1. Peace of Mind in the Golden Years2. In Search of Meaning in the Golden Years of Life.3. The Golden Years' Home, Sweet Home in 50 Ways4. Meditation, Reflection and Relaxation5. Take Heed of Your Biological Clock
6. Three Mysteries of Life
7. Stop before you reach DEAD END
1. Peace of Mind in the Golden Years
Then there are circumstances beyond human control such as tragedy in the family, sudden loss of health, broken relationships, and frustration over failures in personal goals.
Whatever conditions you are in today, go to the mirror and see for yourself who you are today.The Magic Square.
1. Intellectually, are you sharp or dull? Have you been forgetful lately? Maybe you have to postpone making a major decision if you are not mentally prepared. On the other hand, make full use of sudden mental alertness. Deliver a paper in a conference, call a staff meeting. Finish a chapter of the book you are writing. It's a new idea, it comes as a spark of genius. Capture it! Just don't submit to your intellectual mood - create one that would bring you the best mind for the day.
2. Psychologically what's eating you? Hold your horse away from anger or aggression. You'll only regret if you submitted yourself to unguarded moments, spurts of emotion which when uncontrolled will lead you to trouble. On the other hand, get out of bed, go to nature, there is a calming effect when you are close to her. Don't deny your genuine feelings though, for good reason. People will love you for being kind, for being compassionate. Remember. "Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep and you weep alone." (The Way of the World, Ella Wheeler Wilcox).
3. Physically, are you fit for the day? Assess the rigors you have to face. If you have been exercising regularly, keeping away from smoking and drugs, and taking the right food, your fitness is not only for a day. True fitness is a long term reward of strict regimen of good health. And remember to keep a positive disposition, just like the Greek philosophy, "A healthy mind in a healthy body."
4. The spirit - the Little Prince in every person (The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery) - is key to attaining an ideal square of your life. Feeling of emptiness is traced to a spiritual vacuum - when the inner person is neglected. When the "why" in life gets more and more difficult to answer, when life's true meaning comes to a crossroad - or even to a dead end. When spirituality can be neglected even in the midst of religious fervor, and therefore will not grow. When winning is not a win-win equation, when the pedestal is out of reach, the spirit fades away. Take heed, don't wait for the day you get lost in the Sahara desert.
Balance yourself today, the best way you can. Continue doing so day after day, until it becomes a discipline - self-discipline. Only then can you earn and enjoy the most elusive state of happiness - Peace of Mind. ~
The late Maestro Lorenzo Lucero Mata excelled in the fields of education and art as Superintendent of Education in the province of Ilocos Sur until his retirement. He was a former principal, division supervisor, and teacher. A multi-awarded educator, Maestro Mata is also remembered for his obra maestra in sculpture, painting and literature. He had a Fine Arts degree (UP) and an MA in Education. As a writer and historian he headed the San Vicente Historical and Cultural Society and wrote Ti Pakasaritaan ti San Vicente, Ilocos Sur, a History of San Vicente IS. Married to another teacher and town mate, Generosa Alvarez Mata, the couple is blessed with seven children, all successful professionals, and a host of grandchildren. Recipient of SENATE 1447 P. S. Resolution (2015) Introduced by SENATOR LOREN LEGARDA RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE WORK OF LORENZO LUCERO MATA FOR HIS DEDICATION AS A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER AND HIS CONTRIBUTION TO THE PRESERVATION OF PHILIPPINE HISTORY THROUGH THE CULTURAL DOCUMENTATION OF HERITAGE TOWN SAN VICENTE IN ILOCOS SUR.
Never in history had the world undergone an unprecedented upheaval in the way we live today. We call this age we are living in postmodernism, a term that can not be adequately explained. The late Dr Florentino H Hornedo, one of the country's leading sociologists, aptly defined it as "living tomorrow today in a free fall."
