Triumph Over the Ebb of Life
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” - Victor E Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning
Dr Abe V Rotor
1.Triumph Over the Ebb of Life2. Good wine grows mellow with age. Good man grows into a sage
3. Develop the Art of Story Telling. Start writing your own anecdotes.
4. "World's still on your lap."
5. A Little Corner of Eden
6. "I cannot feel." - Computer
When suddenly we see a shooting star we grasp something to wish for. But before our thoughts are organized our lucky charm is gone.
Robert the Bruce, the great Scottish hero hid in a cave and learned his lessons on persistence and strategy from a spider while waiting for a chance to escape his pursuers. Later he formed a huge army which defeated the English army, the latter to grant Scotland full independence.
· Victor E Frankl – Europe’s leading psychiatrist, founded a new theory, logotherapy, while detained in a Nazi concentration camp during WW II. He became the most significant modern thinker in the field of psychotherapy. His book Man’s Search for Meaning sold more than two millions copies.
There are many men and women who labored under great pains and odds, who rose to significance and fame. And there are even more who lived and died like the Unknown Soldier.
2. The worst kind of persecution occurs in the mind,
that of the body we can often undermine.
3. How seldom, if at all, do we weigh our neighbors
the way we weigh ourselves with the same favors?
4. Friendship that we share to others multiplies
our compassion and love where happiness lies.
5. Evil is evil indeed - so with its mirror,
while goodness builds on goodness in store.
6. That others may learn and soon trust you,
show them you're trustworthy, kind and true.
7. Kindness and gladness, these however small
are never, never put to waste at all.
8. Beauty seen once breaks a heart,
Wait for the image to depart.
9. Being right and reasonable;
Black or white, and measurable.
10. She's coy who speaks soft and light;
Smoke first before fire ignites.
11. Every promise you can't keep
Drags you into a deeper pit.
12. To endure pain of hatred,
A leader’s wisdom is dared.
13. Make believe prosperity;
Sound of vessel when empty.
14. Take from the ant or stork,
Patience is silence at work.
15. He finds reason for living
Who sees a new beginning.
Beauty builds upon beauty,
Ad infinitum to eternity. ~
Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio
The word anecdote means unpublished. True to its nature an anecdote is typically oral and ephemeral.
It is a short tale narrating an interesting or amusing biographical incident. It is always based on real life, an incident involving actual persons, whether famous or not, in real places. It sets a stage of provocation, more than mere entertainment or narration.
Abraham Lincoln is regarded as the father of the Anecdote. He used it effectively in his administration as president of the United States. And people today use the same technique on many occasions.
What make a good anecdote?
A. It is characterized by
• Witticism
• Humor
• Positivism and inspirational
• Informative and educational
B. It is a combination of these elements that make a good story, depending on the topics and application.
• As a speaker/ resource person
• Presiding in meetings and conferences
• Informal gatherings /parties
• Writing, news, features
• Broadcasting – radio and TV
C. Stories are used as tool in
• Driving a point indirectly and diplomatically
• Hitting the nail on the head, so to speak
• Friendly advice and reminder
• Admiring a person, institution or place
• Tapping a shoulder in words, kudos, congratulations
D. An anecdote is never
• Moralism (Even a homily should strive not to proselytize.)
• Criticism, especially on persons
• Bulgarism – discreet, dignified, unkind words are avoided.
• Familiarism – not all too familiar topics
• Fatalism – bato bato sa langit syndrome
• Propagandism – and not politicizing
Story telling is an art. Strive for the state-of-the-art of story telling. ~
Selected Anecdotes of the Great
Folklore often depicts black cats as symbols of luck and fortune. In Chinese folklore, black cats are good omens. In Japan, black cats promise new journeys or luck with money. In many African and Native American stories, black cats guard and provide for the home.
Black cats are still seen as bad luck in some Western cultures. This superstition started in the 1700s, when panic over witchcraft grew in Europe and the modern-day United States. Many people believed that witches could transform into black cats. This belief has been passed down to modern Western cultures, where it is seen films, books, and Halloween traditions. (Internet)
A Little Corner of Eden in acrylic, painted by Dr Abe V. Rotor (30" x 40") for the (Philippine College of Physicians) PCP Foundation Inc, founder and guardian of Dr Arturo B. Rotor Memorial Awards for Literature.
Socrates, father of Philosophy, on his deathbed. He was condemned to die by drinking hemlock, a poison, for corrupting the minds of the youth. The Lamp of Knowledge
It is looking back at the lamp that enabled our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, to write his last masterpiece, the lamp Florence Nightingale held over her patients at the warfront, the lamp that made Scheherazade’s “one thousand and one nights” stories, the lamp a Greek philosopher held high at daylight “searching for an honest man.” Or the lamp fireflies make and glow with the spirit of joy and adventure to a child.
