COVID-19: A VIRUS AND A FEAR

Covid-19 virus’ epidemic -and become pandemic- in some countries, especially China, Japan, South Korea, Iran, and Italia creates a paranoid mentality and paranoid action of our daily life. In Germany, for example, some people bit a Japanese train passenger because of them suspecting him having the virus; some Chinese are being bullied and discriminated because of that of virus. On the other side, some countries are banning the infected countries to enter their country. For instances, I just got the news that the Indonesian Government banns travelers from China, South Korea, Iran, and Italy to enter the country. What is going on here?

Many medicines starting from traditional medicines to the modern laboratory-made-medicine, try to calm down human paranoid of this virus by offering their products that prevent the virus; many advice by WHO directors, scientists, scholars, government officers, NGOs directors, religious leaders, and even some self-made experts try to give solution how to prevent us from the virus. Some people honestly try to assist others with their own resources and knowledge about the virus but others are using this situation to make money. I read a news about the lucking of maskers in some countries and how expensive they are.

Moreover, this situation also enter to influence the rituals in religions. Catholic church, for example, in USA the bishops are banning its faithful to receive the Holy Eucharist on tongue; in England, catholic bishops requested the faithful to avoid holy water and not to receive communion with the chalice, even the public veneration of relics and the veneration of the cross on Good Friday should not be kissed and touched; in Malaysia, a catholic diocese regulated to cut down church meeting and to have a meeting not more than an hour; even the diocese toke a strong decision to immediate suspension of penitential service; and many other dioceses around the world has done the same. What is going on here? Is the Church doing justice to its faithful by regulating those practices in its rituals? Or is it in the name of preventing the faithful to get the virus and taking the health precautions, the Church put those regulations?

Are we crazy and paranoid of this tiny virus, which only infects very small numbers of a Chinese citizens comparing to a billion of its population and a tiny number of Italian -which at the moment, there are 148 cases- of around 60 million of its population? And so many under the two digits cases of million people? What do we fear of? Do we fear of the virus because of its fast spreading, of its NOT having an anti-virus, and of its killing ability? Or we are afraid of the collapse of our world economy? 

I don’t belittle the impact of this virus but we have to see this situation in appropriate ways, to deal it wisely and not to bring us into a kind of phobia, which will stop us from every activity and everything that are useful and necessary for our life and society. 

Why do not we fear of the poverty in this world, which is the main cause of many children and women died and millions of people who are hungry and luck of clean water and necessary needs for them to live, especially in the poor countries? Why are not we afraid of the human emotionally, spiritually, and emotionally sickness around us, which is showing up in signs like stress, depression, suicidal thinking and behaviors, anomaly   attitudes among our youth, drugs that kill many people and affect millions of life? Why do not we fear of human made disasters, such as creating massive and powerful atomic, nuclear arsenals and rockets, bio-weapons, which kill millions of people in this world and fear of cutting the trees and of destroying our natural environments that cause disaster and global warming and changes of climate?

So why do we paranoid about the virus and allow others to kill and destroy us? Why can now we prepare and do the same precautions how to prevent our world, our society, our country, such as we have done to prevent ourselves from the Covid-19? Can we do the same, to prevent poverty and all the spiritual and emotional illness that also destroy us?

Finally, we should not allow this virus to control us but we should control it. I think at the moment the actual virus is not strong but the spirit of this virus has destroying our world. It is like Satan. This virus has metamorphosed to become a spirit that brings fear and paranoid in our world and our society. This spirit creates more damage than real virus. This spirit has been trying to destroying the humanity, if we allow it to be. Therefore, let us focus on the Spirit of God that unites us and brings life to our world. Let us Hope.

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.