In the current Catholic Times, Word and Silence column, a member of the editorial staff uses the Korean movie Parasite to reflect on life. The movie took the top prize at this year's Cannes. The title is ironic. Two families come on stage. One is rich and the other poor. The movie asks a question: are the rich and the poor in a host and parasitic relationship? Are they dlifferent?
Biologically, parasitism and symbiosis are distinguished. Parasitism is one-sided profit and symbiosis both receive a mutual benefit. However, life is complicated and doesn't follow human classification or standards. Parasitism and symbiosis are not easily distinguished. Difficult to gauge the impact of each on profit or loss.
Parasitism and symbiosis are a common phenomenon in nature. Microorganisms such as germs and viruses also live in other creatures. There are molds and mushrooms that live on old trees. Plants and animals also depend on each other for survival and reproduction.
The human body consists of approximately 30 trillion human cells. More are the microorganisms in our bodies. At this point, the boundary between parasitism and symbiosis is broken down. If all microbes are removed, the human body will die.
All living things, in one sense, parasitic and symbiotic cannot survive alone. They seem to act unilaterally, but bite and are bitten in an entangled ecosystem. All life can be seen as parasitic on earth. In that sense, humans are also parasitic creatures.
What is parasitic and what is symbiotic loses meaning when speaking about the essence of life. Life is parasitic and symbiotic with each other. In a narrow sense, it looks like a parasite, but in a larger sense a symbiotic relation. The host is parasitic in some fashion and becomes the host to other parasites. The host is not superior nor is the parasite inferior. The higher you go on the food chain of life more dependence on the lower part. Humans are at the top of their need for dependence.
The movie asks: do we have parasites in human society? Are the poor and weak parasites of society? Are the rich taking the blood and stealing the nutrients from the poor? Can the wealthy and the poor distinguish good from evil? The strong often come across as doing illegal and abusive things, and the weak searching for justice. The film rejects such a simple view. Poor father says. "Son, I am proud of you." The son replies: "Dad, I do not think this is a crime."
We search for answers; the correct answer is ambiguous. Difficult to apply the answers of the natural world to human society. But we have the answer we prefer. There are no parasites in society. Only neighbors to get along with.
Pope Francis called the earth a 'common home'. All life lives in the same house all dependent on our common home. No creature can claim exclusive rights before the Creator.
No one in is alone in human society only coexistence. Both rich and poor live leaning on each other. Both the strong and weak need each other. We live together with each other. It's a symbiosis, a win-win situation, coexistence, at least that is what it is supposed to be.
The priest writer of a column in the Catholic Times recalls waiting to take a bus when a grandfather, a complete stranger, came up to him with candy in his hand saying: "Believe in Jesus." In a slightly annoyed voice, he answered: "Yes I believe in Jesus."
He closed his eyes for a few seconds and opening them again thinking the grandfather would be gone. But no, he was still there putting the candy in front of his eyes and again: "Believe in Jesus." This time for a moment, because of the grandfather, he didn't want to believe in Jesus? Who in the world would want to believe with a person dangling candy in front of your eyes and asking you to believe?
The bus came and he went on his way. However, he was embarrassed seeing the way he acted with the grandfather. If only he had been a little more understanding and kinder in dealing with him! 'Grandpa you are doing good work. I am also a believer in Jesus. May you have a good day and have success in your work!' How wonderful it would have been..."
Thinking over what he had done it was the candy and belief in Jesus coming together that he found difficult to accept. Jesus' connection with candy bothered him and responded unkindly to the grandfather.
On returning to the monastery that evening, he realized that he actually wanted his faith to be candy. He always wanted God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit to be like sweet candy. Our Blessed Mother was always sweet! And he realized that his faith life was always looking for the good feeling. He was very happy with the Bible, it was good to have faith in the people around him.
And in fact, on occasions, he actually thought of Jesus as similar to candy. Rather than feel a deep love for human beings by participating in the Lord's suffering, without deep insights and meditations, on the crucifixion, death, and the meaning of salvation, even the mystery of crucifixion was like candy. I accepted the sweetness of love both received and given without considering the cost.
Candy. It's a good snack food replenishing our body's sugar and gives us energy but too much, will eventually make you sick. Eating too much is a factor in the disease that makes the body unable to control it. This is true also of the spiritual life.
Every day, knowing that God loves me is a whisper that speaks sweetly. But if that is all we remember the sweet whisper of love, we may be skipping the long journey of death and the cross to give us life in its fullness.