But why do we look back and ponder on a tiny light when the world basks in the sunshine of progress and development, of huge networks of learning, of high technologies in practically all fields of endeavor? I’ll tell you why – and why we teachers must.
But first let me tell a story of a computer enthusiast, who like the modern student today relies greatly on this electronic gadget, doing his school work so conveniently like downloading data for his assignment. So one day he worked on his assigned topic – love.
He printed the word and set the computer to define for him L-O-V-E. Pronto the computer came up with a hundred definitions and in different languages. Remembering his teacher’s instruction to ask, “How does it feel to be in love?” again he set the computer to respond. And you know what?
After several attempts, the computer printed on its screen in big letters, “I can not feel.”
Where is that main ingredient of human relations – feeling – today?
• Where is the true feeling between teacher and student?
• Where is the feeling of joy at the end of a teaching day, in spite of how hard the day had been?
• Where is that tingling feeling of the student for having recited well in class?
• Where is that feeling in singing the National Anthem, the school hymn?
• Where is that feeling Rizal felt when a moth circled the lamp in his prison cell while he wrote, Mi Ultimo Adios?
• Where is that burning desire that drove Michaelangelo to finish single-handedly the huge murals of the Sistine Chapel?
• That drove Vincent Van Gogh to madness – madness the world learned a new movement in the art – expressionism - years after?
• That kept Florence Nightingale, the founder of the nursing profession, make her rounds in the hospital in the wee hours of the morning?
• The lamp that strengthened Plato’s resolve to change the way people should think in the light of truth and justice.
Feeling. There is a song Feelin, and the lyrics ask a lot of questions about human nature changing with the times. I do not think human nature has changed. It is as stable as Nature herself and the natural laws that govern the universe.
What we are saying is that our ways are changing. The conformity of our actions is more with the rules we set rather than the philosophies on which they are founded. It is our quest for want above our needs that has blinded us and benumbed our feelings, that has taken us to the so-called fast lane so that we no longer see objects as they are, but abstracts, that has made us half-humans in the sense that we spend half of our lives dealing with machines – who have no feelings.
What then is modern man? I am afraid we have to review some of our references on the Janus-like character of man, like -
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• The Prince and the Pauper
• The Princess and the Frog
• The movies - Mask, Superman, Batman, Spiderman
• Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter
• Cartoons and animated movies
The doubling of characters in man has led him away from permanence. Today, the biggest crisis in man is his impermanence. Impermanence in his domicile, nay, his nationality, political party. Affiliation in business and social organizations, and most disturbingly, with his marriage and family.
When was the last time we said to ourselves – or experienced - the following.
• It’s a weekday for my family and nothing else.
• How I wish I can help my child of his math assignment.
• I’ll teach only this year and will find a more rewarding job after.
• I think it’s time to settle down.
• I want to go to a concert and enjoy the fine art of music.
• Can’t I put all my ideas in a book?
• It’s always meeting – can’t we just talk?
• This dizziness, it must be the pressure of my work.
• Maybe I can concentrate on my thesis this time.
• I have not finished reading “Da Vinci Code”.
• This summer I’ll be with my parents.
Here are ways by which we can brighten up our lamp amidst the factors that test our dedication of our profession as teachers.
1. Be yourself. Be natural.
2. Keep on learning
3. Be a model of your family and community
4. Relax
5. Use you faculties fully and wisely
Be Natural
Naturalness is a key to teaching. I saw a film, Natural with then young award-winning Robert Redford as the principal actor. It is a story of a baseball player who became famous. The central theme of his success is his naturalness. Naturalness in pitching, batting - in the sport itself, above all, in his relationship with his team and fans.
Our students can easily sense our sincerity. They shun from us if we are not. They cannot fully express themselves, unless we show our genuine love and care for them. Develop that aura that attracts them, that keeps relationship easy to adapt or adjust.
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“Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.”
- John Cotton Dana
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Be a Model
A teacher must have more time for himself and for his family. Teaching is an extension of family life. And this is the primordial stimulus that makes your family a model family and you as a model teacher – because you cause the light of the lamp to radiate to others. And it is not only the school that you bring in the light. It is the community because you are also lighting the lamp of others, including the tiny glow in your young students. When they get home, when they interact with their community in whatever capacity they can, even only among their playmates, relatives and neighbors, they are in effect sharing that light which is also the light of understanding and unity.
Relax
Great achievements are usually products of relaxed minds. Relaxation allows the incubation of thoughts and ideas. Churchill found time to paint during the Second World War. In his relaxed mind he made great decisions that savedGreat Britain
Darwin Newton
Use Your Faculties Fully and Wisely
Our brain is made up of the left hemisphere, the thinking and reasoning part, and the right hemisphere, the seat of creativity and imagination. Together they reveal an enormous capacity of intelligence, which are pictured in eight realms. These are
1. Logic
2. Languages
3. Music
4. Spatial
5. Interpersonal
6. Intrapersonal
7. Kinesthetics
8. Naturalism
From these realms the teacher draws out his best qualities. He explores, decides, adapts, entertains, leads, and stands courageously to lead the young.
