In a world of massive connection and interdependence, where communication is extremely easy and interconnectivity is natural, it is interesting to think this as a world where people don't want to take initiative.
Humans evolve according to our own initiative. It seems that starts a new path in our brain and soul, facilitating the changes and helping creating something different.
Yes, there is lots of creativity and innovation and small pockets of leadership here and there, but the real initiative that made our ancestors to leave their places and go to a land they didn't know anything about, that is missing.
What are the consequences? We are stuck with ourselves, with our own mistakes... I am not mention your recent divorce, but I am speaking about the destruction of nature as a whole and the increasing exploitation of people enslaved in this otherwise wonderful 21st century.
That is what we all need now: we need to be the ONE. The one that stands when something bad happens, the one who changes before anyone does and that one, who is able to tolerate and tolerate, and in this way help the world to be a better place.
Would you like to be the one?
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Why do singing bowls sing?
A new "toy" came to me recently: a singing bowl. After struggling a bit, with the help of a YouTube video, I was able to do what most people like to do: make it sing. If you never heard one, check the video...
It is amazingly easy and somehow soothing, but it can also be annoying. It made me think about humans. If a piece like that can do a sound which is almost eternal and it can be similar to Om, why not us?
In fact, we are all singing bowls... When a situation emerges, it touches us and we keep on "singing" about the situation, living and reliving it. We spread whatever happened to us all around our person, influencing others and the environment where we live.
Sometimes that effect is positive. For instance, when you have had a wonderful realization, it is good to widespread the sensation. It is important to show others so they can follow your example too.
Other times... If you had a bad experience with someone, you tend to talk about that person to everyone else, trying to make their minds feel the same as you.
It all depends on the master of the singing bowl, in this case, you. You are the one who has to see what you are doing and control the effect you create on others.
Our society is a big network, everything someone does impacts another and another and another... We can't avoid that, but what we can all do is check the quality of the impact, so that the sound of so many living singing bowls can heal the world.
It is amazingly easy and somehow soothing, but it can also be annoying. It made me think about humans. If a piece like that can do a sound which is almost eternal and it can be similar to Om, why not us?
In fact, we are all singing bowls... When a situation emerges, it touches us and we keep on "singing" about the situation, living and reliving it. We spread whatever happened to us all around our person, influencing others and the environment where we live.
Sometimes that effect is positive. For instance, when you have had a wonderful realization, it is good to widespread the sensation. It is important to show others so they can follow your example too.
Other times... If you had a bad experience with someone, you tend to talk about that person to everyone else, trying to make their minds feel the same as you.
It all depends on the master of the singing bowl, in this case, you. You are the one who has to see what you are doing and control the effect you create on others.
Our society is a big network, everything someone does impacts another and another and another... We can't avoid that, but what we can all do is check the quality of the impact, so that the sound of so many living singing bowls can heal the world.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Happiness in times of Facebook
Sometime ago, a video started to circulate around. It is a short film called What's in your mind? and it touches the very delicate subject of happiness in times of Facebook.
Facebook and social network in general, is a new wave. Very little we know about their effect on our society, lifestyle and way to perceive the world. Let's go back a little and compare with other phenomena.
I will take as an example Brazilian soap opera. It is a very established business and part of Brazilian culture. Many times, the country stops working because something great is happening there - so, try to calculate the loss in terms of money and time, in an almost 200 million people country... What about its impact? It has influenced the way of speaking, fashion, values and customs all over the place, and songs that are part of their soundtrack become hits. Nobody realized this when it started to get importance. In fact, when I was a child, it was not considered manly to watch a soap opera... Now the impact is done and Brazilians coordinate even their schedules and routine according to the timing of their favorite soap opera.
Is it something similar happening in social networks? About two years ago, Facebook was the first webpage opened daily at people's workplace, replacing emails... Many people follow what others are doing, stories pass through very quickly and pictures allow you to feel you are part of something. It unites in a sense, seeing a friend's wedding you could not attend or listening to motivational stories.
