The Real Seeker

When one thinks of perfect they think of something that is beyond amazement. They think of something so great that we cannot even imagine it. When many philosophers or religious people think of perfect they think of G-d. Descartes believed that G-d was and is perfect. He believes this because we are imperfect and if something or someone was to be ideal or amazing it would be “one a perfect entity,” G-d. Since he believes this he also believes that G-d must exist. He must be around us because he is perfect and to be this way he must be the incredible idea that we have of him. G-d would not let us down with the ideas that we are left to believe with.

When I read this in Jostein Gaardner’s novel Sophie’s World, I thought of how true this idea is. It made me think about Descartes idea of the existence of G-d and how it is impossible that G-d does not exist. Although I have been religious and a follower of G-d my whole life, I still had those short moments of doubt along the way. I remember at the age of five or six, I thought about the existence of myself. I had wondered if I was real or if I was just a dream. When I asked my mother this question, she quickly answered with, “of course you’re real.” That answer had not satisfied me though, which is why it led me to have some doubt about the world and G-d. After I read Descartes section, I got goose bumps because I was so taken aback. I was thankful to know that there was some idea that made sure I existed. It was comforting to know this.

I also especially liked his quote, “I think therefore I am.” This made me think of how we make our own beliefs. Although his meaning was about the existence of ourselves, I thought of how with thinking and believing, we do completely exist, and we can start to create other ideas and truths about life. When we find doubt in certain aspects about our lives and become incredibly curious, we become determined to find the answer. Descartes ideas were the most fascinating for me, and reading about his findings really made me have some doubt about my own life.

Sophie's World

Jostein Gaarder’s novel Sophie’s World has taught many of us about our own lives. We have learned about the many ideas that philosopher’s and scientists before us had. By reading this novel we are also thinking about ourselves. We actually think about why we are alive and what we have to live for. We start to create our own beliefs and understandings from the ideas of others.

One topic I found interesting in the novel were the contradicting ideas of Aristotle and Plato. Aristotle supported the idea that senses are more important than reasoning. He believed that we understand the world by how we feel about it. Plato believed that we understood our lives and the world by reason. In my opinion I support Aristotle and how we view the world from our senses and parts of Plato’s beliefs. I believe that senses are important and help us perceive the world a certain way. We first view the world by how we see and feel about it. Although I support Aristotle’s belief I understand Plato’s belief as well. Plato thought that we cannot trust our senses and we should think about the world. In many cases people say that we should not do anything based on our emotions, so does this mean that our emotions can deceive us? It might be depending on the situation. Both senses and reasons are important and they should both be used equally.

Enchanted by Taylor Swift

We all have emotions and thoughts that we keep within ourselves. We have our own secrets that we never tell. Many of these thoughts and emotions cannot be spoken of but instead sung about. Taylor Swift is an artist who sings what most people believe and think. She sings about the hardships of growing up, and love. Her self-written lyrics are ideas that everyone thinks about. In her song “Enchanted”, Taylor Swift sings about meeting the person you are meant to be with. She sings about the thoughts that people have when they meet their soul mate. This song begins with her serene feminine voice and the strumming of the guitar in the background. As she sings about the scene of two people meeting her voice becomes louder with beat of the drum. As this song continues the violin and wind instruments are added connecting with her voice. Whenever she describes the thoughts that one has when meeting someone she begins to sing louder almost creating the same confused and anxious reaction anyone can have. The addition of the instruments helps explain the inquiries that we all have. “This night is sparkling, don't you let it go, I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home, I'll spend forever wondering if you knew, I was enchanted to meet you,” are the repetitive lyrics that describe the constant emotion that swift has. The honest lyrics to this song tell about how most teenage girls feel. When I first heard this song I was moved by the emotional lyrics. The melody of her song allowed me to understand what she is going through during this encounter. The femininity in her voice adds to the sentimental value this song acquires. This song truly allows one to feel enchanted.

Change of Mind: Cities with Personality

Look out your window, open your eyes and what do you see? Do you see anything special, anything that catches your attention? When I look out my window, really observing what sits outside, I see plain suburban houses, a couple trees here and there. Once I close my eyes I imagine seeing some splash of color, a paint that is not beige, white, black or grey. I want to see something out of the ordinary, something that makes Glenview unique. But is that possible?

Glenview is exactly the kind of town that James Kunstler was describing. The town that has nothing really special to it, where every day you hope that something interesting happens to liven up your day. Everything is the same in our town. It contains big suburban houses and great landscaping. Although Glenview is a great safe town, it is very bland.  Every place you go to sends a message to the people so what kind of message does Glenview give? A very ordinary boring town. In  my opinion, towns like Evanston give a message of open mindedness. Even though Evanston is still a suburb, it has a city feel to it, they have pretty streets and personality. The students and people that live there add to the city’s qualities.

