A beligerent samurai, an old Japanese tale goes, once challenged a Zen master to explain the concept of heaven and hell. But the monk replied with scorn, "You are nothing but a lout - I can't waste my time with the likes of you!".
His very honor attacked, the samurai flew into a rage and, pulling his sword, yelled "I could kill you for your impertinence."
"That," the monk calmly replied, "it's hell."
Startled at seeing the truth in what master pointed out at the fury that had him in its grip, the samurai calmed down, sheathed his sword, and bowed, thanking the monk for his insight.
"And that", said the monk, "it's heaven". Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
If you could put words to what you felt, it was yours.
About the power of language in Calling Sleep, by Henry Roth.
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Screw the crisis. Affluenza's the problem
Affluenza, a portmanteau of affluence and influenza, is a term used by critics of consumerism. Sources define this term as follows:
Affluenza, n. a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more. (de Graaf [1])
affluenza, n. 1. The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses. 2. An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by the pursuit of the American Dream. 3. An unsustainable addiction to economic growth.
I'm in the middle of reading the book and I find it to be a real eye opener. It's written by Oliver James and I love the fact that the guy swears from time to time. I was told not to swear when I put my thought on screen :-).
And I love you for putting the time into me and giving me the direction I needed - the Bees. I think of you when reading the book and feel very blessed of having people like you along the way. You'll always be in my heart.
The Affluenza virus is, according to James, a set of values that make us vulnerable to emotional distress. It is our insatiable desire for money, fame and power; our envious and obsessive need to compete with and compare ourselves to others. In this celebrity-obsessed age it is not so much our keeping-up-with-the-Joneses as our keeping-up-with-the-Beckhams. It is, in short, neo-liberalism, or from James's socio-psychological perspective, "Selfish Capitalism".
Read the thing, I know you'll like at least some parts of it.
Affluenza, n. a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more. (de Graaf [1])
affluenza, n. 1. The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses. 2. An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by the pursuit of the American Dream. 3. An unsustainable addiction to economic growth.
I'm in the middle of reading the book and I find it to be a real eye opener. It's written by Oliver James and I love the fact that the guy swears from time to time. I was told not to swear when I put my thought on screen :-).
And I love you for putting the time into me and giving me the direction I needed - the Bees. I think of you when reading the book and feel very blessed of having people like you along the way. You'll always be in my heart.
The Affluenza virus is, according to James, a set of values that make us vulnerable to emotional distress. It is our insatiable desire for money, fame and power; our envious and obsessive need to compete with and compare ourselves to others. In this celebrity-obsessed age it is not so much our keeping-up-with-the-Joneses as our keeping-up-with-the-Beckhams. It is, in short, neo-liberalism, or from James's socio-psychological perspective, "Selfish Capitalism".
Read the thing, I know you'll like at least some parts of it.
Monday, March 23, 2009
A little bit pregnant
Back in my UBC days I had an amazing teacher for Russian lit, Eastern European lit, etc. Things that I could relate to..
He used to tell us great stories about his amazing life. One of them was about the differences between North Americans and Europeans. The idea was that in the Canadian culture people are reluctant to say what they believed about a subject (let's say a movie). If it sucked, they don't tend to say that it was bad, but that it was 'different'. What does that mean?
He went on and explained that this something 'different' it's kind of like getting home one day and his daughter would tell him that she's a little bit pregnant. Was it bad or not?
Well, the old man touched me with the stories from his old country - he was from the ex Checkoslovakia, now Slovakia. Through him I discovered what I believe to be the best writer alive - Milan Kundera. His story book Laughable Loves is a masterpiece and I highly recommend it. Peter Petro is a friend of Kundera's. If you are in Vancouver, you should try see him lecture at UBC.
He used to tell us great stories about his amazing life. One of them was about the differences between North Americans and Europeans. The idea was that in the Canadian culture people are reluctant to say what they believed about a subject (let's say a movie). If it sucked, they don't tend to say that it was bad, but that it was 'different'. What does that mean?