Most Rev Antonio R Tobias DD (left) is the bishop of the Diocese of Novaliches QC where three million people reside, 63 percent are baptized Catholics. Under the bishopric are 36 parishes under diocesan clergy and 23 parishes under Religious clergy. Bishop Tobias served as parish priest in Metro Manila and professor in theology at San Carlos Seminary at Guadalupe before he was assigned bishop at San Fernando La union. then to Novaliches. One of his students is another scion of San Vicente, Monsignor Cecilio Rotor, former Consul of the Vatican to Kenya and the US. Bishop Tobias traces his roots to the Tobias of Santo Domingo, and Realubin (mother) who in turn is related to several families in San Vicente Ilocus Sur. Photo: The author presents to Bishop Tobias two of his books – Light in the Woods and Light from the Old Arch.An age of capitalism, a system that cannot exist without democracy, and vice versa, yet inevitably falling into the trap of economic crisis in the US, Europe and Asia;
An age of weapons of mass destruction, born with the horrendous bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which put an end to WW2 and defined the reality of the Cold War which ended in 1989. The fear of Armageddon persists to this day;
Lola Virginia “Virgie” L. Lagasca, 98, entrepreneur, philanthropist, lives a Spartan life, the key to a long and fulfilled life. As a WWII veteran and guardian of a successful family, she keeps on going with three generations in a row, remarkably at the forefront to caution change with priceless values and tradition. Background mural - Living with Nature - by the author at his residence in Greater Lagro QC.An age of electronics which opened the kingdom of the invisible, heretofore seen only through a keyhole, now revealing the structure of the virus and chemical molecules, including the genetic makeup of life; and lately accurate images of atomic and sub-atomic particles;
Of computers: university-without-walls (e-Learning, on-line teaching), marketing (e-Commerce), publishing (e-Publication), remote control management (tele-conferencing), satellite imaging (weather forecasting); guided navigation (GPS);
An age of fun and pleasure, from floating pleasure palace (Titanic), to pleasure and adventure parks (Disneyland, Ocean Pavilions), beauty and fashion shows (Miss World, Miss Earth), virtual reality shows, casinos, ecotourism;
Of sports and games, other than the Olympic games, came non-conventional and highly dangerous sports (skydiving and survival games) pushing human endurance to the limit, and making big business at the expense of many sports, such as rugby and football;
An age of organized violence, the bombing of the Twin Towers being the eye opener to a global enemy – terrorism. ISIS, Al Qaeda, et al are getting bolder, prompting countries to unite in their fight against terrorism; (NOTE: EU and UN are joining efforts to help end the war of Russia in Ukraine.)
Of senseless violence committed in the home, on campus and street, often involving juveniles as perpetrators, raises disturbing questions on eroded values, breakdown of law and order, and the dark side of The Good Life; and lately cybercrime such as the multi-million dollar heist from Bangladesh Central Bank to Philippine banks and casinos.
An age of population explosion, now almost 10 billion dominated by Millennials, and those aged 10 to 14 years. On the other hand, the world is getting old as population growth rate slows down, and life expectancy rises ( 70.7 years is world’s average versus 68.5 for the Philippines);
We live in an age of pandemic (COVID-19) and epidemics from HIV-AIDS, Ebola, Dengue, Bird and Swine Flu, and recently, Zika virus causing abnormal births, while ancient diseases like tuberculosis still claim millions of lives. On the other hand, modern life style claims millions of lives from accidents, heart attack, suicide, including obesity related deaths;
We induce catastrophes - earthquakes, tsunamic, tomatoes, typhoons, floods - more frequent, more destructive and varied, triggered by global warming, deforestation, desertification, pollution, Nuclear testing, rise of megapolises, excessive affluence;
An age of prohibited drugs on the loose, clandestinely channeled to millions of users worldwide, such a menace has destroyed countless young men and women, and undermined the integrity of governments and organizations;
Of test tube babies, surrogate mothers, menopausal and multiple childbirths, egg and sperm banks, organ and stem cell transplantations, which emerged into a multi-billion dollar industry amidst ethico-moral criticisms;
Of transgender, transvestite and same sex marriage; of single-parenthood, multiple union and divorce, radically changing the founding concepts and principles of the institutions of marriage, family and dignity of the human person;
The late Lola Naty R Ruelos is the mother of a priest and a nun, and three other children all professionals in their respective fields. She symbolizes the traditional Filipina mother and home maker, an entrepreneur and leader in her community - San Vicente, Ilocos Sur - even before the advent of Women Liberation Movement. A century of freedom from three totalitarian alternatives – colonialism, fascism and communism - the realization of ideas of liberty inspired by the French Revolution and that of our own in Rizal’s time, and as a whole, the indomitable human spirit.
