Because of the Colour of the Wheat Fields

La Siesta (after Millet) - Vincent Van Gogh (1890)

It is common knowledge, among the people who know me well, that The Little Prince holds a very special place in my heart (see this post). I read it regularly, and every time something new and different strikes me. The Little Prince is a treasure chest of truths about life, the human experience, friendship and love. Let me share briefly some thoughts I've had about the book lately.

The people in my world are constantly moving, both literally and figuratively. Moving away, moving back, moving farther, moving closer. Perhaps it's because of this day and age, or perhaps it's an eagerness to see, taste, and experience more and more, to push the limits of the known and attain the sea of possibilities that lies beyond, deep inside of us.

I, too, am always moving. On the one hand, it's a beautiful thing to see the world, to stretch your horizons, to step out of your comfort zone, to learn and grow beyond what you could have ever imagined. On the other hand, it sometimes becomes exhausting and burdensome to feel uprooted and have to start anew, in all areas of life, all the time.

One particular area where moving can hurt the most is friendship. Movement fosters creating new relationships because of (1) an increased exposure to new people, and (2) the necessity to make new relationships to 'survive' in society. From a sea of unfamiliar faces, some eventually emerge that have meaning. From an abstract mess of colour and texture emerge figures which our brain can recognise and make associations with.

You're given a geographic location, and a limited amount of time, and relationships happen. You find kindred spirits, invest your time and mind in them, and clothe your heart with shared moments and memories. It's a delightful phenomenon, to see the foreign become familiar, to tame that which was wild.

Oh, but when you leave your friends, or when your friends leave you, your heart is stripped of its clothes, laid bare again. Cold, vulnerable, and alone. What has been given can't be returned, and it feels like sweet, sweet theft. It sometimes feels like the pain of losing someone you're attached to, and having to start all over again, outweighs the benefits of having developed that friendship. What good is it to create something valuable, only to see it go away?

In the midst of moving, moving again, and moving one more time over the past few months, I genuinely asked myself that question. And in the midst of my reflections, I remembered my favourite passage in the Little Prince, the long dialogue between the fox and the Little Prince.

When they first meet, the fox asks the little prince to become his friend:

"My life is very monotonous," the fox said. "I hunt chickens; men hunt me. All the chickens are just alike, and all the men are just alike. And, in consequence, I am a little bored. But if you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life. I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow. And then look: you see the grain-fields down yonder? I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the color of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat...

The fox then explains that relationships require investment and energy--the fox and the little prince cannot be friends right away, but must 'tame' each other.

So the little prince tamed the fox. And when the hour of his departure drew near--
"Ah," said the fox, "I shall cry."
"It is your own fault," said the little prince. "I never wished you any sort of harm; but you wanted me to tame you . . ."
"Yes, that is so," said the fox.
"But now you are going to cry!" said the little prince.
"Yes, that is so," said the fox.
"Then it has done you no good at all!"
"It has done me good," said the fox, "because of the colour of the wheat fields."

I was very inspired by this--the pain is worthwhile, because the gain is that that which was meaningless, is now meaningful. Even when people you have invested yourself in are physically removed from you, tokens from your shared experience are permanent and everywhere in your daily, tangible life. There is now beauty, savour and substance in what was bland, ordinary and hollow. And it has done you good.

The Other #YOLO

YOLO. You Only Live Once.

This acronym has become increasingly popular in symbolyzing a perspective that is focused on the pursuit of pleasure (the senses) as well as achieving one's personal goals and ambitions. Parallels can be drawn with the phrase carpe diem (''seize the day'') and the maxim ''eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.''

Robert Herrick's To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time (1648) is emblematic of carpe diem as a literary genre:

''Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May''
- John William Waterhouse (1909)

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,

Old time is still a-flying;

And this same flower that smiles today

Tomorrow will be dying.

The glorious lamp of heaven the sun,

The higher he's a-getting,

The sooner will his race be run,

And nearer he's to setting.

That age is best which is the first,

When youth and blood are warmer;

But being spent, the worse, and worst

Times still succeed the former.

Then be not coy, but use your time,

And, while ye may, go marry;

For, having lost but once your prime,

                       You may forever tarry.

Thomas Jordan's Coronemus nos Rosis antequam marcescant (1637) gives a more comprehensive illustration of carpe diem as idealized during this time period:

Jacob Jordaens, The King Drinks. 

Let us drink and be merry, dance, joke, and rejoice,

With claret and sherry, theorbo and voice!

