Thoughts and Non Thoughts

So I’m taking this Harvard course “ Lessons from Ebola:Preventing the Next Pandemic ” which is being offered free online. Was hoping to get insights from that outbreak in 2015. I’m midway through the course but already so many themes resonate. It was called a “caregiver’s disease” because many fatalities were health care workers. Initial response was focused on controlling the movement of people instead of clinical care. Beyond the need for medicines was the absence of basic health structures. The need to move away from a “disease only” paradigm to a holistic view. "A good everyday health care system is the best emergency response system." The cost of inaction (in lives and to the economy) is much higher than the cost of action (putting the infrastructure and health care capacity in place before you need it). Stories of ethical decisions, of health workers deciding between their own safety and caring for their patients in the absence of PPEs; deciding...

http://malacanang.gov.ph/8143-the-philippine-revolution-by-apolinario-mabini/ "When it is considered that Mr Aguinaldo was primarily answerable for insubordination against the head of the Katipunan of which he was a member... the motive for the assassination cannot be ascribed except to feelings and judgments which deeply dishonour the former; in any case, such a crime was the first victory of personal ambition over true patriotism... The death of Andres Bonifacio had plainly shown in Mr Aguinaldo a boundless appetite for power, and Luna’s personal enemies exploited this weakness of Aguinaldo with skillful intrigues in order to encompass Luna’s ruin... With Luna.. fell the Revolution, and, the ignominy of that fall bearing wholly on Aguinaldo, brought about in turn his own moral death, a thousand times more bitter than physical death."

Let's grab some breakfast from Dean and Deluca A hearty choco sig You be the newborn I'll be your new dad Way back in '91 Your sweet smile, look at you -- my grown-up girl ... Come to your old dad tell me -- who do you love Who makes the traffic interesting Rescues a dreary Sunday Who makes me feel like a hero again Honey it's you -- my grown up little girl (adapted from lyrics of Steely Dan's "Janie Runaway")

Further to  this post on the fear of mortality . The fear of mortality is not so much the fear of a finite life, but rather the fear of a life that passed without significance. But what is significance? Would you rather have a $2 million mansion or win the Nobel prize worth $1.2 million. Is it achieving power and wealth or writing a book that future generations will continue to read? Each one would have a different answer. But what I've seen from most people is that if you ask them which one they preferred - recognition from others such as awards, or the appreciation from their loved ones such as their family - many would choose the latter. The fear of insignificance is not about being insignificant to the world but in being insignificant to the ones we love. We would rather live on in their hearts than on a shelf in a library.

Anatoly Karpov was world chess champion for ten years (1975-1985). Until the arrival of Gary Kasparov, he dominated tournaments and world title matches. His style is described as "solidly positional, taking no risks but reacting mercilessly to any tiny errors made by his opponents." In his own words: "Let us say the game may be continued in two ways: one of them is a beautiful tactical blow that gives rise to variations that don't yield to precise calculation; the other is clear positional pressure that leads to an endgame with microscopic chances of victory... I would choose the latter without thinking twice." (Wikipedia) Sounds familiar? It was only when Gary Kasparov came along that some excitement came back to chess. In the end Kasparov was beaten by a computer and could not stop the deteriorating interest in the game.

... To have a good day."

When you really come to think about it, life is nothing but a collection of memories.

When does an encounter feel like a lifetime? When you like where you are, an hour is like an eternity in heaven. If you enjoy the company you're with, an encounter is a lifetime of happiness. If not, better get out or it will turn to hell.

Food for thought: Can you have passion without love? Can you have love without passion?  By the way, this is not limited to amorous relationships - the question applies to one's relationship with other people, friends, hobbies, profession, work, business, volunteer activities, etc. Some say "passion" can be equated with "desire" while "love" equates to "commitment".  Which is better, passion without love or love without passion?