He went on and explained that this something 'different' it's kind of like getting home one day and his daughter would tell him that she's a little bit pregnant. Was it bad or not?
Well, the old man touched me with the stories from his old country - he was from the ex Checkoslovakia, now Slovakia. Through him I discovered what I believe to be the best writer alive - Milan Kundera. His story book Laughable Loves is a masterpiece and I highly recommend it. Peter Petro is a friend of Kundera's. If you are in Vancouver, you should try see him lecture at UBC.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Love this one
I remembered the other day a great book that read. I think it's gonna be the only 'science fiction' book that I will ever read. Not that Murakami is not SF for most parts, but we need to categorize things.
After the Roadside Picnic I tried Dune, the other 'SF classic', but it was nothing like this one.
Here's a taste and one of my favourite quotes:
"...The hypothesis of God,.., gives an incomparably absolute opportunity to understand everything and know absolutely nothing."
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
How books can cure
Back in 91, when I arrived in Canada, I become very Romanian, a nationalist. Whatever that means.. I guess because I missed home and felt wounded - the usual emigrant that starts hating the present and remembering all good things about the past, forgetting the bad ones.
I used to argue 'til I ran out of breath about how great Romanians were, how Romanians are the first people of Europe - documented by Herodotus, of course, and all the good stuff. To make the mix even better, I explained to anyone who cared to listen (or not) how shitty Canadians were.
Until one day I stummbled upon a pharagraph in book that was mandatory for my college - it was about 1993, at Cap. It was the English Patient by Ondaatje and it changed my life. It goes like this:
"We were German, English, Hungarian, African - all of us insignificant to them. Gradually we became nationless. I came to hate nations. We are deformed by nation-states. Maddox died because of nations..All of us, even those with European homes and children in the distance, wished to remove the clothing of our countries... I wanted to erase my name and the place I had come from."
It was in a context were good friends became enemies once the war broke out. Unbelievable image, where a few guys sit in a tent and find out that they are enemies because someone up there decided to declare war.
Even today, 15 years later, it has the same impact on me. I stumbled upon the book at the local Bucharest English book store, and I bought the thing for my kids.
I am still thankful to Ondaatje that he changed my life. I might have come to the same conclusion some other path, but I'm sure it saved time and energy for me.
Nationalism it's still a disease in some parts of Europe. Very different that what it's in the States, I believe even more harmful. Can't wrap my head around it, but it's important for some people to belong to a nation. Even if it's a shitty one. Whatever that means. I guess it's a bit like religion, we all need to belong to some club.
Well, I guess I'm cured. Or am I?
I used to argue 'til I ran out of breath about how great Romanians were, how Romanians are the first people of Europe - documented by Herodotus, of course, and all the good stuff. To make the mix even better, I explained to anyone who cared to listen (or not) how shitty Canadians were.
Until one day I stummbled upon a pharagraph in book that was mandatory for my college - it was about 1993, at Cap. It was the English Patient by Ondaatje and it changed my life. It goes like this:
"We were German, English, Hungarian, African - all of us insignificant to them. Gradually we became nationless. I came to hate nations. We are deformed by nation-states. Maddox died because of nations..All of us, even those with European homes and children in the distance, wished to remove the clothing of our countries... I wanted to erase my name and the place I had come from."
It was in a context were good friends became enemies once the war broke out. Unbelievable image, where a few guys sit in a tent and find out that they are enemies because someone up there decided to declare war.
Even today, 15 years later, it has the same impact on me. I stumbled upon the book at the local Bucharest English book store, and I bought the thing for my kids.
I am still thankful to Ondaatje that he changed my life. I might have come to the same conclusion some other path, but I'm sure it saved time and energy for me.
Nationalism it's still a disease in some parts of Europe. Very different that what it's in the States, I believe even more harmful. Can't wrap my head around it, but it's important for some people to belong to a nation. Even if it's a shitty one. Whatever that means. I guess it's a bit like religion, we all need to belong to some club.
