The Kingdom below
(c) Roberto Isaza
Love
My Most Important Value
Journal Entry # 1
September 26, 1999
This is an essay on my most important value. A value is generally seen as a guide to action, as something intrinsically valuable or desirable. We learn that values are generally classified as either Theoretical or Practical. A Practical value is one that concerns a person’s beliefs, ideas, or preferences. This essay will take a critical look at my most practical value.
My most practical value is my belief in love. You could say, “Oh, sure. He is a romantic, a dreamer. The world is not at all like that.” You are right and wrong. I know that the world is not governed by love. The number one ruler is power. However, power dies and leaves nothing, while love keeps living and giving. Still, I am a firm believer in the basic goodness of people. While I sit here, typing out my first essay for the Language, Thought, and Critical Analysis seminar, my sons are peacefully sleeping in their bedroom. Yesterday, I bought my oldest son, Jordan (7), a bicycle, and his brother, Gabriel (5), a scooter at a garage sale. Edith, my wife, was getting tired of me saying, “Did you see the bikes? I feel happy with what I bought”. However, it was true. How can an act so simple as doing something to give joy to others give joy to oneself? This is the basis of love.
Love is what makes things grow and worlds prosper. Today, Sunday, we had a most invigorating day. After fixing the scooter and the bike, adjusting what had to be adjusted, oiling the bikes so they would run smoothly, and fixing flats, we went outside to practice riding. The bike is a little big for Jordan, so he has to learn again. He is joyful about it, quite different from the Jordan who was learning to ride on two wheels and kept saying that he couldn’t. Children are complex. Love is the only way that little ego-centrists can learn to give, to live, to strive. On the other hand, Gabriel’s personality is so different from his brother’s: so joyous in everything he does. It is easy to understand love when one looks into such innocent eyes. Love is an unconditional flower that needs to be nourished to keep it alive.
My wife, Edith, is a remarkable woman. We have been together for eight years. She studies at College of Staten Island. Although English is not her first language, she has a pretty good dominion of it. I help her with her homework and essays, but she has to put up with my clowning. She is my best friend. Love is what brings two people together and keeps them in a commitment to nurture a family of new loving people.
Love is what brought knowledge to the world and hope to the hearts of people.
-It is dedication, love, and the need to help others understand and love that which we love.
-It is the need to share what we are and think without losing an atom of our knowledge. Many people forget that we are all potential teachers and that there is a solid reason why our paths cross. Every situation we come across is a lesson if we care to examine it closely.
The five most important qualities expected in a good teacher:
-Love for the subject.
-Love and faith in the students.
-Self-respect and respect for the students. This covers punctuality, choice of materials and such.
-The passion to make this knowledge virulent, so that students can be infected with the itch to learn, explore, grow, then pass on this knowledge.
-Understanding, so that there is an effective transmission of the information.
One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child. (Carl Jung (1875-1961), Swiss psychiatrist. The Gifted Child (1943; repr. in Collected Works, vol. 17, para. 249, ed. by William McGuire, 1954).)
I swear . . . to hold my teacher in this art equal to my own parents; to make him partner in my livelihood; when he is in need of money to share mine with him; to consider his family as my own brothers and to teach them this art, if they want to learn it, without fee or indenture.
(Hippocrates (c. 460-c. 370 BC), Greek physician. The Hippocratic Oath.) Hippocrates is showing what respect we should have for our teachers. Now, considering that we all are teachers to one another, if we took the Hippocratic Oath we would have the solution for the hatred ravaging our planet. The oath of the teacher must be so much more so. To give impartially and freely and the best of our knowledge accurately and without withholding information in fear of being bettered by the student. In fact part of the teacher’s hopes should be to be bested by his pupils.
The term love covers all moral values and the absence of it covers the world’s wrongs. Sometimes, people will confuse love for lust. And it has cost humanity dearly. The “love” for power and money is nothing but lust for a temporary luxury that no one will take hereafter. It can only harm a spirit, making it weak and inhuman. Throughout history, many people have shown what the absence of love can do. Julius Caesar fed the idea of Rome, a monster not even he would survive. The empire was fed at the cost of thousands of lives, hundreds of betrayals. Caesar wanted his idea to be immortal. Well, that Rome is long gone, so his raw power was just an exercise in the folly of the ego. Adolph Hitler wanted to cleanse the Aryan race from any impurities. To call any human being an impurity to the race, reveals a heartless ego. The absence of love can do that. The mistaking lust for love can do that.