The changeable world to our joy is unjust,

      All treasure’s uncertain,

      Then down with your dust!

In frolics dispose your pounds, shillings, and pence,

For we shall be nothing a hundred years hence.

We’ll sport and be free with Moll, Betty, and Dolly,

Have oysters and lobsters to cure melancholy:

Fish-dinners will make a lass spring like a flea,

      Dame Venus, love’s lady,

      Was born of the sea;

With her and with Bacchus we’ll tickle the sense,

For we shall be past it a hundred years hence.

Your most beautiful bride who with garlands is crown’d

And kills with each glance as she treads on the ground,

Whose lightness and brightness doth shine in such splendour

      That none but the stars

      Are thought fit to attend her,

Though now she be pleasant and sweet to the sense,

Will be damnable mouldy a hundred years hence.

Then why should we turmoil in cares and in fears,

Turn all our tranquill’ty to sighs and to tears?

Let’s eat, drink, and play till the worms do corrupt us,

      ’Tis certain, Post mortem

      Nulla voluptas.

For health, wealth and beauty, wit, learning and sense,

Must all come to nothing a hundred years hence.

Life's brevity and fleetingnness found in both poems is understood here as promoting a live-in-the-moment mentality the ultimate aim being to delight one's senses (food, drink, sexuality) in a self-centered way. This lifestyle involves squandering one's money (''in frolics dispose your pounds, shillings, and pence'') without reflecting on the meaning of life (''then why should we turmoil in cares and in fears'').

Three Ages of Man (16th century) - Titian

PURPOSEFUL YOLO

It should be noted that this discussion focuses on 'YOLO' taken to the extreme--it is not necessarily wrong to pursue ambitions and, to some extent, leisure. Knowing that life is short can be a good incentive to seize unique opportunities and step out of one's comfort zone.

YOLO has it right. You only live once. However, as William Penn said: ''Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.'' Our time on earth is short. How, then, will we use the time that is entrusted to us?

The Book of Psalm says, ''Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.'' Similarly, Because our days are numbered, Paul urges us to ''make the most of every opportunity'' and seek wisdom. James writes that what pleases God is ''to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.''

Our purpose is thus twofold: to seek God's wisdom and goodness as well as caring for the less fortunate. Loving people--both strangers and those around us--requires selflessness and self-sacrifice. It requires us to place others' well-being above our own and invest time and energy in them.

Our knowledge that life on earth is finite should prompt us to seek truth and goodness beyond self-fulfillment, self-gratification and self-actualization.

''Learn to do right; seek justice.''

This life is the only chance we have do good, serve the truth, and make a difference in this world. Let us invest and use it wisely.

''Wreck of Time'' - Mihai Criste

''Old''

 

Memory of the Garden at Etten (Ladies of Arles) - Van Gogh (1888)

Old. 

Aged. 

Ancient. 

Decrepit. 

Elderly. 

Gray. 

Tired.

These are a few of the synonyms I got for the word ''old'' when searching on thesaurus.com. I believe these words (and ideas) reflect society's view on old age: it is out-of-date, retrograde, used.

To have vs. To be
I recently spent a great deal of time reflecting of what it is and what it means to be old. To ''be'' old.
The use of the verb  ''to be'' suggests that ''old,'' in a person, isn't merely an accessory of one's identity, but at its very core. When you ''have'' something, you can easily change it or replace it, or so it seems. When you ''are'' something, changing is trickier.

Objects vs. People
I don't like how the use of the adjective ''old'' sometimes suggests an objectification of people. Let me explain.
Things get old. In this post-modern world, we buy, consume, and throw away. We are increasingly witnessing the phenomenon of obsolescence, and even planned obsolescence, in which technologies last for a limited time only and must then be replaced by newer, more effective ones.
 
People aren't like this. People don't become obsolete. There is no such thing as becoming useless because of age. On the contrary, the elderly have an incredible amount of science and wisdom to share.

Body vs. Soul
My real question is, can one really get old? I mean, the body sure gets old, and eventually dies. But can the soul be old? Can one's mind be old? I would say I don't think so.

It is mostly experience that differentiates generations and how they reflect on things and ideas. Experience, and a different historical background. Older people don't necessarily have an ''old'' perception of the world we live in, but one that takes into consideration their past experience.


This short post is by no means exhaustive of my thoughts on the subject. The point I want to get across is that we need to rethink our conception of ''old.'' There need not be an absolute dichotomy between ''old'' and ''new;'' these might just be different stages, degrees or perceptions in the wide spectrum of the human experience.