An age of secessionism – dissolution of the USSR, creation of new states (South Sudan, East Timor), reunification of divided states (Vietnam, Germany); on the other hand emboldened separatist movements linked with civil unrest and terrorism (Al Qaeda, ISIS, Tamil, Abu Sayaf);
An age of global and regional organizations – United Nations and its various organizations (FAO, WHO, ILO. UNICEF, UNESCO), European Union, APEC, ASEAN, G20; and international summits and conferences with agenda of global importance such as Climate Change;
It is an age of countless valuable lessons distilled from victories and defeats, successes and failures, pride and humility, joy and sorrow, good and bad times, that humble the Homo sapiens to go down his knees and look up to Heaven, an experience from which wisdom grows, and shared to the younger generations and humanity as a whole. ~
One reason is that we live in an incredibly present-minded society with diminishing sense of history. It is also for the fact that our society appears to be "the only one that matters, " thus we seldom acknowledge the legacy we have inherited, so that we don’t see the value in leaving a legacy ourselves. We are also a culture that wants to believe we can live forever. We venerate youth culture, try to stay looking young as long as possible. A third reason is that we live in an extremely disposable society. Everything is designed to be used a few times and then thrown away. Lastly, we live in a very impatient society. We want things to happen immediately. Reference: Time, Internet
"Home provides gives us the sense of belonging and comfort. Home takes the cold out of the body and spirit."
Home Sweet HomeJohn Howard PayneMusic by Henry Rowley Bishop (1786-1855)(Arranged for the violin and piano by Henry Farmer)
‘Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home;A charm from the sky seems to hallow us there,Which seek through the world, is ne’er met with elsewhere.Home, Home, sweet, sweet Home!
An exile from home, splendor dazzles in vain;O, give me my lowly thatched cottage again!The birds singingly gaily, that came to my call –Give me them – and the peace of mind, dearer than all.Home, Home sweet, sweet Home.There’s no place like Home!
There’s no place like Home!
There are 101 definitions of home. Here is a short list, compiled from our radio audience and website visitors.
