AESOP'S FABLES - Prometheus and the making of Man; Grief and his Due

Since this outlandish quarantine began I've decided to resume some of my favourite hobbies. One of these is READING, obvs.

I'm such an avid reader that I even have an account on GOODREADS. I set it up a couple of years ago and it's been so helpful for me because it helps me organise my books digitally in three shelves: read, currently reading and want to read and keeps me motivated with the addictive READING CHALLENGE.

One of the many books I've read this year is AESOP'S FABLES. Gosh, it's been a heart-warming pleasure delving in those pages. Absolutely gorgeous read. I seriously recommend it if you haven't read it.

I have difficulty choosing my one-and-only favourite fable so I've opted to rewrite two instead. In a future post - or an updated version of this one - I might include even more.

Grief and His Due

When Jupiter was assigning the various gods their privileges, it so happened that Grief was not 

present with the rest: but when all had received their share, he too entered and claimed his due. 

Jupiter was at a loss to know what to do, for there was nothing left for him. However, at last he 

decided that to him should belong the tears that are shed for the dead. Thus it is the same with Grief 

as it is with the other gods. The more devoutly men render to him his due, the more lavish is he of 

that which he has to bestow. It is not well, therefore, to mourn long for the departed; else Grief, 

whose sole pleasure is in such mourning, will be quick to send fresh cause for tears.

💗💗💗💗💗💗

Prometheus and the Making of Man


At the bidding of Jupiter, Prometheus set about the creation of Man and the other animals. Jupiter, 

seeing that Mankind, the only rational creatures, were far outnumbered by the irrational beasts,bade 

him redress the balance by turning some of the latter into men. Prometheus did as he was bidden, 

and this is the reason why some people have the forms of men but the souls of beasts.

Empathy and Fear

Given the horrendous episodes of violence in the USA which the black community have been suffering these past few months and even and regrettably longer than that, I haven't stopped thinking about us as human beings. We always preach to be ONE RACE while there are still people, communities, villages and even cities which do not bear to live among people who are different... DIFFERENT, really? WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS, where is the difference in that? Oh, right. I see: difference in social status, difference in religious beliefs, difference in sexual orientation, difference in the COLOUR OF SKIN.

If not by lack of education, how can anybody ever feel disgust, rage or indifference towards another human being just because they do not look alike, think alike, love alike? This is OUTRAGEOUS. I cannot conceive it.

Education within the family and education in school should be available to everyone everywhere for free. Kids need to learn the basics on empathy and kindness in their families and in their schools. Governments should do anything and everything in their power to make people feel they BELONG as ONE.

Not to make it too long, tedious or repetitive, the topics that I wanted to address today given in the title of this post are cleverly narrated through a monologue given by Oliver Bird in the extraordinary FX series called LEGION. If you haven't watched it, give it a try. You don't have to love superheroes but rather be interested in mental illness and psychology.

The show has an interesting way of telling the story through brief introductions showing amazing images and Jon Hamm or Oliver Bird (character's name) in this clip narrating different psychological concepts in relation to mental illness such as empathy and fear for example.

The following quote is taken from IMDB site and the clip is taken from YOUTUBE. It's the beginning of EPISODE 4 - SEASON 1 and the analogies narrated are in relation to the aforementioned concepts.

Enjoy.

[first lines]

Oliver Bird : Good evening. We are here tonight to talk about violence, or maybe human nature. We are here to talk about human nature. Wait, a quote. A great philosopher [Friedrich Nietzsche] 
once wrote; 

'In times of peace the warlike man attacks himself.' 

This is the root of all our problems, and by this, I mean we. We are the root of all our problems, our confusion, our anger, our fear of things we don't understand. Violence in other words, is ignorance. Figure your shit out, that's what I'd say. 

There are two kinds of stories we tell our children. The first kind; 'Once upon a time there was a fuzzy little rabbit named Frizzytop, who went on a quantum fun adventure, only to face a big setback, which he overcame through perseverance and by being adorable.' This kind of story teaches empathy. Put yourself in Frizzytop's shoes, in other words. The other kind; 'Oliver Anthony Bird if you get too close to that ocean you'll be sucked into the sea and drowned.' This kind of story teaches them fear, and for the rest of their lives, these two stories compete. Empathy and fear. 

And so I bring you tonight's play, the work in five acts about a fuzzy little bunny, who got too close to the ocean. And what happened next, let us begin.