Brief Thoughts On Growing Up

As I am getting older and working (or rather studying) my way through life, I am often evaluating and re-evaluating whether or not I have succeeded in the goals and objectives I have set for myself. Time flies, and it often seems like I have been too busy and didn't have enough time (and discipline) to become who I wanted to be.

When we are young, we have a certain idea of what we want to be like as adults. At the time, it seemed like adulthood was ages away; we thought we had a great deal of time to suppress our bad habits and flaws, to work on developing certain qualities and become that ''ideal person'' we had in mind.

It turns out that our time is short, that our faults are persistent, and that virtue requires a lot of discipline and self-sacrifice.

Someone once told me:
''Don't sacrifice what you want for what you want right now''

I can find two applications of this principle:

1. As a university student, it is sometimes very tempting to yield to the temptation of escaping my homework and readings in order to do more ''pleasant'' and ''entertaining'' things, such as wasting time on the internet, watching one of my favourite movies, etc.

It seems like a natural inclination to want to sacrifice what I want (an education) for what I want right now (leisure).

2. Paradoxically, what I want can become what I want right now in light of other priorities. Maybe the thing I want right now (an education, a career, traveling, for example) can become obstacles to what I want (the big picture for my life).

What exactly is the reason for our life? Do we live up to it? Or do we forget the big picture because we are focused on what we want right now?

Distraction

Distraction.

«Manque d'attention, habituel ou passager, de l'esprit occupé à autre chose que ce qui lui est proposé»
«Ensemble de chose qui occupent agréablement l'esprit, délassent et recréent»

Il y a un bon moment que je pense à écrire au sujet de la distraction.
La facilité à laquelle l'être humain est distrait et se laisse distraire m'a toujours fascinée. Pourquoi, lorsque nous sommes occupés à une tâche, nous laissons-nous aller à nos pensées, ou délaissons-nous notre tâche pour faire autre chose?
Il semble que lorsque notre esprit est occupé à quelque pensée ou réflexion grave et importante, la tentation de la distraction et du loisir devient irrésistible.

C'est en quelque sorte une fuite de l'absolu et une soif de légèreté et de plaisir.

N'est-ce pas une tendance très répandue chez l'être humain? Nous laissons de côté nos devoirs et passons plutôt des heures à regarder des vidéos et flâner sur Facebook.
De la même façon,  nous préférons nous divertir plutôt que de penser aux choses importantes de la vie, et de la mort.

Les hommes n'ayant pu guérir la mort, la misère, l'ignorance, ils se sont avisés, pour se rendre heureux, de n'y point penser. - Blaise Pascal 

Le divertissement est le meilleur régime contre le poids de l'existence - Franck Dhumes

Cette tendance à la distraction et au divertissement comme «détournement» m'effraie. On ne peut sans cesse remettre à plus tard la pensée de l'avenir. Le sentiment d'avoir perdu son temps est un des plus terribles, sachant que notre temps est limité et qu'on ne peut le récupérer si l'on en fait mauvais usage.

C'est précisément pour cette raison que l'on doit fuir cette tendance à la distraction et au divertissement pour ce qui est des questions sur l'existence et la mort.

Mieux vaut aller dans une maison de deuil que d'aller dans une maison de festin; car c'est là la fin de tout homme, et celui qui vit prend la chose à coeur. - Ecclésiaste 7:2

La jeunesse est particulièrement sensible à la distraction. Tant de choses s'offrent à nos yeux, à nos coeurs, à nos esprits. Nous sommes facilement distraits, facilement divertis, et c'est là ce que nous recherchons, bien souvent.
Blaise Pascal, qui, vous aurez deviné, est un de mes philosophes préférés, a dit que «la seule chose qui nous console de nos misères est le divertissement et c'est pourtant la plus grande de nos misères».

La jeunesse est pourtant le moment idéal pour réfléchir et rechercher la vérité. Quoi de plus terrible que de se rendre compte, à la fin de nos jours, que notre vie n'avait aucun sens ou que nous n'avons pas vécu pour la vérité?

Jeune homme, réjouis-toi dans ta jeunesse, livre ton cœur à la joie pendant les jours de ta jeunesse, marche dans les voies de ton cœur et selon les regards de tes yeux; mais sache que pour tout cela Dieu t’appellera en jugement. 

