Be yourself
Parables and Illustrations for Values Education |
Features columnist Sydney Harris that, on one occasion, accompanied to buy the newspaper to a friend of his, who greeted with courtesy to the owner of the kiosk. This answered with bluntness and lack of consideration. The friend of Harris, while collecting the newspaper that the other had thrown to him badly, smiled and wanted to seller a good weekend. When the two friends resumed Road, the columnist asked:
-Treats you always with such disrespect?
-Yes, unfortunately.
- And you always you show just as nice?
-Yes, so.
- And why you are so kind with him when he is so unfriendly with you?
-Because I don't want to be, that decides how should I Act I.
The great Pericles, Athenian illustrious, which led to their city to its highest splendour in the 5th century b.c., according to the famous Roman historian, Plutarch, in his celebrated book, parallel lives he acted in a similar way:
"Imperturbable in say, happen what happened, Pericles, the unalterable tone of his voice, amazed and marveled at all. On one occasion, an infamous scoundrel man was insulting him all day, and endured it until in the agora, while it shipped the issues that presented to him. In the afternoon, withdrew quiet home, and the man began to follow him, vomiting all sorts of slander against him. Got Pericles home when it was dark, and commanded a servant that you new a torch and went to help the man to his home".
The fully human person is one that manages to be herself. He's an Actor of his own life, not a re-actor before what they do or say others. Acts for his own beliefs, not by reaction to and act with others.
The formation of real people should be the fundamental objective of education. The world in general, there are million inhabitants, but few people who risk to grab the life into her own hands and live it to the fullest, without being experienced by others (markets, fashion, family, customs, objects, idols, money...). Today Diogenes could also walk the streets of our cities and crowded supermarkets enter repeating tireless «I seek a man», because they not convinced him appearances of men and women that was everywhere.
To live life with authenticity, is needed now much value and know how to swim against the current. Live with authenticity means risking, daring, learn to say no, if one believes that you should say it, when all we say about Yes. In a world worm-eaten by selfishness, much value need to be generous. A mundodonde relations are trapped by the offense or grabs the word and the power that doesn't speak or be to each other, takes much courage to listen and treat each other with love and kindness. In a world where what is important is to have, it is difficult to engage in be and understand the existence as a gift for others.
Education must be a proposal to help the student to be built as a person, dream is, to invent, to enhance all its possibilities, striving every day to be more and better.