Ask any person and they’ll tell you five. The average individual has five fairly functional senses. While I am not going to dispute this statement, I’ve come to realize that for all these years, I’ve skirted by on two. This is not to sound ungrateful for my ability to see the finish line before me, to take note of the inflection in my favorite country song, to feel the shoulder of the person next to me beneath my hand, to smell the sweet fragrance of gingersnaps and goodness knows I do not take for granted my ability to taste them. However, since I have been here, I have become acutely aware of my “handicap” and consequential hindered ability to interpret my surroundings.
I knew it all along, but perhaps could not completely understand the extent to which I relied on the sense of human touch, and the sense of emotive expression until they were in short supply. There are few things that can parallel being wrapped up within the personal space between someone’s two arms. It is such a perfectly genuine expression of love. Not that this place isn’t full of love, but to feel comfortable enough to invade another’s boundary of security, and to let them in turn break through yours requires a mutual sense of love and trust that I think I have yet to find. These things take time. Relationships don’t just happen, but require cultivation and devotion. Creating a comfort zone demands an extensive amount of patience and discomfort. Of all the things that I miss here, being deprived of the human touch that came so abundantly and naturally at home is perhaps what I crave the most. Being able to hug someone because it’s the only way you know how to show them how beautiful they are….not having to think twice about a cultural taboo before or after shaking someone’s hand…..not having to determine whether someone else’s touch is inseparable from some ulterior motive….deriving strength from the blatant defiance of all biological principles – an immediate transference no simpler than through a point of contact….
And at those moments of pure vulnerability, or even ecstasy, I know no other outlet than through my emotions. However, Chuukese culture does not find the same gratification in the expression of emotion. That is not to say stoicism is the norm, as they are very animated, but when it comes to the manifestation of grief, or joy, I feel as though there is a discrepancy between they way they experience the world, and the extremes through which I have been accustomed to absorbing life. Thus, I often find myself suppressing tears, hiding stares of amazement, or stifling outbursts of excitement. I know that in time, I will find a medium through which to release all that is pent up within, but to be honest, I don’t want to compromise.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Life is the Only Wealth
The question was “What do YOU THINK is meant by the phrase Apollo says to Midas Life is the only wealth? What values would make you wealthy?”
The one response that stood out from the rest…..
In the story, Apollo told Midas that life is the only wealth, meaning there is nothing greater or more wonderful than life itself. You don’t need gold or riches to have a great life, for life itself is the only wealth. You can find your own wealth, riches and treasures in the life that you live every-day. In the story, Midas considered gold as his only wealth. To him, having a lot of gold made him wealthy. He didn’t know that his life was a wealth. Without life, he was nothing. His life is what made him rich and wealthy. Midas thought that gold should only be given to the rich and important people.
When I read the story of “Midas” and finished, I knew that I had really learned something valuable. It is true that life itself is the only wealth. To some other people, they might value and consider other things as their wealth in life. To me, my life was a gift given to me by God and what I do with my life is my gift to God. At this age, I might consider other things as my wealth in life, but so far I only have one thing that I consider as my most greatest wealth in life. That wealth is God. To me, knowing God and knowing that he died to save me is like having all the riches in the world. To me I don’t need gold or riches to keep me full of gold and an empty heart is nothing but a worthless life. We should all know that we were brought into this world with a purpose. We each have our lives to live to the fullest. We have to make use of the short time that we are given to live our lives. Accomplish all that we need to accomplish in life and know that life is a gift and a wealth that can only been seen as it if you look at it as a gift from above. Put God first in your life. Let him show you the way. And in that way, you can see that life is the only wealth in just a blink of an eye.
~Teresita Laarwon
My response….
Teresita ~ you are wise beyond your years. What you have so beautifully written about at the age of 15, most people don’t learn in a lifetime. You have a very special gift. I look at you and all I see is “wealth”… and because you are so filled with His wealth, you in turn make others “wealthy” by showing them His face…. “The Kingdom of God is within YOU”… This was the best essay that I have read. AWESOME doesn’t begin to describe it. I hope you continue to write with this passion and I hope you don’t mind if I share it with the class….
I wish that I could take credit….I wish I could say that I spent a whole lesson on teaching my freshman how life is truly the only wealth and that these words are the combined result of my articulate presentation and their captivated absorption. However, their thoughts and ideas come from none other than their mature interpretation. I simply extracted one line of a Greek myth and posed the question. What this girl has so beautifully articulated at the age of 15, some people never learn, never appreciate and never devote themselves to discovering, or reciprocating. These kids are amazing. There is so much beauty, so much talent and so much life within them. Whether it is a passion for life, an incredible aptitude for music or a magnetic personality, they are so filled with an abundance of gifts. Where do I fit in the process of reciprocity?
