Q vs A

Do we have to have the question in order to get the answers? What is an answer anyway without a question? Do they equally matter? Or the question itself matters the most?

It has been argued that it is an unidentified sign, what so called. How we make meaning of the process is what matters. Questions, more often, are answered with more questions.

But do we (unconsciously) get the question from the answers that we want to hear instead? Again, for most people, yes, the validation factors. But not if we keep an open mind and sincere heart. What’s important is the “seeking”, not the “finding”.

So the challenge will be, how to differentiate between what we want to find, and what we want to seek? I do not have the answer. There is no exact answer to this particular question. It is proven that question arises more question. From there, we (might) find the answer.

Thank you, Ka Ina, you are truly my inspiration J

//Letters to a Young Poet//

You are so young, and have not even started, and I want to beg you, as strongly as I can

Dear Sir, to be patient with all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue.

Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given to you because you would not be able to live them.

And the point is, to live everything.

Live the questions now.

Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.

--Rainer Maria Rilke

This doesn't mean that I'm a Geek. Right?

“Placing learners at the heart of learning process and meeting their needs, is taken into a progressive step in which learner-centred approaches mean that persons are able to learn what is relevant for them in ways that are appropriate. Waste in human and educational resources is reduced as it suggested learners no longer have to learn what they already know or can do, nor what they are uninterested in”.  (Edwards 2001:37)

Why we come to universities to pursue our degree? Universities are not just a "learning place to crashed into", or as a place to prove something to someone. University for me is a place for you to get lost,, and find yourself.

Though many people find themself not willing to learn for the reason of experiences are more valuable than degrees, than going to school or uni; I totally respect their opinions, their decisions, their preferences. I personally think the other way around, because I love to learn. Books are my salve. Listening to a teacher is my favourite routine. My wildest dream is to be a leading thinker of the unthinkable ( bear in mind, wildest). Where else I can find these type of activities except in Universities? They have their field of research, dissemination, consultation and technical assistance, provision and improvement of human resources, service analysis and also collaboration with industries. It's the best place.

Learning is not just about a preparation of living, but rather enables us to learn in the process of living.

--don't get me wrong, just saying

THE DEVELOPMENT SET

Excuse me, friends, I must catch my jet

I’m off to join the Development Set;

My bags are packed, and I’ve had all my shots

I have traveller’s checks and pills for the trots!

The Development Set is bright and noble

Our thoughts are deep and our vision global;

Although we move with the better classes

Our thoughts are always with the masses.

In Sheraton Hotels in scattered nations

We damn multi-national corporations;

Injustice seems easy to protest

In such seething hotbeds of social rest.

We discuss malnutrition over steaks

And plan hunger talks during coffee breaks.

Whether Asian floods or African drought,

We face each issue with open mouth.

We bring in consultants whose circumlocution

Raises difficulties for every solution –

Thus guaranteeing continued good eating

By showing the need for another meeting.

The language of the Development Set

Stretches the English alphabet;

We use swell words like “epigenetic”

“Micro”, “macro”, and “logarithmetic”

It pleasures us to be esoteric –

It’s so intellectually atmospheric!

And although establishments may be unmoved,

Our vocabularies are much improved.

When the talk gets deep and you’re feeling numb,

You can keep your shame to a minimum:

To show that you, too, are intelligent

Smugly ask, “Is it really development?”

Or say, “That’s fine in practice, but don’t you see:

It doesn’t work out in theory!”

A few may find this incomprehensible,

But most will admire you as deep and sensible.

Development set homes is extremely chic,

Full of carvings, curios, and draped with batik.

Eye-level photographs subtly assure

That your host is at home with the great and the poor.

Enough of these verses – on with the mission!

Our task is as broad as the human condition!

Just pray god the biblical promise is true:

The poor ye shall always have with you.

“Adult Education and Development” September 1976

Ross Coggins

Walk the Talk

“People are no longer satisfied only with declarations. They demand firm action and concrete results. They expect that the nations of the world, having identified a problem, will have the vitality to act.” –Swedish Prime Minister, 1972

Enough Said.

Which type of cat are you?

--The Avoiding Cat--
"The avoiding cat plays games in her mind. If she needs to clean her fur, she hunts. If she needs to fill her belly, she sleeps. If she needs to explore her territory, she toys with a leaf. Her actions are often spirited, though misdirected. The avoiding cat is fear-filled. She has more comfort working with diligence on a different task, than facing her fear of the task at paw. If she fears she will hunt without success, she will do any other thing to avoid that failure. The longer she avoids, the more fear she builds, and the hungrier she'll get. The hunger will weaken her, and that will increase her fear, keeping her evermore from the hunt. The avoiding cat is not weak, lazy or inadequate, rather is afraid. To help herself, she must face her fear and do her tasks anyway. This is effortless to say, but difficult to do. Yet she must, as only clawing at fear can diminish it."