Here he sows the seed of knowledge. And in the young the seed grows, and grows, which the educator Henry Adams expresses in this line.
“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”
1.Triumph Over the Ebb of Life
Ebb of Life wall mural in acrylic by the author at his residence,
San Vicente, Ilocos Sur.
Feature a person you personally know who triumphed in the midst of crisis. Cite his achievement and the lesson which we derive from him and his experience.
There are times we search the sky for a speck of moving light, a wish ready at hand. But the stars, thousands of them simply hang on flickering, and none of them falling out. When we are in this situation we must be in the Ebb of Life. What is this strange land?
Soon enough we realize we are orphans of the universe. An orphan often talks to himself, for there is no one else around. He thinks and feels that the world has shrunk. It is indeed a lonely place.
But this is the place where Michelangelo single handedly made his masterpiece, the huge paintings of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. In solitude and meditation he saw God, His angels and saints, and he made them models of his art.
It is here where Dr Jose P Rizal PHOTO wrote the famous Noli Me Tangere which ignited the Philippine Revolution. He saw meaning in the death of a moth that singed into his lamp - to become the symbol of martyrdom.
Helen Keller, in her solace of total blindness wrote, If I were given three days to see, a moving essay which made people see the world better. Frederick Handel composed The Messiah, the greatest religious composition ever made, without food and sleep for days.
Robert the Bruce, the great Scottish hero hid in a cave and learned his lessons on persistence and strategy from a spider while waiting for a chance to escape his pursuers. Later he formed a huge army which defeated the English army, the latter to grant Scotland full independence.What could have happened to Dantes, the count of Monte Cristo, in the novel of the same title by Alexander Dumas if he simply gave in to despair in the dungeon? From an old fellow prisoner he found wisdom in facing the harsh realities of life – and a secret of a hidden treasure. He escaped from prison, and with tremendous wealth, succeeded in avenging his plotters. At the end of the story, he realized that revenge does not bring true peace.
Helen Keller
Here are other men and women who capitalized on the ebb of their lives to emerge with great achievements:
· Victor E Frankl – Europe’s leading psychiatrist, founded a new theory, logotherapy, while detained in a Nazi concentration camp during WW II. He became the most significant modern thinker in the field of psychotherapy. His book Man’s Search for Meaning sold more than two millions copies.Victor E Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
· John Milton wrote Paradise Lost when he had normal eyesight and Paradise Regained after losing it. His works comprise the greatest epic poem in English literature, a profound exploration of the moral problems of God’s justice, through the poet’s genius in fusing classicism and innovation, narrative and drama.
· 
Captain Scott, the great English explorer, had already reached the South Pole, and was on the way back to camp when he and his team were caught in a blizzard. In freezing cold, He managed to write, “Had we lived, I would have had a tale of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale.”
· Albert Schweitzer – philosopher, medical doctor, writer, teacher, philanthropist, musician, rolled into one, stands tall among the world’s greatest humanitarians. Instead of enjoying fame and the comfort of high society, he chose to spend most of his life in a remote village in the Dark Continent – Africa - healing the sick, spreading the gospel, fighting ignorance through education, and bridging the civilized and primitive world.
· Florence Nightingale renounced “good life” in her native country, England, to join volunteers to serve in an army hospital during the Crimean War. It was extremely dangerous for women to be at the battlefront, but she persisted and brought to the eyes of the world the importance and dignity of the nursing profession. The Lady with a Lamp making her rounds among the wounded and sick to the wee hours became the symbol of nursing.
Florence Nightingale
Mahatma Gandhi, one-man against the British empire, underwent extreme personal sacrifice - from humiliation to self-impose fasting – until India was granted independence.
There are many men and women who labored under great pains and odds, who rose to significance and fame. And there are even more who lived and died like the Unknown Soldier.Mahatma Gandhi, Man of the last Millenium
Young Darwin was a disgrace to his prominent family. He chose to be a naturalist defying his father wish to become a doctor. He suffered much at sea for nearly five years as a naturalist, lived in complete isolation because of his radical view of evolution which is contrary to the Doctrine of Creation. He was ridiculed as a monkey for this Ascent of Man, other publications of the same concept of evolution, notwithstanding.
Great works, great deeds, are distilled from hardship and misfortune. They bring out the best in a person. Often the battle is but our own, and the enemy is us, yet the victor is us, too.