The one response that stood out from the rest…..
In the story, Apollo told Midas that life is the only wealth, meaning there is nothing greater or more wonderful than life itself. You don’t need gold or riches to have a great life, for life itself is the only wealth. You can find your own wealth, riches and treasures in the life that you live every-day. In the story, Midas considered gold as his only wealth. To him, having a lot of gold made him wealthy. He didn’t know that his life was a wealth. Without life, he was nothing. His life is what made him rich and wealthy. Midas thought that gold should only be given to the rich and important people.
When I read the story of “Midas” and finished, I knew that I had really learned something valuable. It is true that life itself is the only wealth. To some other people, they might value and consider other things as their wealth in life. To me, my life was a gift given to me by God and what I do with my life is my gift to God. At this age, I might consider other things as my wealth in life, but so far I only have one thing that I consider as my most greatest wealth in life. That wealth is God. To me, knowing God and knowing that he died to save me is like having all the riches in the world. To me I don’t need gold or riches to keep me full of gold and an empty heart is nothing but a worthless life. We should all know that we were brought into this world with a purpose. We each have our lives to live to the fullest. We have to make use of the short time that we are given to live our lives. Accomplish all that we need to accomplish in life and know that life is a gift and a wealth that can only been seen as it if you look at it as a gift from above. Put God first in your life. Let him show you the way. And in that way, you can see that life is the only wealth in just a blink of an eye.
~Teresita Laarwon
My response….
Teresita ~ you are wise beyond your years. What you have so beautifully written about at the age of 15, most people don’t learn in a lifetime. You have a very special gift. I look at you and all I see is “wealth”… and because you are so filled with His wealth, you in turn make others “wealthy” by showing them His face…. “The Kingdom of God is within YOU”… This was the best essay that I have read. AWESOME doesn’t begin to describe it. I hope you continue to write with this passion and I hope you don’t mind if I share it with the class….
I wish that I could take credit….I wish I could say that I spent a whole lesson on teaching my freshman how life is truly the only wealth and that these words are the combined result of my articulate presentation and their captivated absorption. However, their thoughts and ideas come from none other than their mature interpretation. I simply extracted one line of a Greek myth and posed the question. What this girl has so beautifully articulated at the age of 15, some people never learn, never appreciate and never devote themselves to discovering, or reciprocating. These kids are amazing. There is so much beauty, so much talent and so much life within them. Whether it is a passion for life, an incredible aptitude for music or a magnetic personality, they are so filled with an abundance of gifts. Where do I fit in the process of reciprocity?
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Was Prometheus Right or Wrong?
With week #3 of teaching well underway, I am gradually learning what this teaching this is all about. I’m definitely making many mistakes along the way, but learning from them has helped me in navigating this new “profession.” It still amazes me that Xavier High School is one of the most prestigious high schools in Micronesia, yet it simply could not function if not for the volunteer teachers. Whether from JVI, the Jesuit community, an Australian exchange program or the Japanese Peace Corps, very few of us are actually qualified to teach - yet we are all willing to take on this responsibility of being entrusted with the education of Micronesia’s best and brightest future leaders.
The adage “You don’t know how tall you truly are until you are called to rise” has taken on new meaning for me. I was quite uncertain about how I would fare as a literature teacher, though teaching has since evolved from a job into this idea of a challenge or puzzle that I, if I am willing, get to figure out a little bit more of every day.
My latest task started out as a simple lesson plan – something to push the sophomores to think outside the box. “Does innocence/ignorance equal happiness….?” A simple question. The lesson revolves around a discussion of Pandora’s Box – remember the story? So picture for me what YOU think the world was like before Prometheus gave humans fire…(I know it is a rudimentary lesson for a sophomore class, but hear me out) The story the students read talked about how “races of man had been living on earth free from all evils, and free from laborious work and free from all wearing sickness.” The poem does not provide many details, so close your eyes, and fill in the gaps. What do you envision this “Golden Age” to be like? What do people do? How do they interact? You paint the picture. Remember this.
So Prometheus thinks the world needs the fire Zeus is hiding, and decides to steal it in order to give it to humans. The punishment – a woman destined to release every evil imaginable into the “pristine” bubble in which mankind had been sheltered. The result - the world we live in today – filled with hate, death, greed, arrogance, poverty, sickness, war…..you get the point? Was Prometheus right or wrong in giving man fire?