Well, I guess I'm cured. Or am I?
Monday, August 11, 2008
Rock and Watts. Not Kid, Chris.
"Many people never grow up. They stay all their lives with a passionate need for external authority and guidance, pretending not to trust their own judgment. Never pretend to a love which you do not actually feel, for love is not ours to command. Light shines in darkness because what else could it shine in? Life is a game, the first rule of which is that it is not a game. There is no formula for generating the authentic warmth of love. It cannot be copied. You cannot talk yourself into it or rouse it by straining at the emotions or by dedicating yourself solemnly to the service of mankind. Everyone has love, but it can only come out when he is convinced of the impossibility and the frustration of trying to love himself. This conviction will not come through condemnations, through hating oneself, through calling self love bad names in the universe. It comes only in the awareness that one has no self to love."
and the others?
"You don't have many choices in life, including who you love. But how you love that person it's your choice."
Questions?
and the others?
"You don't have many choices in life, including who you love. But how you love that person it's your choice."
Questions?
Authentic
".. They say that extroverts are unhappier than introverts, and have to compensate for this by constantly proving to themselves how happy and contented and at ease with life they are..."
These are the words of Coehlo and they seemed interesting to me.. I'm not going into what extrovert and introvert may mean - that's your food for thought, but another thing popped into my brain. It is about what it means to be Canadian and/or Romanian and it came from the text above that says 'constantly proving to themselves', as opposed to proving things to others. Here we go..
In Canada I mostly met true people. The meaning of that is that they didn't pretend to be something that they are not and overall had a humility that for a Romanian raised was remarkable. In fact is in the Canadian constitution that besides 'Northern', Canadians are moderate, or in the middle of the pack, or try not to stand out. I tried to find the actual text, but could not. The main idea is that Canadians, if I may generalize, are humble, real and unbelievable to me, when it comes to a way of being. They are of course boring, not courageous or don't put themselves out. I can say that because I too, have Canadian citizenship. In Romania the word 'humility' has a negative baggage.
I had the pleasure in university, at UBC, to sit in the classes of one professor called Petr Petro, a Slovak by birth, who described what he disliked about Canadians and North Americans in general. He said that after they see a movie which they don't particularly like, Canadians say 'It was different'. What does that mean? It's good or bad? Would you recommend it? He compared it to him asking his daughter if she's pregnant and she'd answer "just a little bit".
You get the idea. The Canadians don't want and don't seem to care to impose their point of view. I believe that's healthy. But not that much fun.
What's being yourself, boring or not? I have a good friend in Romania who's fascinated about how fake people can be. He calls the few ones that he likes 'authentic'. The idea is that a lot of people in Bucharest (we are talking about the nouveau riche, the ones that made some money quickly, don't value it and generally don't know how to spend it). When I read the pharagraph that this bit starts with, I was expecting to say 'proving to others', because that's how my mind is set now, because of the very little authentic people.
Strip them off their Versace and Chanel uniforms and a lot of people in Bucharest have little left. I guess that's Eurotrash at its best. Don't think now that all people here are like that. But as political corectness invented by North Americans give me the right, I can say pretty much anything I wish about Romanians. Also about Canadians.. But as time will pass, that will fade away. Probably I'll feel less and less Canadian as time passes. Nonetheless, Canada will stay in my heart forever. I'll try to promote humilty at least as a notion. And because of that, I'll try to prove to myself all things that I am, introvert or not, before proving anything to others. I hope I succeed.
These are the words of Coehlo and they seemed interesting to me.. I'm not going into what extrovert and introvert may mean - that's your food for thought, but another thing popped into my brain. It is about what it means to be Canadian and/or Romanian and it came from the text above that says 'constantly proving to themselves', as opposed to proving things to others. Here we go..