1. Home is a roof for everyone, residents and guests.
2. Home is a wall with large windows that let the sun and the breeze in.
3. Home is where fish in the aquarium sparkle in the morning’s sun.
4. Home is a baby smiling, of children playing.
5. Home is a faithful husband and wife.
6. Home is a “place for everything and everything in its place,” but not always.
7. Home is dad and mom waiting for us from school.
8. Home is a workshop for hobbies and inventions.
9. Home is where our dog lies on the doormat waiting for its master.
10. Home is a litter of puppies and kittens.
11. Home is a rooster crowing, nature’s alarm clock.
12. Home is a house lizard’s crispy announcement of a guest coming.
13. Home is a frog croaking in the rain.
14. Home is a safari of wildlife – from insects to migratory birds.
15. Home is a warm embrace of a cat.
16. Home is a cup of coffee, a sip of wine, a newspaper.
17. Home is a warm bath, a cold shower, a bath tub.
18. Home is National Geographic, Time Magazine, Daily Inquirer.
19. Home is ripe tomato, succulent radish, dangling stringbeans,
20. Home is a brooding mother hen in her nest.
21. Home is fresh eggs everyday.
22. Home is the sound of birds and crickets.
23. Home is the sweet smell of flowers, falling leaves, swaying branches in the wind.
24. Home is the sweet smell of the earth after the first rain in May.
25. Home is a singing cicada in the tree.
26. Home is a swarming of gamugamo in the evening.
27. Home is a sala too small for so many friends.
28. Home is a cabinet of books, a study table, a computer.
29. Home is Beethoven, Mozart, Abelardo, Santiago.
30. Home is Charlotte Church, Josh Groban, Sharon Cuneta.
31. Home is Amorsolo. Picasso, Van Gogh.
32. Home is potpourri of appetizing recipes, of the proverbial grandmother apple pie.
33. Home is pinakbet, lechon, karekare, suman, bibingka.
34. Home is a garden of roses, a grass lawn to lie on.
35. Home is an herbarium of plants, a gene bank.
36. Home is home for biodiversity, a living museum.
37. Home is doing repair that has no end.
38. Home is disposing old newspapers, bottles, metal scraps, used clothes.
39. Home is a midnight candle before an exam.
40. Home is a shoulder, a pillow, to cry on.
41. Home is Noche Buena.
42. Home is fireworks on New Year.
43. Home is general cleaning on weekends.
44. Home is a soft bed that soothes tired nerves and muscles.
45. Home is a fire place, a hearth, which takes the cold out of the body and spirit.
46. Home is a Prodigal Son returning, Good Samaritan.
47. Home is a round table where thanksgiving prayer is said.
48. Home is laughter and music, prose and poetry.
49. Home is forgiving, rejoicing, celebrating.
50. Home is angelus and rosary hour.
To sum it all, Home is Home Sweet Home.~
4. Meditation, Reflection and Relaxation
By Dr Abe V Rotor
When the wind stops to blow, the treetops still, birds no longer fly, the fields lay bare after harvest time, summer creeps in, and you feel the false calm of doldrums, meditate;
When the first rain is but a shower, shy and naïve over the parched landscape and the dry riverbed, listen to the distant thunder, watch the gathering cloud, meditate;
When the mountains are blue in the distance, as blue as the azure sky and the sea resting after tempest, the valley deep and green, be part of the scenery, meditate;
When the birds migrate to the south before winter sets in and return in springtime, imagine the magnificence of the view from above, the adventure of travel, meditate;
When the trees proudly stand together to form a living fort, bastion against the vagaries of nature, abode and domicile of creation to which you are a part, meditate;
When the habagat is in its peak with days and days of rain, the fields now a huge lake, joining the rivers and lakes, it's nature's process of dynamic balance, meditate;
When the amihan sets in, cold wind from the north sweeps over the ripening grains, golden in the sun, undulating, lilting with kids flying kites - you're with them, meditate;
When the world seems to be moving too fast, on a chartless path, you feel you are adrift and part of a bandwagon, move out before it's too late, meditate;
When the trees come alive with music at dawn, mists settle into dewdrops, sparkling like diamonds as the sun rises, the curtain opens a new day - awake, meditate;
When the sun is in its zenith, half the day is gone, half of the work done, half of life's stirrings over, yet the joy of living, its challenges and rewards are whole, meditate;
When the sun sets, dusk the prelude to rest, Angelus prayer itself in silence, peace and harmony set in, be at the center of Home, Family and Creator, meditate. ~
5. Take heed of your biological clock
Each one of us is governed by a built-in clock within us. Everything we do is “timed;” it has a schedule. And this living clock controls our actions and behaviors. It is the key to survival; a tool in evolution so that it is ingrained in our genes. If that is so, are our biological clocks then synchronized?
Generally, yes. And that is why we all respond to common rules that society has set for us. We respond to the seasons of the year, each characterized by events we celebrate. We have standard working hours, and curfew. Weekends are set aside for rest and leisure. Summer means vacation. We observe three meals a day, coffee breaks, siestas, and the like.
Menstrual cycle, estrus periods, stages in growth and development – all these are controlled by inner rhythms dictated by that biological clock. So patterned are our laws and rules that we know well the best season to plant or to hunt, to plan weddings and inaugurations, to travel, to go to school, to have a date, to meditate, to be merry.
“There’s time for everything.”