Oliver Bird's monologue

Cupid and Psyche - a beautiful MYTH turned into a Sleep Story

For over a year now, I've been having trouble sleeping at night. Doing some research online I found out this outstanding website (also a mobile app) called CALM which not only has helped me sleep much better every night but also it has instilled in me a new found love for meditation, relaxation and breathing techniques to ease my anxiety levels at times.

There is a section in this website/app designed exclusively for SLEEP STORIES. They go from well-known fairy tales, to travel stories and even myths all of which are adapted to make anyone go to sleep. It has worked WONDERS for me ever since I started listening to these.

Such is my fascination with them that I've already listened to all of them more than once and I can now share with you, on a regular basis, some of my favourites:

Today's favourite is a Greek MYTH called "Cupid and Psyche" written by Apuleius in his book "The Golden Ass". Being five pages long, it would be very long for a single blog post so I share the PDF which you can easily read online, download or even print.

I hope you like it as much as I do. Pretty soon, I'll be sharing some other favourite sleep stories from this fantastic website.

Give it a try and let me know your thoughts in the comments!

See you soon!

Stay safe :)

Do people have FREE WILL?

It's been a while since my latest blog post but here I am again with a new essay I've written for a course in NEUROECONOMICS (Introduction To Neuroeconomics: How The Brain Makes Decisions) I'm currently working on using COURSERA

One of the peer-graded assignments I had to do was to write about the topic of FREE WILL with the prompt: Do people have free will or is it an illusion? Is neuroeconomics the death of free will? The word limit was 500 so this is it. I hope you like it and feel free to leave a comment and share it with other people.

These views are my own. No copyright infringement. Sources are cited at the end of the essay.

We are made to believe that for those of us who live in a democracy we have such freedoms as  freedom of speech or freedom of religion to name a few but the real question to discuss here is whether or not we have free will.

When I started thinking how to approach this question I thought of more than one perspective to consider it from. Two of these will be taken into account: the religious/moral perspective and the psychological perspective.

To begin with, some people who believe in God and Catholicism have no second thoughts when stating “God gave you FREE WILL” meaning, in my opinion, that you are free to choose what you want to do. Nonetheless, digging deeper into this notion can lead to further inquiries such as: how free any individual can be to choose what they want to do without feeling guilty, remorseful or selfish in religious terms right? There is plenty to be said about this concept in religion but I will leave you with this excerpt I took from Wikipedia discussing the concept of FREE WILL in the Roman Catholic Church:

The Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church asserts that "Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will".[1] It goes on to say that "God created man a rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person who can initiate and control his own actions. God willed that man should be 'left in the hand of his own counsel,' so that he might of his own accord seek his Creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him.""[2]

Secondly, psychology being a science which studies people and their behaviours brings a new light to religion not being the only field capable of explaining choices. Considering this matter, there are professionals in the field who try to explain the way in which the brain functions when faced with a decision to make. Doctor Danil Razeev made a compelling argument discussing this topic. This is his lecture on it: "Can Neuroscience Measure Free Will?". Another opinion on the subject matter wrote an editorial on the web and this is an excerpt I found to be quite interesting:

“How can a person make self-determined choices, make sense of the world, and even self-actualize when neuroscientific evidence seems to indicate that our brains are making decisions before we even realize it? Are we claiming responsibility for events that have little or nothing to do with conscious intention?” [3]

All things being considered, it is my personal opinion that the notion of free will is subjective to the person and the place where they live, the governments they have and the desire each of them have to do what they feel is right for them as long as it does not forfeit another individual’s right to do and act the same way.

Citations:

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_will_in_theology “Roman Catholic” third paragraph , end of quotation 34

[2] ] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_will_in_theology “Roman Catholic” third paragraph , end of quotation 34

[3] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/proceed-your-own-risk/201311/do-we-have-free-will Paragraph 10 - Editorial written by Seth Schwartz Ph.D.

Why is justice boring and useless and stupid?

The following is an OUTSTANDING explanation from Professor John Holbo on the Coursera Online Course about Reason and Persuasion regarding Plato's Republic. One of the Dialogues refers to Thrasymachus and the way in which he perceives and explains the notion of JUSTICE.

Below, you'll read Holbo's down-to-earth terrific explanation:

1) Justice is politically and socially non-explanatory. Studying justice doesn't help you understand how things work around the place. Because they don’t work justly. Life is unfair, kid! Thus, if you want to understand life, study not-fair.

