Adoption : the act of adopting : to accept formally and put into effect.1
“Si fueris Romae, Romano vivito more...”2 which translates into the well known phrase 'When in Rome, do as the Romans.'
Although at first glimpse it seems a good piece of advice, however, only for a few seconds until practicality sets in.
What about the principles we had been taught, the life style we have been living thus so far? Are we to throw all those years of work, working to be disciplined or being rebellious, away? How far do you go to 'fit in'? And when does the doing as the Roman stop, and the becoming one starts? But in this process, may it be that we lose the 'I', the 'me', the 'inner self' that has brought us to here already?
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More questions..
Why was I taught all those things? Why was discipline so strong when in the end when I would move and have to learn new rules, new language, new cultures to fit in? Why should I do or learn something if I never wanted too and never did before? How do I know, what is right here, is really right?
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and more...
So many questions you may just as well have jumped off a cliff whilst clinging tightly to arms and legs in anticipation of what the dreadful end will be...
It becomes an endless cycle that only if one steps out from the fear of 'what if' may he/she see clearly.
This is not human. This is not even the animal instinct. We are programmed for evolution. Objects are destroyed and recreated, not us. No, we adapt. We adjust to the whether changes, we welcome the new members, we alter ourselves to live our lives, but we do not always start from beginning; we build on our our engraved foundations like civilizations pile up on one after the other taking the best aspects of its predecessors.
It is through this process that we will feed our brain with knowledge. Survival of the fittest. It is through these changes that we will be able to see and truly enhance our knowledge and open our minds to what is in the world.
'New', is not an unfamiliar word. In our day to day life, we are always learning about something new, whether it be stories, games or even about people. Some things we accept, and others we disregard. The only difference is that now, once moving away from home, the learning is on a much bigger scale and from the beginning. Before, where we might have been able to seek guidance from family or friends, here that is not always possible. Here, we are independent. It is us who are the driving force behind how much our knowledge of the world will expand.
Regardless of our efforts though, we probably wont speak the language perfectly, or accept all the aspects of the culture. We might learn some things and enjoy others, but the most important part was that we had the opportunity, and we tried. We investigated our surroundings, learnt about them, and then made our decision to either accept or disregard it.
“...Si fueris alibi vivto sicut ibi”3 meaning “when you are else where, live as they live elsewhere.” In reality, we may never be as the Romans, but even the Roman will not be once he leaves Rome.
5 comments:
Si fueris Romae, Romano vivito more i searched how the Romans lived and see what i found http://www.mariamilani.com/ancient_rome/Ancient_Roman_Orgy.htm
Truly was a great post, can't w8 for the next one!
ahahaha, only you Koki would find a connection liek that.. eheheh :) but i am happy re, that is the hopeful idea, to get you thinking about things, whatever they maybe ;)
and efxaristo filo :) I'm happy you made the first comment! eheh *
Only by judging the new things we come by and accepting them or not will depending on our way of thinking will give us a true character..something like that u said in the end.
I really really enjoyed this article.
I think that if everyone had read a little of your marvellous work, our world would much much more enjoyable to live in. :)
Really wonderful work!
I cant w8 for your next article too!
OkayOkay
cool:) i like ur article, makes me think, connect things, thanks;)
first came to my mind two pictures and one quote
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=519101176&aid=175091#!/photo.php?fbid=254940236176&set=a.254939256176.175091.519101176&theater
and this one
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=519101176&aid=175091#!/photo.php?fbid=259983831176&set=a.254939256176.175091.519101176&theater
and the quote: no matter what, be who u r.
and then a question come...who r we?
i hav an image of a person as a system of the boxes, different colours, materials, size, content. there r some we see, some we cannot realize(yet!) they are made by our experiences, by our nature, culture, little things we sometimes dont realize, by our engraved foundations like civilizations pile up on one after the other taking the best aspects of its predecessors....:)
then i think we should always work to be disciplined or being rebellious, as u said
we change our boxes ourselves, we change them thanks to other ppl, always question, choosing, then changing. sometimes, it makes us happy sometimes it hurts. funny thing. for me, sharing o the moment is the way how to see.
and then How do we know, what is right here, is really right?
its only to look inside, some ppl can say into ur heart. it aways true, it chooses the most dificult journeys sometimes though.
*
Sorry for the delay, but the last time i went to click 'post comment' it left me with nothing..
@Olalampa (OkayOkay)
Yes, that is what i was trying to convey through the article. Basically, i wanted to re-emphasize teh fact that we can't change how we were brought up, but that it is upto us how our future will be. and the more open-minded we are, perhaps, the more versatility in change we can experience...
one of the biggest lessons i learnt whilst moving around was that never compare two places, or people. every place is a new one, and treat it like. it you don't have something now that you did before, doesn't mean you can't enjoy or learn to enjoy what you do have. overlooking what you have now tends to have become popular and its sometimes sad because you lose out on a lot of opportunities.. :)
And thank you for the compliments, my next article is already out! ;)
@elivene83
such a long reply! i'm happy!
firstly, i loved the image with the silhouette of a woman on the cliff, especially her stance, like she was ballerina-ing off the cliff was nice!
my idea of a person is more a blur, not so clear and cut like a box that has marked edges space and size. but the idea is still similar to yours, sometimes we don't realize all the aspects of us, but its exactly for that reason why we have to open ourselves to exploration to figure out what those unknown boxes represent.
Referring to your response to the question at the end, "How do we know...is really right?" yes, some say the heart. I had a couple days to think about this, and the feeling i had the last time i was trying to write a reply remains still today. Your answer is a bit too romantic for me (it doesnt mean i dont agree with it).. i dont have a correct answer, if i were to say anything, it would maybe just be instinct.. Maybe it comes from the heart, maybe it comes from my past experiences, its just that gut feeling that gives you confidence. And i think that is the key element, to make a decision based on confidence, because whether made from looking inside the heart the mind or the soul, atleast you will have no regrets. Confidence in having no regrets especially, because we all make mistakes, recognizing they existence will only teach us more.
"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one." -Elbert Hubbard
:) **
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