Norwegian Wood

If some were disappointed because Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood was a straight love story, rather than his usual surreal, and fantastic novels, then I have to disagree. It was straight and it was real because no contortion of the imagination was needed to make the reader understand the story of Toru who fell in love, suffered a painful loss, and finally came of age.

Toru's first love was Naoko, the girlfriend of his best friend who committed suicide. Naoko was the beautiful, but fragile love, the idealized love he could never really attain. This love, along with Toru's innocence, died with Naoko.

Midori, on the other hand, was the pedestrian love that just grew over time. She was the love Toru could grow old with. Finally, Toru's experience with Reiko was the tender, uncomplicated act of making love, one that seemed to be a natural offshoot of friendship, with friendly love taken to its logical end.

Toru's experiences were not the same as mine, but that I felt his loss, his pain, and his happiness, only attests to Murakami's deep understanding of our common human predicament.

Dr Strangelove

I finally watched this film by Stanley Kubrick today after attempting to watch Singing in the Rain with a badly scratched DVD.

Dr Strangelove perfectly captures the absurdity and the farcical nature of American hysteria and paranoia during the Cold War. I can only imagine what it was like to fear total annihilation. Some constructed bomb shelters at home while schools taught children bomb drills, but, there was ultimately nothing that could be done in the event of a nuclear war. And it is this assurance of destruction that kept the heads in Washington and Moscow rational enough not to shoot first.

George Scott was brilliant. His portrayal of a jingoistic, Commie-hating general was hilarious. I now wonder whether my image of the irrepressible Patton was really Patton or George Scott himself. I just realized this now after reading Wikipedia, but Peter Sellers also gave an outstanding performance by acting as the President, Col Mandrake, and Dr Strangelove himself.

All in all, this was a great film to start the weekend. It allowed me to have a better understanding of the spirit of the times during the Cold War while giving me a several great reasons to laugh.

Places That Scare You

I have long felt a sense of spiritual emptiness. I tend to worry a lot despite having read many Western self help books. I finally realized the trouble was with the mind and my lack of mastery over it.

Reading a book on three minute meditations introduced me to the mechanics of watching my thoughts. Finally, after dismissing my wife's books on spirituality, I gave a chance to Pema Chodron's Places That Scare You. I am deeply grateful I did for it gave me an entirely new worldview, and a greater appreciation for the teachings of Buddha.

When Shakespeare calls the world a stage, and in Macbeth laments life as a poor player full of sound and fury signifying nothing, there is a sense of resignation at the troubles of life. Chodron, however, presents a more compassionate, and accepting view of life: "It is possible to go through the drama of our lives without believing so earnestly in the character that we play."

We have lost perspective. Ego leads us to believe that each of us is so important that life's challenges are specifically designed to torment us. We forget there are so many other people like us who suffer and who probably suffer even more. We have lost our ability to laugh at the absurd things that happen in life. As Chodron says, "We prefer the selfish cocoon of ego when we can have the freedom of a butterfly."

Philosophy of Hegel

This book edited by Carl Friedrick is a collection of Hegel's most important works such as Phenomenology of Spirit, Science of Logic, Philosophy of Right, and others. This is perhaps the toughest work of philosophy I have read, taking me about three months to complete. Six months later, I can hardly remember the key points other than those I remember from my college political philosophy classes.

The Hegelian theme that most resonates with my outlook is the idea that the Spirit animates history. Zeitgeist, or the spirit of the time, is an idea I agree with. There was a spirit of freedom and democracy when the Berlin Wall crumbled. There was a spirit of fear and insecurity as the World Trade Center towers fell. There is now a spirit of risk aversion and wait and see as Wall Street collapsed in 2008. And now, in the Philippines, there seems to be a spirit of change, hope, and renewal after the election of a new President with moral integrity. This spirit not only influences history and culture, but thought itself: "Philosophy is its own time raised to the level of thought."

All this may seem like the metaphysical crap that Kant sought to dismiss. But I am now so far removed from my skeptical, rationalist past that I feel I understand the Spirit even if I cannot defend it rationally. Perhaps this is another instance of synthesis where the rationalist critique of dogmatic metaphysics does not end in the absolute triumph of rationality, but the emergence of a deeper, wider understanding of reality.

100 Best Worldwide Vacations to Enrich Your Life

This book by Pam Grout, traveler and advocate of living big, inspired me to go on vacations that make me feel more alive. My dream vacation in the book is the round the world journey to the wonders of the world such as the Pyramids at Giza, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and the Himalayas while accompanied by top notch scholars on these places. I hope to make this trip before I am too old to climb the pyramids.

I have been trying to change the way I go on vacations by moving beyond seeing tourist sites and having my picture taken. Pam Grout inspires the traveler to learn and to experience. In my recent trip to Baguio, I spent some time hiking, rappelling, learning how to ride a horse, dining on Cordillera food, learning about Cordillera culture, and having my portrait done. This trip was so much more enriching as a result than my five previous trips to Baguio where I spent most of time jostling with other tourists while buying cheap souvenirs at places such Minesview and Burnham Park.

This is just a first step though. I would like to be really immersed in the culture of the place I am visiting. Instead of having my face sketched, perhaps I should do the sketching next time. Instead of simply eating, I should learn to cook local food. And instead of squeezing so many activities in four days, I should learn the art of doing nothing for two weeks.

Peaks and Valleys

It is half a year since I read this book by Spencer Johnson and I can no longer remember any profound insight. All I know is it contained advice about how to achieve success in life, but I also remember that I already knew most of what it said. The message is given in the form of a story of a man who moves from the valley to the peak and learns about the ups and downs of life.

Since the story is mostly an exercise in stating trite life lessons, the main value of the book is as a reminder to be patient and appreciate the journey instead of simply waiting for the next peak, or complaining about the current valley.

From the valley of my quarter life crisis, when I struggled to complete my degree, juggled three different jobs, and became a young father, I look back and see several peaks, each higher than the one before without any really deep valleys in between. It's good to appreciate how far I have come as I scale the next peak ahead of me.

Lakbayan Grade

My Lakbayan grade is D!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!
Created by Eugene Villar.

Nakakahiya ang grade ko. Marami pa kong dapat lakbayin sa sarili kong bayan. Kagagaling lang namin sa Baguio. Boracay naman susunod. =)