"All in the name of civilization" - Reflection in Pandemic Times

     "All in the name of civilization"- 

    Reflection in Pandemic Times

"There are two sides of midnight, likened to the Good Life;  

Janus syndrome in dream and reality, in plenty and strife." - avr

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog

Reflection in acrylic by Leo Carlo Rotor

 

“The ultimate test of any civilization

Is not in its inventions and deeds;

But the endurance of Mother Nature

In keeping up with man’s endless needs."

                                                - AVR, Light in the Woods.

What is civilization? Can’t civilization hear and heed the groaning of Creation?

1. It is civilization that wiped out the American Indians from the Great Plains, and plundered the Aztecs and Mayas Empires, among other cultures.

2. It is civilization that spurred the powerful West to "discover" and colonize the East for centuries.

3. It is civilization that resulted in the death of millions and the genocide of 6 million Jews in WWII.

4. It is civilization that built the atomic bomb – and dropped it on two cities of an "enemy."

5. It is civilization that made a clone animal, Dolly the Sheep, and inevitably man to be the next in the near future.

6. It is civilization that threatens the whale and the Philippine Eagle, and resulted to the extinctions of many species, and in threatening more.

7. It is civilization that is causing global warming and its untold consequences, destroying lives and properties, and the environment itself.

First atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima Japan, 2014

8. It is civilization that is causing today’s fuel crisis and food shortage, drastic inflation and loss of currency value, the recession of America and consequently the world, ad infinitum.

9. It is civilization that gave way to excesses of living, from obesity to promiscuity, license to abuse of power and wealth.

10. It is civilization that allowed growing inequities in resources distribution,
in bridging the rich and the poor.

But it is also civilization that brought us and our society to the highest level of consciousness no known species can parallel. It is civilization that makes the Earth a beautiful place to live in.

1. It is civilization that gave us consciousness as rational beings, guiding us to live peacefully as a group and with the things around us.

2. It is civilization that created our great institutions that bind us into a society, and as one humanity.

3. It is civilization that made the greatest masterpieces in the fields of philosophy, science and the arts.

4. It is civilization that gave us the greatest religions of the world that brought us closer to our Creator.

Man on the moon - dream-come-true

5. It is civilization that guarantees our basic rights as individuals and a people, and as a nation - and international community.

6. It is civilization that instills in us pride and dignity in our continuing accomplishments and discoveries.

7. It is civilization that prods us to explore the ocean and space, and the mysteries of life making use of our faculties, the greatest gift to mankind.

8. It is civilization that treasures knowledge and history in libraries, archives and multimedia, ever expanding and mysteriously revealing.

9. It is civilization that inspires us all towards achieving our dreams and searching for a meaning in life in each of us, and as a people.

10. It is civilization that gives holism to our existence as Homo sapiens (thinking man), Homo faber (man the maker), Homo ludens (playing man), and Homo spiritus (praying man).

It is civilization that makes nations great - big and small - equally proud of their culture, and contribution to the world.

It is civilization that brings us all towards universal brotherhood and globalization, shrinking the world into a friendly village.

It is civilization that makes heroes and martyrs that always prevail at the end in keeping peace and order here in our only home, The Planet Earth.~

Civilization is a precarious balance. We still ask today why we build beautiful things and destroy them. We are puzzled by the answer of the madman who destroyed the Pieta with a sledge hammer –“because I cannot own beauty.” So, if one man can’t, why should he deprive humanity?

Human Life and Environment, presented by the author at the Capiz Archdiocesan Gathering of Priests, August 4, 2011

Don't be a Victim of Heart Disease, the Number One Killer

 Don't be a Victim of Heart Disease, the Number One Killer

Dr Abe V Rotor

I have known people - a number of them relatives,

co-workers and former classmates - who died of heart disease.

If you have positive family history, you are a potential candidate to heart attack and its complications. Like Damocles Sword, you know the rules to live a long and happy life. There are ten factors you should be able to manage.

Heart on the Wall in acrylic by AVRotor, 2016

First, Don't smoke. Just don't.

Second, Exercise. Be active physically. Get out of your comfort zone.

Third, Reduce cholesterol level. Take less of meat and more fruits and vegetables.

Fourth, Never indulge in drinking.

Fifth, Live on healthy diet. Watch out your glucose level.

Sixth, Maintain normal blood pressure always.

Seventh, Don't be overweight. Reduce.

Eighth, Have regular medical checkup.

Ninth, Set a goal for your career and family.

Tenth, Have a positive outlook in life always. Reach out for life's meaning.

Why don't you download this article, print and pin it as a daily reminder?

Community Museum and Practicum Center

 Community Museum and Practicum Center*

Dr Abe V Rotor

  

School museum (former St. Paul University Museum QC); kids examine an albino janitor fish; wooden transform for practical learning of science and art ; relic of Philippine deer, now an endangered species; below, outdoor workshop in ecology; (Pre-pandemic views of educational activities.)

*A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these items available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. 

Practicum is a course in which theory is put into practice, a practical training or research session.

Adventure in Nature: Painting at an Early Age

         Adventure in Nature: Painting at an Early Age

"The return of happy days of childhood in art;

  outdoor - freedom from the confines of the wall 

        where childhood and Nature are one, and for all." - avr

 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Top, clockwise:  Painting brings a "dead wall" to life; painting in leisure on a beach; Markus, author's grandson, lends a hand in painting a canvas; siblings' joint work of a   scene under the sea.  (Pre-pandemic scenes.) ~

New Normal and New Future 2 - Exploring the World of the Minutiae

New Normal  and New Future 2        

Exploring the World of the Minutiae 

"Science in the neighborhood, extension of the school.

All you need is a microscope and a guide to explore

the wonderful world of the living minutiae and matter,

outdoor learning, understanding Nature - and more." - avr

Dr Abe V Rotor  

Microscopy for kids - community summer workshop, Lagro QC, circa 2015

- a revival of pre-pandemic activity in lieu of computer games and loafing.

 (New Normal to New Future series 2) ~

Oh! If only man's wisdom can bring back Paradise lost a long time ago.

Trees for Peace 

Oh! If only man's wisdom can bring back Paradise lost a long time ago.

Floor-to-Wall Mural by Dr Abe V Rotor

 

A wall is empty no more, it dissolves into forest and stream

running down soft under the feet, spilling onto the street;

where once a city of steel and concrete, of dust and smog

reigned, where the forces of human frailty and nature meet,

rekindling wonders and adventures of childhood little known

to the city-bred whom the Good Life in disguise would cheat!

The wall is alive in three dimensions in make-believe perspective,

progeny of primary colors - red, blue and yellow, bold and mellow,

azure sky, deep blue-green sea, prism of every dewdrop bead,

sparkle of every star at night, crystalline water Narcissus saw;

if only walls can speak to mirror human longing of a happy world,

if only man's wisdom can bring back Paradise lost a long time ago! ~

NOTE: Kim Laurence and Sophia on Christmas Day 2017 at the author's residence in Lagro QC.