The Two Greatest Lessons in Life

 The Two Greatest Lessons in Life

Dr Abe V Rotor

But there are no neighbors!

Once there was a workshop for adult leaders somewhere in Asia. The teacher asked the participants to draw on the blackboard a beautiful house, a dream house ideal to live in and raise a family. It was of course, an exercise, which in the minds of the participants was as easy as copying a model from experience and memory. Besides it is a universal dream to own such a house, which allows free interplay of both reason and imagination, using the left and the right brain. The participants formed a queue to allow everyone to contribute his own idea on the blackboard.

Child by Pablo Picasso

The first in the queue drew the posts of the house, on which the succeeding members made the roof and floor. The rest proceeded in making the walls and windows. On the second round the participants added garage, porch, veranda, gate, staircase, fence, swimming pool, TV antennae, and other amenities. Finally their dream house was completed and they returned to their seats. A lively “sharing session” followed and everyone was happy with the outcome of the exercise, including the teacher.

Just then a little child happened to be passing by and saw the drawing of the house on the blackboard. He stopped and entered the classroom. He stood there for a long time looking at the drawing and the teacher approached him. The child exclaimed, “But there are no neighbors!”

Human relations is very important. Sociology has become a major field in education. There is a field of biology known as Human Ecology. Economics is rooted into the theory of equitable wealth distribution, where everyone gets a fair share of the pie. Most religions, including ancient religions, are anthropocentric. The Good Samaritan, The Prodigal Son, Matthew 25, Sermon on the Mount, the meaning of Messiah – all these and many more speak of man to be good to his fellowmen. Salvation is not aimed at oneself, but should be one that is collective, which means, “No one goes to heaven alone.”  Very little mention is made on the role of the environment, or nature for that matter, in leading man to heaven.

But there are no trees, rivers...

In a another village near the first one I told you, there was a similar workshop. This time the participants were asked to draw a community. So they made a queue for the blackboard and after working together, came up with a beautiful drawing of a community. There are houses - many houses; a church, a school, village hall, plaza. Roads and bridges make a network in the village showing many people. The marketplace is is full of life. Anything that makes a typical village is there.

The participants discussed, “What constitute a community?” and everyone was so eager and delighted at the result.

Just then a little child was passing by, and when he saw the drawing on the backboard, stopped and entered the classroom. The teacher approached him. The child exclaimed, “But there are no trees, no birds; there are no mountains, no fields, no river!”

As no man is an island, so is a village without a natural environment. What good is man living on top of a hill while being surrounded by people in abject poverty? What good is progress – megacities, science and technology, internet, - when progress itself is responsible for the destruction of the land, the seas, and the atmosphere, in short, the Planet Earth.

Many days had passed since the two workshops. Virtually no one ever thought of looking for the little child - who he was or where he lived. Then the whole village suddenly realized, and so they began to search for him.

But they never found him – not in the village, not in the neighboring village, not in the town, not in any known place.

Who was the little child? Everyone who saw him never forgot his kindly beautiful and innocent face, and they pondered on his words which are the greatest lessons in life.

"But there are no neighbors!"

“But there are no trees, no birds; there are    no mountains, no fields, no river!”

"... but there are no trees, rivers, lake."

painting in acrylic by AVR 

Verses: Goodness builds on goodness in store.

Goodness builds on goodness in store.

“There is no greatness where there is no simplicity, goodness, and truth.”

- Leo Tolstoy

Dr Abe V Rotor

1. We do not have the time, indeed an alibi

to indolence and loafing, letting time pass by.

Spring Landscape in acrylic by AVRotor 2022

2. As we undervalue ourselves, so do others

undervalue us. Lo, to us all little brothers.

3. Self-doubt at the start is often necessary

to seek perfection of the trade we carry.

4. What is more mean than envy or indolence

but the two themselves riding on insolence.

5. The worst kind of persecution occurs in the mind,

that of the body we can often undermine.

6. How seldom, if at all, do we weigh our neighbors

the way we weigh ourselves with the same favors?

Eagle's Lair in acrylic by AVRotor

7. Friendship that we share to others multiplies

our compassion and love where happiness lies.

8. Evil is evil indeed - so with its mirror,

while goodness builds on goodness in store.

9. That others may learn and soon trust you,

show them you're trustworthy, kind and true.

10. Kindness and gladness, these however small

are never, never put to waste at all. ~

“Live in such a way that if people should see you they could see God’s goodness in you.” Anonymous

“Wisdom has its root in goodness.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Don’t eat between meals, old folks advise.

 Dr Abe V Rotor

Coffee break is a corporate invention, and snacks are the first version of fast food, thanks to capitalism. So why take heed of the old advice?

Well, let’s look at it this way. Our old folks take heavy meals, mainly rice or corn, depending on the region they live, and they do not eat anything in between meals. Yet they work for long hours, and are healthy.  How is that?

 

 

 

 

 Plant foods are by far the commonest source of polysaccharides:

• Starch is in cereal grains (wheat, oats, rye, barley, buckwheat, rice, etc.), potatoes and legumes (beans, peas, lentils).
• Fiber is mainly in whole grains (whole-grain bread, brown rice, etc.), legumes, vegetables and fruits.

Starch in cereals is polysaccharide, which means that it has to be broken down into simple sugar before it is “burned” by the body to release energy. Starch has to be hydrolyzed with the aid of enzyme (amylase) found in our digestive system.  Glucose, the ultimate product is broken down through oxidation (respiration), providing the needed energy for various body functions.  This transformation takes hours, releasing energy throughout the process, and by the time the fuel is exhausted, it is time for the next meal.  This is a simple test. Have you experienced having a grain of rice unknowingly tucked between the gums and teeth?  After an hour of so, the grain taste sweet. It means that the grain is undergoing hydrolysis – from starch to sugar.

White sugar (sucrose), on the other hand is directly burned, after it has been split into two monosaccharides.  That is why too much white sugar leads to high blood sugar – if we do not burn it – and may in the long run become the cause of diabetes. 

Broil, don't fry.  It's healthier and more economical.

This eating regimen of old folks may apply to manual workers, principally in the field.  Today we find this virtually impossible to follow.  First, we need a lot of energy, mainly for the brain, and secondly, we are already accustomed to having snacks.  In fact many of us never stop eating. A foreigner once commented, “Filipinos are always eating.”  What with all the advertisements - from TV commercials to giant billboards - and the proliferation of food carts and stores.  ~