It is no wonder that if we look up long enough, and think of the enormous reserve in us waiting to be tapped, while keeping faith in the Almighty to whom we owe it, all the stars will hang on shining and twinkling as if to tell us we are not orphans of the universe. ~
“Life is a dance between heaven and earth, the ebb and flow of life.” - Maurice Spees
Acknowledgement: Photos from Internet., Wikipedia, Google
2. Good wine grows mellow with age
Good man grows into a sage
Dr Abe V Rotor
Table wine from local fruits developed by the author from fermentation
to aging. San Vicente, Ilocos Sur
1. Good wine grows mellow with age;
Good man grows into a sage.2. The worst kind of persecution occurs in the mind,
that of the body we can often undermine.
3. How seldom, if at all, do we weigh our neighbors
the way we weigh ourselves with the same favors?
4. Friendship that we share to others multiplies
our compassion and love where happiness lies.
5. Evil is evil indeed - so with its mirror,
while goodness builds on goodness in store.
6. That others may learn and soon trust you,
show them you're trustworthy, kind and true.
7. Kindness and gladness, these however small
are never, never put to waste at all.
8. Beauty seen once breaks a heart,
Wait for the image to depart.
9. Being right and reasonable;
Black or white, and measurable.
10. She's coy who speaks soft and light;
Smoke first before fire ignites.
11. Every promise you can't keep
Drags you into a deeper pit.
12. To endure pain of hatred,
A leader’s wisdom is dared.
13. Make believe prosperity;
Sound of vessel when empty.
14. Take from the ant or stork,
Patience is silence at work.
15. He finds reason for living
Who sees a new beginning.
Beauty builds upon beauty,
Ad infinitum to eternity. ~
Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday
3. Develop the Art of Story Telling
Start writing your own anecdotes.
Abraham Lincoln is regarded as the father of the Anecdote.
Dr Abe V Rotor
The word anecdote means unpublished. True to its nature an anecdote is typically oral and ephemeral.
Abraham Lincoln is regarded as the father of the Anecdote. He used it effectively in his administration as president of the United States. And people today use the same technique on many occasions.
What make a good anecdote?
A. It is characterized by
• Witticism
• Humor
• Positivism and inspirational
• Informative and educational
B. It is a combination of these elements that make a good story, depending on the topics and application.
• As a speaker/ resource person
• Presiding in meetings and conferences
• Informal gatherings /parties
• Writing, news, features
• Broadcasting – radio and TV
C. Stories are used as tool in
• Driving a point indirectly and diplomatically
• Hitting the nail on the head, so to speak
• Friendly advice and reminder
• Admiring a person, institution or place
• Tapping a shoulder in words, kudos, congratulations
D. An anecdote is never
• Moralism (Even a homily should strive not to proselytize.)
• Criticism, especially on persons
• Bulgarism – discreet, dignified, unkind words are avoided.
• Familiarism – not all too familiar topics
• Fatalism – bato bato sa langit syndrome
• Propagandism – and not politicizing
Story telling is an art. Strive for the state-of-the-art of story telling. ~
Napoleon Bonaparte took the crown from the hands of the Pope and he crowned himself as Emperor of France Dec 2, 1804 church of Notre Dame. He owed the crown to no one except himself. His mother shook her head and murmured, “If only it lasts.”
After a series of victories, even after the battle of Trafalgar (combined Spanish and French fleet defeated by Nelson), he tried to govern all of Europe.
He met his defeat at Waterloo in the hands of the Duke of Wellington. Today, Waterloo is the inevitable downfall of a person. ~
Christopher Columbus waited for seven long years for the King of Spain to decide on his plan to search a new land West. King of Portugal refused to help him. Henry the VII refused. Charles VIII of France also refused. All hopes gone … then the queen of Spain through Juan Perez her chaplain, sent money to buy clothes and horse, to see the Queen. Queen Isabella received Columbus. Condition to be promoted to Admiral and entitled one-tenth of all the wealth, He was refused. A messenger overtook him. And Columbus once more went to the Court . Got the nod of the King and Queen but actually cost them nothing. Port of Palos under displeasure for unpaid taxes and liable of heavy fines. Palos was ordered to provide Columbus his needs. Three ships and men from the town. Came the Pinzon brothers provided Pinta, Niña and Santa Maria.
Magnetic North – is not the true north, and its direction varies from different places on the earth’s surface. But Columbus told the worried crew that it’s not the compass that is wrong but the north star which moved from time to time. And the sailors were satisfied – and they headed into the unknown. It took five long weeks to see land. West Indies (Columbus believed it was part of India) part of Cuba. ~
David Livingstone – After 4 and 1/2 years no news about him, thought to have been dead, a young man by the name of Stanley was sent by an American newspaper. There at Ujiji, he found Livingstone. Stanley took off his hat.
After a series of victories, even after the battle of Trafalgar (combined Spanish and French fleet defeated by Nelson), he tried to govern all of Europe.
