by J.O. Pangilinan
In today’s lecture on Philosophy as a critique of conviction, Sir Garcia raised a point, the superabundance of meaning over the abundance of meaninglessness as explained by Paul Ricoeur. And what came to me was that advice of Ms. Jen Orlina, for every negativity you could think of that would affect your work in your organization, think of 3 positive reasons to counter the negativity. After this class, the advice finally made more sense, rather than simply digesting it literally.
The negativity, which normally seems to be meaningless to me, is over-ruled by the numerous positive reasons, as reasons full of meaning, to counter this negativity that would make me want to quit and give up. But then, this feeling of giving up, if in any case I do give in, prohibits me from encountering and participating in this world-with-others. How then am I to find myself if I do indeed deprive myself of such experiences? And eventually, if the mentality of simply giving up continues further, becoming some sort of natural behavior, wouldn’t I “cease” to exist? Wouldn’t life be pointless if so, and from a rational being becoming some form of object?
Yet despite this temptation of giving up, I must negate the negation and continue to exist – to participate, encounter and engage in this world-with-others. I, therefore, must experience the beauty this world manifests, and take part of the inter-subjective truth.
I then come into a realization, failures or any form of negativity, come our way to make us see that there are more opportunities out there, where we will find our worth. We must go on experience the beauty of life, as cliché it may get, rather than dwell on our short-comings, preventing us from experiencing life in search for our inner selves; then how are we supposed to get closer to that lighted place Marcel speaks of?
I really like how you talked about the consequences or effects of "giving up." The most common or most immediate notion we have when we give up is that we miss an opportunity. But then if you dig deeper, it really just isn't just an opportunity or another experience in life -- it is encountering this world with others and also to truly exist!
ReplyDelete- Finina Muñoz (C)
I think you pointed out something that's very important for all of us. I think it's always import not to give up. Why should we deprive ourselves of our own existence? We should continue to encounter the world through all the positive and negative experiences as we move towards that lighted place.
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ReplyDeleteI believe life is really about the challenges that we face and the negativities and most of the time we tend to focus on the negativities that's why we give up. But in reality, there are more positivities like you pointed out that make us exist meaningfully.
ReplyDeleteDiane Cheng (C)
I'll play devils advocate here and say that negativity and wanting to give up isn't an inherently bad thing that must be avoided at all costs. Because it's just as you said, "failures or any form of negativity, come our way to make us see that there are more opportunities out there, where we will find our worth" Sometimes, you just have to trip up in the dirt and admit that you suck. If a person lived his or her whole life in the plus, then more often than not, they've never spent much time in the minus. Things brings a rather one-sided introspective view of one's self, as they've only experienced one side of the spectrum. Fully experiencing the inner self would mean bringing the self to all sorts of experiences, be it good or bad. Now, wallowing too much in the pits is definitely a bad thing, but every now and then, a dip there may be just the thing we need to learn more about ourselves. Who knows, it may help in figuring out a way to that lighted place Marcel was talking about.
ReplyDelete-Jul Jasper Constantino (C)
I agree with the author, but also with Constantino when he points our negativity and giving up is not a bad thing, and that it is an inherent human characteristic. Not all of us have the discipline and willpower to keep a positive mind 24/7. It is in our nature to doubt sometimes, to let go sometimes. This way we may gain new things. Also negativity teaches us to be cautious, and not to be complacent. For instance, we sometimes imagine the most embarrassing ways the event that we're planning for an org could go wrong. Then we try to come up with strategies beforehand to avoid the possible failure in the execution of the event. As I see it, negativity isn't all bad, it can sometimes help us.
ReplyDelete- Laura Hein (A)
I like how you saw the good in the bad, like how you are able to see that negativity is an opportunity to see beyond that negativity. Perhaps if we are able to control ourselves and perceive the good in the bad, we would be able to continue despite hurdles we might face and we would be able to continue saying "Yes" to whatever challenges life has to bring.
ReplyDeleteKyla Relucio
I really like this! "think of 3 positive reasons to counter the negativity." Even though there is so much negativity in this world, it is normal. All you can do is sometimes embrace it and try your best to find something good in it. It's like "always seeing the brighter side to things." No matter how hard life takes you, we shouldn't be brought down by these negativities, but it should help us somewhat make ourselves better in the long run.