--The Heroic Cat--
" It is said that to find eternity, a cat must be heroic. The heroic cat cares for others as she cares for herself. She treats others with respect and kindness. Some think heroism is defined by courageous deeds. it can be. But it is also in a life well lived. The heroic cat will hunt for you when you are sick or injured. She will protect your kittens when you are using the sand. She will share her den if you are caught in cold winds. She will groom you, and make you purrr. The heroic cat does not trespass on your territory, leave scent in your spaces, or hunt your creatures. The heroic cat is she whom every cat should long to be."

--The Holding Cat--
"The holding cat has difficulty to let go. When summer approaches, he does not shed. he holds on to his winter coat, his appearance disheveled and unkempt. The heat of his unshed fur makes him clumsy and artless when he hunts. He sleeps fitfully, too warm to find release. His territory resembles his coat, with bits of bone,fur, and feathers around his den. His trails are overgrown and slow him when he runs. The holding cat clings to things that do not serve him. He may think this keeps him safe, for other cats rarely invade the territory of a holding cat. But when it is time to mate, the females do not answer his call. They do not want his messy coat near their gleaming fur. In this way, the holding cat hides from the rest of the world, never demanding of himself his obligations to the community. The thing he hoards have little meaning. The fur that covers him gives little pleasure. The holding cat holds only illusions."

--The Aspiring Cat--
"The aspiring cat wants more than an ordinary life. When others hunt mice, she hunts rats.When others settle for nesting chicks, she hunts birds on the wing. When others are pleased with a fish washed onto shore, she immerses herself in the stream. The aspiring cat dreams for her kittens, as well as herself. She teaches them to desire for themselves. The aspiring cat is rare. Most cats are content to fill their bellies, create litters, and defend their territories, but the aspiring cat wants more. She does not do these things out of greed or to humble those around her. It is a need deep within her heart. She is true to herself when she shows her ambitions. Her dreams can take many forms. She can be the best hunter, the most nurturing mother, the most popular mate, the greatest climber, the most diligent protector, or the wisest Mouser. If you are an aspiring cat, do not fight your dreams."

--The Enlightened Cat--
"You can live your life in ordinary ways. You will exist, you will eat and sleep and mate and die, and never quest for more. There is nothing wrong with this, as it is your choice to make. but some cats will embark on a journey. They do not have to travel a wall, or even wander from their territory. Journeys can take many forms. The enlightened cat sees the world and all other cats as her teachers, and she learns from each. She discovers the prized role of question and the ephemeral role of answers. She asks, and seeks, and quests, and maybe if she is open enough, she walks the path to enlightenment. if she reaches this state, she can let it all go--teaching as she was taught, divining new questions, and creating new journeys for those who sit avid in her shadow. The enlightened cat is a Mouser. You have the potential to be a Mouser, if that is the path you seek. This is the journey I have made, and I invite you now to follow."



From the greatest and most unique book my Mom ever gave me (The Wisdom of Yo Meow Ma, Joanna Sandsmark)

Another Aha! moment

An interesting analysis I read on an article. Keep buzzing on my mind.----------

“We're not driven only by emotions, of course; we also reason, deliberate. But reasoning comes later, works slower; and even then, it doesn't take place in an emotional vacuum. Rather, our quick-fire emotions can set us on a course of thinking that's highly biased, especially on topics we care a great deal about.”

When we think we're reasoning, we may instead be rationalizing. Or to use an analogy: We may think we're being scientists, but we're actually being lawyers. Our "reasoning" is a means to a predetermined end—winning our "case"; and is shot through with biases. They include "confirmation bias," in which we give greater heed to evidence and arguments that bolster our beliefs, and "disconfirmation bias," in which we expend disproportionate energy trying to debunk or refute views and arguments that we find uncongenial.

That's a lot of jargon, but we all understand these mechanisms when it comes to interpersonal relationships. If I don't want to believe that my spouse is being unfaithful, or that my child is a bully, I can go to great lengths to explain away behaviour that seems obvious to everybody else—everybody who isn't too emotionally invested to accept it, anyway. That's not to suggest that we aren't also motivated to perceive the world accurately—we are. Or that we never change our minds—we do. It's just that we have other important goals besides accuracy—including identity affirmation and protecting one's sense of self—and often those make us highly resistant to changing our beliefs when the facts say we should.

--Chris Mooney, 2011—

Mother Jones, May/June 2011 edition—Politics, Science