He met his defeat at Waterloo in the hands of the Duke of Wellington. Today, Waterloo is the inevitable downfall of a person. ~
Magnetic North – is not the true north, and its direction varies from different places on the earth’s surface. But Columbus told the worried crew that it’s not the compass that is wrong but the north star which moved from time to time. And the sailors were satisfied – and they headed into the unknown. It took five long weeks to see land. West Indies (Columbus believed it was part of India) part of Cuba. ~
“Dr, Livingstone, I suppose?”
“Yes,” he said with a kind smile, lifting his cap slightly and shook hands. It was one of the most famous meetings in history. ~
David the boy. Everyday for 6 weeks Goliath was challenging the Israelites to a duel. David arrived carrying food for the soldiers. David was not afraid and said, “Who does this great boaster think he is?” His brothers scolded him. But Saul the king heard him. David offered to fight Goliath.
"But you are not even a soldier."
"Back home I took care of my father’s sheep... fought lions, bears. I chased and killed them."
"But put your armor first." It was too big and heavy. David took his staff and sling, picked five smooth stones from a stream, and walked confidently to meet Goliath.
It was Goliath's last laugh of his life.
~
Florence Nightingale – In the night hours, sometimes long after midnight, Florence used to walk through the quiet wards to see that all was well, carrying a little lamp to light her way.
Such was her love for her patients. And soldiers loved, even the rough soldiers, used to kiss her shadow as she passed. Thus she was called The Lady with the Lamp.
She received the highest award from Queen Victoria – a diamond brooch with “Crimea, Blessed are the merciful” engraved on it. ~
Joan of Arc did not use her sword. She led the attack on New Orleans with shining armor and banner, and rallied the French forces. On seeing her army, the English soldiers were terrified - The Maid, The Maid! Believing in witchcraft, they fled headlong.
Wounded by an arrow in the shoulder at Tourelles after New Orleans, the French soldiers retreated, until she reappeared. And the French won.~
NOTE: These anecdotes were purposely contracted as outline for speech or similar presentation. The reason is to discourage reading before the audience, and allows spontaneity and flexibility in telling the story.
“Yes,” he said with a kind smile, lifting his cap slightly and shook hands. It was one of the most famous meetings in history. ~
David the boy. Everyday for 6 weeks Goliath was challenging the Israelites to a duel. David arrived carrying food for the soldiers. David was not afraid and said, “Who does this great boaster think he is?” His brothers scolded him. But Saul the king heard him. David offered to fight Goliath.
"But you are not even a soldier."
"Back home I took care of my father’s sheep... fought lions, bears. I chased and killed them."
"But put your armor first." It was too big and heavy. David took his staff and sling, picked five smooth stones from a stream, and walked confidently to meet Goliath.
It was Goliath's last laugh of his life.
~
Florence Nightingale – In the night hours, sometimes long after midnight, Florence used to walk through the quiet wards to see that all was well, carrying a little lamp to light her way.
Such was her love for her patients. And soldiers loved, even the rough soldiers, used to kiss her shadow as she passed. Thus she was called The Lady with the Lamp.
She received the highest award from Queen Victoria – a diamond brooch with “Crimea, Blessed are the merciful” engraved on it. ~
Joan of Arc did not use her sword. She led the attack on New Orleans with shining armor and banner, and rallied the French forces. On seeing her army, the English soldiers were terrified - The Maid, The Maid! Believing in witchcraft, they fled headlong.
NOTE: These anecdotes were purposely contracted as outline for speech or similar presentation. The reason is to discourage reading before the audience, and allows spontaneity and flexibility in telling the story.
---------------------------------------------------------------
And here is my own, a childhood anecdote that remains as fresh as it happened seventy years ago.
The Case of the Empty Chicken Eggs
Soon as I was big enough to climb the baqui (brooding nest) hanging under the house and trees, I found out that if I leave as decoy one or two eggs in the basket, the more eggs you gather in the afternoon. Then a new idea came. With a needle, I punctured ane egg and sucked the content dry. It tasted good and I made some to substitute the natural eggs for decoy.
One evening my father (a balikbayan who, after finishing BS in Commercial Science at De Paul University in Chicago, settled down in our hometown) gathered us, his three children, and announced, "First thing tomorrow morning we will find that hen that lays empty eggs.”
It was a family tradition that every Sunday we had tinola - chicken cooked with green papaya and pepper (sili) leaves. Dad would point at a cull (the unproductive and least promising member of the flock) and I would set the trap, a baqui with a trap door and some corn for bait. My brother Eugene would slash the neck of the helpless fowl while my sister Veny and I would be holding it. The blood is mixed with glutinous rice (diket), which is cooked ahead of the vegetables.
