A
brand new year 2018 has come and many welcomed it with fireworks, some waited
in family get-together, few in partying with friends and others in prayers. Now
a month is about to slip away stealthily. Before January leaves, it is worthwhile
to spend some time with her to unearth the hidden spark within oneself and
begin to fan into a flame till it becomes a beacon of light for oneself and
many people around.
Certain
past experiences exist clearly at the back of the mind, which could uplift or
weigh down someone. It includes successes and failures, sense of fulfillment
and regrets, joys and pains, trust and doubt, confidence and anxieties. Indeed the
reality of life is full of paradoxes. No wonder why, Hegel, a German thinker
and philosopher, in trying to understand the ‘Absolute Idea’ speaks of
Dialectic method, which holds a threefold method: thesis, anti-thesis and
synthesis. One could apply that, if success is the thesis, failure could be the
anti-thesis and the synthesis could be planning. Therefore, taking stock of all
the life’s experiences, with hope in the company of the ‘Present,’ a way
forward has to be effectively chalked out. In this way, a better visualization
of one’s gold is attained by planning and furthermore one could avoid the
attitude of half hazard effort.
Cars
run on patrol, while human beings progress in finding the reason or purpose for
the work. Inner motivations come alive with the awareness of ‘WHY of the act’.
Bernard Lonergan, a Canadian Theologian and Philosopher, believes that human
beings live in a ‘world mediated by meaning’. Thus, to search for ‘WHY of the
act’ in other words is to search for the meaning and not just for the sake of
accomplishing a task. To be responsible means to understand the ‘WHY of the act’,
and to neglect responsibility means to be hazy about the ‘WHY of the act’. Self-realization
and authentic self can be discovered by taking up responsibility as that of
‘Dasein’ and not ‘Das man’ who escapes risks and responsibility, according to
Heidegger, a German Philosopher.
Everyone
desires to be successful, but only a few are ready to bare the consequence.
For those who yearn for growth, do something unique that you have never done before.
Robert Frost says, “I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the
difference.” Take a road that is more challenging and tough to make a
difference in life. Some say give 100%, but that is not enough, be .001%
different from the ordinary individuals. In the path of growth, what counts is
not the result but the process and the effort. Make this year, 2018 a mile
stone in your life.
Daisinlung
Sebastian Kamsuan