To fill a well, people must all put water in it. The same happens with love. People want to get it, feel it, take it, not realizing what it is, nor that giving is the best way of receiving. The problem with society: broken homes, and in general, people’s indifference to others who do not belong to a select group--is that most people are seeking to receive without thinking of giving. I, like others, believe that this is not the only possibility for the human condition. Someday we will all see the folly of this world that we live in, and of our lives striving for riches we will never attain, or if we did, how short lived power is. Then humanity will advance in leaps and bounds toward attaining the spiritual growth that can be the only reason for us to be here.
Love is sometimes called God. Well, Love is another of God’s names. The fire that molded this planet, everything within and without it is love. The elemental magic that has brought us together today is Love. Of course, it takes one close to a lifetime to realize that the reality of the trip that our spirit is taking in this material world is to learn to love, to be part of love, to grow. To live is not a grind, nor a coincidence, nor a cruel experiment by a god who has forgotten us. To live is a privilege. To believe less is a waste of a soul; yet, that choice is a freedom that we all have.
To live without love is the most unfortunate misfortune that can befall a rational being. To live within love is the best fortune. What is funny about it is that to live either way is our choice.
My most practical value is my belief in love. You could say, “Oh, sure. He is a romantic, a dreamer. The world is not at all like that.” You are right and wrong. I know that the world is not governed by love. The number one ruler is power. However, power dies and leaves nothing, while love keeps living and giving. Still, I am a firm believer in the basic goodness of people. While I sit here, typing out my first essay for the Language, Thought, and Critical Analysis seminar, my sons are peacefully sleeping in their bedroom. Yesterday, I bought my oldest son, Jordan (7), a bicycle, and his brother, Gabriel (5), a scooter at a garage sale. Edith, my wife, was getting tired of me saying, “Did you see the bikes? I feel happy with what I bought”. However, it was true. How can an act so simple as doing something to give joy to others give joy to oneself? This is the basis of love.
Love is what makes things grow and worlds prosper. Today, Sunday, we had a most invigorating day. After fixing the scooter and the bike, adjusting what had to be adjusted, oiling the bikes so they would run smoothly, and fixing flats, we went outside to practice riding. The bike is a little big for Jordan, so he has to learn again. He is joyful about it, quite different from the Jordan who was learning to ride on two wheels and kept saying that he couldn’t. Children are complex. Love is the only way that little ego-centrists can learn to give, to live, to strive. On the other hand, Gabriel’s personality is so different from his brother’s: so joyous in everything he does. It is easy to understand love when one looks into such innocent eyes. Love is an unconditional flower that needs to be nourished to keep it alive.
My wife, Edith, is a remarkable woman. We have been together for eight years. She studies at College of Staten Island. Although English is not her first language, she has a pretty good dominion of it. I help her with her homework and essays, but she has to put up with my clowning. She is my best friend. Love is what brings two people together and keeps them in a commitment to nurture a family of new loving people.
Love is what brought knowledge to the world and hope to the hearts of people.
What is it to be a teacher?
To be a teacher is more than to know a subject. To teach, one must love the subject and those who come seeking this knowledge.-It is dedication, love, and the need to help others understand and love that which we love.
-It is the need to share what we are and think without losing an atom of our knowledge. Many people forget that we are all potential teachers and that there is a solid reason why our paths cross. Every situation we come across is a lesson if we care to examine it closely.
The five most important qualities expected in a good teacher:
-Love for the subject.
-Love and faith in the students.
-Self-respect and respect for the students. This covers punctuality, choice of materials and such.
-The passion to make this knowledge virulent, so that students can be infected with the itch to learn, explore, grow, then pass on this knowledge.
-Understanding, so that there is an effective transmission of the information.
One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child. (Carl Jung (1875-1961), Swiss psychiatrist. The Gifted Child (1943; repr. in Collected Works, vol. 17, para. 249, ed. by William McGuire, 1954).)
I swear . . . to hold my teacher in this art equal to my own parents; to make him partner in my livelihood; when he is in need of money to share mine with him; to consider his family as my own brothers and to teach them this art, if they want to learn it, without fee or indenture.
(Hippocrates (c. 460-c. 370 BC), Greek physician. The Hippocratic Oath.) Hippocrates is showing what respect we should have for our teachers. Now, considering that we all are teachers to one another, if we took the Hippocratic Oath we would have the solution for the hatred ravaging our planet. The oath of the teacher must be so much more so. To give impartially and freely and the best of our knowledge accurately and without withholding information in fear of being bettered by the student. In fact part of the teacher’s hopes should be to be bested by his pupils.
The term love covers all moral values and the absence of it covers the world’s wrongs. Sometimes, people will confuse love for lust. And it has cost humanity dearly. The “love” for power and money is nothing but lust for a temporary luxury that no one will take hereafter. It can only harm a spirit, making it weak and inhuman. Throughout history, many people have shown what the absence of love can do. Julius Caesar fed the idea of Rome, a monster not even he would survive. The empire was fed at the cost of thousands of lives, hundreds of betrayals. Caesar wanted his idea to be immortal. Well, that Rome is long gone, so his raw power was just an exercise in the folly of the ego. Adolph Hitler wanted to cleanse the Aryan race from any impurities. To call any human being an impurity to the race, reveals a heartless ego. The absence of love can do that. The mistaking lust for love can do that.
