Politics, Meaning Of Suffering, Love

I will leave you three points for today. First, I want to define here the ideal meaning of love, which for many, have pointed to be overrated. Second, I want to point out that there's meaning in our suffering and third, about Politics, nothing else.

LOVE
The other day I was asked by a friend what, for me, is the meaning of love. So I give her this definition I believe to be true. Love is a verb. A verb is an action word. I came across this bizarre definition of love 4 years ago reading Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It says there Love is something you do: the sacrifices you make, the giving of self. If you want to study love, study those who sacrifice for others. Love - the feeling - is a fruit of love the verb. They are actions. But what we are trained to see is that it is a feeling. Our Hollywood movies taught us that. The teledramas we watch at night taught us that.

In Covey's definition, Love the feeling comes after Love the verb. That is the feeling when we give time to others, when we listen and understand someone even when no reason to understand, when we care and sacrifice for someone. I am not saying I am applying this personally, in fact I am far from that yet. I am defining this here because I believe in love and that I ought to spread this message.


The meaning of my suffering.
Personally I don't know what to say about this. I don't know what to expect from my life. My life has no meaning. It is the ultimate truth that I want you guys to know. It is as true as your life living and breathing every moment. There's nothing in here and there'es nothing in there. I'm here, just breathing, feeling my breath, trying to think of nothing. Nothing is forwarding, nothing is backwarding. Everything is at the moment and I'm trying my best to be here. It isn't easy, and it isn't also that hard to be here in the present. This very now while writing this piece of note is the ultimate meaning of my life. I've ceased seeking the meaning of my life anymore. My life is here and this is exactly where I wanted to be.

I know this is weird. It seems you won't understand my statement at the top but that's how I understand living life at the present moment. No matter what situation or  feeling at the time, be there with it even when you are suffering. Be there. Be there at the moment with your pain. Knowing that I am with my pain and inviting it to come and feel it fully, that's when it losses it's potency. That's how I deal with my sorrow and come to know the meaning of my life.

Editor's note: Sorry for the redundancies.

This is something I have experienced personally. My suffering ceased to be suffering when I allowed myself to feel it fully. Some of you might say "you are stupid David, how about my dreams and aspirations in life? Should I stop chasing them?  How about my great past memories? Should I erase them?" I know this is kind of radical answer but I am here in front of your face to tell you a big YES.

When I started applying slowly the principles of Zen Buddhism into my life I came to understand them as attachments. We continually live at the future and past without being at the present, the only time we have.  We keep seeking something outside us we forgot to look something inside us.

I know a lot of you won't buy into my ideas here but take a close look at it for a moment. Have you thought of something that you were so fearful of doing? But due to some compelling circumstances you did it. Please remember the feeling while you were doing the deed. Was it as fearful as when you were just thinking of it? My guess is that it isn't' anymore. That thought was the problem. This term is referred to us by psychologists 'Affective Forecasting'. Or simply to put it, living in the future. And believe it or not majority of us are affective forecasters. Be it something positive that we soon want to achieve or have, be it something negative that we dread to be or have. Either way, you are living in the future.

To give you an example, I fear going back to the Seminary. What I mean not becoming a Seminarian, just go back to the place. I feel a bit of discomfort when I sense myself going inside the campus(I lived in the Seminary my entire Highschool life). This is something I don't understand about myself but the thought of seeing and walking into the vicinity makes me feel a bit anxious. I know this has something to do with my past and I'm currently unearthing it but I'm not here to talk about that. The THOUGHT makes me feel anxious. I mean, last January I went to Seminary and it wasn't as fearful while I was there the whole time than the though of it going there. Get what I mean? Another example, I dreamed of becoming a millionaire businessman someday, riding my Lamborghini, and living in minimalist-style mansion, but the more I dreamed of it, day and night, the more I get the feeling that I'm getting farther from my dream. The more I chase it the more it eludes me. And the reason behind this is that I feel awkward towards it. I get no sense of inner discipline and modesty.

That's it. That's what I mean of being an affective forecaster. And if you are compelled to say something about this topic, write me by putting it on the comment.

When we continuously seek for the future we become slaves to our attachments and desires. Same as being attached to our past victories and mistakes. That's when unnecessary emotions rise. And when they do, we suffer.

Politics. Period.

Last Sunday, the debate was on. It was the first debate held in the country for the presidential candidates this May's Election. I watched it. My mother who was sitting beside me would supply the lines upon the end of Roxas' talk, my father was defensively commenting on Mirriam's and would continuously hit Binay about his corruption issues. My brother lined with Duterte. My 2-year-old nephew was down playing his toy cars while we watch the show. The afternoon was calm and doing fine but the debate was heating it.

It is in these times that so many opinions about so and so come flooding. My Newsfeed are full of hated emotions and skeptical reactions. Memes that seem to put the candidates at an insanely description. I am appalled by the creativeness of the people making those things.

"Yolo"

Are you a kid Mr.President?

I would receive occasional text messages to vote for this guy, he is tough. My neighbors are also talking about the election and emotions soar up when they talk. And my TV would be flashed with an Ad of a candidate saying something to the effect "vote for me because I'm the one." Makes me think we are really in the zone now. That it is all out there now. And we should get involved to this.

Today is the Anniversary of EDSA, another reason to get involved. Earlier this morning I watched the documentary about the EDSA revolution. It seems that there is collective consciousness on this. The memes at FB, the arguments of my neighbors, the opinions of my parents about a candidate, and the flashy messages on TV serve to be rally point where we  go to a direction that keeps the oneness of our humanity intact. We are really humans. I am proud of that.

If you have any reactions, write me again by putting it in the comments. Tomorrow is my Birthday, don't forget to greet me.



Love and Care.