But it creates a false sense of friendship. A person I know who don't have many real and deep friends, has more than 2,000 friends in his preferred social network... Problem is when bad situations arise; these 2,000 people will only press Like, or will give him a nice Comment. They won't call him or offer him a job.
I have seen the difference between people you know's comments and people you don't really know's comments... Sometimes, the first group is even better in words but it is normally the second group that extends their hand to help you in a time of need.
And what can happen in a society when people start to realize their so-called friends didn't come when they really need it? That is something we are still waiting to see, the psychological impact of finally discerning reality from "virtuality".
At this time of social networks reigning all over the world, it is very important to tell the difference between real sensations and the fake ones. It seems our minds are not clear about and we can cry the same amount if our aunt dies or watching a touching video someone posted in their wall. But, we see the difference... Don't we?
Happiness has three different levels. One is very external and is provoked by anything, manifesting as joy, cheers and screams; it is that happiness you felt when your team scored or your son got that wonderful job. All levels of happiness are good anyway, but this level cannot be sustained for long. After all, one day your team will not score or your son will fail to get what he wants. So, you cannot rely on this level to be happy; if you do so, your happiness will not be constant. In other words, when you get a Like or someone Shares your post, you get happiness; when they "unfriend" you, that happiness is over.
A second level comes from attainments. More than your team scoring; an achievement means something that will be with you forever. When your son graduated, that is something nobody can steal from him, and from you. He IS a lawyer... forever... This is a more permanent level and it can provide you happiness for a long time. Still... well, things happen, and people don't like lawyers that much. Sometimes, even while having the attainment in your hands, you can forget its meaning. And it is the meaning that generates happiness. It is a kind of happiness you want to post, to show everyone how happy you are.
The third level comes from inside you. It is the happiness a little baby shows in their face, smiling or looking serene and peaceful. It is that wonderful energy that makes the baby, and some wise souls, to laugh and clap, even though there is no apparent reason. We all have that happiness inside, and it is always there. We just need to tap into it to feel happy, no matter the circumstances around us. It is a kind of happiness you want to post, to inspire others to feel as happy as you are, because you know they are that happy. Always.
So, while enjoying the wonders of Internet, don't forget, ever, this third level of happiness. Enjoy your Likes and Shares, but look inside you and check constantly that wonderful treasure of happiness you have is being used for you and for others.
Facebook and social network in general, is a new wave. Very little we know about their effect on our society, lifestyle and way to perceive the world. Let's go back a little and compare with other phenomena.
I will take as an example Brazilian soap opera. It is a very established business and part of Brazilian culture. Many times, the country stops working because something great is happening there - so, try to calculate the loss in terms of money and time, in an almost 200 million people country... What about its impact? It has influenced the way of speaking, fashion, values and customs all over the place, and songs that are part of their soundtrack become hits. Nobody realized this when it started to get importance. In fact, when I was a child, it was not considered manly to watch a soap opera... Now the impact is done and Brazilians coordinate even their schedules and routine according to the timing of their favorite soap opera.
Is it something similar happening in social networks? About two years ago, Facebook was the first webpage opened daily at people's workplace, replacing emails... Many people follow what others are doing, stories pass through very quickly and pictures allow you to feel you are part of something. It unites in a sense, seeing a friend's wedding you could not attend or listening to motivational stories.
But it creates a false sense of friendship. A person I know who don't have many real and deep friends, has more than 2,000 friends in his preferred social network... Problem is when bad situations arise; these 2,000 people will only press Like, or will give him a nice Comment. They won't call him or offer him a job.
I have seen the difference between people you know's comments and people you don't really know's comments... Sometimes, the first group is even better in words but it is normally the second group that extends their hand to help you in a time of need.
And what can happen in a society when people start to realize their so-called friends didn't come when they really need it? That is something we are still waiting to see, the psychological impact of finally discerning reality from "virtuality".
