Nothing new this week. Highlights

 Due to certain circumstances, such as a bad illness, this week. I don't have anything new to share. However, I have gone through a few of my old posts and gathered them here in case you haven't read some of the better ones. Hope you enjoy them, had a Merry Christmas, and have a Happy New Year!

N.D. Moharo

The ones that are bold, will be my highlighted ones. The numbered ones derive from the above bullet Thanks, and hopefully you will be able to go through all of my posts.

• Three Marks of Humanity: http://ndmoharo.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-three-marks-of-humanity.html

1. On Creativity: http://ndmoharo.blogspot.com/2013/03/on-creativity.html
2. A Good Person: http://ndmoharo.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-good-person.html
3. Capacity to Do Good: http://ndmoharo.blogspot.jp/2012/11/the-capacity-to-do-good.html
4. Light of the World: http://ndmoharo.blogspot.com/2013/09/light-of-world.html

• Higher Power through Technology: http://ndmoharo.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-higher-power-through-technology.html

1. Relation of Faith and Reason: http://ndmoharo.blogspot.com/2013/07/relation-of-faith-and-relation.html

• On Love and Relationships

1. Fighting and Relationships: http://ndmoharo.blogspot.com/2013/08/fighting-and-relationships.html
2. Loving One Another: http://ndmoharo.blogspot.com/2013/07/loving-each-other.html
3. On Dating: http://ndmoharo.blogspot.com/2012/12/dating.html
4. Sample: On Beauty and Respect for Women: http://ndmoharo.blogspot.com/2012/12/sample-2-on-beauty-and-respect-for-women.html 

• On Truth and Reality

1. Open Minds: http://ndmoharo.blogspot.com/2013/08/open-minds.html

• Potential and Satisfaction: http://ndmoharo.blogspot.com/2013/07/potential-and-satisfaction.html

1. Losing with Honor: http://ndmoharo.blogspot.com/2012/10/losing-with-honor.html
2. The Right to not be Interested in a Popular Series: http://ndmoharo.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-right-to-not-be-interested-in.html

• Random

1. Work is Fun, Together: http://ndmoharo.blogspot.com/2013/09/work-is-fun-together.html
2. Appreciating your Hometown: http://ndmoharo.blogspot.com/2013/08/appreciating-your-hometown.html
3. Fear of Being Misunderstood: http://ndmoharo.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-fear-of-being-misunderstood.html
4. Mutual Friends and Invitations: http://ndmoharo.blogspot.com/2012/12/mutual-friends-and-invitations.html
   
   

Healthy Competition

                We occasionally hear that competition is good. The extent to which that is true is referred to as “healthy competition.” When competition digresses from this path, it becomes detrimental. So what does it mean to have healthy competition?

                A healthy competition strives for progress above “victory.” This means that a competitor does not work to sabotage his opponent, but instead praises his rival on his successes. The goal of a rival is to give yourself a standard to exceed. They give the idea that if they are better, you can eventually surpass them. If you watch the tennis world, they continually praise their opponents at the end of the match. Before, Federer was at the top only to be surpassed by Nadal after many tournaments and then defeated by Djokovic. The top three spots change between these men quite often, which makes it exciting to watch.

                A healthy competition is important in life as it gives you the will power to improve by giving you a reachable standard that only grows. It gives a satisfaction of not only being the best, but how it is was obtained. Now if only all competition was healthy.

                 

Older Brother Leadership

                There is supposedly one benefit about being a younger sibling; you can look up to an older one. I know this isn’t always true. It certainly wasn’t so much in my case.  While I did take habits from my older brother, I never looked up to him. It was more about competition. This certainly helped me in a different sense, but I never had the other side of an older brother with him.

                I noticed in myself I view those placed under my leadership or tutorage as "little siblings," meaning I look out for them and try to help them out as I can with my advice. This comes from me caring for them. I don’t know if it’s because I was always the leader in my group of friends growing up or because I never felt like I had that relationship with my brother. I can only recall one occasion where he told me to take his advice. As a result, I looked more to other upperclassmen as my “older brother” for guidance in High School.

                I see this kind of relationship as important in life. These are the kinds of people who can look at for you in a confusing situation. They can teach you what they have learned. They have more experience with what you are going through. They also have recent hindsight to see how they could have done things better. However, it isn’t enough that we be on the receiving end of this, we also need to become the givers. As we transition, we will grow towards progress.

A Good Person

A while back, I wrote on the Three Marks of Humanity. They were Wisdom, Courage, and Compassion (or Love). These three are keys to being a good man or woman. Amongst gender differences, these are the necessities of being “good”. While it is important to recognize these as keys, it is crucial for them to be in proper balance. To exalt one mark above any other would undermine the whole.

                Perhaps the way one should consider the three is by what they influence and interact with each other. The relationship could be described as Knowledge, Action, and Intention respectively. You cannot be a good person without all three in some sense. There is no order of greatness for they intertwine and lead to each other like a perfect equilateral triangle. The intention of love can lead to Action and thirst for Knowledge. Knowledge can lead to Love and Action. Action is necessary to learn and can lead to later Love. All three are separate but together become greatness.

               

                Recently, I’ve picked up watching the TV series Person of Interest. Part of what caught my attention in the series was an underlying tone on what it meant to be a good person. In the series, there are two particular characters that show different views. One looks at his past and believes he can never be a “good person” but still acts to do good deeds. The other looks at his past crimes but at his present as his “opportunity to be good”. The latter is who has it right. It’s not that he does not have any flaws, but that he does not give up trying to do good that makes him a good person. By having this knowledge, he proves not to be subject to future evil deeds, unlike the former.

                Everyone has flaws and made mistakes. The challenge is not that always do good things, but that we try to do good things with the right intentions. This leads to the difference between a simple mercenary and a true soldier. Both can fight for a country, but one does it for money while the other to protect his country. When a country’s soldiers become only simple mercenaries, then country will fall. This is hinted in The Godfather Part II when the main character predicts the Communists winning based off their motivations and fighting to the death without getting paid. This is why patriotism is considered an important virtue. When the Three Marks come together, they become the base for all other virtues, the building blocks of a good person.