ReplyDelete- Luis Tanjuatco (A)
More often than not, when we experience something bad, we tend to believe that it should be forgotten, that we should just move on with our lives. We believe that what's done is done. However, in my opinion, you are right. Our failures pave the way to make us see the opportunities that life presents us. When we go back to the past, we don't go back to try to relive it. Instead, we go back and look for the potential things that we didn't do, and decide to act on those potentials. It is there where we see a development in who we are as person, and as a being who exists in this world.
ReplyDeleteKathleen Sun (A)
I like the way you said that there are opportunities beyond the negativity in whatever situation we face. The negativity in life definitely should not pull us down but instead lead us to more opportunities that we could perform better at. Truly, if one sees that there is something more to the negativity than a mere dead end, one would be able to reach the lighted place. In life, people usually get pulled down by this negativity, and I believe that the challenge for them is to face this negativity with a positive light so that they may be able to find what truly makes them fulfilled.
ReplyDeleteJohann Pe (A)
I really like the way you look for other opportunities to counter the negativity of your work. You really showed that despite all the negativity surrounding you, you have found a way to not only cope with these hardships but also overcome them as well.
ReplyDeleteStephen Vera Cruz (A)
"I then come into a realization, failures or any form of negativity, come our way to make us see that there are more opportunities out there, where we will find our worth."
ReplyDeleteI agree. We are shaped by our experiences, and i've always wondered how some people come out strong despite having gone through situations that should have crushed their spirit. Thinking about experience in this sense leads us to believe that negative situations do not have to define our lives. Maybe its in the way we interpret our experiences. We can either see all the bad things or look at the good points in life. Maybe we should try to define our lives with the good points instead of the bad.
Rexelle Piad (A)
I like what you said that "Yet despite this temptation of giving up, I must negate the negation and continue to exist – to participate, encounter and engage in this world-with-others" as it precisely illustrates how we have to say yes and refuse the negation. We have to keep striving and keep living despite all the negativity we will encounter in the world. I would just like to share that I have this friend who is so pessimistic with everything and she often views things through the worst possible scenario and as a whole, this actually affects her personality and attitude towards life. I often tell her that life is really a matter of perspective and I think she would truly be happier if she chose to see life optimistically for once. Always thinking of the worst possible scenario actually makes you more anxious of the world and life in general, it makes you have a harder time striving to wake up everyday and also it makes you not look forward to life. She often tells me this --- on how there is nothing else to look forward to. However in my opinion, life is very surprising, each day provides you a new surprise and this is what makes it truly beautiful. Ultimately, life is truly about perspective, to see things through a differently, and in here we would actually enjoy life despite all its short-comings and hardships.
ReplyDeleteFrenchi Baluyot (A)
In my 18 years of existence, I had countless dreams - some of these may be really hard to achieve but I'd like to think that most, if not all, are realistic and achievable. Last year, I was applying for a scholarship but I didn't get it and I became so frustrated and disappointed with my life and myself. Then my mother told me, "Bata ka pa, mas marami ka pang frustrations na mararanasan pag tanda mo." It made me feel a little bit better and I realized that not getting the scholarship wouldn't stop me from trying again. I mean, I know what I want and I am trying to pursue it because I know that it will make me happy and maybe, even stop this restlessness that I feel. The failures, problems and other negativities exist for a reason - for us to become better, to find out where we really want to be and find out where we have to be because we have a place in this world and an even bigger place if we finally know what our hearts desires. If it means we have to give up that dream already because it contradicts what really matters for us, then we should. Giving it up doesn't mean we fail but it becomes a means for us to continue our lives in a much more open way: "to participate, encounter, and engage in this world-with-others."
ReplyDeleteMary Ann Docuyanan (A)
I remember a quote from J.K. Rowling, as I posted and shared this the other day. She mentioned this quote, "But some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all -- in which case, you fail by default. - J.K. Rowling". (Refer to an awesome art post here, explaining the inevitability of failures and giving up- http://zenpencils.com/comic/127-j-k-rowling-the-fringe-benefits-of-failure/)
ReplyDeleteAnd like your blogpost, I can really identify with the feeling of giving up, the feeling of negativity clouding every part of you, the feeling of failure, the feeling of things not going well, but most of all-- the feeling of not being good enough. But you're right, it is a part of life and it happens. Its something natural, it is still something worth venturing into.
Denise Tan (A)