That evening I could not sleep. What if dad’s choice is one of our pet chicken? We even call our chickens by name. The empty eggs were the cause of it all, so I thought.
In the morning after the mass I told dad my secret. He laughed and laughed. I didn't know why. I laughed, too. I was relieved with a tinge of victorious feeling. Thus the case of the empty eggs was laid to rest. It was my first “successful” experiment.
In the years to come I realized you just can’t fool anybody. And by the way, there are times we ask ourselves, “Who is fooling who?” ~
4. "World's still on your lap."
Dr Abe V Rotor
A sunbathing black cat against a wall mural at the Living with Nature Center, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur, 2022. Photographed by the author with a palm-size camera, (Sony 20.1 with Zeiss lens).
Guard outside, indoor the cat,Pet no home is without;True or myth, bad or good luck,World's still on your lap.
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*Historically, black cats were connected to the divine or supernatural. Black cats are associated with important goddesses in Egyptian, Norse, Greek, and Roman mythology. These cultures viewed black cats as powerful and protective. Celtic myths associated black cats with fairies, supernatural powers, and wishes. British and Irish superstitions associate black cats with witches and spells. Folklore often depicts black cats as symbols of luck and fortune. In Chinese folklore, black cats are good omens. In Japan, black cats promise new journeys or luck with money. In many African and Native American stories, black cats guard and provide for the home.
Black cats are still seen as bad luck in some Western cultures. This superstition started in the 1700s, when panic over witchcraft grew in Europe and the modern-day United States. Many people believed that witches could transform into black cats. This belief has been passed down to modern Western cultures, where it is seen films, books, and Halloween traditions. (Internet)
5. A Little Corner of Eden
"Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained – is undoubtedly
one that resembles a tropical rainforest." - avr
Dr Abe V Rotor
A Little Corner of Eden in acrylic, painted by Dr Abe V. Rotor (30" x 40") for the (Philippine College of Physicians) PCP Foundation Inc, founder and guardian of Dr Arturo B. Rotor Memorial Awards for Literature.
"Nature represents the idea of the entire universe in a state of perfection. Nature is one; it unites heaven and earth, connecting human beings with the stars and bringing them all together into a single family. Nature is beautiful; it is ordered. A divine law determines its arrangement - the subordination of the means to the end, and the parts to the whole.
"No one tires with the rhythm of nature – the tides, waves, flowing rivulets, gusts of wind, bird songs, the fiddling of crickets, and the shrill of cicada. In the recesses of a happy mind, one could hear the earth waking up in spring, laughing in summer, yawning in autumn and snoring in winter – and waking up again the next year, and so on, ad infinitum." - AV Rotor, Listen to the Music of Nature!
The Forest - Living World in Microcosm
It is estimated that more than half the species of plants, animals and protists live in the tropical rainforests. Imagine a single tree as natural abode of ferns, orchids, insects, fungi, lichens, transient organisms - birds, monkeys, frogs, reptiles, insects and a multitude more that escape detection by our senses.
Orchids, Family Orchidaceae, is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with about 28,000 species, and with more constantly discovered. Orchids make up 6 to 11 percent of all species of seed plants, and are the most advanced in the Plant Kingdom, occupying the top position in the phylogeny and evolution of plants.
"I chose the tropical rainforest scenery since it is the richest of all ecosystems in the world. The Philippines, being one of the countries endowed with the natural wealth is a treasure, indeed. For this reason, I believe that, the tropical rainforest closely resembles the description of the biblical paradise. It is not only a living bank of diversity; it is the most important sanctuary of living matters on earth." - AV Rotor, The Living with Nature Handbook
"Birds sing not only for their own kind,but to the world that shares their joy,in melodies notes may not capture,but the heart and spirit they buoy." -avr
“To see a world in a grain of sand,And heaven in a wild flower;Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,And Eternity in an hour.”- William Blake, Auguries of Innocence
"This verse captures the essence of the title, The Forest - Living World in Microcosm. It condenses the universe into its elemental symbols from which we take a full view of the world we live in. It reduces the complexities and vastness of both non- living and the living world into a microcosm that is complete in itself- a plantilla of creation all contained in the hand and experienced within a lifetime." - AV Rotor, Living World in Microcosm
Cryptobiology and Augury
"Call it pseudoscience, but it is gaining acceptance and support from scholars and people in general, with the discovery of strange creatures like the Coelacanth. The ancient Roman religion interpreted omens from the observed behavior of birds. A white dove means “peace”. A black dove means “war”. It could also pertain to matters of the heart, relationships, luck, misfortune, death, Remember the emissary bird in the biblical Noah's Ark? With the breakthrough in cybercommunication, it is evident that soon we will be communicating with Nature more directly, over and above fantasy and imagination. Which leads to conscientization, in the pursuit of values, truth and the ideal in protecting Nature." - AV Rotor, Cryptobiology and Conscientization 
A pair of lovely parrots perched up high,
higher than the flight of butterfly;aimlessly below many a passerbyjust let the world go with a sigh.