Bannis de ton cœur le chagrin, et éloigne le mal de ton corps; car la jeunesse et l’aurore sont vanité. Mais souviens-toi de ton créateur pendant les jours de ta jeunesse, avant que les jours mauvais arrivent et que les années s’approchent où tu diras: Je n’y prends point de plaisir;  avant que s’obscurcissent le soleil et la lumière, la lune et les étoiles, et que les nuages reviennent après la pluie, temps où les gardiens de la maison tremblent, où les hommes forts se courbent, où celles qui moulent s’arrêtent parce qu’elles sont diminuées, où ceux qui regardent par les fenêtres sont obscurcis, où les deux battants de la porte se ferment sur la rue quand s’abaisse le bruit de la meule, où l’on se lève au chant de l’oiseau, où s’affaiblissent toutes les filles du chant, où l’on redoute ce qui est élevé, où l’on a des terreurs en chemin, où l’amandier fleurit, où la sauterelle devient pesante, et où la câpre n’a plus d’effet, car l’homme s’en va vers sa demeure éternelle, et les pleureurs parcourent les rues;  avant que le cordon d’argent se détache, que le vase d’or se brise, que le seau se rompe sur la source, et que la roue se casse sur la citerne; avant que la poussière retourne à la terre, comme elle y était, et que l’esprit retourne à Dieu qui l’a donné. - Ecclésiaste 12:1-9

Il est encore temps.

In the Great Scheme of Things

At the Milliner's (1878) - Pierre-Auguste Renoir

I love this painting and the idea it conveys. The woman, though surrounded with colours and noise and movement, is calm and thoughtful, almost daydreaming.

I wish I was that woman, calm, peaceful and serene in the midst of a restless world.

My world is restless, and so is my life, most of the time. It seems like there's always more work to be done. It is so easy to let ourselves be carried away by our daily worries and go about life with our eyes closed, focused on the task and the here and now and losing sight of the greater scheme of things.

It is so tempting to trade the ultimate for the immediate.
It is so easy to just go with the flow.
It is so easy to let ourselves be overwhelmed

In the midst of this crazy life I hope to not get caught up in the daily details. As one of my teachers would say, I don't want to ''major in minor.''

It's really all about keeping the big picture in mind. We have but one life to live.

Somedays, the only thing that keeps me from falling into despair is this:

Commit your way to the Lord,
trust in him, and he will act. (Psalm 37:7) 

I need to be reminded that I can trust God with my life, my schooling, my job, my hopes and aspirations. I can rest in the knowledge that my life is in his hands and that He will take care of me. I need not worry about a thing.

For in Him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, 'we are His offspring'. (Acts 17:28)

When we are free from the world and the cares of this world, we are free to live for what life really is all about. No matter how valuable education is or finding a good job is important, education and work are not the ultimate reason we are on Earth for.

I don't want to spend my life 'majoring in minor things.' I want to be calm, peaceful and serene in the midst of a restless world, giving all I am and have for what truly is meaningful in the great scheme of things.

Western (Twisted) Logic

Old Beggar, Louis Dewis (1916)

Last week, I was enjoying the beautiful weather outside on my lunch break. I work at a coffee shop downtown, surrounded by large government offices, law firms, fancy restaurants and luxury hotels.

I remember sitting outside in my barista uniform, surrounded by many well to-do adults: graduate students, civil servants, retired couples, tourists... Everyone was in their own bubble, looking busy and/or indifferent to the people around them.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw an old man  walking towards where I was. He was short and slightly hunchbacked. He had a long, apparently filthy beard and was dressed in rags. Without knowing who he was, everyone knew what he was. A homeless person. Or, as some would say, a hobo.

I could see about 20 people staring at him, most of whom I knew were professionals. People stared as he walked towards the garbage can. People stared as he took the lid away. People stared as he went through the content of the garbage, and took a banana peel. People stared.

The scene was rather shocking. How could so many people bear the sight of this poor man degrading himself so as to look for food out of a public garbage can? How could we just stare at him?

I felt indignant and ashamed. How can people who have a well-paying job, a house, a car and a retirement plan just watch this humble man and not feel personally called to give a hand to a person in a degrading situation?

We are often very judgmental and indifferent towards people who live on the streets.

If you are not convinced, watch for how many people will pass by a beggar without even looking at him when you go downtown. How degrading, disrespectful and devaluing that must be! If you ask anyone whether all humans are equal in worth and value, chances are the answer you will get is yes. Most of us will agree to that statement. But do we live up to it?

