Humanities weaves a beautiful tapestry of humanity

Humanities weaves a beautiful tapestry of humanity

Dr Abe V Rotor

“Son, what do you remember as the happiest moment in your life?” asked a dying old man at his deathbed.

“When we went fishing, dad, and caught fireflies on our way back to camp.”

“Thank you.” And the old man smiled his last. It was a parting sealed by sweet memory of childhood and nature.

Authors children: Leo and Marlo at the National Jamboree, Mt Makiling, Laguna

Humanities brings out the sense of awe and wonder

Humanities brings out the sense of awe and wonder, specially to the young, of the things around , of life processes and cycles, the passing of seasons and ages. It makes one aware of even the minute existence of things, the transformation of the ordinary into something beautiful.

Wonder the summer night, camping by a lake, home outside of home,
no roof but the sky, no walls, no gate, stars and fireflies mingle as one;
Wonder the breeze blow and weave through the trees, comb the grass,

carry into the sky kites of many colors and make greeting the rainbow;

“The sense of wonder is indestructible, that it would last throughout life, an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disenchantment of later years.” Says Rachel Carson, author of an all-time favorite novel, Silent Spring. It is true, the sense of wonder prepares the young to face and conquer the world.

Humanities builds on the framework of truth and values

Even with few words the mind is set to explore, giving way to imagination beyond mere reason. Brevity is the framework of the mind, the heart and spirit in the Lord’s Prayer and the Gettysburg Address of America’s most loved leader, Abraham Lincoln. It is also a path to humility in greatness, a union of the classical and the contemporary.

If the story of the Creation can be told in 400 words, if the Ten Commandments contain 297 words, if Lincoln’s immortal Gettysburg Address was only 266 words, if an entire concept of freedom was set in the Declaration of Independence in about 1,300 words – it is up to some of us to use fewer words, and thus save the time energy, vitality, and nerves of those who must read or listen. (Jerome P Fleishman)

Humanities Today by the author jointly with KM Doria and published by C and E for the new curriculum, is now available at the publisher's outlets nationwide

Humanities brings out the human spirit

Guernica, a plaza mural made by the greatest modern painter Pablo Picasso, ignited popular revolt against the Nazi regime. On the huge mural were embedded hidden images that conveyed principles of truth and freedom.

Similarly, in an earlier era, our own hero Juan Luna painted Spolarium, (centerpiece of the National Museum), a mural depicting the Filipinos under Spanish rule suffering like the gladiators during the Roman times, a visual message for the people to realize their plight. Later Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere, one of the greatest books ever written in the category of War and Peace by Tolstoy, and Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, extolled the coming of a new world order – post-colonialism and the birth of new nations.

Humanities brings tranquility in crisis

It may be strange to know that Winston Churchill, the great English hero of WWII, still found time to paint by the bank of the Thames. Arts bring tranquility in times of crisis, and elevate the senses on a higher vantage plane of vision. Putting down his brush and easel, he would then return to the battlefield with greater revolve to save Great Britain from the ravaging war. And to a greater surprise, what was it that Churchill painted? Peace.

It was the other way around five hundred years earlier when the great Michelangelo who single handedly painted the huge ceiling of the Sistine Chapel would descend from the scaffolding, exchanged his paint brush with sword and fought side-by-side his benefactor the Pope, and when victory was apparent would climb back to finish his masterpiece. The result: the biggest composite mural that brought God, the angels and saints, down to earth., making the Sistine a microcosm of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Humanities is guardian of movements and schools

From the paintings of early man in the Lascaux caves in France, to the surrealism of Salvador Dali, humanities has kept faithful to the evolution of human creativity expressed in various aspects of human life, pouring out from palaces and cathedrals to the villages and streets. For arts no longer belong to selected societies and cultures. Impressionism took over Romanticism and translated Realism for the grassroots, subsequently bypassing standards of perception, and permeating into the unconscious seeking expression and catharsis. Expressionism founded by Vincent Van Gogh opened a wider door to abstractionism that subsequently spilled into post-modernism.

“What’s abstract? a young art enthusiast

once asked, dutifully I answered:

“When you look through the window of a car

running so fast that views are blurred.”

“What’s expressionism?” an elder one asked;

“When the car stops, or just about,

yet still running inside, seeking, searching

for the spring of life to pour out.”

