WE ARE WOUNDED
"Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth." HENRY DAVID THOREAU
By Alex P. Vidal
The wave of scandals and man-made catastrophes we face everyday are too much for the human mind and heart to bear. And we are wounded.
Shocking corruption stories involving higher officials, family tragedies, wanton destruction of environment, poverty, terrorism, sexual assaults and emotional blackmails, slavery, bigotry and religious persecution, character assassination, macabre murders, to name only a few.
We regularly read stories about large scale plunder and "pork barrel" brouhaha, police brutality, heinous crimes and decline of our ecology due to irresponsible, immoral and illegal habits and activities of human race; yet, nobody gets prosecuted. No criminal and corrupt official has rotted in jail. Rogue elements and rapacious leaders continue to commit pillage at alarming scale. We continue to suffer. We continue to lick our wounds.
WOUNDOLOGY
Wound healing or Woundology has been recommended by prominent social scientists, psychologists and even pranic healers.
I first heard of the word Woundology from Dr. Josef De Ubaldo who defined it as the "healing of wounds inhabiting a particular area in the human body."
It is as old as history premised on the Genesis of the first man and woman during their Fall that started the Woundology of homo sapiens on this planet, according to Ubaldo. "Because of this inevitable woundedness, comes a wounded fetus, wounded child, the wounded family, wounded race as in the case of the Blacks (now people of colors), wounded nations as in the case of war-ravaged countries without identity like the Philippines and to a larger extent the destruction of Planet Earth."
SOCIAL WOUNDS
It was actually author Caroline Myss who coined the term “woundology” to describe how some people define themselves by their physical, emotional, or social wounds.
In her book, Why People Don’t Heal and How They Can, Myss writes that many people hoping to heal “are striving to confront their wounds, valiantly working to bring meaning to terrible past experiences and traumas, and exercising compassionate understanding of others who share their wounds. But they are not healing. They have redefined their lives around their wounds and the process of accepting them. They are not working to get beyond their wounds. In fact, they are stuck in their wounds.”
The Planet Earth, according to Ubaldo, is wounded by its wounded inhabitants which is being exemplified in forest destruction, oil spills on the ocean, and use of chemicals, air pollution, iatrogenic diseases, genetically engineered foods all wrought havoc to the lives of many people and to the natural habitat.
"If we seriously attempt to account for the total inhabitants of this planet which runs to seven billion, imagine the magnitude, depth, breadth and ubiquitousness of wounding," said Ubaldo. "It chooses not to respect anyone, it maybe a king, national leaders down to the common 'tao'. We shall continue to be wounded until we desire to get healed."
STATIC
He warned that Woundology does not remain static. "Its dynamism sometimes precludes our ability or desire to get healed. It is dynamic for it ends up in a definite healing process through one's quest and search for solutions that transcend beyond the physical plane in order to restore one's joy, pride and equilibrium-mental, physical, emotional and spiritual. The holistic guide to healing plays significantly for the individual's corporeal mind, emotion, body, and spirit. Symptomatic cures such as synthetic medicines do not last long for they served only as palliatives."
Ubaldo added: "Being wounded presupposes pain, of ego-destruction to the point of losing one's self-esteem. Self-esteem is the most valued part of one's life and more often than not, it is greatly smashed by unsavory events he identified as verbal abuses in childhood and adolescence, physical infliction of pain (wounding) coupled by emotional wrath, emotional blackmails, undiscovered truths and realities sowed by others to perpetuate pain, history of colonization, clouding of minds and other forms of shackling one's personality to hinder growth, are just some of the more popular examples of woundedness."
Myss suggests that it takes courage to explore our suffering, to peel away layer after layer of beliefs, behaviors, and assumptions and rigorously hold ourselves accountable to life.
Monday, August 5, 2013
GOD-GIVEN, MAN-GIVEN, SELF-GIVEN, NATURE-GIVEN
Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.
-- JOHN WOODEN :
Beauty is nature-given. Be thankful. Character is personally-given. Behave!
-- ALEX P. VIDAL
-- JOHN WOODEN :
Beauty is nature-given. Be thankful. Character is personally-given. Behave!
-- ALEX P. VIDAL
FORGIVENESS IS A PERSONAL CHOICE
Forgiveness is above all a personal choice, a decision of the heart to go against the natural instinct to pay back evil with evil.
-- POPE JOHN PAUL II :
If God can forgive, why can't we ordinary mortals?
-- ALEX P. VIDAL
-- POPE JOHN PAUL II :
If God can forgive, why can't we ordinary mortals?
-- ALEX P. VIDAL
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
HARMONY AND PURE LOVE
Harmony is pure love, for love is complete agreement.
-- LOPE DE VEGA :
Harmony can't be attained if one of the couple is motivated only by desire while the other by pure love. Sooner or later, desire for the same person will fade away while love will survive. No complete agreement, no harmony.
-- ALEX P. VIDAL
-- LOPE DE VEGA :
Harmony can't be attained if one of the couple is motivated only by desire while the other by pure love. Sooner or later, desire for the same person will fade away while love will survive. No complete agreement, no harmony.
-- ALEX P. VIDAL
HOW TO HARMONIZE ENVIRONMENT AND ECONOMY
To harmonize the environment and economy and create a win-win solution, we must do the following:
1. Review all environment laws and policies; as well as all laws pertaining to economy. Come up with laws that balance human needs and nature.
2. Environment-friendly governance is necessary; hence, education must be the priority. All schools must prioritize the study of nature and moral values.
3. An energy transition is necessary. Harness and store the world's vast supplies of wind, biomass and other forms of solar energy which are more abundant than oil. Solar cells, wind turbines and fuel cells can power factories, homes, automobiles and aircraft. Clean energy now!