Beggars, who are, by definition, beggars, and do not have a home of their own or food for tomorrow, seem to be often perceived as thieves, trying to use your hardly-earned money for the sole purpose of buying drugs. Some consider them completely responsibile for being on the streets, like it was their career choice or something.

It is true that some of them may use charity money for drugs, but this situation only highlights their misery, and should make us more compassionate. But is this an excuse to not give? We don't have to give money, we can give goods, such as food. Besides, some of them are completely sober, and do not misuse the money they are given.

Our reasoning seems to be an excuse to not take action, most of the time. But beyond our assumptions, prejudices and stereotypes, there is much to learn and discover.

The times I have had talking with people living on the streets have been some of the most enriching in my whole life. They taught me so much about how they conceive and live life. They gave me a perspective on the world I had never had before.They opened up to me and gave me more than I gave them, it seems.

Instead of suspecting the worst, we should hope for the best.
Compassion. Love. Generosity. That's what's truly important.

 In what practical ways can we help the people who live on the streets? There are many ways we can give them assistance in a safe and respectful way.

I think that's what it means to love our neighbour as ourselves. If a brother, another human being, is needy, we should try to meet their needs.

Remember the old man who was going to eat the banana peel?
Someone walked up to him and gave him lunch.

Portrait of Sir Francis Ford's Children Giving a Coin
to a Beggar Boy,  Sir William Beechey (1793)

Some Thoughts on Faith and Doubt

Claude Monet (The Reader), Pierre-Auguste Renoir

''Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!''

These words were spoken more than two millenia ago by a father to Jesus. Here is an exerpt from the full story found in Mark 9:14-27.

''[Father:] But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.''
Jesus said to him, ''If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes''
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ''Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!'' 

This father who lived in a different time, in a different culture and in a different place spoke words that illustrate a struggle 21st-century people experience. At times, part of me believes, and part of me doubts.

There is an interesting tension between faith and doubt.

The French philosopher René Descartes has been remembered for his Method of Doubt, among other things. Descartes highlighted the importance of questioning every thing and every belief. He is also known for saying ''Doubt is the origin of wisdom.''

Doubt is defined as ''uncertainty of belief or opinion that often interferes with decision-making, [...] a lack of confidence, an inclination not to believe or accept'' (Merriam-Webster).

Faith, however, is ''complete trust and confidence in someone or something, strong belief in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than proof'' (Oxford).

In Hebrews, Paul writes: ''faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.''

Questioning and examining what we believe is definitely healthy. Beliefs, like houses, are strong and reliable when they have a firm foundation.

Doubt makes us examine why we believe certain things, and makes us inquire for evidence to support their truth, or show they are erroneous.

Some discredit the element of faith in Christianity on the basis that it seems irrational to firmly believe something that can't be proved.

But we ''have faith'' in people and things that ''can't absolutely be proven'' all the time. We trust that our friends will not betray us, we have faith in the positive influence of literacy in developing countries, and we believe that the sun will rise again tomorrow.

The purpose of doubt is to question and inquire in order to eventually reach certitude. Sometimes, however, doubt is used as a weapon for one to discredit any opinion, while not having any opinion to defend oneself. In such a case, doubt becomes a comfortable place.

Questioning everything (without really searching for an answer) can become comfortable because one never has to take a stand, and never has to defend any idea.

I find Soren Kierkegaard's thoughts on faith and doubt very interesting.
He wrote;''it is so hard to believe because it is so hard to obey.''

In my experience, this statement is very accurate!
Sincere belief yields to action. If I truly believe it is unfair that some people live in poverty, then I will do something about it.

So back to faith and doubt. Faith is a central element when it comes to believing in God, Jesus and the Bible.
There are things we can understand, and things we cannot understand. But it seems to me that it was meant to be that way. There is something beautiful about believing without seeing completely.  It requires trust and effort!

C.S. Lewis said, ''faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted in spite of your changing moods.''

So faith is not about being completely irrational, as some would say. Lewis points out that there is an element of rationality in faith--it's not all about foolish and empty beliefs.
 If I have read about God's goodness in the Scriptures and have experienced it, faith means that I trust him and still believe he is good even though I am feeling unhappy one day.

I would say that faith is not always the easy way. As I wrote earlier, it requires trust and effort, but it is also rewarded.