After watching James Kunstler’s TED talk, I thought about how dull some places are and how easily beautiful they could be if there were some changes. Whenever I go to downtown Chicago I love looking at the beautiful architecture, the history that each building contains. I enjoy sitting in grant park and looking at the sculptures and artwork that lies on the green grass. I would rather spend my day in a beautiful city than a simple town. I know that Glenview is pretty compared to most towns, but if we added more personality, art, things that really catch people’s attention, Glenview could and would be more enjoyable.  Turning a plain city into a colorful town is possible. At the end of his talk Kunstler mentions how we should stop calling ourselves consumers, and I agree with statement. I think we should all add to our city instead of just “taking” from it. If we did add our own ideas, art work, etc. we could all make our cities into pleasant towns, and a “town worth saving.”

What if?: We had NO Emotions.

What if you were lifeless? What if one day you woke up and felt nothing? You had no pain, fear, sadness or happiness. What if you had no emotion; you felt absolute nothing?

There are times in everyone’s life where they have their happiest and saddest moments, where they remember the first time they were hurt by someone, the first time they fell in love. But what if we never had these moments and lived our lives as cold heartless people. What if we all became part of the phlegmatic group; Part of a group where we show no emotion. How would our lives be?

As a person I always act upon my emotions. I become very emotional. Remembering my uncle’s death, a year ago still brings tears to my eyes. During that time I had become so sensitive. I was incredibly upset for months and could not stop crying. I remember wishing that all the pain could go away, that everyone would be okay again. I wished that my grandmother would forget about the incident so that she could be her normal self again. Since his death was so sudden, my family was shocked, we still did not believe it actually happened. We felt as if we were all having a bad dream, and that we would wake up from it soon. I hated seeing everyone so upset, I hated the fact that I missed him so much and I just wished nothing would have changed. At the time, I wondered how things would be if we did not feel any emotions.

What if we just went on with our lives as if nothing had happened; we did not remember the incident. Would life not be easier? If we were not held back from such incidents we would still have the will to keep moving forward. If I had not been so depressed from the absence of my uncle I would have been stronger academically and mentally. Being emotionless would in some ways be easier…but would we always want to have “poker faces” or to be so laconic? What about the moments when we are the happiest, I would never want to forget those memories because thinking of them makes me feel good, it gives me a reason to live. With our emotions we become moral, we have ethics. We feel bad when we do something wrong and we feel good when we do a good deed. Emotions in some ways help us. Our world would be a place of cold heartless and unethical people. Many things are the way they are because of how people feel. If we were not sympathetic, doctors would not have found cures for diseases. If people did not have feelings we would not have clubs for changing the world. Since we do have emotions we try to be good. Some of us do not commit crimes because we know of how bad it is. We feel the horrible guilt after lying or cheating. We understand our lives better and why things are the way they are. We feel wanted and connected with emotions. We understand how everything happens for a reason, how some emotions could make life perfect and make us happy.

Although at times we wish we felt nothing, emotions could help us. They help us become better human beings. We become warm which helps us appreciate life and understand the people around us and world we live in.

Best of the Week: "A Voice to the Voiceless"

When most people wake up in the morning they think of what they will do that day, what they have to look forward to, anything about themselves. Since we live in such a safe and sheltered area we barely ever think of what other people in the world are going through. We busy ourselves with school, social events, entertainment, gossip and other things. While we worry about what the characters from “Jersey Shore” do next, natives in Iraq worry about how they will get through the danger of the war. Mothers in Zimbabwe are concerned about how they will feed their families. Families in Afghanistan are bothered with the worry of if they will make it through the day alive. Many Americans do not realize the difficulty that some people go through daily just to stay alive. While the government and local news tell us “happy” information about nations that are involved with war, journalists and photographers go to dangerous sites to show us the truth that takes place in the world.

James Nachtwey is considered to be one of the greatest war photographers of our time. He has dedicated his life on documenting wars and conflicts in the world. James Nachtwey has been chosen for my “Best of Week” because he has shown the world the truth that is hidden. He shows us an uncensored reality, clear and honest. He puts his life in danger to show the tragedies that people have to go through daily. He gives “a voice to the voiceless.” James Nachtwey makes his audience feel what others are feeling. He allows us to feel the sadness and sorrow that the natives in Somalia feel. We feel the loneliness and mistreatment that the orphans in Romania go through. Nachtwey's approach to his audience is very unique, he allows the audience to make there decision based on what he has to offer. His pictures are worth a thousand words.

While looking at Nachtwey’s photos I am reminded to be thankful for what I have and where I live. When I see these pictures I want to help change the world too. I want to help individuals that live in poverty stricken areas, help people that are sick and cannot afford to eat. As humans, we become conscience of problems in the world. Noticing that we cannot even look at the pictures of war we realize that we want to help, we want change as well. In his video clip Nachtwey mentions, “They not only recorded history, they helped change the course of history. Their pictures became part of our collective consciousness and, as consciousness evolved into a shared sense of conscience, change became not only possible, but inevitable.” (Ted.com). Nachtwey’s photos bring generosity; they allow people to help change others lives. While he tells us a story with his photographs, we need to help citizens in other areas have a happy ending.