not permitted to touch a woman, how could you then carry that woman on your shoulders?"
The senior monk replied, "I left the woman a long time ago at the bank, however, you seem to be carrying her still."
reflection:
several minutes ago i turned our calendar to what month it's supposed to be, half of the year has ended, i'd say very quickly. in about four or five months we will start worrying about the holidays. more than two weeks ago i went to an island called maculabo, i still don't know the origin of the name but it sure was a great place. the trip was something "unplanned", because it only took us less than thirty minutes to decide that we definitely have to go there. aside from the beautiful beach, beautiful means white sand and azure waters in this case, we also trekked to see the rock formation on the other side of the island. it reminded me of the photos i've seen of batanes, windy grasslands and cliffs and the vast sea. i also had a chance to gain new friends (see facebook). different walks of life. different motivations why they went to the place. we drank cuatro cantos (ginebra san miguel), and ate really good food except for the grilled liempo which was tough. i had a hard time chewing the meat. i got to experience stillness in the middle of a mild storm inside a tent, which was dripping along with the rains. it wasn't waterproof, we just found out that night and accepted the hard fact that it just wasn't waterproof.
in about an hour i will be in front of my class and will start my lecture about the ten principles of economics by greg mankiw, an economist based in harvard. i will be talking to sophomore students, deciding what major to pursue, and i need to sound very convincing to entice them to take ageconomics as their major. talk about vested interests.
in about an hour i will be in front of my class and will start my lecture about the ten principles of economics by greg mankiw, an economist based in harvard. i will be talking to sophomore students, deciding what major to pursue, and i need to sound very convincing to entice them to take ageconomics as their major. talk about vested interests.
when asked what i am doing right now, i'd say i'm typing this while reflecting, and going back once in a while to sip coffee. that's what i'm exactly doing right now, which in just a matter of milliseconds will become part of human history, part of the past. what's good about the future, i've heard, is that it's not here yet. what's good about the past, i'd say, is that it's not here anymore.
and the present? what can we say about the present? the present simply comes to pass in a matter of milliseconds.gone even before you think it is. so we never really own time. so we never really have the chance to hold on to our precious time. it's similar to writing about that island while i'm sitting inside my room.
sequential events. we look at the quantitative nature of time, for instance, how long it would take to write this without me being late for class. we look back and we look ahead. we are aware that it is finite. limited.
and the present? what can we say about the present? the present simply comes to pass in a matter of milliseconds.gone even before you think it is. so we never really own time. so we never really have the chance to hold on to our precious time. it's similar to writing about that island while i'm sitting inside my room.
sequential events. we look at the quantitative nature of time, for instance, how long it would take to write this without me being late for class. we look back and we look ahead. we are aware that it is finite. limited.
1 comment:
cool junior monk. :)
My opinion is, you should write your experience anyway, for documentation or for the love of writing. Reading it after a year or more defines the importance of doing it now. :)
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