4. A shift to organic farming; a shift away from excessive consumption of chemical products; and application of the precautionary principle to the chemical industry.
5. Stabilize population by improving the economic and social status of women; design cities in ways that reduce distances traveled between home and work, shopping and school; and in urban transit systems, shift emphasis from cars to public transportation, bicycling and walking.
6. Stop the rush to use genetically-modified organisms in agriculture.
7. Reduce the use of pesticides because public health is non-negotiable.
8. Reduce the use of harmful chemicals in the production process. For example, glucose is better than benzene; paper can be bleached without use of chlorine or chlorine-based compounds.
9. Blend ecology and economy and make the universal law of: if you love nature, nature will love back work.
10. Revamp the educational system from grade one to college. Make more values the main priority and love for nature will follow. Moral decay leads to nowhere.
11. Excessive logging, mining and fishing are an assault on the soul of the environment.
12. Save water and energy. Since oil is not a forever thing, come up with other sources of energy, like the sun, water, wind, etc.
13. Reduce air, water and land pollution. Enforce the solid waste management law. Garbage in open dump sites emit methane gas; pollute the water and land. Recycling and reuse of materials preserve natural resources.
14. Protect the forest-dwelling and indigenous people. They are the caretakers of our forests and part of nature; whether you believe it or not.
15. Protect the forest by providing livelihood for kaingeros who make a living of cutting trees.
16. Bamboo is the savior of our environment. The national and local government should cultivate bamboo. It is a substitute for timber and mild steel. It grows anywhere and fast. It provides food and shelter.
17. On a personal note, buy only what you need. Over consumption weighs on natural resources.
18. Slow down on building shopping malls. Besides increasing air pollution and consumption of energy, they displace small retailers and entrepreneurs and cause poverty (besides pollution). We already have an over-abundance of shopping malls.
19. Slow down on building of golf courses. They consume gallons of water daily and pollute the land with chemical fertilizers.
20. Destruction of corals which they use for markers.
Give nature a breather. Live a healthy, happy life by just harmonizing the environment with economy. Money is necessary. But what good is money if you are dead? That's what Mahatma Gandhi said.
1. Review all environment laws and policies; as well as all laws pertaining to economy. Come up with laws that balance human needs and nature.
2. Environment-friendly governance is necessary; hence, education must be the priority. All schools must prioritize the study of nature and moral values.
3. An energy transition is necessary. Harness and store the world's vast supplies of wind, biomass and other forms of solar energy which are more abundant than oil. Solar cells, wind turbines and fuel cells can power factories, homes, automobiles and aircraft. Clean energy now!
4. A shift to organic farming; a shift away from excessive consumption of chemical products; and application of the precautionary principle to the chemical industry.
5. Stabilize population by improving the economic and social status of women; design cities in ways that reduce distances traveled between home and work, shopping and school; and in urban transit systems, shift emphasis from cars to public transportation, bicycling and walking.
6. Stop the rush to use genetically-modified organisms in agriculture.
7. Reduce the use of pesticides because public health is non-negotiable.
8. Reduce the use of harmful chemicals in the production process. For example, glucose is better than benzene; paper can be bleached without use of chlorine or chlorine-based compounds.
9. Blend ecology and economy and make the universal law of: if you love nature, nature will love back work.
10. Revamp the educational system from grade one to college. Make more values the main priority and love for nature will follow. Moral decay leads to nowhere.
11. Excessive logging, mining and fishing are an assault on the soul of the environment.
12. Save water and energy. Since oil is not a forever thing, come up with other sources of energy, like the sun, water, wind, etc.
13. Reduce air, water and land pollution. Enforce the solid waste management law. Garbage in open dump sites emit methane gas; pollute the water and land. Recycling and reuse of materials preserve natural resources.
14. Protect the forest-dwelling and indigenous people. They are the caretakers of our forests and part of nature; whether you believe it or not.
15. Protect the forest by providing livelihood for kaingeros who make a living of cutting trees.
16. Bamboo is the savior of our environment. The national and local government should cultivate bamboo. It is a substitute for timber and mild steel. It grows anywhere and fast. It provides food and shelter.
17. On a personal note, buy only what you need. Over consumption weighs on natural resources.
18. Slow down on building shopping malls. Besides increasing air pollution and consumption of energy, they displace small retailers and entrepreneurs and cause poverty (besides pollution). We already have an over-abundance of shopping malls.
19. Slow down on building of golf courses. They consume gallons of water daily and pollute the land with chemical fertilizers.
20. Destruction of corals which they use for markers.
Give nature a breather. Live a healthy, happy life by just harmonizing the environment with economy. Money is necessary. But what good is money if you are dead? That's what Mahatma Gandhi said.
WHEN FAME TURNS INTO SHAME
Don't cling to fame. You're just borrowing it. It's like money. You're going to die, and somebody else is going to get it.
-- SONNY BONO :
Fame will only bring us shame if we place it on our head instead of our heart. Fame will massage our ego. Shame will disable it.
-- ALEX P. VIDAL
-- SONNY BONO :
Fame will only bring us shame if we place it on our head instead of our heart. Fame will massage our ego. Shame will disable it.
-- ALEX P. VIDAL
TO BELIEVE AND LIVE IT
To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest.
-- MOHANDAS GANDHI :
Except when we are under duress or when circumstances tilt against our favor, our life must be in consonance with the beliefs and principles that we advocate. We lose our credibility and reputation altogether when we digress and fail to walk our talk.
-- ALEX P. VIDAL
-- MOHANDAS GANDHI :
Except when we are under duress or when circumstances tilt against our favor, our life must be in consonance with the beliefs and principles that we advocate. We lose our credibility and reputation altogether when we digress and fail to walk our talk.
-- ALEX P. VIDAL
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