To every thing there is a season, and a time toevery purpose under the heaven.A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant,and a time to pluck up that which is planted;A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time tobreak down, and a time to build up;A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time tomourn, and a time to dance;A time to cast away stones, and a time togather stones together; a time to embrace,and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep,and a time to cast away;A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keepsilence, and time to speak;A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war,and a time of peace.- Ecclesiastes
Ultradian - Less than a heartbeat
Fluctuation of energyAttention spanBrain waves
Circadian (daily) day
Blood pressure levelSleep wake cycleCell division
Circaseptan (weekly ) about a week
Rejection of kidney, heart, and pancreas transplants
Circatrigintan (monthly) about a month
Menstrual Cycle
Circannual (annual) about a year
Seasonal depressionSusceptibility to some diseases
Living organisms take heed of their biological clock - except humans, in many cases. ~
6. Three Mysteries of Life
"Happiness is the ultimate goal of virtually all the decisions we make in life." - Daniel Gilbert, psychology professor at Harvard University
There is one commodity in life that, whenever you divide it, it multiplies (unlike money or pizza pie). It defies mathematical rule, or any scientific law. It is the most important thing in life while we are on earth. It is universal and crosses all borders - race, culture, country, age, status, time and space, for that matter. What is it?
The third mystery of life is that love is sweeter the second time around. I say after 50 years of happy marriage. When the sun turns golden, we say we are in our golden years. (“The gold that is sunset,” may be likened to “the glory that was Greece, the grandeur that was Rome.”)
I believe that our celebrants don’t find these mysteries odd and strange. It is not because they have cracked their secrets, but it is for the reason that they have earned the true understanding to these three mysteries of life – by obligingly submitting themselves to their very source – the all-knowing Omnipotent Being.
I’ll play a popular Filipino composition, invariably arranged kundiman, serenade or ballad. It is a song written by Filipino composer Constancio de Guzman. It was covered by singers such as The New Minstrels, Pilita Corrales, Eva Eugenio, Leo Valdez, Diomedes Maturan and Ryan Cayabyab. To have an idea what the title is, here is a select part of its lyrics:The next piece I’ll play leads us to the second mystery, Why life starts at 40, 50 or 100. And to the third mystery, why love is sweeter after 50 years of happy married life. Here is a select part of its lyrics.
Composed by Enrico Tosseli (1883-1926), an Italian pianist and composer his most popular work is Serenata (Rimpianto), which has been popularized as Nightingale, a thrush (Luscinia megarhynchos) noted for the sweet usually nocturnal song of the male. Nightingale also refers to any of various other birds noted for their sweet song or for singing at night. I’ll close my eyes as I play Nightingale and imagine the nightingale’s sweet song.I thank you.
is a song written by Filipino composer Constancio de Guzman. It was covered by singers such as The New Minstrels, Pilita Corrales, Eva Eugenio, Leo Valdez, Diomedes Maturan and Ryan Cayabyab. “Maalala Mo Kaya” has been a part of every Filipino home. Each episode features real-life story that brings laughter and tears that strengthen the ties that bind all of Kapamilyas wherever they are in the world.
Maalaala Mo Kaya? (Would You Remember?)
ORIGINAL TAGALOG LYRICS
Maalaala mo kayaang sumpa mo sa akinna ang pag-ibig mo aysadyang di magmamaliw
Kung nais mong matantobuksan ang aking pusoAt tanging larawan moang doo’y nakatago.
‘Di ka kaya magbagosa iyong pagmamahalTunay kaya giliw kohanggang sa libingan?
O, kay sarap mabuhaylalo na’t may lambinganLigaya sa puso koay di na mapaparam
FREE ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Would you rememberyour oath to methat your love wouldnever fade
If you want to understandopen my heartOnly your pictureis hidden there.
Wouldn’t your lovechange?Would you really bemy love till the grave?
O, how delicious life isespecially with someone to loveThe joy in my heartwill nevermore vanish.
TOSELLI'S SERENADE(Music : Enrico Toselli)Mario Lanza & Mary Schneider
Like a golden dream, in my heart e'er smiling.
