Happiness is... according to Great Men and Women

BE HAPPY!

119th Philippine Independence Day Message  
Happiness is, to great men and women, a motivating force to achievement and not its own result; of making others and not oneself feel happy and successful, of being treated fairly, of being cared for; of reaching out for a cause with great determination, and whether one succeeds or not, finds fulfillment at the end. Happiness is... what makes this world a better place to live in - indeed a mark of greatness of anyone who can contribute to it in his or her own way.~

Dr Abe V Rotor

 Living with Nature - School on Blog [avrotor.blogspot.com]
What is happiness to great people? 
Do they perceive the kind of happiness most people feel? Or do they have a world of their own too, when it comes to enjoying life?
Or, if their being unique and not understood in many ways, is the barrier - what then is happiness to them? Is there still a place of happiness in their genius?
Let's take it from some great figures of the world.
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Happiness is a mental or emotional state of well-being characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. A variety of biological, psychological, religious, and philosophical approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources. Various research groups, including positive psychology, endeavor to apply the scientific method to answer questions about what "happiness" is, and how it might be attained. It is of such fundamental importance to the human condition that "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" were deemed to be unalienable rights by the United States Declaration of Independence. (Happiness From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
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1. According to Saint Teresa (Mother Teresa)
To Mother Teresa, happiness serving the poor. To quote:
"I choose the poverty of our poor people. But I am grateful to receive (the Nobel) in the name of the hungry, the naked, the homeless, of the crippled, of the blind, of the lepers, of all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared-for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone."

- Excerpt from the Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech

Mother Teresa (Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu), born in Skopje, Yugoslavia (what is now Macedonia), moved residence in Calcutta, India; 1979 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate; leader of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity. Mother Teresea started the House for the Dying, the Missionaries of Charity to help lepers and victims in many disaster areas of the world. She was awarded the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize.
Happiness is...therefore, to great men and women, a motivating force to achievement and not its own result; of making others and not oneself feel happy and successful, of being treated fairly, of being cared for; of reaching out for a cause with great determination, and whether one succeeds or not, finds fulfillment at the end. Happiness is... what makes this world a better place to live in - indeed a mark of greatness of anyone who can contribute to it in his or her own way.~

 2. Happiness is... according to Albert Schweitzer 

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success . if you love what you are doing, you will be successful.
I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.

Albert Schweitzer was a Franco-German theologian, organist, philosopher and physician. He received the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize for his philosophy of Reverence for Life. His passionate quest was to discover a universal ethical philosophy, anchored in a universal reality, and make it directly available to all of humanity. He founded the famous Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Lambarene' 
in Gabon, then French Equatorial Africa.

3. Happiness is... according to Albert Camus 
You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life. 
But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads? 
All men have a sweetness in their life. That is what helps them go on. It is towards that they turn when they feel too worn out.

Albert Camus was a French Algerian author, philosopher, journalist and footballer who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957 "for his important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times". He was a key philosopher of the 20th-century and his most famous work is the novel L'Étranger (The Stranger), and for his writings against capital punishment in the essay Réflexions sur la Guillotinehis views contributed to the rise of the more current philosophy known as absurdism. He wrote in his essay The Rebel that his whole life was devoted to opposing the philosophy of nihilism while still delving deeply into individual freedom..
4. According to the Dalai Lama

• The basic thing is that everyone wants happiness, no one wants suffering. And happiness mainly comes from our own attitude, rather than from external factors. If your own mental attitude is correct, even if you remain in a hostile atmosphere, you feel happy.
• If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

• When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only make others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace.

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. Dalai Lama

His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is the spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan people. Tibetans normally refer to His Holiness as Yeshin Norbu, the Wish-fulfilling Gem, or simply, Kundun, meaning The Presence. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his unwavering leadership in leading the Tibetans as one people in their own country amidst threats of China and the influence of modernism.

5. Albert Einstein, 
Man of the 20th century, was always in jovial mood while at work.  Here he plays a violin before delivering a lecture. The smiley face is a well-known symbol of happiness. 