“And what is impressionism?” a third asked,

and I said: It’s sitting on a fence -

On one side Amorsolo, the other Ocampo,

It’s the spirit of art past and hence. ~

Author (extreme right) presents a painting of Tabon Caves to Mrs Rizalina Cardenas on the occasion of her 100th birthday.  Witnessing the occasion are members of  her family.

Humanities aims at goodness and peace

Propagandism and license are perhaps the greatest enemy of Humanities. The world plunged into two global wars, followed by half a century of cold war - the polarization into opposite ideologies that froze mankind at the brink of Armageddon, awakening Humanities to a new dimension - the search for peace.

And as in the Renaissance, Humanities centered on rebirth and renewal of man’s faith in his destiny. Peace reigned the longest in contemporary times in spite of local conflicts. And for a century or so Humanities blossomed into wide popularity and acclaim, and rich diversity today, dominating media, commerce, industry and in practically all aspects of life, which often venture on the boundaries of humanities itself, among them pornography, religious extremism, acculturation, among others.

Humanities is keeper and pioneer of the arts

Humanities gave the world the finest of human achievements and continues to do so - timeless classics from novel to cinema, painting to photography, colonial design to high rise structures, stage play to TV and Internet show. Man’s glory is akin to humanities - Venus de Milo, Taj Mahal, Borobodor, Eiffel Tower, Hallelujah, Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story, The Little Prince. to name a few.

Humanities discovered superstars like Elvis Priestley and Michael Jackson, and our own local sensations, Leah Salonga and Diomedes Maturan.

Humanities faces challenge of the cyber age

But arts has also plunged into a deep and unknown global pool bringing across the world cultures heretofore unknown and appreciated, and riding on postmodernism into the chartless world of cyberspace. Which leads us to a puzzle, Quo vadis, Humanus?

Humanities elevates reverence for life and Nature

And yet humanities is anchored on a strong foundation, none other than the place of his birth and his ascension into Homo sapiens - Nature. Reverence to Nature is reverence for life, the highest expression of man through humanities. From this relationship he finds inspiration in his arts and technology, in seeking knowledge and wisdom, and in enhancing the unity and harmony of creation, and among mankind into a living network.

Humanities is the custodian of the network of humanity

We are the World – the song that united the world by the compassion it created for the dying is perhaps the greatest humanitarian movement in recent times, originally USA to Africa in the eighties, and was repeated during the Haiti disaster twenty years later. Translated by different races, beliefs, ideologies into a common call, it brought consciousness to the whole world, that humanity is a network, a closely knit fabric beautifully expressed in the lyrics of the song -

There comes a time

When we heed a certain call,

When the world must come together as one.

There are people dying

And it’s time to lend a hand to life,

The greatest gift of all

[Chorus]

We are the world

We are the children

We are the ones who make a brighter day

So let’s start giving

There’s a choice we’re making

We’re saving our own lives

It’s true we’ll make a better day

Just you and me .

It is a most fitting tribute to mankind through this song, that no man is an island, that when somebody dies, a part inside each of us also dies, and for every man’s victory, we too, feel triumphant. Humanity is a beautiful tapestry, and Humanities is Arachne on the loom.~.

“Humanities holds the greatest treasure of mankind.“ - AVR

Nationally renowned authors, poets and dramatists, among them Sedfrey Ordoñez, Ofelia Dimalanta, Ms. Sankore,  Larry Francisco, and Jose Villa

In summary, Humanities

- is a beautiful tapestry of humanity

- brings out the sense of awe and wonder

- builds on the framework of truth and values

- brings out the human spirit

- brings tranquility in crisis

- is guardian of movements and schools

- aims at goodness and peace

- is keeper and pioneer of the arts

- faces challenge of the cyber age

- elevates reverence for life and Nature

- is the custodian of the network of humanity

- holds the greatest treasure of mankind

 12 Tips

Be part of excellence, not critical of it. 

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Living with Nature School on Blog 

 

 Be always at your best whether you are with children or adults.  Workshop on Folk Wisdom for Children; Reach Out workshop for adult leaders and senior citizens. Barangay Greater Lagro, QC

1. Plan properly to improve your performance.

2. Pay attention to details; give your work the final touch, the fine taste.

3. Success at the expense of your faith and family is failure in any language.

4. Know the difference between priority and urgency. 

5. Plan your work, and work you plan. 

6. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

7. The customer's perception is reality, for which reason we say, "the customer is always right."

8. Have a daily updated  appointment calendar.  Be sure to keep your appointments faithfully.

9. Be mentally and physically present and alert at meetings. Be critical of yourself as you are of others.

10. Arrogance is deadly, you may be the first victim,

11. Get better each day, and never vice versa.

12. Be part of excellence, not critical of it. ~

Capture Happiness through the Lens - 30 Scenes

Capture Happiness through the Lens 

 30 Scenes (Unedited)

Dr Abe V Rotor 

“Happiness is already there. It is within us. We have just forgotten it and need to remember it again.” – Socrates

 

"Two heads are better than one," but one is for the stomach.