At this time of social networks reigning all over the world, it is very important to tell the difference between real sensations and the fake ones. It seems our minds are not clear about and we can cry the same amount if our aunt dies or watching a touching video someone posted in their wall. But, we see the difference... Don't we?
Happiness has three different levels. One is very external and is provoked by anything, manifesting as joy, cheers and screams; it is that happiness you felt when your team scored or your son got that wonderful job. All levels of happiness are good anyway, but this level cannot be sustained for long. After all, one day your team will not score or your son will fail to get what he wants. So, you cannot rely on this level to be happy; if you do so, your happiness will not be constant. In other words, when you get a Like or someone Shares your post, you get happiness; when they "unfriend" you, that happiness is over.
A second level comes from attainments. More than your team scoring; an achievement means something that will be with you forever. When your son graduated, that is something nobody can steal from him, and from you. He IS a lawyer... forever... This is a more permanent level and it can provide you happiness for a long time. Still... well, things happen, and people don't like lawyers that much. Sometimes, even while having the attainment in your hands, you can forget its meaning. And it is the meaning that generates happiness. It is a kind of happiness you want to post, to show everyone how happy you are.
The third level comes from inside you. It is the happiness a little baby shows in their face, smiling or looking serene and peaceful. It is that wonderful energy that makes the baby, and some wise souls, to laugh and clap, even though there is no apparent reason. We all have that happiness inside, and it is always there. We just need to tap into it to feel happy, no matter the circumstances around us. It is a kind of happiness you want to post, to inspire others to feel as happy as you are, because you know they are that happy. Always.
So, while enjoying the wonders of Internet, don't forget, ever, this third level of happiness. Enjoy your Likes and Shares, but look inside you and check constantly that wonderful treasure of happiness you have is being used for you and for others.
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Calculating your real age
Normally people after a while ask about my age. I got that part of my family where we really don't get old that fast. Add to that a vegetarian diet for more than 30 years and military service (yes, that helps!), and voilà, you have a person who will look at least 4 years younger.
There are things which are certain in everyone's lives, and one of them is that one day you will get old. And day by day you are already getting older and older.
Science has tried to prevent aging and people embrace anything that makes them to look and feel younger, trying to go against the inevitable.
What if, instead of trying to prevent your body aging, you focus your energy and prevent yourself to age... Let me explain: your mind, your capacity of decision, your good mood and creativity, those things and many more don't need to end just because your body is going that way.
Many years ago, in Santiago, Chile, I was going home. The train was not so packed, but there were no seats available when two very, very old women get on it. Even though their age was obvious, nobody tried to give them a seat, except another pregnant lady (please, don't blame me, I was very far from them...). But they refused, enjoying the ride and getting off a few stations later.
I have seen in my life very young people behaving like what we would expect old people's behavior, and the opposite too. I have seen men with three kids acting as a big teenager and a very young man starting a company with full responsibility.
Your real age will never be measured by how many grey hair you have or the movements of your body. Your real age is inside you - there you can be as young as you want.
There are things which are certain in everyone's lives, and one of them is that one day you will get old. And day by day you are already getting older and older.
Science has tried to prevent aging and people embrace anything that makes them to look and feel younger, trying to go against the inevitable.
What if, instead of trying to prevent your body aging, you focus your energy and prevent yourself to age... Let me explain: your mind, your capacity of decision, your good mood and creativity, those things and many more don't need to end just because your body is going that way.
Many years ago, in Santiago, Chile, I was going home. The train was not so packed, but there were no seats available when two very, very old women get on it. Even though their age was obvious, nobody tried to give them a seat, except another pregnant lady (please, don't blame me, I was very far from them...). But they refused, enjoying the ride and getting off a few stations later.
I have seen in my life very young people behaving like what we would expect old people's behavior, and the opposite too. I have seen men with three kids acting as a big teenager and a very young man starting a company with full responsibility.
Your real age will never be measured by how many grey hair you have or the movements of your body. Your real age is inside you - there you can be as young as you want.
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