2) Justice is personally undesirable. Practising justice is no way to get ahead in business or anywhere else. It’s a risky, thankless pain.

By contrast, injustice is interesting, useful and smart. Which brings us the flip-sides to 1 and 2.

3) Injustice is politically explanatory. Most of what happens in politics and society, in life, happens because someone is taking unfair advantage of someone else. This is the norm, not the exception.

4) Injustice is personally desirable. Pursuing injustice gets you what you want.

This is complicated because 2) and 4) are more like rules of thumb. (Think about why that is.)

But really this is complicated because of

5), make sure to call it 'justice' when you are pursuing injustice. And call what the just people are doing 'unjust', for good measure. (It's safer that way!)

Consistent with 5, you should label this theory of injustice 'a theory of justice'. And I think that's pretty much what Thrasymachus does.

Personality is an illusion

Throughout generations, people have always found various ways to generate, maintain, or even break personal relationships. Attitudes, behaviour and personality traits are all synonyms to define one individual in relation to another. Whether these attributes are fictitious is still to be revealed.

To begin with, the first social circle toddlers are introduced to is family. They are nurtured not only with basic needs such as food, clothing and hygene but also with values which involve behaving accordingly in certain situations with different social groups. These characteristics will accompany them during their early elementary school years when they are exposed to diverse personality types and start to be influenced by some more than others.

Furthermore, children continue growing up both physically and emotionally and, as a result, their bodies as well as their feelings change - wat they used to feel and how they used to behave at an early age are no longer a reality. This is the time when they develop into teenagers and as such they experience a wide range of emotions that they had not been aware of before - the interaction with parents changes dramatically whereas the close-knit group of friends becomes sacrosanct.

Finally, with the coming-of-age, young adults begin a new challenge when they step out of high school, and delve into university life and, in some cases, working life as well. While their basic feelings and personal traits remain, society at large makes these individuals adapt to a rapidly-evolving world where major fluctuations occur in their attitudes towards their families, friends or peers.

To sum up, even if we as individuals carry a set of traits with us from our early years, our social surroundings will inevitably force us to decide how we need to behave which, in turn, will create, preserve or destroy who we are supposed to be.

The use of technology in current relationships

Following the sequence of Essays being written for the IELTS course I attended in London last January, I give you my... third one?  Or is it the fourth one? I've lost count already. I hope you enjoy it. Share it, like it, comment on it or just let it be... LOL

Nowadays, the way many people interact with each other has changed because of technology. In what ways has technology affected the type of relationships people make? Has this become a positive or negative development?

The introduction of technology in our everyday lives has deeply influenced not only how the world is seen but also how individuals affect one another.

One way in which people have been changed is by the use of personal computers, smartboards and even mobile phones in the classroom. The number of schools implementing these devices as learning tools is growing exponentially. This means that, more and more, teachers and students are both becoming active participants in the classroom, giving the opportunity for students to debate or even challenge sources regarding a specific area of knowledge.

Another way in which these developments have modified people's behaviour towards each other is in the field of family relationships. Even though technological devices such as mobile phones can bring families together, they can sometimes cause family feuds which may result in drastic outcomes such as leaving the family home. What's more, online gaming has been gaining adepts at such a young age that it makes it even more complex for parents to have a simple day-to-day conversation.

Finally, students at university or even young adults who are beginning to become more independent find, in the use of smartphone applications, an outlet to socialise and, eventually, on some occasions, to find a life partner.

Overall, considering the dangers that technology may pose in people's lives, the benefits outweigh the limitations.

Being involved in the Arts makes people feel better.

As promised, my beloved blog readers, here I am (come and take me... LOL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OVIPgbFh6M) giving you my second Essay Assignment while attending the preparatory course for Cambridge IELTS Exam.

Nowadays, people get too stressed trying to make ends meet every month. The opportunity for participating in activities outside work creates a sense of fulfillment that changes people's mindsets. Art can be said to have amazing effects on most people. What needs to be considered is  "the remaining few".

Let's start by stating that any kind of artistic expression is always welcome when the need to release energy is present in any individual. Examples can be found in several famous people such as Van Gogh, Poe, Da Vinci, to name a few. They didn't have an easy life so they discovered that channeling their emotions through Art would help them feel better.

Conversely, the constant criticism, being in the spotlight, or even having the feeling that it is never enough, makes other people feel frustrated or even depressed leading, in some unfortunate cases, to fatal outcomes. Such are the cases of famous celebrities either on TV or in films.