“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.” 

– Dalai Lama

"All for one and one for all," may be an overkill to a poor monkey on the wall.

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.”

 – Albert Einstein

"If you can't go to where Nature is, bring Nature home."

 Floor-to-wall-to ceiling mural.  Living with Nature Center,  

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

“Knowing something is not as good as liking it. Liking something is not as good as rejoicing in it.” ~ Confucius

"Truly, a rose is a rose is a rose," said Gertrude Stein.

In children's art, beauty, purity and innocence are but one. 

“The Constitution only guarantees you the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

V-sign is an expression of both victory and joy to these kids.

“There is only one happiness in this life: to love and be loved.”

 – George Sand

  

 House guests delight in imagining a spring coming out of a wall. 

 Markus and Mackie pose with medals they won in Rubix Cube and 

gymnastics, respectively.  

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” – Mahatma Gandhi

  

Wooden head of Philippine deer (as if alive), and real feline 

pet greet these house guests at the Center.

“Being happy never goes out of style.” – Lilly Pulitzer

"Don't sit on the stairs," old folks say.  You may be 

blocking the unseen passing through.

“Nothing in the world is as contagious as laughter and good humor.”

 – Charles Dickens

 

Two mothers inside and outside the wall, respectively.

“There’s no path to happiness. Happiness is the path.” – Buddha

A smile means a lot.  I can only guess what these two are thinking.

“The best way to cheer yourself up is to cheer someone else up.” – Mark Twain

 

All smile - one-two-three. Perfect.

“It is not easy to find happiness within yourself, but impossible to find it elsewhere.” – Agnes Repplier

 

Marley's twin?  She is just one dog with two masters.   

“The most important thing is to enjoy your life – to be happy – it’s all that matters.” – Audrey Hepburn

Eureka!  Eureka! (I found it! 2x,) is the ultimate cry of success.

Jose Pepito, inventor of the mobile chair from virtual junks. 

“Happiness is not a goal… it’s a by-product of a life well lived.” 

– Eleanor Roosevelt

Wonder how cork is made and where.  Cork tree.

Brisbane, Australia 

“Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”

― Marthe Troly-Curtin

"I am the way, the life and the truth." (John 14:6). Children's interpretations 

in an art workshop attract local and foreign guests alike.  San Vicente Parish.

“I have chosen to be happy because it is good for my health.” – Voltaire

If there's twin-finger banana, there's also twin-bunch banana.

“If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows like a shadow.”
~ Buddha

Fear does not only scare, it is also contagious.

“Happiness comes from you. No one else can make you happy. 

You make you happy.” – Beyoncé

Resurrection is the image of a growing child amid an aging 

population in our time.

“It's so hard to forget pain, but it's even harder to remember sweetness. 

We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace.”

― Chuck Palahniuk,

Husband and wife - a happy tandem as ambulant vendors,

our suki of fresh farm products.

“Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.”

― Ernest Hemingway, 

Catch the butterflies with care, then let them go.

“For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Whose candid view?  Theirs or mine?

“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. 

You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.”

― Albert Camus

 

The Garden may be a far replica of the lost Eden, 

but what is important is that we have found Eden

“Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.”

― Abraham Lincoln

 

The cat is the embodiment of relaxation - she even feigns dead 

and pretends being asleep.

“Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” -  Aristotle 

Welcome to the Center's modern art gallery.  Be our guest and muse.

“Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one remembers to turn on the light.” – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ~

Watch Out for Organisms Gone Wild!

               Watch Out for Organisms Gone Wild! 

Dr Abe V Rotor 

LIVING with NATURE CENTER 

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur 

African Giant Snail (Achatina fulica), major pest of garden

 plants.  Photos by AVRotor 2021

The house sparrow (Passer), now cosmopolitan in distribution, invades homes, parks, farms, including high rise buildings. While it is pest in farms and gardens, it is also nature's housekeeper being predator and scavenger.