To conclude, here's one of the key Bible passages about faith and doubt. It takes place after Jesus died, and has to do with the news of his resurrection:

 ^''Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” 

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” 

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” 

Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  John 20:24-29

''Follow Your Heart,'' or ''Bad Advice Well-Intentioned People Give You''

The Thinker, Auguste Rodin

Once again, it was the title that gave me the inspiration to write the actual article.

I am very, very annoyed at the saying that goes ''Follow your heart,'' or ''Listen to your heart.'' It seems like I could elaborate a lot on how this sentence does not make any sense.

What does it mean to follow one's heart, in the first place? What exactly is ''heart'' referring to? I am assuming it is used as a synonym for ''emotion'' or ''feeling'', two other very vague terms.

Those who read my blog regularly probably know that I like to have a definition for the concepts I talk about! 

Merriam-Webster gives interesting 4^th and 5^th definitions of heart, respectively "the emotional or moral as distinguished from the intellectual nature," and "one's innermost character, feelings, or inclinations."

I really like how one definition defines the heart as the "emotional distinguished from the intellectual nature." 

So I will go with that definition. (Yes, I do make subjective decisions at times, which is very ironic considering the topic of this article!)

There definitely seems to be a dichotomy between what the heart and what the head say. In other words, reason and emotions are often at odds.

Maybe that’s too much of an overstatement. Reason and emotions are sometimes in harmony; you may, for example, want to go on a vacation because you have worked hard and have diligently saved money over the past year. But reason and emotions are at odds when you go on a vacation just on a whim, while you are behind at work and already have a heavy debt and bills to pay.

I wonder why, in 21^st century Western society, it is fashionable and encouraged to "follow one’s heart." Let us take a look at the message transmitted by popular culture.

Everyone knows Cascada’s  hit single "Listen to Your Heart." You can listen to the song here.

Here’s how the chorus goes:

Listen to your heart

When he’s calling for you

Listen to your heart

There’s nothing else you can do

I don’t know where you’re going

And I don’t know why

But listen to your heart

Before you tell him goodbye.

Let us analyze some of the lyrics for a second.

The song is called "Listen To Your Heart," so obviously that’s the key message. The song seems to be about some kind of romantic relationship. But really, the content of the song does not make any sense to me.

"I don’t know where you’re going / And I don’t know why."

(BTW, I will not analyze these lyrics in light of the context of the song, but more as general statements having to do with the Follow-Your-Heart philosophy.)

That’s very typical of a heart-centric worldview. We don’t know why our heart is inclined in one direction (Blaise Pascal: "The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing"), and we don’t know where it goes… But we must follow it nonetheless? Doesn’t look like a wise plan.

Where does the notion that subjectivity > objectivity come from? It goes against the simplest logic.

Our friends, the Greeks, had a radically different worldview. In Ancient Greece, the pursuit of "reason" was a very popular occupation among philosophers. To this effect, the Greeks have developed the art of reasoning by establishing different types of argumentation dealing with the relationship between premises, inferences and conclusions, so as to "attain the truth".

René Descartes

Ice-cold reason and logic were also highly valued by some Enlightenment philosophers. René Descartes said, "The senses deceive from time to time, and it is prudent never to trust wholly those who have deceived us even once."

It seems to me that wisdom lies in holding fast to solid values and principles (which do not change), rather than trusting our feelings and emotions (ever-changing) for direction and guidance. A life entirely directed by "following one’s heart" can lead to many mistakes.

We can’t always indulge in what we want. We all love chocolate, but eating only chocolate every day would be a poor decision. 

In an ideal world, what we feel should be measured against what is right.

Jeremiah 17:9 says, "the heart is deceitful beyond all thingsand beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

Following our heart is thus not a wise way to go about life.

The Book of Proverbs encourages us to seek the wisdom that comes from the knowledge of God and a relationship with him:

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gainsunderstanding, for she [wisdom] is more profitable than silver and yieldsbetter returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desirecan compare with her. […] Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths arepeace.

On Being Young, Traveling and Escapism

Luncheon of the Boating Party, Renoir, 1881

I decided on the title of this article before I even started writing it. I wonder if the article is necessary at all; "Being young, traveling and escapism" sums up everything I have to say. (After a thorough reflection on this matter, however, I came to the conclusion that summarizing is what titles are for, and so I should still write this article).

I am not writing about being young in general, but about being a young adult in Western society. It seems that in this society, there is a transitory stage between the teenage years and "full adulthood."

