TIMEOUT: "Philosophy bakes no cake"

Illustration taken from "Looking at Philosophy: The Unbearable Heaviness of Philosophy made lighter" by Donald Palmer (Fourth Edition), page 361. This book, used in our Introduction to Philosophy class, is my first ever philosophy book! 

dedicated to all philosophy majors, minors, and students out there
NOTE: this is not mine, just saw this printed at the back of a classmate's shirt

Now and then philosophers have been trying to change the world.
But the chains of an asylum kept them cold inside.

The clamor of the mocking world has never been astray.
They end up with their books as treasure,
with their thoughts as wealth and with their ideas as refuge.

They end up begging.
They weren't fed by philosophy.
The empty stomach overwhelms within.

Hitherto it has always been the case,
but whatever life they have assumed,
it is upon the meaning of what they have taken.

They made a life out of it.

They never baked a "cake" but they have baked a life that everybody is indebted to.

Philosophy will never cause a living but will cause a life worth living.

The One that got away

Choices. Life is defined by choices. We have choices because we are free. We have the capacity to choose because we have the freedom, knowledge, and wisdom to determine which is which. Our choices define us. Our choices show our values, what we hold dearly, what we perceive as greater, what we think and trust will be for our own good.

But life is not much of a choice between good and evil, right and wrong, valuable and meaningless. More often than not, our choices surround two goods, two equally appealing realities, or even more. This perhaps is the hardest of choices, because in the end one has to go. One has to leave. One has to become impossible in order for the other to be put into completion. And for sure, it is hard to let go of something, or better yet, someone, who has been part of me or even should have been, could have been, and would have been an eternity of being part of each other's lives. It's a choice to take because everything in this life has a price to pay.

It's been a while since we last saw each other, exchange messages with each other, have those long yet interesting correspondences about life, love, and the future. It has been a while since I last saw you, since we've been together, since we've just simply wasted time with each other. It has been a while, and in between there were changes that happened. You pursued your dream, you stood by your choice, you found somebody to love, you continued to take the road to fulfillment. And so did I. These changes were brought about by the choices we made, the values we hold unto, the dreams we seek to fulfill. We respected each other's choice. We desired nothing less but the best for each other. But in effect, we had to let go - let go of the possibilities within, the time together, the opportunities to share, the future we could have built together. But then again, that is part of the price that we have to pay.

Wherever you are right now, whatever you're doing, whoever you;re with, I'm sure that you are happy. You are on your way to fulfill your own calling, to make a lifelong dream a reality, to build a future for yourself and your loved ones. I myself am also on my way to a lifelong journey of service and dedication. And in both yet separate ways, we wish each other well, we aspire nothing else but the best for both of us.

The lights go out, the bridges burn, once we go, we can't return.

"To love is to wish the other person well." If I remember my philosophy lessons right, it was Saint Thomas Aquinas who said this. As always, I wish you well in your life. Times change, people come and go, feelings fleet, but my wish for you remains the same. Until we meet again.

Kevin Luther C. Crisostomo

7 June 2k12 5:32 PM

Mount Peace, Baguio City

8 Day Pre-Diaconal Retreat

AM+DG

Bend, not break (A reflection on adversity and resilience)

Part of my reflection submitted in the course "Explorations in Individual and Family Resilience"

Adversity is part of life. Some might have seen or experienced it more than others. Fighting the fight or struggling through the challenge might be one way to deal with adversity. But living with it and using it to make one better is a manifestation of resilience.

I remember an anecdote about the oak and the reed that I encountered in one of my philosophy classes in college. The oak tree stood deeply in the ground and raised its head boldly in the sky; while the reed may not be so grand yet can bend gently when the wind passed by. In the face of the storm, the strong winds tore up the tree from its roots; while the reed bent to the force of the wind and soon stood upright again when the storm had passed over.

Perhaps this anecdote describes my experiences of adversity as well as resistance and resilience. Throughout my life, I have faced adversities in all shapes, colors, and sizes. There were times when I tried to stand strong to resist the storm, and this either kept me on the ground or made me fall hard to it. There were also experiences when I bent with the rush of the wind and in effect weathered the storm. Yet in all these storms, I would have never survived them all by myself.

In these experiences, I found myself shuffling between the resistant oak tree and the resilient reed confronting the gusty winds of adversity. There were moments when I chose to stand firm on my ground and struggle with challenges head on, ready for a collision course. There were also times when I decided to adapt to the changes and welcome the cold and shivering breeze. There were instances when I bent and occasions when I got broken. Yet in all these, I recognize that I am not alone in picking up the pieces or in bouncing back to where I used to me. The Father, in His steadfast and providential love, served as the root – whether that of the oak tree or the reed – that anchored me through the adversities and challenges of life.

TIMEOUT: A Postscript on Pacquiao-Marquez III

(photo source)

“The secret to happiness is to face the fact that the world is horrible”

- Bertrand Russell

TIMEOUT: Philosophy and Boxing mix together

"Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich stärker"

 - Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

"Twilight of the Idols" (1888)

"Plant a tree, have a son, and write a book"

According to Jose Marti, a Cuban poet and writer who also served as a leader in his country's independence movement, there are three things every person should do in his or her life: "plant a tree, have a son and write a book."

I once planted a mahogany tree in San Carlos Seminary, and thankfully it still stands until now. Since I'm in the seminary, I cannot have a son (WEH?!). But I think writing a book is the hardest feat among these three things.

Interestingly, in my visit to the Archbishop Gabriel Reyes Memorial Library in San Carlos Seminary last week, I found my philosophy thesis (entitled "The Greatness and the Misery of Man: Pascal's Divertissement in Heidegger's sein-zum-tode Doctrine", 235 pages all in all hahahaha) in the library shelves! Well, can one consider that as a check in the checklist?

27 is still a young age I guess, yet an age ripe enough to make a difference. Chuck Palahniuk puts it quite fittingly: "We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will." 

deo gratias.

GUESS WHO'S BACK?

"jumpman" logo is a registered trademark of jordan brand. obviously, i don't own it. but i placed a small while dot around the collar area. makes sense?

i'm back! with a new blog, that is.

to mark my return to the seminary and blogosphere, i am creating this blog entitled "preacher in basketball shoes."

so, why the title "preacher in basketball shoes"? well, beneath the soutane is a basketball jersey and a pair of basketball shoes. as a basketball enthusiast, we can talk about basketball all day. and as a seminarian, i might as well include philosophy and theology in the mix. sometimes they do blend together quite well, like puto dipped in dinuguan. but that's another story.

in the words of my great classmate yon maybuena:


so let's get this started. JUMP BALL!

deo gratias.