A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy? Albert Einstein

6. Buddha
To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him. Buddha

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness
never decreases by being shared. Buddha

Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life. Omar Khayyam

Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get. Dale Carnegie

There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved. George Sand

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. Albert Schweitzer

Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort. Franklin D. Roosevelt

The secret to happiness is freedom... And the secret to freedom is courage. Thucydides

A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness. It is an expression of humility. It is a foundation for the development of such virtues as prayer, faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being. James E. Faust

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. Mahatma Gandhi

Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. Nathaniel Hawthorne

Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness, of hatred, of jealousy, and, most easily of all, the gate of fear. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life. Albert Camus

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go. Oscar Wilde
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Thomas Jefferson

True happiness is... to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future. Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Happiness depends upon ourselves. Aristotle

Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul. Democritus

Joy can only be real if people look upon their life as a service and have a definite object in life outside themselves and their personal happiness. Leo Tolstoy

Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know. Ernest Hemingway

The happiness of the bee and the dolphin is to exist. For man it is to know that and to wonder at it. Jacques Yves Cousteau

A happy life must be to a great extent a quiet life, for it is only in an atmosphere of quiet that true joy dare live. Bertrand Russell
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The United Nations declared 20 March the International Day of Happiness to recognize the relevance of happiness and well being as universal goals. In 2014 Happy (Pharrell Williams song) became the anthem and inspired clips from around the world. Acknowledgment: Photos from the Internet

Habagat or Southwest Monsoon has begun. - Answers to a self-administered test (25 items)

Habagat or Southwest Monsoon* has begun.

- Answers to a self-administered test

 Habagat reminds us of nature's duality—bringing both life-giving rain to the earth and the fierce beauty of a sudden downpour.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Over Iloilo: prelude to the monsoon season: cumulus cloud in the morning

becoming nimbus and falling into rain in the afternoon. May 10, 2012

Monsoon is life. It is life to millions of people, in fact half of humanity, living along its yearly path. It is a regular climatic phenomenon but sometimes it comes early or late, sometimes bringing in plenty of rain and typhoons. It may end early or extend over, and the consequences are both good and bad. But it is unthinkable if there were no monsoon at all. Here are some questions to test our knowledge about the monsoon, more than that, to test to what extent we have learned to live with and by this natural phenomenon.

1. Ideally, rainfall is the purest water we get from nature, because the principle involved is distillation. Rain therefore, is distilled water. T

2. Because of gas and particle emissions from cars, factories, agriculture and human settlements, rainfall is unsafe to drink, and in fact we should refrain from going out in the rain. T

3. Global warming has something to do with the disturbance of the tectonic plates leading to more frequent and stronger earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruption. T

4. Global warming is the concern of governments and big business because they have the power and resources. We, ordinary citizens, have very little contribution to its solution. (F)

5. Three things to do in preparation for the monsoon season: House repair, gardening, and community work such as tree planting and cleaning drainage canals. T

6. Among the recommended plants for the rainy season are ubi, malunggay, singkamas, gabi, carrots, pechay and lettuce, to augment our local food supply. (F)

7. The best time and most economical, and with least care and attention to plant vegetables in the backyard and idle lots is during the monsoon season. T

8. Frogs, snails, catfish, crayfish, mudfish, and the like, remain in a state of turpor during summer then they come out of their hiding places - cracks in the soil, underneath mulches, underground springs, etc. T

9. Wallows of carabao PHOTO, river basins, farm ponds, ricefield catchments are natural sanctuaries. When the rains come, the aestivating organisms become active and start populating the flooded fields. T

10. It is customary to walk, play, sing, in the first heavy rain as the monsoon approaches, but you have to wet the navel first before attempting to do so, according to old folks. T

11. Rain makes the swimming pool green because rain dissolves nitrates in the air which it brings down to earth. T

12. Sporadic rainfall may be just thunderstorm. We can dismiss the possibility of strong rain after the sky has cleared and the thunderstorm has passed. (F)

13. Weathering is a geological process leading to soil formation. The principle is alternate heat and cold causing differential expansion and contraction of the material. Its principal companion is water - rainfall and running water. T

14. Bare watershed absorbs rain greedily because it is thirsty so to speak, so why worry of delayed reforestation? Nature has her own way of self-regeneration. (F)

15. Typhoons occur mostly during monsoon. A typhoon has a large circulating mass of air, laden with rain at its periphery, and moving from a high pressure to a low pressure area, circulating in a clockwise direction, that is if you are above the equator. (F)

16. On the Central Plains, during the monsoon season the most important crop is corn. Corn likes a lot of rain. (F)

17. During the monsoon period the Inter-Tropical Convergent Zone (ITCZ) is usually up north of the Philippines; whereas during the amihan season, the ITCZ moves southward to Mindanao or lower. T

18. By now the June beetle PHOTO has emerged, so with the cicada, and the winged termites (gamu-gamu) have swarmed out from their colonies. T

19. The path of the monsoon winds is over the south western Pacific picking up moisture that builds into clouds which subsequently become rain that pours over a wide area covering Southeast Asia, the sub-continent of India, over much of Asia, on to Western Africa. T