In some other parts of the world, people get married and start having children earlier than in the West. In 2009, the age at first marriage in the United States was of 28 years for men and 26.5 years for women. In Germany, it was of 33 years for men and 30 years for women. (Source: UNECE)

Now, this post is not an analysis of marriage trends. I do think, however, that getting married and having kids is related to the topic of being young, travelling and escapism. When you get married and have kids, you usually start to settle down.

As a North American, when I think of being young, I think about a certain Western conception of being young and a student:

1.       Graduate from high school, and take a gap year to travel the world (or go straight into university).

2.       In university, have a part-time job. Make a couple grants a year, and travel in the summer.

3.       Do a semester abroad

4.       Repeat steps 2 and 3 until graduation.

5.       If you graduate and still don’t know what you want to do in life, do a Master’s degree.

6.       Repeat steps 2 and 3 until graduation.

I admit this was a little extreme! Mea culpa. This sequence of events was meant to be caricatural. I am aware that a lot of students do not have the money to do all this, and many do not choose this path.

There is some truth in my caricature, nonetheless. Many students work during the year and travel in the summer, and many do semesters abroad.

I would venture to say that this is a relatively new phenomenon: students nowadays are richer and more comfortable than their parents, it seems.  And they travel more.

Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, Frederick Childe Hassam, 1888

Why do young people travel?

The quick answer is: "To see the world!"

And it is true. We live in an integrated and cosmopolitan world; reading about other nations and cultures is not enough to satisfy the thirst of our curiosity. And even seeing is not enough: We have to go, feel, touch, taste, live.

The second quick answer is: "Because we can!"

The World is becoming more and more accessible to students. Universities make it easier for their students to go study in another country for a couple of months. And although in debt, students are willing to spend money on traveling.

I’m wondering if there is another reason why young adults travel, or want to travel so much. I do believe the reason sometimes is escapism.

Escapism is probably one of my favourite words in the whole world. I like the way it sounds, the way it looks on paper, and the idea it conveys. But let’s rationalize and look at what this word actually means:

Merriam-Webster: Habitual diversion of the mind to purely imaginative activity or entertainment as an escape from reality or routine.

Oxford: The tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy.

Traveling is not included in the definitions above, but my idea is that it can become a form of escapism. But escapism from what?

How would I know? Different people want to get away from different things.

Even if there is nothing in particular we wish to escape from, traveling gives us the opportunity to escape from our familiar environment and routine. Everything abroad is exciting, because it is new.

Traveling provides the novelty and excitement we sometimes cannot experience as much in our normal environment. 

The people are friendlier. The food is better. The buildings are nicer. The nature is more beautiful.

Life is better.

For the time our travel lasts, life is amazing. It seems like we live life at its fullest: we make the most of every smell and taste.

The days seem to last forever, and it’s like our entire life is on hold.

Every day is the fulfilment of a dream.

We are so fully human. 

Cafe Terrace at Night, Van Gogh, 1888

It never lasts. Ultimately, the trip comes to an end, and we return home, though we’re not sure where home is anymore. It seems to me that coming home is always hard. Everything seems to be not-as-good-as-it-was-there-and-then. We become intolerant to the usual, the typical. Life could be so much more than what we know!

And the only solution to this First World problem is to go traveling again.

I think that Robert Louis Stevenson put it well when he wrote: ''For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move'' (Travels with a donkey in the Cévennes, 1879). 

In my opinion, this is what traveling is about for many young people nowadays.

Whether or not we are conscious of it, escapism is probably one of the reasons why traveling is so amazing, and so addictive. Escapism is not bad in itself! It can be very positive.

My concluding thought is more of a question: I wonder how the culture of traveling will influence this generation in the long term. I wonder if this generation will ever be able to be satisfied and settle down, or if it simply never will.

De l'éthique du divertissement quant à la violence

L’éthique du divertissement est un sujet qui a toujours suscité mon intérêt. L’éthique est un domaine d’étude philosophique passionnant et controversé, et le divertissement est un phénomène sociétal dont l’influence ne saurait être sous-estimée. 

La société occidentale est maladivement avide de divertissement, de distractions.

Blaise Pascal, sans doute mon philosophe préféré, disait déjà au XVIIe siècle que «la seule chose qui nous console de nos misères est le divertissement, et c’est pourtant la plus grande de nos misères».

Avant de commencer ma réflexion à ce sujet, quelques définitions s’imposent :

Éthique : Qui concerne la morale. 

Divertissement : Action de se divertir; amusement. Ce qui divertit; distraction.