Orchids:white, delicate, immaculate, pure;red, flaming, romantic, demure;Orchids:flowing, silky, translucent, queenly;fiery, ascendant, stout, kingly.
Orchids:
endearing, fancy, coy, culpable;
ephemeral, magical, lovable.
* Verse and drawing in pastel by Anna Christina, author's daughter, an enthusiast in the arts, assisted in conducting summer art workshops for children during her student days. Cattleya, Dendrobium and Vanda are native orchids in the Philippines. These are representative images of Vanda and its variants, including Vanda merrillii var. rotorii, named after Dr Arturo B Rotor in his honor as an orchid hobbyist.
"Today, rather than defending himself against nature,
man realized, he needed to defend nature against himself."
- AV Rotor, Light from the Old Arch
Forest: Man's First home, Genesis' Final View
Richest in flora and fauna of all biomes,Big and small, in a common union,Arranged in niches, divided by storeys,In competition and cooperation.Heritage trees rise through the canopy,Living towers of the forest;Divine columns of Nature's Parthenon,Cradle of harmony and rest.Stories about the forest, queer but true,Seat of evolution, of biodiversity,Ultimate of adventure, science laboratory,Man's first home, Genesis' final view.
Message of the Painting, A Little Corner of Eden
"Quite often, images of nature enrapture us. These are reminiscences of childhood, a re-creation of a favorite spot we may have visited or seen, or products of the imagination greatly influenced by society we live in.
But the painting reflects a deep-seated biological longing to be part of nature. Putting it in the biblical sense, it is a natural searching for the lost paradise. The scenery represents a refuge from city living, a respite, and an escape from the daily grind.
But the scenery does not only tell us of what we are missing. Rather, it reminds us of what we are going to miss, perhaps forever, if we do not heed nature's signal towards a fast declining ecosystem. If we do not change our way of life from too much dependence on consumerism, to one more closely linked to conservation of nature, we may end up building memories and future archives of a lost world. " - AV Rotor
But the painting reflects a deep-seated biological longing to be part of nature. Putting it in the biblical sense, it is a natural searching for the lost paradise. The scenery represents a refuge from city living, a respite, and an escape from the daily grind.
But the scenery does not only tell us of what we are missing. Rather, it reminds us of what we are going to miss, perhaps forever, if we do not heed nature's signal towards a fast declining ecosystem. If we do not change our way of life from too much dependence on consumerism, to one more closely linked to conservation of nature, we may end up building memories and future archives of a lost world. " - AV Rotor
A Little Corner of Eden
If I were to return after the FallTo where my forebears once lived;If I were to trace back their footstepsTo their world of make believe.What would I tell to my dear CreatorWhose open arms have waited so longFor man to return, to repent for his Sin -And I, having also failed all along?I would tell Him there is also a place,A little green corner of grass and trees,Of bees and flowers, rainbow and butterflies,Where birds come and sing with the breeze.An emerald river gently flowing,Meandering between hills and on the plain,Palms and trees bowing at its levees,Its waters soothing the day's pain.I would tell Him of this place also forgotten,Abandoned by a bandwagon,By those who nurture the Utopian dream,Now orphaned and virtually alone.Is forgetfulness also Your tool of creationWhere man shall be gone from here on?Paradise is redeemed and once more born?No wonder Nature triumphs when left alone.~
6. "I cannot feel." - Computer
Teaching is an art. It is an art of the masters - Aristotle, Plato, Christ, and many great teachers of the Renaissance that brought the world out of the Dark Ages. While we have developed modern techniques in teaching, it is important to look back into the past.
Dr Abe V Rotor
Socrates, father of Philosophy, on his deathbed. He was condemned to die by drinking hemlock, a poison, for corrupting the minds of the youth. The Lamp of Knowledge
It is looking back at the lamp that enabled our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, to write his last masterpiece, the lamp Florence Nightingale held over her patients at the warfront, the lamp that made Scheherazade’s “one thousand and one nights” stories, the lamp a Greek philosopher held high at daylight “searching for an honest man.” Or the lamp fireflies make and glow with the spirit of joy and adventure to a child.
But why do we look back and ponder on a tiny light when the world basks in the sunshine of progress and development, of huge networks of learning, of high technologies in practically all fields of endeavor? I’ll tell you why – and why we teachers must.
But first let me tell a story of a computer enthusiast, who like the modern student today relies greatly on this electronic gadget, doing his school work so conveniently like downloading data for his assignment. So one day he worked on his assigned topic – love.