Lives a vision fair of happy love I knew in days gone by.
Still to see the joy, the love light beaming from your radiant eyes.Still I seem to hear, your laughter beguiling.
Will my dreaming be in vain?Will my love ne'er come again?Oh, come, shall we waste the golden hours of youth far apart?What care I for live, without you by my side?
Do not delay, the hours slip away.Your arms are my paradise.You and only you can fill my heart.Oh, star of my heaven,
Come back and shed your light upon my way.Come back! Come back! ~
Do you see a face at the center of this painting? If yes, stop with what you are doing and read this article.
Painting in acrylic by AV Rotor acrylic, 1994
The road is fine all right and you are running fast because you want to reach your destination – or your goal. Then all of a sudden a signboard appears. Dead End.
Shocking! You are in your prime. You have a happy family, good company, and bright future. Good life – oh, the malls, Internet, travel, medals, rubbing elbows with personalities, greetings everywhere you go.
What happened? Were you moving too fast in life because you want more? More money, honor, acquaintances, possessions, or just keeping up ahead? Or you are trying to escape? Escape from criticism, inadequacies? For not being able to cope up with the Joneses? Escape from tradition, because everything today must be modern? Escape from rural life because in the urban lies the golden city?
POM (Peace of Mind) Square
Of course you do not think of these while you are running. Then you start to walk, exhausted, and you look around. You are back to your senses. You realized you have not been a “square”. Your sense of dimension is lost and you did not care what shape you are in. Because you lost the integrated balance of the four pillars of a happy, fulfilled life.
- Intellectual/mental
- Spiritual
- Physical
- Psychological/Emotional
1. Physical – It's your health, body physiology, the machine and prime mover that keeps you going biologically. When was the last time you visited your doctor? Is your food balance? Maybe you are not getting enough exercise. Driving for hours does not constitute an exercise. Are you having difficulty to sleep, even only to rest? Imagine a machine breaking down because of strain.
2. Intellectual or mental – Your thoughts are assigned to two parts – the left for reasoning and the right for creativity. Either you have overtaxed the whole of your brain, or you failed to balance the two hemispheres. That's why it is important to attend to hobbies like painting and music (right brain) to balance the left which you use more often in office and home. As the body is subject to fatigue, so with the brain. A fatigued brain may lead to psychiatric condition that can not be relieved as easy as that of the body. Quite often extreme conditions are irreversible.
3. Psychological or emotional – Our psyche absorbs the impact of stress coming from the body and the mind – and from our spiritual being. Like a funnel the residues are accumulated here. Imagine a man staring at an artificial waterfall at a New York park. How many promising people are ruined by emotional problems? Jungian psychology explains that as we continue to repress our thoughts, our feelings, particularly those that are negative, the more we bury them deeper, storing them in our sub-conscious.
It means two things. First, we thought we have eliminated them. No, they come out in our dreams, they seep out into the unconscious in trickles that spoil many happy thoughts. Second, as we keep filling up the unconscious with more repressed thoughts, there comes a time that the tank so to speak, is likely to burst. There on a couch the potential victim, with the help of a psychiatrist, releases the pressure by withdrawing from the unconscious into the conscious chamber of the brain and flows out to his relief. Such rehabilitation requires rest and expurgation of the negative thoughts and experiences. It is only through this process that the psychiatric symptoms begin to cease.
4. Spiritual – The biblical Seventh Day is one for the spirit, a day of communication with our Creature, with Nature. It is a renewal of relationship between man and God, a re-invigoration of the soul. Emptiness can be easily felt, but quite often, it mingles with the kind of emptiness that is hard to fill. Our spiritual life suffers every time we act on something against our conscience. It becomes dull when we fail to do the things we should in accordance with our faith. I have heard of people complaining about the lack of “meaning in life.” For me, the answer lies not in our rationale thoughts, in our physical power or emotional or psychological makeup. In fact I believe that the lack of meaning is in the emptiness of the spirit. I recommend reading of A Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl, founder of logotherapy - a field of psychology which helped prisoners in German prison camps in World War II to survive.