To fill a well, people must all put water in it. The same happens with love. People want to get it, feel it, take it, not realizing what it is, nor that giving is the best way of receiving. The problem with society: broken homes, and in general, people’s indifference to others who do not belong to a select group--is that most people are seeking to receive without thinking of giving. I, like others, believe that this is not the only possibility for the human condition. Someday we will all see the folly of this world that we live in, and of our lives striving for riches we will never attain, or if we did, how short lived power is. Then humanity will advance in leaps and bounds toward attaining the spiritual growth that can be the only reason for us to be here.
Love is sometimes called God. Well, Love is another of God’s names. The fire that molded this planet, everything within and without it is love. The elemental magic that has brought us together today is Love. Of course, it takes one close to a lifetime to realize that the reality of the trip that our spirit is taking in this material world is to learn to love, to be part of love, to grow. To live is not a grind, nor a coincidence, nor a cruel experiment by a god who has forgotten us. To live is a privilege. To believe less is a waste of a soul; yet, that choice is a freedom that we all have.
To live without love is the most unfortunate misfortune that can befall a rational being. To live within love is the best fortune. What is funny about it is that to live either way is our choice.
posted by Rob @ 12:06 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I love to teach.
Your 5 important qualities of a good teacher are essential. However, like everything in life, there is an opposite, yet integral side: Learning.
I wonder: What are the important qualities of a good student?
For every yin, there must be a yang.
I'd say that of the primordial qualities of a student is to have an open, receptive mind and be genuine in the desire to learn. Should be willing to spend more time besides the time spent in tuition to understand more of the subject. In my experience as a teacher I feel that it is better to be a great student and have a lousy teacher than to have a great teacher and be a lousy student. But to have a great teacher and be a good student improves the odds so much. Of course, Henry, I am stating the obvious, but again, when I was taking Diving lessons in theory class we were asked to state in one word what we thought a mediocre instructor could be for a pupil. Most of my classmates said bad, wasteful, and so on, I said fatal. I was lucky that our instructor covered so many possible "accident" scenarios both in theory and practice that we were prepared for almost anything ... of course, there is always the unexpected.
Hey Rob:
What a beautiful, thought provoking post.
To me, love also has to do with creativity and growth. My b/f has a few houseplants he keeps in the bathroom away from the cat. Most of them seemed scrawny to me at first, but over time, esp this spring, they have been growing like crazy. With the right elements in place--sun, water, some gro-sticks, and tending to by someone who cares to help them develop, these little beings give me pleasure and joy. And yes, I love them and I feel a kind of oneness with them, and dare I say it, love from them as well.
Just a micro-example. Anyway, about teaching. There's a great self help book I'm re-re-reading called "The Positive Thinker's Ten Commandments." In the very beginning of the book, Alice Potter, the author, says: "For years I've heard that if you want to learn, know, or understand something, you must teach it." That's a little out of context, because I don't know if it's cool to quote further. But to me, teaching seems like a great gift.
My dad taught me how to read before I learned in school. As a result, even though I wasn't popular in grade school, I was always the "best reader in the class." I'm sure this head start helped me become a writer later in life. So the gift has stayed with me and grown through all these years. Perhaps at some point I will volunteer to tutor kids to give back some of what I was given.
Thank ya bunches for gracing my post. I love plants, as a matter of fact my house and office have many so much so that they call my office Family Court's jungle ... I guess, Hey, Hey we're the monkeys. It just takes commitment to have so much green alive and thriving. To me it is more important for a place to have plants than any other decorations and was not subtle at all when I told my friend who had just spent 5k on an exclusive interior decorator, that her place lacked life ... no plants. As to teaching, I love Leo Buscaglia's books on the teaching, the learning process, and the loving need. Straight out of high school, I worked for an advetising firm in Bogota, Colombia. (no money for college). Had a work accident with no insurance, and had an epiphany. I needed to do something positive with my life, something that could help others, not telling them that they were not men if they didn't have a full head of hair, white teeth, thin body, creamy complexion. In 1979, at 18, I found a job at an ESL (english as a second language) school and as I studied grammar rules to be able to teach, I learned so much about human nature. I fell in love with teaching, drunk with the congratulations of friends and thanks from my students. I have been teaching ESL ever since. I am still in touch with students I had 15+ years ago. I feel a sense of accomplishment in having been able to impact their lives in a positive way.
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