He printed the word and set the computer to define for him L-O-V-E. Pronto the computer came up with a hundred definitions and in different languages. Remembering his teacher’s instruction to ask, “How does it feel to be in love?” again he set the computer to respond. And you know what?
After several attempts, the computer printed on its screen in big letters, “I can not feel.”
Where is that main ingredient of human relations – feeling – today?
• Where is the true feeling between teacher and student?
• Where is the feeling of joy at the end of a teaching day, in spite of how hard the day had been?
• Where is that tingling feeling of the student for having recited well in class?
• Where is that feeling in singing the National Anthem, the school hymn?
• Where is that feeling Rizal felt when a moth circled the lamp in his prison cell while he wrote, Mi Ultimo Adios?
• Where is that burning desire that drove Michaelangelo to finish single-handedly the huge murals of the Sistine Chapel?
• That drove Vincent Van Gogh to madness – madness the world learned a new movement in the art – expressionism - years after?
• That kept Florence Nightingale, the founder of the nursing profession, make her rounds in the hospital in the wee hours of the morning?
• The lamp that strengthened Plato’s resolve to change the way people should think in the light of truth and justice.
Feeling. There is a song Feelin, and the lyrics ask a lot of questions about human nature changing with the times. I do not think human nature has changed. It is as stable as Nature herself and the natural laws that govern the universe.
What we are saying is that our ways are changing. The conformity of our actions is more with the rules we set rather than the philosophies on which they are founded. It is our quest for want above our needs that has blinded us and benumbed our feelings, that has taken us to the so-called fast lane so that we no longer see objects as they are, but abstracts, that has made us half-humans in the sense that we spend half of our lives dealing with machines – who have no feelings.
What then is modern man? I am afraid we have to review some of our references on the Janus-like character of man, like -
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• The Prince and the Pauper
• The Princess and the Frog
• The movies - Mask, Superman, Batman, Spiderman
• Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter
• Cartoons and animated movies
The doubling of characters in man has led him away from permanence. Today, the biggest crisis in man is his impermanence. Impermanence in his domicile, nay, his nationality, political party. Affiliation in business and social organizations, and most disturbingly, with his marriage and family.
When was the last time we said to ourselves – or experienced - the following.
• It’s a weekday for my family and nothing else.
• How I wish I can help my child of his math assignment.
• I’ll teach only this year and will find a more rewarding job after.
• I think it’s time to settle down.
• I want to go to a concert and enjoy the fine art of music.
• Can’t I put all my ideas in a book?
• It’s always meeting – can’t we just talk?
• This dizziness, it must be the pressure of my work.
• Maybe I can concentrate on my thesis this time.
• I have not finished reading “Da Vinci Code”.
• This summer I’ll be with my parents.
Here are ways by which we can brighten up our lamp amidst the factors that test our dedication of our profession as teachers.
1. Be yourself. Be natural.
2. Keep on learning
3. Be a model of your family and community
4. Relax
5. Use you faculties fully and wisely
Be Natural
Naturalness is a key to teaching. I saw a film, Natural with then young award-winning Robert Redford as the principal actor. It is a story of a baseball player who became famous. The central theme of his success is his naturalness. Naturalness in pitching, batting - in the sport itself, above all, in his relationship with his team and fans.
Our students can easily sense our sincerity. They shun from us if we are not. They cannot fully express themselves, unless we show our genuine love and care for them. Develop that aura that attracts them, that keeps relationship easy to adapt or adjust.
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“Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.”
- John Cotton Dana
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Be a Model
Florence Nightingale Lady with the Lamp - founder of the nursing profession
A teacher must have more time for himself and for his family. Teaching is an extension of family life. And this is the primordial stimulus that makes your family a model family and you as a model teacher – because you cause the light of the lamp to radiate to others. And it is not only the school that you bring in the light. It is the community because you are also lighting the lamp of others, including the tiny glow in your young students. When they get home, when they interact with their community in whatever capacity they can, even only among their playmates, relatives and neighbors, they are in effect sharing that light which is also the light of understanding and unity.
Relax
Great achievements are usually products of relaxed minds. Relaxation allows the incubation of thoughts and ideas. Churchill found time to paint during the Second World War. In his relaxed mind he made great decisions that saved
Use Your Faculties Fully and Wisely
Our brain is made up of the left hemisphere, the thinking and reasoning part, and the right hemisphere, the seat of creativity and imagination. Together they reveal an enormous capacity of intelligence, which are pictured in eight realms. These are
1. Logic
2. Languages
3. Music
4. Spatial
5. Interpersonal
6. Intrapersonal
7. Kinesthetics
8. Naturalism
From these realms the teacher draws out his best qualities. He explores, decides, adapts, entertains, leads, and stands courageously to lead the young.
Here he sows the seed of knowledge. And in the young the seed grows, and grows, which the educator Henry Adams expresses in this line.
“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”
6.
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