Organisms even when domesticated still carry their wild genes. What is the implication of this scientific fact?

I have known pets that bite their masters. There are wild animals even if they were taken cared of the movement they were born, turn out to be killers. The killer instinct is dictated by their genes that enabled them to survive in the wild. That is why it is not advisable to pet cubs of tigers and lions.

Certain plants exhibit wild traits, too. The white bean, bred to become bushy to facilitate cultivation and harvesting, may revert into its viny character to evade ground grazers. Patani or Lima bean when left uncultivated grows wild and fends itself from feeders by producing high tannin.

Here are specific cases to warn us of the dangers of animals becoming out of our control.

• The janitor fish, loved for its ability to clean the aquarium, for which it got its name, is now a pest in Laguna Bay, competing with the edible fish species, such as tilapia and carp.

• Golden kohol or golden snail, imported in the seventies to support the government’s food production program, has turned into a maverick, now the number one pest of rice. More than half of our total riceland (3.5 million hectares) is attacked by this mollusk every planting season.

• The deadly African bees continue to invade and hybridize with domestic bees in the US as well as in other places, transmitting in their genes of high aggressiveness and venom.

• Toad (Bufo marinus), PHOTO, LEFT imported for it its predatory habit useful in the biological control of insects has become a pest itself. Because of their poison glands, animals, such as snakes and eagles that feed on them die. They directly compete with other predatory animals. In Australia the toad introduced to control of sugarcane insect pests, has turned into a pest itself.

• Plant lice (Psyla) PHOTO,  RIGHT that wiped out the local ipil-ipil industry was actually introduced into the Philippines with foreign species (Hawaiian and Peruvian ) which we imported in the sixties.

• Erythrina or Dapdap gall wasp PHOTO, BELOW has virtually wiped out all over the country this beautiful indigenous tree that bears bright red flowers in summer. The wasp was introduced with the coral tree, a dwarf Erythrina introduced some years ago by local ornamental enthusiasts.

   

 

• There are reports of animals escaping from their confines and threatening our safety. At one time when I was accompanying my students on a field trip on Mt. Makiling, a plant nursery technician warned us to keep watch for cobra which allegedly escaped from the laboratory and reproduced with the local species.

• The tree ant, Oecephala smaragdina, (PHOTO, NEST OF TREE ANT) allegedly a hybrid of an introduced species with our native hantik (ammimisay Ilk.), has become a nuisance. They build their nests in trees and bite when disturbed, making pruning, harvesting and other farm operations difficult.

  . The thorny Opuntia (PHOTO, BELOW) which was introduced in Australia by plant enthusiasts, became a widespread problem of ranchers. It took another insect, a scale insects, to destroy the maverick cactus.

 

Opuntia fruits are edible, ripe (fresh) and green (vegetable), for which reason its 

spread has been tolerated, if not encouraged, especially on arid wastelands.. .

. A species of Caulerpa, (Caulerpa taxifolia) PHOTO, LEFT similar to our lato or ar-arusip Ilk), has spread extensively on the ocean floor of the Mediterranean. Caulerpa produces caulerpin, for which its genus was named, which causes the death of fish and other marine organisms.

Next time you plan to introduce an animal or plant not native to the place, get the expert's advice. Get in touch with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and other research institutions. ~

3 Pictorial Essays: Where has the true owl gone? Ambulant Mall. Imitation of Creation

3 Pictorial Essays: 

Where has the true owl gone? Ambulant Mall. Imitation of Creation

1. Where has the true owl gone?

Dr Abe V Rotor

Interpret these photographs in essay or poetry, or both,

and share your work in your class in biology and humanities.

Author in Brisbane, Australia

Pictorial Essay

2. Ambulant Mall

Photo by Dr Abe V Rotor

Compose an essay based on this candid photograph taken by the author, 

Barangay Greater Lagro QC, circa 2016. 

3. Imitation of Creation

"If created things are seen and handled as gifts of God and as mirrors of His glory, they need not be occasions of idolatry - if our delight in them is always also a delight in their Maker."- John Piper

Photographed by Dr Abe V Rotor

 

 

        

Assignment: Write an essay or compose a poem to describe these photographs, expressing your thoughts and feelings about the subjects.    For the musically inclined, compose a melody, better still compose a  song with lyrics. Send your message as well as that of the unhappy and bewildered children in the photos across the bridge of love, respect and reverence to Creation and Nature. - avr