Alright so everything that I’ve just said – shelve it for the time being.
What this version of Pandora’s box does not relate is the following:
“One day Prometheus looked down upon the earth and did not like what he saw. Men and women crouched in dark caves, cold, almost naked. They used tools chipped out of stone and ate their meat raw. They were dulled, brutish, speaking to each other in grunts. Prometheus went to Zeus and said:
‘Why do you keep the race of man in ignorance and darkness?’
‘What you call ignorance is innocence. Man is happy now, and will remain happy until someone persuades him he is unhappy. Do not meddle further with my designs.’ said Zeus…
But Prometheus was still not satisfied. The next morning he stood tiptoe on the mountaintop and stole some fire from the sunrise. Zeus looking down later could not believe what he saw. Everything was changed. Man had come out of his cave. Zeus saw huts, farmhouses, walled towns, a castle. He saw men cooking their food, carrying torches to light their way at night. They were raising white wings of sails and daring to use the fury of the winds for their voyages.”
Does this change your handcrafted picture of a Golden Age? So I ask you, does innocence/ignorance equal happiness? Does not knowing what might be…not knowing that there are greater things out there allow you to be happy with the moment you are in? Is the splendor of the moment we are in worth all of the evils Pandora unleashed on the world? One could argue that Prometheus didn’t just give us the tangible gift of fire, but fire in a metaphorical sense – a desire to work towards something – a PASSION, a spark between people. Was Prometheus right or wrong in giving us fire?
If you have read this far, I promise I’ll get to a point!!! I realize that your education level is far beyond that of a tenth grader, however this idea – a question merely posed to provoke discussion has far greater implications that even the wisest have yet to figure out.
This question is something that is becoming a greater struggle for me with each passing day. I have realized that this question is not something simply to be asked of fictitious mythical characters, but asked of my purpose here.
This question first started to rear its controversial head when wrestling with my own tendencies to push and to challenge my students, or my athletes (I am the ladies basketball coach here!!). Unlike the more individualistic values propagated by the American culture, being part of a community entails a strong desire to blend in. These kids have so much potential, so much beauty and talent if they would only devote the time and effort needed to allow them to blossom….. But they do not want to stand out amidst their peers – something I cannot fathom. I keep having to remind myself of this cultural incongruity. Am I really here to change their way of life and who they are? I think it would be utterly presumptuous to think I am. But do they find happiness in their innocence? Are they content with who they are, never catching a glimpse of even the shadow they could be with a little fire? At what point does my role as an educator and coach overstep my boundaries? Was Prometheus right or wrong in giving us fire?
My cogitation did not end there as I began to reflect not just on my job here, but on my purpose in being here at all. I often find myself complaining to the wind, “ ‘Wouldn’t it just be easier if they paved their pothole riddled roads so that it wouldn’t take longer to run than it does to drive?’ or ‘Wouldn’t it just be more comfortable if the power would stay on all the time instead of flickering on and off at whim?’ or ‘Wouldn’t it just be easier to invest in a better quality copier so that it doesn’t take an hour to make 40 double sided copies?’” Such is my mentality because I come from a place where dirt roads are only for those adventurous enough to take their SUV’s off-roading, where we really only notice our reliance on power during a thunderstorm, and where people xerox body parts for entertainment. I come from a place where bigger, better, and faster is the normal course of human progression. Perhaps the Chuukese are perfectly content with the way things are here because they have no conception of what else is out there. They are content in their innocence, and who am I to think that it is my assignment to corrupt that? Am I here with the intent of changing their lifestyle for the better because I know a better way? I think it would be utterly presumptuous to think that I am. Under my regime, children playing in the streets would be injured daily because of cars driving too fast, uninhibited by natural speed “bumps,” and schools and businesses would not have enough money to operate because the combination of the electricity bill the paper/toner bill would drain the account each month. Is growth, expansion and development worth the evils released on the world? Was Prometheus right or wrong in giving us fire?
The adage “You don’t know how tall you truly are until you are called to rise” has taken on new meaning for me. I was quite uncertain about how I would fare as a literature teacher, though teaching has since evolved from a job into this idea of a challenge or puzzle that I, if I am willing, get to figure out a little bit more of every day.
My latest task started out as a simple lesson plan – something to push the sophomores to think outside the box. “Does innocence/ignorance equal happiness….?” A simple question. The lesson revolves around a discussion of Pandora’s Box – remember the story? So picture for me what YOU think the world was like before Prometheus gave humans fire…(I know it is a rudimentary lesson for a sophomore class, but hear me out) The story the students read talked about how “races of man had been living on earth free from all evils, and free from laborious work and free from all wearing sickness.” The poem does not provide many details, so close your eyes, and fill in the gaps. What do you envision this “Golden Age” to be like? What do people do? How do they interact? You paint the picture. Remember this.