All being said, given the fact that Art is considered a positive outlet for expressing feelings and boosting self-esteem in people, there are still some issues that need to be taken into consideration as well. Nonetheless, I still encourage the promotion of Art as a means to develop people's confidence and a sense of bliss.

BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS OF SINGLE SEX EDUCATION. HOW YOUNG PEOPLE SHOULD BE EDUCATED IN THIS CONTEXT?

Beginning with this post  - and through the following 3 posts - you, my beloved blog readers, will read a series of first-draft essays on various topics as a result of my preparatory course for the IELTS Exam in London this last January. I will not include my professor's comments because you might get bored but you are DEFINITELY free to comment on anything you want. Thank you very much in advance.

DRAFT 1.

We live in a world where gender differentiation is still controversial. Even though, equality has been achieved in education for both men and women, there are still schools which foster single-sex education. This can have advantages and disadvantages.

To begin with, one of the advantages of single-sex education is that children at a very young age may find it easier to interact with their classmates. This means that they will build more self-confidence, which, in turn, will result in better communication skills with others. Another mentionable benefit is less distraction in the classroom. This refers to the idea of feeling less anxious to know what the opposite sex is all about, to say it vaguely.

Nevertheless, there are some drawbacks to this type of instruction. One limitation is the struggle they may have t face when they finish school and go out into the world. The coexistence of men and women is out there and this type of segregation means a new adjustment for both sexes to live together. Another disadvantage is the type of curriculum both genders learn at school. Considering the fact that women tend to mature faster than men, it is difficult to create equality in this area.

All in all, young people, in my opinion, should have the opportunity to develop as many skills as possible no matter the gender. They should be given the same academic knowledge together with tools that might help them cope with the opposite sex.

A Harrowing Evening

This is the first draft of a short story I'm starting to write as a result of a Course in Writing Fiction I'm currently working on. There is still much to work on and more details and editing need to be given but I wanted to give it away anyway. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.

"I dragged her as if I were carrying a chair around" the TV news anchor reported from interviewing HIM.

Those words resonated in my mind for hours. Awful images popping in my head. The utter horror of it all. The desperate screaming for help. The excrutiating anguish - but, most importantly - the bitter feeling of complete paralysis not knowing what to do next. It was him - a middle.aged man with a hoarse voice - and me - a woman in her thirties, struggling to survive. I remember that dreadful evening very vividly now.

It was late. I was coming back from work feeling knackered. I took the subway, as I always did at that time, and managed to sit for the whole journey home. What followed next changed my life completely... forever.

I got off the train and was heading towards the escalator when I suddenly felt someone grabbing my bag from behind. I froze... five seconds. It only took him five endless seconds to pull me down and drag me to a dark alley. I finally came to. I shouted. I kicked. I punched. Nothing. No use. He was in charge. He grabbed my wrists and tied me to a lamp post. I couldn't find strength within me anymore.  

"This is it", I thought. "This is how I'm going to go".

Feeling helpless and with nothing else to hope for, I gave in...


WAIT. HOLD ON. HELP IS ON THE WAY. Whispers everywhere. HOPE. Life was filling my bones again.

A month latet - while still in shock - I can honestly say: PEOPLE STILL CARE. HUMANITY IS NOT LOST TO VIOLENCE, NOT LOST TO CRUELTY, NOT LOST TO HATE.

The writer, the speaker and the giver of ideas

The following is an incomplete first draft for a short story derived from many teaching workshops two colleagues and I attended a few years ago. I wrote it a couple of years ago as a result of an inside joke the three of us used to share. 

It was a hot Friday afternoon in November. A group of English teachers were gathering to discuss the latest trends in Education and how to bring technology into the classroom.

Patty, Connie and Charlotte were not only great colleagues but also good friends. They went to all meetings together, sat in all meetings together and left all meetings together. They were well-organised and ellaborated about every little topic they were given. They had specific roles in each meeting without even thinking beforehand what each one of them would do or how they would participate. They managed to keep the same tasks every time they attended the workshops.

Connie, the writer, was the one who always brought a notebook with a pen and jotted down everything the lecturer explained; Charlotte, the speaker, always willing to express loud and clear what they had been discussing earlier in the assignment; and, finally, Patty, the one who had the right thing to say and knew exactly how to say it and when to do so. 

They worked at the same school with different age groups sharing both passion for teaching as well as disdain for misbehaving children.