20. The water table rises as the amount of rainfall increases, and in many cases, it reaches the top and joins with the runoff water, exacerbating flooding in the area. T

21. Planting trees, scientists tell us, is not a wise measure to curb global warming, because trees absorb the heat of the sun and make the earth warmer. F

22. It is the light of the sun – not its heat – that is used to convert H2O and CO2 during photosynthesis to produce sugar and Oxygen. T

23. Twice in a day the tides come and go, meaning there are two high tides and two low tides alternately taking place. T

24. Doldrums at sea has killed as many sailors as storms in the old days of shipping. T

25. When a lightning strike occurs, the surrounding air suddenly expands and produces the sound referred to as thunder. This phenomenon takes place more frequently in summer than in any other time of the year. F/T ~

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* The monsoon season in the Philippines officially began on June 4, 2026, marked by the onset of the Habagat (southwest monsoon). This period brings frequent, heavy rains and is projected to bring above-normal rainfall due to La Niña conditions. It typically runs from June to October. AI Overview/Internet

The Green Tunnel

In celebration of World Environment Day, June 5, 2017 Theme: "Connecting People to Nature"

Dr Abe V Rotor

Green Tunnel acrylic on canvas (2ft x 4 ft) AVRotor 2017             

When life becomes unbearable living in a jungle of concrete;

when pressure of work is taking its toll and you may be the next,

don't tarry, reach out for the green tunnel;

when the air is filled with smog and you hardly can breathe;

when crime grips the street, you feel you're no longer safe,

don't tarry, reach out for the green tunnel;

when you are losing your friends and you feel sad and lonely;

when you are no longer enjoying the so-called Good Life, 

don't tarry, reach out for the green tunnel;

when you ponder over the promise of afterlife as a tunnel, too; 

when there is time on earth to seek its living counterpart,

don't tarry, reach out for the green tunnel;

when you shall have found your way to this heaven on earth;

when and where man once found peace and contentment,

 look back, but revere this green tunnel.

           

Details: Doves symbol of peace, children of innocence and adventure. 

"Our living earth is shrinking, orphaned like a Rock Pool."

“Man has reversed the process of evolution and he has put into his hands the pattern and trends as he wishes, playing the role of his Creator.” - AVR
Dr Abe V Rotor

"Our living earth is shrinking, orphaned like a Rock Pool."
Acrylic painting by AVR

1. The world everywhere, from the tundra down to the rich tropical forests, faces unabated threats to wildlife destruction, as human activities continue to defile nature not only of its flora and fauna but of natural habitats.

2. While the target of conservation is the protection of plants and animals particularly those that are considered to be facing extinction and are being endangered, the greater concern of ecology is the protection of natural habitats and ecological systems.

3. On another front of human activities often characterized by man’s quests for the “good life” through industrialization he believes to be the prime mover of progress and development, the production of unwanted by-products threatens the earth’s dynamic processes, Already the emission of gases from burning fossil oil has resulted to two serious consequences; thinning of the ozone layer and the building up of heat of the atmosphere resulting to global warming.

4. As human population continues to escalate which is going to double the present 6 billion mark by 2025, more and more people now believe that only by heeding the Malthusian prediction that our world may be spared of unimagined scenario of mass starvation and death.

5. On the other hand, quests for new frontiers of science has led us to the fore – unlocking the code of heredity that may soon replace conventional breeding, resulting thus far in the production of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) and Genetically modified Food (GMF).

6. The other frontier is man’s interplanetary travel beyond the distance of the moon, and for such ambitious adventure, man will have to learn to adjust to life in space and in the planets he targets at visiting. Interplanetary travel takes years, many years. Into the unknown man carries the environment of the earth in a capsule or bubble. Space biology studies not only the effect on man but to plants and animals as well – some kind of man-made ecological system in space. We have virtually started a new field, space ecology.

7. If a third world war is to come, what kind of war is it? People are in a quandary, even those who are witness to the last world war and different wars after that. On media, a third world war if really global and the enemy stalks, respecting no boundaries of politics, culture and faith. It will be a war everyone is concerned of – real or psychological, covering the ultimate warfare materiel - nuclear, chemical and biological.

8. On the concept of human habitat, how ideal can planning get close to it has been demonstrated in some models, which is far from the answer of what a human community should be. The crux of the problem is in drawing up a treaty between nature and man. Could this be an alternative to cities and high rise buildings?

9. Terms like ecotourism, ecomigration, ecozones, etc. are jargons often disguised economic programs, rather than ecological in purpose. As such, projects of this kind must be reviewed in the light of ecology rather than economics.