As I continue to write this article at Room 3031 at the UST hospital (September 20, 2001) I glimpse upon a Newsweek story about 30,000 Japanese a year have been killing themselves. The title of the article is “Death by Conformity.” It is about an epidemic of young Japanese pulling back from the world."
Take the case of a 29-year old salaryman. He described how he secluded himself for three years after resigning from his company. “I didn’t even know if it was day or night,” he confessed.
Another case is about a “corporate warrior” who became a victim of economic slump affecting his company in the late 1998. He became “spiritually” weakened by an anxiety he couldn’t comprehend. This is how the report pictured the fiftyish company executive.
“At first he couldn’t sleep. Then he grew physically weak each time the train neared the station nearest his office. On several occasions he rode to the end of the line. At one point, speaking on condition that he not be identified, he went to buy a rope, then put it in the trunk of his car to be prepared for the day when he would hang himself. Fortunately the day didn’t come. A doctor helped him from overcoming his depression.”
Hikikomori Syndrome
This malady is called in Japan hikikomori or social withdrawal, a debilitating syndrome, which affects as many as 1.2 million young people – 7 out of 10 of them are male.
Photo of a potential hikikomori victim (internet)
Symptoms include
• Agoraphobia -
Fear of places and situations that might cause panic, helplessness, or embarrassment. It is common, there are200,000 to 3 million US cases per year
• Paranoia - Paranoia involves feelings of persecution and an exaggerated sense of self-importance. Paranoia occurs in many mental disorders and is rare as an isolated mental illness, persons with paranoia can usually work and function in everyday life, however, their lives may be limited and isolated.
• Aversion to sunlight• Severe anxiety• Antisocial• Fear they are being watched• Think they are ugly, they smell, etc.• Loner• Uncommunicative• Sullen, sometimes even violent
“Getting out may be the only cure from the blues.”
- Takemi Matsuda, “Time out Stay in” Newsweek August 20, 2001
“People who suffer from hikikomori are at the top of a mountain – and that mountain is all of Japan’s problems."
Hikikomori begins with adolescent trauma that causes the afflicted to “stop growing up.” It is a social phenomenon, not a specific mental-health disorder. A certain Tamaki Saito who runs an outpatient program at Sasaki Hospital in Chiba, blames the problem on Japan’s efficiency first value system, which promotes conformity among workers, and students. So with the company workers who are expected to render efficient performance as Japanese culture has built standards of performance in return to security and compensation.
Hope for the Flowers
Hope for the Flowers has helped people gain the courage to leave jobs, change their lives and explore their love for another human being.
Anyone who has read Trina Paulus’ illustrated book, Hope for the Flowers, is certainly convinced that there is “nothing out there at the top.”
The story goes like this. Caterpillars scrambled up to the top, each outsmarting and climbing over one another, and forming a living pyramid. Each caterpillar wanted to be at the top.
Imagine a whole mass of living, dynamic bodies, writhing, shaking, in the like of the Tower of Babel. At the top each one thought must be beautiful. To be at the top is honor. The higher one goes the more the risk to slide and fall off to its death.
“But there is nothing up there.” The caterpillar, which had reached the top, said. But the others did not believe. A female caterpillar gave up and turned into a pupa hanging peacefully on a branch of a tree. Then one morning she metamorphosed into a beautiful butterfly. Meantime her colleague continued on to struggle to the top of the pyramid.
She fluttered her wings in the morning sunshine and whispered something to someone she had met earlier. And the latter withdrew from the crowd, and followed the same thing she did. Then one morning he too, metamorphosed into a beautiful butterfly, while his colleagues were still struggling in the pyramid.
And the two butterflies lived happily ever after.
People are like caterpillars. They are gregarious. They form columns and pyramids. They step on one another just to be at the top. Many are frustrated, many get injured or even killed. Irony is that there is nothing at the top but space far from heaven. ~
* Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) 738 DZRB AM, evening class 8 to 9, with Ms Grace Velasco August 11, 2015 ~
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