Job or work: Essential of Being Human

I encountered this last few weeks some people coming to my place or asking me about whether I have jobs or works to offer and give them. Sometimes I think and mention to my friends that if I had a lot of money I could have created more jobs for people. But why people need jobs? Is it because of economic pressure that we are living nowadays or because of human needs of basic standard of living? I think so.

In today’s world, our society sees jobs in terms of earning and of how much you earning. That is why people are competing to get the jobs with the highest payments. Moreover, the prestige of someone is measured by that of category. Human relationship is seen in terms of jobs’ category and earnings. This attitude creates disparities in our society and we look others as our competitors. Jobs now are dividing the humanity: between employers and employees and between company owners and the rests. We are creating walls between the top level jobs, the middle, and the lower by putting the scales of salary according to the skills, educations, and experience. We are creating social cycles within our jobs’ levels to support our status quo and to maintain our level of earnings. These are some aspects of life created by jobs.  So why do we need Jobs if at the end these are the consequences.

As I mentioned in the title that Job is very essential of being human; however, human manipulates jobs for their own personal interest and power. Human rides jobs to maintain their status quo and to use jobs as a way of showing off and of pressurizing others. It is because jobs so essential, sometimes, others can sacrifice their dignity to get jobs; some can put down others for jobs; and some can do malice things for jobs. Is it what humanity wants? I don’t think so.

Jobs and works are crucial for being human. Works should bring happiness; works should create self-fulfillment; works is life. On the opposite sides, without work, human feels hopeless and no purpose in life. Therefore, works make human to be truly human. Why is it like that?

I come to realize that any jobs, whether in the higher or middle or lower level, ought to bring up some human potentialities which lead to unity, peace, and happiness. Jobs creates unity; jobs create peace; and jobs create happiness.  Jobs fulfill what the essence of being human. With jobs, there is relationship; with jobs there is interdependent; with jobs, there is expression of responsibility towards humanity. However, what about the nature? Can we do everything for the sake of job? Can we force and destroy the other creations in the name of creating jobs.

If the goal of jobs is money and power, everything will go to destruction but if the purpose of jobs is to serve humanity to be more human, so we should include the creations and earth into the picture of creating the unity, peace, and happiness world, where every living creatures are seen as pillars to support others. It means whatever kinds of job I have but it serves the humanity, I do take part in building up the humanity. I pray so and have a hope.

DIAMOND: WHAT IS MOST PRECIOUS IN LIFE

Diamond

This is very precious stone. But what make it so precious. Is it because it strongest among the stones or it is most beautiful among the precious stones? Its beauty and preciousness spark from within itself, I believe, however, there are hands that discover its beauty: there are experts that assist it to bring out its beautiful potentiality and characters; there is a hard-work and long process to bring out its beauty and preciousness.

Can you find diamond easily and everywhere in the soil? No. Diamond is found scarcely on our planet and can be found only in some places where all condition of weather, temperature, soil and stones, and other elements that comes together for million years and allow it to be. Finally Heavy and soft human made machines, technology and skills are needed to excavate it out and to show to the world its beauty and preciousness. 

Taking from the Aristotelian’s philosophy, the beauty and its preciousness of diamond can be seen as the essences. However, can the essence comes out from the eyes of its beholder? I don’t talk of it in subjective perspective but I am talking of diamond as objective beauty because its essence is precious and beauty. Yet, I know it needs to work out in its best assisted by the skill crafted humans to show up its real essence.

From Platonic notion, I could say that beauties and preciousness of diamond here and now because there is idea of it somewhere in the realm of ideas. It is being revealed to humanity of this precious and valuable, and beautiful stone called diamond. 

Well, it is philosophical thought to explain about a reality. However, I can say that diamond is diamond. It is beautiful and very precious. People will work hard with their own technology and skills to find it and to show it to the world.

My reflection is that if people work hard for this precious stone because it gives them worldly power and richness, can we work hard also to discover the beauty of “Atman” or Inner beauty of humanity that is most precious and valuable compared to any other gems/precious stones?

Of course this discovery of beauty within oneself or within others not bring us worldly richness but will give us the TRUE PEACE and LOVE and UNITY among us, humans. I hope so.

HOPE LEARNT FROM THE MAGI

The story of Magi or the three wise men or the three kings from the East is pretty known, especially by Christians. The three wise men saw the unusual star and they tried to find out what the phenomenon is all about.  They searched it and then decided to follow the star. Finally the star stopped in Bethlehem and they found the King.

For me this story tells us something about human hope and human search for the truth: the truth about oneself, about nature, about others, and about God. However, it needs one’s openness to see, to search and to find out the essence or the core behind all the perceived existence. Behind all that is there is a first cause; behind all sensed matters there are spiritual things; behind all that is human there is divine being; and behind human message there is spiritual message.