So Prometheus thinks the world needs the fire Zeus is hiding, and decides to steal it in order to give it to humans. The punishment – a woman destined to release every evil imaginable into the “pristine” bubble in which mankind had been sheltered. The result - the world we live in today – filled with hate, death, greed, arrogance, poverty, sickness, war…..you get the point? Was Prometheus right or wrong in giving man fire?
Alright so everything that I’ve just said – shelve it for the time being.
What this version of Pandora’s box does not relate is the following:
“One day Prometheus looked down upon the earth and did not like what he saw. Men and women crouched in dark caves, cold, almost naked. They used tools chipped out of stone and ate their meat raw. They were dulled, brutish, speaking to each other in grunts. Prometheus went to Zeus and said:
‘Why do you keep the race of man in ignorance and darkness?’
‘What you call ignorance is innocence. Man is happy now, and will remain happy until someone persuades him he is unhappy. Do not meddle further with my designs.’ said Zeus…
But Prometheus was still not satisfied. The next morning he stood tiptoe on the mountaintop and stole some fire from the sunrise. Zeus looking down later could not believe what he saw. Everything was changed. Man had come out of his cave. Zeus saw huts, farmhouses, walled towns, a castle. He saw men cooking their food, carrying torches to light their way at night. They were raising white wings of sails and daring to use the fury of the winds for their voyages.”
Does this change your handcrafted picture of a Golden Age? So I ask you, does innocence/ignorance equal happiness? Does not knowing what might be…not knowing that there are greater things out there allow you to be happy with the moment you are in? Is the splendor of the moment we are in worth all of the evils Pandora unleashed on the world? One could argue that Prometheus didn’t just give us the tangible gift of fire, but fire in a metaphorical sense – a desire to work towards something – a PASSION, a spark between people. Was Prometheus right or wrong in giving us fire?
If you have read this far, I promise I’ll get to a point!!! I realize that your education level is far beyond that of a tenth grader, however this idea – a question merely posed to provoke discussion has far greater implications that even the wisest have yet to figure out.
This question is something that is becoming a greater struggle for me with each passing day. I have realized that this question is not something simply to be asked of fictitious mythical characters, but asked of my purpose here.
This question first started to rear its controversial head when wrestling with my own tendencies to push and to challenge my students, or my athletes (I am the ladies basketball coach here!!). Unlike the more individualistic values propagated by the American culture, being part of a community entails a strong desire to blend in. These kids have so much potential, so much beauty and talent if they would only devote the time and effort needed to allow them to blossom….. But they do not want to stand out amidst their peers – something I cannot fathom. I keep having to remind myself of this cultural incongruity. Am I really here to change their way of life and who they are? I think it would be utterly presumptuous to think I am. But do they find happiness in their innocence? Are they content with who they are, never catching a glimpse of even the shadow they could be with a little fire? At what point does my role as an educator and coach overstep my boundaries? Was Prometheus right or wrong in giving us fire?
My cogitation did not end there as I began to reflect not just on my job here, but on my purpose in being here at all. I often find myself complaining to the wind, “ ‘Wouldn’t it just be easier if they paved their pothole riddled roads so that it wouldn’t take longer to run than it does to drive?’ or ‘Wouldn’t it just be more comfortable if the power would stay on all the time instead of flickering on and off at whim?’ or ‘Wouldn’t it just be easier to invest in a better quality copier so that it doesn’t take an hour to make 40 double sided copies?’” Such is my mentality because I come from a place where dirt roads are only for those adventurous enough to take their SUV’s off-roading, where we really only notice our reliance on power during a thunderstorm, and where people xerox body parts for entertainment. I come from a place where bigger, better, and faster is the normal course of human progression. Perhaps the Chuukese are perfectly content with the way things are here because they have no conception of what else is out there. They are content in their innocence, and who am I to think that it is my assignment to corrupt that? Am I here with the intent of changing their lifestyle for the better because I know a better way? I think it would be utterly presumptuous to think that I am. Under my regime, children playing in the streets would be injured daily because of cars driving too fast, uninhibited by natural speed “bumps,” and schools and businesses would not have enough money to operate because the combination of the electricity bill the paper/toner bill would drain the account each month. Is growth, expansion and development worth the evils released on the world? Was Prometheus right or wrong in giving us fire?
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