10. Zero waste management is ideal, it is a utopia of a modern world. But looking at the experiences of industrialized countries like Japan, Germany and Norway waste is just another resource waiting to be tapped. Why not? Isn’t garbage the excess of our wasteful luxurious living? ~

PDI The Joy of New Life... but where does Nature come in?

Dr Abe V Rotor

This editorial cartoon, The Joy of New Life, accompanies the editorial Still Poor, PDI March 21, 2016, following Easter Sunday. 

 \

What role has environment to The Joy of New Life, 

and to the state of being Still Poor"?

Poverty undermines the pillars of truly a happy life;

it creates its own world apart. 

Anthropocentric regard of human supremacy over all creatures, itself an ecological crisis.

As man re-shapes the Earth at will, for his needs

and wants, disguised as values:

Education for literacy, justice for equality, freedom

as right are licenses to anthropocentrism. 

Dignity sets man on a pedestal, lord and master  

of all creation, rational and supreme.

Who enthroned man with such power, but a god 

he claims the source of his power.   

Self-anointed, he wills as his god wills, acts in his behalf,

in an authoritarian rule.

Collective referendum, consultation, decision  - all 

but mankind alone, sans all creatures on earth.    

Who stops him from cutting down whole forests,

dam rivers, level mountains? 

All in pursuit of progress, in the name of civilization,

for wealth, comfort and happiness.

And mankind covers the earth, aims at the universe,

challenges now the god in his mind.

And reasons out, rationality after all justifies

both good and evil, acts as amoral.

Deserts expand, land, air and water foul with waste,

"Tragedy of the commons" breeds war.

Nations break up, millions in exodus to nowhere, 

where there was once progress.

Where there was once a paradise, a golden city

in its place, now also gone. 

 

What role has environment to The Joy of New Life, 

and to the state of being Still Poor"? ~

Save those spent ball pens. Refill!

Clean up your desk, clean up Nature - and save.  
Dr Abe V Rotor

Green pen - refillable with spare cartridge. These expensive ball pens need new cartridge after the original one has been spent. Substitute brands are cheaper. Ask your school and office suppliers.

Thousands of ball pens - millions actually, all over the globe, prematurely become useless. They die ahead of their time, so to speak, and we just don't give them decent burial. They are simply thrown away for nature to take over their demise. But they are non-biodegradable. They'll never decompose and become part of Nature's way of recycling them for the next generation.

Which lead us to a challenge.  For our part as users the most practical way is to refill. Ball pens are generally refillable. Many are built to outlive their writing element, in like manner guns are built for long use. There are of course, use-and-throw-away types. Avoid these if you can. Otherwise you fall into the tender trap of planned obsolescence, a ploy of many manufacturers.  

Expensive ball pens can be refilled for a lifetime. And there are substitute brands which are relatively cheaper than the original. One advantage to have a brand of your choice and use it regularly is that your penmanship remains the same. This is ergonomics which enhances natural feel in the use of the instrument. Your writing style becomes consistent. So with your signature. Look how beautiful your notes are.

 Spent ball pens constitute a major waste in offices and schools.

Start a campaign in your school or community. Have a supplier of ball pen fillers. And have a refilling session. This is a practical campaign to save money and to save nature. This will send a strong message to unscrupulous manufacturers.

Biology: Camouflage and Mimicry

Both are tools for survival. Camouflage hides the organisms to look like its surrounding.  In mimicry an organism copies (mimics) another. 
Photos by Dr AV Rotor

Iguana resembles color of rock and pond weeds. Avilon Zoo, Rizal

Jaguar fits perfectly with design of scanty vegetation in the Savannah, Avilon Zoo

Barn Owl stalks in the dark with only its keen eyes visible. Its eyes can mesmerize its prey. St Paul University QC Museum

Starfish mimics coral reef and sea grass, its body design resembles stones and shells.

The ant lion makes a hole in the sand where it spends its larval stage feeding on ants and other small insects that fall into the pit. CELL, Silang Cavite

Tukak ba-og inflates when in danger and resembles the rock where it wedges itself. Tagaytay City.


Nymphalid caterpillars resemble stems and leaves of their host plant. Lagro QC

Green Tree Frog assumes dual coloration to fit land and water habitats. UPLB Laguna

Giant African Snail can just simply appear as stone. Gourmet Farm, Silang Cavite

Leaf insect is dried leaf in all respects.

Green Tree Ant builds inconspicuous nest that does not dry up in the tree. Lagro QC