Much attention has been given Peque Gallaga's supposed rant against the government's alleged failure to deal with the Yolanda super typhoon aftermath. Whether or not the 70-year-old director actually wrote this letter, which is a well-written manifesto, I would rather go back to his masterpiece from 31 years ago -- the film Oro, Plata, Mata. The film tells the story of two haciendero families in Negros, and how World War II turned their world upside down. The war was like a super typhoon that stripped society of its social hierarchy and structure and exposed underlying conflicts between social classes, good and evil, and family members. It exposed man's inhumanity to man and confronted him with his humanity. It forced people to choose between survival and their values, between dignity and their basest instincts. In the end, no one was left untouched. The war changed everyone's life forever. Some hiding secrets, some harboring regrets, and some emerging scarred but ...

 (photo taken with an iPhone) Enjoyed the concert of Tony Bennett at the PICC in Manila. He is the picture of a happy man. He loves what he does and is doing what he loves. You can feel how much his music means to him,  and that he will continue performing for as long as he lives. And people will continue listening to his music and watching his concerts because of this.

We are being bombarded by bad news. The “ghost month” has barely passed yet we are continually haunted by revelations of how ghost NGO’s are used to siphon pork barrel money into bathtubs. Then an ageing MNLF leader wants to show that he is still a force to reckon with, resulting in clashes with the military in Zamboanga and putting civilians in the crossfire. Some people are smelling conspiracy, that the latter is used to take attention away from the pork barrel controversy. This could be true. Or it may not. But the warnings about a conspiracy are just another way of saying “be vigilant.” It looks like people are really keen to see this pork barrel issue through, that they won’t take their eyes off the ball. It is not to say that the loss of lives and the suffering of the people in Zamboanga are not serious. Nor that this latest incident, shattering any illusion that a lasting formula for peace in Mindanao is at hand, is not a major setback. It is just that Filipinos may n...

http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2013/06/i-love-lists-such-as-this-list-about-what-gives-objects-life/ Levels of scale Strong centers Boundaries Alternating repetition Positive space Good shape Local symmetries Deep interlock and ambiguity Contrast Gradients Roughness Echoes The void Simplicity and inner calm Non-separateness

Shall Pass.

Your hips sway Like the languid beat of a Latin guitar. I say your name and you look at me And I sink into the dark pools of your eyes Like being drawn into a moonless sky To chase the light of a distant star. You walk back And your face stops in front of mine. I hear a whisper from your throat Like faint laughter drifting in the wind; You put my hands around your waist And I feel the curves of a Latin guitar. You left that day And I never saw your eyes again. I keep looking for the rhythm that we made My fingers trace the curves and pluck the strings But all I hear are the slow laments The sobbing whispers of a Latin guitar.

It may take some time, but the meaning of dreams eventually reveal themselves. Dreams are conversations with your true and honest self.

A burden shared is burden halved. Happiness shared is happiness doubled.

The problem with most gurus is that they preach the ideal life. Advice such as "follow your heart" and "do what you love doing" is good, but unfortunately not everyone can follow them. When faced with practical needs, like a family to feed, or a mortgage to pay, people need something that can help them go through it. Even Christ, the ultimate guru, asked that "this cup be taken away" when He was facing the moment of truth in Gethsemane. We need gurus who will help us not only to "grin and bear it", which is resignation to one's fate, but to "bear it and grin", which is finding happiness in what we call life.

The fear of mortality is not so much the fear of a finite life, but rather the fear of a life that passed without significance.

It was alien to me, a world I wasn't born in. But I wasn't scared, on the contrary I was intrigued by it. When I was offered a glimpse of it I chased it. I was hypnotized by this new vista, and I adored this window to this new world. I thought it was better than anything I had or was. But then I learned more about this world and entered it myself, by my own discovery and effort this world welcomed me. And I became a part of it. It was no longer unfamiliar, it was no longer mysterious. It is indeed a better world, but it just makes you more of what you already are. Because of this I realized that the window that offered me the first glimpse to this world is not the only window, nor the best one. And I'm glad I entered this world through a different door. Still I am thankful for being given that view, and the fortune of having been offered another door to this unfamiliar world.