Therefore, the message of the story leads us to the deepest desire of our human quest. The three wise men were the model of our quest for the truth in our life. Life is not stagnant in our locality, our village, or our circumstance. Life should be a dynamic or a process of becoming to actualize our potentiality.  Therefore I see in the story 6 continuous process of finding the truth.

1. Seeing the star: they were not only seeing the star and stopped with it but they were searching and investigating it. They tried to discover the real meaning of the start: why it was there? Was it there for a purpose? This star only can be seen in the night time of their life.

2. Following the star: leaving the comfort zone of one’s life is not easy but the three wise men went to follow the star. They left their comfort zone of their day-to-day life and encountered uncertainty of the unknown.

3. Encountering distraction: they stopped in Jerusalem and being summoned by Herod the King who planned to kill the child. Herod questioned their intention and their purpose; however, they still stuck with their commitment and pursued their way to find the child, Jesus.

5. Finding the place where the Child was: when they found the place, they entered and saw the child and the mother. They were so full of owe and wonder; “they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy” that they stayed there with the child for a while, worshiped and gave the child their gifts. What a great gesture and expression that had for the child. Feeling fulfilled or maybe finding the truth is the simple word I can describe of the experience of the wise men. They gave and offered what they had to the child because they had found the answer of their quest.

6. Returning home with new way: the story tells us that the three wise men returned to their place using other way. It brings up a light that because of seeing and encountering the truth of their quest, they came back with a new hope; their spirit was renewed; their life was revived. They become new persons; they had a new paradigm of seeing the reality of life.

The process of journeying of the three wise men to find the truth within their context was our process too. It is the process of our journey to search for something good, something precious and truthful in our life. It is about searching to find one’s deepest longing and desire. It might be the actualisation of our being self or in religious term it will be God, the source and summit of all our human desires.

Therefore, I see that we can lean and use this process to find our answer for all our quests of life. Have a hope always.

Christmas Hope

Well.. Christmas is coming..

 Nothing but to greet all of you "happy n blessed Christmas".

This s special time for us be connected.. not only by our social media but also personally heart to heart n face to face connected...

It s because God is trying to be connected to us humans by His own pure n par excellent image Jesus Christ, His Son to be with us.

 So God wants to connect to us personally.. face to face seeing our humans affairs n struggles.

heart to heart to feel our human conditions..

His Name is Emmanuel.. 

God is with us.. 

Moreover as we are at the last month of this year.. may we realize that of God's connectedness to us. God love you and me as He becomes one of us, humans;therefore, we have opportunity to reach His Divine Life. So let me also take this moment to greet you "happy new year 2019". An opportunity and hopeful year for all of us because God is with us..Emmanuel.. God bless you.

SUN: SOURCE OF HOPE

Sun for me is so powerful; when I wake up in the morning and see the sunrise, it gives me a warm happy feeling within me; during the day when I was outside, even inside the house I feel its heat cover me (I stayed in tropical area) and it brings a sense of its presence; in the night when I sleep I hope to see sun again. I do not know why I have a desire to see the sun in the morning, on which it brings up a sense of hope within me. That is sun.

I learnt that sun is one of millions of stars in our universe. It is the center of our system called solar-system. However, why I, a very tiny entity in this planet earth, can sense and perceive such powerful-unthinkable-start which attracts all to be dependent and to orbit around it. Amazing!!! Maybe I am a chosen one to have such experience of sun; maybe I am different to have eyes to recognize the sun; maybe I was born to desire for sun; or maybe I was a child of the sun, whose gene and chromosome I carry within me. Maybe!!!

In ancient period of humanity, from Asia, Australia to America, Europe to Africa, we find some traces of people worshiping sun; some ancient religions called their god sun; and some ancient nations called their king the son of sun. Therefore, the Sun depict like their God. Why? I think and imagine that it is because the sun gives life – everything comes to be because of the sun -; it gives happiness; it gives warmth; it gives strength; it gives hope.

Well, human race is the race of sun, according to me; we are here and now because of sun. Our life depends on sun; our activities rely on sun; our energy level depends on sun; our planning for the future depends on sun. I imagine if we were without sun, we would not have time (seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years). Thus, a living without sun is death.

I bring you to my final thought that God is our real sun. Human race is the race of God because God has created us in God’s image; we have God’s genes and chromosomes within our being human. Therefore, we have desire for God as St. Augustine once said, “My heart is restless until it finds rest in God”. God should be our center of life and our dependency of life because we want to see life, which is full of happiness, warmth, joy, energy, activity, and hope. That is my hope for all of us. Thank God, you are my real Sun.