On Freedom

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Barbie dolls, candies, and doll houses were my treasure during childhood days. I live only to eat, sleep and play. No responsibilities. I was confined in the four corners of our house and under the control of my parents but I do not mind at all. The sense of freedom was an absurdity. What, then, does freedom really means?

Soren Kierkegaard, a philosopher, stated that freedom is that which enables man to pass from the aesthetic state to the ethical, and ultimately, to make the leap of faith, the highest of man’s liberty. This means going beyond the basics and achieving our full potential. In relation to Kierkegaard’s statement, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs can be a very good illustration of how man achieves his basic needs and proceeds to the higher level of human desire until he reaches his optimum potential. According to Maslow, we need to satisfy our physiologic needs first. It includes food, water, shelter, and clothing. Then our safety or security needs. After which is the need for love and belongingness, followed by the esteem need which refers to the need to be a unique individual with self-respect, and finally, self actualization, where an individual experiences his purpose and realizes his inner potentials.

As I grew older, the desire for liberty set its own course. I do not only live to exist but I struggle each day to find my purpose and make an action to fulfill them. It is not just matter of me-myself-and-I now; instead, it is giving more and more of me to others, hoping that it would make a difference in their lives as much as it would make a difference with mine.

Everyday, we make choices that affect not only our lives but others as well. We can choose to help or ignore. We can choose to love or hate. We can choose to obey or not. We can also choose to transcend to the ethical state or not. However, we should remember that we are responsible for our own choices. To accept responsibility for our choices means we accept our current condition of life or we choose to change it.

These choices can make so much impact… more than we realize. Therefore, as human beings, should strive to live our lives in its truest sense and not merely exist. Let us be the person that God wants us to be. Only then can we say that we have freedom.


This is a reflection paper on freedom that I submitted in one of my M.A.N. class last Saturday. Double purpose... a project and a blog entry. :)

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Looking Back

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Last Saturday, I saw Sir Knietz, my professor in Philosophy of Man during my undergraduate days. He was still the same energetic and fidgety man I knew. He immediately saw me as I entered the audio visual room and greeted me with his usual wide and warm smile. After a few how-are-you's, he told me to visit the campus ministry blog that he set up. He told me that he published one of my submitted reflection paper. With his permission, I copied the article for this blog (with few revisions) including his intro. :)

Two years ago, I had an interesting student in Philosophy of Man. Her name was Minette. She was shy during class discussions but very reflective and deep when I asked for insights in my lessons. I used to keep reflections from my students for future publication in order to inspire others.

In this first Sunday of Lenten Season, I would like to bring out a message to all readers and visitors of our blogsite how to become an effective disciple of Christ or simply to become a man for others on our journey to search for the meaning of our existence.

As students, one important weapon that we should utilize is our pen. I hate students in my class without a pen and notebook. A student who goes to class without a pen is a useless individual. He cannot radiate himself/herself to others. A pen is a voice of a student and a chisel that sculpts or molds him/her to the fullness of life. A pen is no other than an instrument in order to express one's life.

Please read carefully the beautiful reflection of life by Miss Minette:

My pen...My life...

"When I was in grade school, I love collecting pens. Everyday, I would save a part a part of my allowance so I could buy a pen on weekends. I'm not after those expensive ones; I was after the quantity and not the quality. I am more interested in those multicolored and fancy designed pens rather than looking for a pen that has good writing quality. I just loved those Japan made pens with cute designs and diffrent animal shapes at the tip of the cover. I even had almost all the colors of neon and metallic pens including gel pens and the scented ones.

I use them in writing notes and making scribbles on my notebooks. Most of the time, I ended up running out of ink without noticing it. And by the way, upon looking back at my notes, I haven't written anything important. On the other hand, I kept those pens with remarkable patterns because I did not want to use it for I might scratch and destroy the designs. However, when the time came that I wanted to use them, the ink had already dried up because it had been stored for a long time. In both cases, it turned out that the pen did not serve its purpose because it was used carelessly or it wasn't used at all. What more could you do with a useless thing but to discard?

Eventually, I've come to realize that my life is not different from the pens I collected. Time is running so fast and no one knows when my life would last. I don't want to run out of ink only to realize that I haven't done any significant thing with my life. At the same time, I don't want to let it pass and do nothing to make a difference. Though I am happy looking at my life right now, I shouldn't stay this way and be contented with it. I know I can do better to make other people happy as well. I may have all the colors and beautiful designs outside; I may seem to have a perfect life with all the fancy clothes, accessories and money, but if I don't use my life wisely for the sake of others' welfare, I am good for nothing. The quantity of good works should equal the quality because it is our very purpose in life - to do great things on earth; or to make others lives worth living. I don't have my collection of pens anymore at present but every time I have one, I make sure that I would use its ink to write something important that could turn someone and something special."

Introduction by Mr. Knietz Perez
website: http://campusministry-urc.blogspot.com/2009/03/my-penmy-life.html

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25 Random Things About Me

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Finally, I found time to write my own 25 random things today.

RULE: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. i'm a chocolate lover. especially the white ones.
2. i don't leave the house without drying my hair.
3. i share my room with my sister til now.
4. i share the same birthday with Dr. Jose Rizal
5. i'm 5 feet 4 inches tall and never weighed more than 105 lbs. ever. i wish to gain a little more weight.
6. i don't know how to play any musical instrument that requires chords or notes. playing the piano is one of my greatest frustrations.
7. i love music and singing but i can't sing in tune.
8. i've tried hiking, wall climbing, cable wire crossing, spelunking, and rappelling when i was in college. missed them badly.
9. i hope to have the chance to do bungee jumping, sky diving, and scuba diving one of these days.
10. i get an allergic reaction whenever i take sea foods (like shrimp & crabs) and mefenamic acid.
11. i buy some of my shirts from the kids section of the department store.
12. i don't like hot beverages.
13. i'm not a coffee lover but i love coffee creamer. those that come in small sachets.
14. i don't have a favorite color. but i love pastels.
15. i'm a fan of love stories & love songs.
16. people who don't know me think i'm quiet; those who know me wish i was.
17. i hate waiting but i know i should... i'm still learning.
18. i never believed that there is Santa Clause.
19. i don't like pets. i don't think i ever would.
20. i hate the sound of my voice when i use the microphone or voice recorder.
21. very few people get my name right when they first hear it. even my surname.
22. i love cotton candy with skimmed milk.
23. i can stay all week long in the house. after that is a different story.
24. i love the sight of a full moon on a starry night.
25. The greater percentage of what I write is, still, never read by anyone but me. self pity. haha!


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