Divertissement (ma définition): Toute forme d’art ou de production destinée à la consommation (de masse). Les films, les jeux vidéo, la musique et les séries télévisées en sont quelques exemples.

Quel est donc le code d’éthique véhiculé aux masses par l’industrie du divertissement quant à la violence, et pourquoi s’en préoccuper?

L’idée m’est venue d’écrire cet article lors de l’annonce de la sortie du film The Hunger Games. Le film a été réalisé à partir du livre homonyme qui, publié en 2008, a été déclaré USA Today et New York Times Bestseller. Cet ouvrage est destiné aux jeunes adultes, et est au programme de lectures obligatoires dans de nombreuses écoles au pays.

Voici un court résumé des livres:

“The Hunger Games,” a trilogy of novels by Suzanne Collins, […] takes place at an unspecified time in North America’s future. Her heroine, Katniss Everdeen, lives in one of twelve numbered districts dominated by a decadent, exploitative central city called the Capitol. Every year, two children from each district are drafted by lottery to compete in a televised gladiatorial contest, the Hunger Games, which are held in a huge outdoor arena. The winner is the last child left alive. 
Source: The New Yorker 

Vous pouvez visionner la bande-annonce ici.

Je dois avouer que je n’ai pas lu les livres; en revanche, j’ai lu de nombreux articles par rapport à ceux-cis. Tous qualifient les livres de morbides et violents.

Mais là n’est pas où je veux en venir. Cet article n’est pas une analyse des Hunger Games; l’idée derrière ces livres n’est qu’un exemple du point que je souhaite aborder.

Le divertissement populaire véhicule souvent une éthique douteuse-- a priori découragée par la société et certaines lois morales-- en la faisant paraître bonne et acceptable.

The Hunger Games ne semble être qu'un exemple de ce principe. Une éthique de survie impliquant le meurtre d’enfants est justifiée par la sympathie qu’inspirent la protagoniste et la «grande cause» derrière l’histoire.

En d’autres mots, le principe de base est que «la fin justifie les moyens», une maxime que j’ai en horreur. Il peut certainement être utile dans certains cas (plus rares que communs), mais de manière générale, cet énoncé est erroné d’un point de vue éthique.

L’idéal communiste qui a inspiré des révolutions en Chine, en Russie et en Amérique du Sud a servi de justification pour de la tyrannie et l’oppression des masses, après tout.

A-t-on besoin d’être exposé à la violence graphique et à des scènes de tortures merveilleusement détaillées pour vraiment comprendre quoi que ce soit?

Les gouvernements totalitaires ont été brillamment critiqués par des livres tels que 1984 et Animal Farm, qui ont fait de la psychologie leur point focal, sans toutefois devenir morbides.

Quoi qu’on en dise, si le divertissement propose des principes moraux tordus, c’est que c'est le désir de l’audience, en quelque sorte. Il n’y aurait pas tant de violence si la violence nous était vraiment en horreur. On serait dégoûtés par ces images gratuites.

Je dis gratuites, puisque une distinction doit être faite entre regarder un reportage sur les camps de concentration nazis au temps de la Deuxième Guerre mondiale et un film classé 18+ pour violence. Le reportage a un but éducatif et préventif : l’étude du passé nous aide à être plus lucides et sages quant au futur. Le film, au contraire, est de nature divertissante. En d’autres mots, la violence est offerte en tant que divertissement.

Si la violence est offerte en tant qu’amusement, il y a là un profond problème, ce me semble. En quoi cela est-il profitable à l’individu et à la société? Le monde est rempli d’ouvrages littéraires et philosophiques dénonçant ce qu’il y a à dénoncer de façon éloquente, argumentative et logique. Le savoir peut donc être atteint autrement. L’argument de la «leçon et morale de l’histoire» est parfois une façade.

Je crois donc qu’il nous faille réévaluer nos choix de divertissement.  Pour que ce que notre tête pense, ce que notre bouche dit, et ce que nos yeux voient soient cohérent.

Il existe beaucoup d’opinions sur le sujet, et la mienne est sans doute facile à critiquer. Soit. Je crois quand même que la réflexion d’impose.

Il y a beaucoup de sagesse en ces paroles :

Au reste, […] que tout ce qui est vrai, tout ce qui est honorable, tout ce qui est juste, tout ce qui est pur, tout ce qui est aimable, tout ce qui mérite l’approbation, ce qui est vertueux et digne de louange, soit l’objet de vos pensées.

Philippiens 4 :8, La Bible