In Canada I mostly met true people. The meaning of that is that they didn't pretend to be something that they are not and overall had a humility that for a Romanian raised was remarkable. In fact is in the Canadian constitution that besides 'Northern', Canadians are moderate, or in the middle of the pack, or try not to stand out. I tried to find the actual text, but could not. The main idea is that Canadians, if I may generalize, are humble, real and unbelievable to me, when it comes to a way of being. They are of course boring, not courageous or don't put themselves out. I can say that because I too, have Canadian citizenship. In Romania the word 'humility' has a negative baggage.
I had the pleasure in university, at UBC, to sit in the classes of one professor called Petr Petro, a Slovak by birth, who described what he disliked about Canadians and North Americans in general. He said that after they see a movie which they don't particularly like, Canadians say 'It was different'. What does that mean? It's good or bad? Would you recommend it? He compared it to him asking his daughter if she's pregnant and she'd answer "just a little bit".
You get the idea. The Canadians don't want and don't seem to care to impose their point of view. I believe that's healthy. But not that much fun.
What's being yourself, boring or not? I have a good friend in Romania who's fascinated about how fake people can be. He calls the few ones that he likes 'authentic'. The idea is that a lot of people in Bucharest (we are talking about the nouveau riche, the ones that made some money quickly, don't value it and generally don't know how to spend it). When I read the pharagraph that this bit starts with, I was expecting to say 'proving to others', because that's how my mind is set now, because of the very little authentic people.
Strip them off their Versace and Chanel uniforms and a lot of people in Bucharest have little left. I guess that's Eurotrash at its best. Don't think now that all people here are like that. But as political corectness invented by North Americans give me the right, I can say pretty much anything I wish about Romanians. Also about Canadians.. But as time will pass, that will fade away. Probably I'll feel less and less Canadian as time passes. Nonetheless, Canada will stay in my heart forever. I'll try to promote humilty at least as a notion. And because of that, I'll try to prove to myself all things that I am, introvert or not, before proving anything to others. I hope I succeed.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Paul Mier, Rousseau and Emile
Back in college I had a great professor who was also a great human being, Paul Mier. Among other good things that I've learned from him, as I was half asleep as his lectures, I remember hearing
"Before you have children read Emile by Rousseau"
Of course it was in context which I missed, as we were studying the Social Contract. Nonetheless, I'm 15 years later, with a kid, reading the thing and I tell the same words to any person that has or plans to have children. It'd be great if you read it regardless - it may be the biggest eye opener I've laid my eyes on. So..
"Read Emile by Rousseau".
You'll see.
PS Paul Mier is a political science professor who, if he didn't move, lives in the Vancouver area and could still be teaching at Capilano College. Great man.
"Before you have children read Emile by Rousseau"
Of course it was in context which I missed, as we were studying the Social Contract. Nonetheless, I'm 15 years later, with a kid, reading the thing and I tell the same words to any person that has or plans to have children. It'd be great if you read it regardless - it may be the biggest eye opener I've laid my eyes on. So..
"Read Emile by Rousseau".
You'll see.
PS Paul Mier is a political science professor who, if he didn't move, lives in the Vancouver area and could still be teaching at Capilano College. Great man.
Why?
Since moving back home - yes, it's home - I have been asked a lot why have I returned.
For a while it was pretty clear to me that my life in Vancouver was gettin pretty unhealthy - too much abuse of anything that's not good, from there the possibility of a healthy relationship diminished, from there I wasn't feeling happy and so on. From Thursday to Sunday morning I was a bit too happy and from Sunday afternoon 'til the following Thursday... not that good.
The decision was very simple - move from Vancouver. And I did. To fucking Germany. For most Canadians Germany seems the bumhole of the univers. For a Romanian is worse, given our latin bullshit. But the circumstances and my rehab took me through Germany, which was not that bad afterall. It made me appreciate the rest much more.
At the end of the day I'm in Romania - a family man, with a lovely and loving wife, which I love to death (she will read this, but it's true). I kept the thought that I moved back home because of all of the above. But one day I came upon a couple of sentences which changed all that. There's room for comment, but I agree with them. It goes something like this:
"... emigration is an enormous mistake. The biggest anyone can make in their life. The loss of home always leaves a hole that never fills."
