The Secret

by Kat Balonan

13 September 2012

Discussed Text: Rene Descartes, Meditations on the First Philosophy

“People are like stained- glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within”

- Elizabeth Kübler- Ross

Over the years I have heard a lot of tragic stories and tabloids of celebrities who started out showing exceptional skills and talents in line with their careers but gradually slipping down the path where they begin to depend on some of the vices as their only means of attaining happiness. In the discussion of the article by Descartes, one of the few lines that stood out the most, for me, is when he said: “It is not enough to have a good mind, rather the main thing is to apply it well. The greatest souls are capable of the greatest vices as well as of the greatest virtue:.  In a lot of ways this can be connected especially in our society today.

In the fast- paced society today, a lot of people tend to forget the importance of simplicity and compassion especially towards others. Many of us are so busy in trying to concentrate in attaining our needs or our goals in life that we actually forget to LIVE our life. The saying: “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever” by Mahatma Gandhi seems to gradually fade in the midst of our work, our school work and other “seemingly important priorities” Perhaps a lot of us still continues to search for the meaning of life and how to attain happiness in this chaotic world that we try to search these things in the various aspects of our lives. There are times where we search in the wrong places that we actually end up living only in temporary happiness through these vices. Others who search in the right places began to develop a sense of awareness not only in him but towards the people that surrounds him.

So then, where can we find the answer to the idea of life? I believe the secret is found in the “classics”, such as poetry, mathematics, writing, etc., that Descartes had described in his article. It is through these things that we begin to slowly understand and appreciate the beauty of the thought that is rooted deep in our society. It is by indulging in these things that we learn not only about ourselves but also our society. This is not to say that what we read or what we learn in these classic is the only way to live our life but it is more on the idea or the essence that we gain from these things. It’s kind of like traveling. It will be boring if we are given an instruction manual on where to travel first or what to do. It defeats its primary purpose. Traveling is more on self- discovery just like when reading these classics. It is more effective if we apply what we learn or what we experience in the way we lived. Try to recall a favorite book that you have read recently or a long time ago. Usually, you would remember this book because you were able to identify with the character or maybe the situation is somehow familiar. Most of all, it made an impact in your life no matter how small or big it is. It somehow made us think more about life and changes us in the inside. For me, the book that I can say influences me the most is perhaps Paolo Coelho's The Alchemist because it was the very first book that made me think about the meaning of life. It somehow changes my perspective that life is all about being what society wants you to be.

To end my entry I would like to share one of the poems that I learned in my Lit class that really help me think about the importance of finding ourselves and our happiness.

Richard Cory

Edwin Arlington Robinson

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,

We people on the pavement looked at him:

He was a gentleman from sole to crown,

Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,

And he was always human when he talked; 

But still he fluttered pulses when he said,

'Good-morning,' and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich - yes, richer than a king -

And admirably schooled in every grace:

In fine, we thought that he was everything

To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,

And went without the meat, and cursed the bread; 

And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,

Went home and put a bullet through his head