That's it. A lot of you saw it and even told me at times - 'why don't you go back?". Actually it had a 'then' a the end - "Why don't you fucking go back then??".
Well, I needed a smarter emigrant to show me later on in life that in fact I followed my instincts. By the way, I recommend every word that Rohinton Mistry writes.
Since we are on the subject of emigration or immigration, which for obvious reasons it's important to Mistry and I, I stumbled on another bit on the subject. This time is by Yann Martel, another Canadian of sorts. It starts with why and fits my title:
"Why do people move? What makes them uproot and leave everything they've known for a great unknown beyond the horizon? Why climb this mount Everest of formalities that makes you feel like a beggar? Why enter this jungle of foreigners where everything is new, strange, difficult? The answer is the same all over the world: people move in the hope for a better life"
Well, I guess I initially left because I hoped a better life. And I got it.. I got an unexpected university degree thanks to C.A.B., I learned a new language (more or less), I got a new life, I got new and amazing friends - I got everything I wanted. But I got a bit more, which I quickly covered above.
But let's get real and cut the shit. It was all fine in Bucharest back in 91.. I left to follow my dad and to get away from an ex-communist system and chase the western dream, which was represented by Madonna (and George Michael). But instead of Madonna, Shania Twain showed up. When 10 years later Nelly Furtado made it big I had to get the fuck out of town.
She had a concert in Bucharest a couple of weeks ago. I didn't go.
For a while it was pretty clear to me that my life in Vancouver was gettin pretty unhealthy - too much abuse of anything that's not good, from there the possibility of a healthy relationship diminished, from there I wasn't feeling happy and so on. From Thursday to Sunday morning I was a bit too happy and from Sunday afternoon 'til the following Thursday... not that good.
The decision was very simple - move from Vancouver. And I did. To fucking Germany. For most Canadians Germany seems the bumhole of the univers. For a Romanian is worse, given our latin bullshit. But the circumstances and my rehab took me through Germany, which was not that bad afterall. It made me appreciate the rest much more.
At the end of the day I'm in Romania - a family man, with a lovely and loving wife, which I love to death (she will read this, but it's true). I kept the thought that I moved back home because of all of the above. But one day I came upon a couple of sentences which changed all that. There's room for comment, but I agree with them. It goes something like this:
"... emigration is an enormous mistake. The biggest anyone can make in their life. The loss of home always leaves a hole that never fills."
That's it. A lot of you saw it and even told me at times - 'why don't you go back?". Actually it had a 'then' a the end - "Why don't you fucking go back then??".
Well, I needed a smarter emigrant to show me later on in life that in fact I followed my instincts. By the way, I recommend every word that Rohinton Mistry writes.
Since we are on the subject of emigration or immigration, which for obvious reasons it's important to Mistry and I, I stumbled on another bit on the subject. This time is by Yann Martel, another Canadian of sorts. It starts with why and fits my title:
"Why do people move? What makes them uproot and leave everything they've known for a great unknown beyond the horizon? Why climb this mount Everest of formalities that makes you feel like a beggar? Why enter this jungle of foreigners where everything is new, strange, difficult? The answer is the same all over the world: people move in the hope for a better life"
Well, I guess I initially left because I hoped a better life. And I got it.. I got an unexpected university degree thanks to C.A.B., I learned a new language (more or less), I got a new life, I got new and amazing friends - I got everything I wanted. But I got a bit more, which I quickly covered above.
But let's get real and cut the shit. It was all fine in Bucharest back in 91.. I left to follow my dad and to get away from an ex-communist system and chase the western dream, which was represented by Madonna (and George Michael). But instead of Madonna, Shania Twain showed up. When 10 years later Nelly Furtado made it big I had to get the fuck out of town.
She had a concert in Bucharest a couple of weeks ago. I didn't go.
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