Thanks to the grandfather who offered him candy, it helped the priest to look over his own life. Sorry, he wasn't kinder to him but thankful for his help in examining his own life. He should have taken the candy, thanked him and told him that he will believe in Jesus. He wished that had been the case. A regret that is not really a regret.
Fakeness is rampant in the world. Fake items are passed off as luxury goods and lies masquerade as truth. The whole world is filled with bogus and sham. Not infrequently, difficult to separate the fake from the true. We may think that since the present reality is such no need to distinguish and lose our peace of mind. We forget this is dangerous thinking. So begins an article in Bible and Life by a diocesan Peace and Justice Committee head.
The problem is that the fake passes itself as genuine. Those dealing with the counterfeit know that it is not genuine and right from the beginning are out to deceive. This is the work of evil. Sometimes it's deception about life itself. What is not God is passed off as God, bogus love is given as true love, a life which is not life is used to deceive and harm true life. Consequently the need to distinguish between truth and the false.
How does one distinguish between the bogus and what is true? We need to search for the essences of our realities. He gives the example of those who spend their time roaming the mountains to find ginseng roots. One searcher knows thousands of different herbs and plants except for the ginseng plant, the other has no such knowledge but knows the ginseng plant. It's obvious who will be finding the ginseng root. We have in Matthew's Gospel 4: 1-11, the temptation of our Lord where he knew how to distinguish between the false and the true.
"I am the light of the world; anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark; he will have the light of life." "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." Both from John's Gospel, however, still very difficult to distinguish. Not only do we not know the essential we are absorbed with the nonessential. We are so busy with all kinds of complicated matters our heads are spinning and we forget who and where we are.
The perplexity of life clouds our minds and we don't clearly see what we are about. Like a clean window but with time gets dirty and we can't see anything beyond the window. The bogus which finds such a favorable climate in society finds a place in our own hearts. To prevent this from happening we have to simplify our lives. We are like a person standing before the front door of our house fishing inside our pockets for the key. Too many things in the pocket and difficulty finding the key. If the key is the only thing in the pocket no problem. We have to empty and simplify our lives.
Our Lord reminds us: "Yes, if you mean yes, No if you mean no anything more than this comes from the evil one." Our lives are too complicated to distinguish between 'Yes' and 'No' the genuine and the bogus. We have to rid ourselves of the non-genuine. Why is it difficult to love? Hundreds of excuses, explanations hide the simplicity of the life we should be living and see the difference between the true and false.
In Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale: ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ in the last scene when the king comes to visit it was a child who broke out laughing when he saw the naked king. Everybody else remained quiet but the child's simplicity was not overcome by the fear of the crowd and their thoughts. He was quickly able to see the reality of the naked king. We need to become simple as children and put aside the fakeness of much we see.
The beginning of the Korean War began on June 25, 1950. The line between North and South Korea was made at the end of the Second World War. It was intended to be temporary but continued for 70 years. The cease-fire at the Armistice on July 1953 brought no peace treaty, consequently the state of war between the North and South still exists. We have seen over the years how this hostility has shown itself endangering the citizens of both countries and jeopardizing the rest of the world.
Most of the Koreans in the South do favor the unification of the peninsula but many of the young would not be of that mind. They see the human rights issue as a serious obstacle and also self-interest may be a big part of their understanding They have benefited from freedom and wealth of the country and are not too interested in seeing it disappear helping the impoverished North.
June 25, is the day we pray for peace and unification in Korea. Last year after three meetings of the leaders of North Korea and South Korea and the meetings with the U.S. we hoped to see changes. But with the new year doubts have arisen but still hope and prayers for the day of unification. These words begin an article by the unification committee chairman in a diocesan bulletin.
Over 70 years of division and many citizens in the South have come to take it as the way it is on the peninsula. It's a fact that the road to unification will be filled with many difficulties. We need to work to overcome this kind of thinking. The present peace we experience is not a full peace.
The separation of the country has given us great pain. Many have spilled their blood and today some are asking for blood. The situation is making the conflict between the members of society on the issue deeper with the passage of time. Because of the division, many citizens over the years have been treated unjustly by the government and have suffered. The time has come to end all the suffering and harm done because of the division.
We need to overcome the difficulties of our division and seek peace. But the task is not easy. Over 70 years have past and feelings of trust have not been fostered. Always confronting, criticizing, each side pushing their point of view as the only one. We have talked unification but not together and go our separate ways looking for the one Korea— doing it my way. If reunification means that my life will have to change then we are not interested and our desire disappears.
The journey to unification must be together. From last year we have come a long way along the road. On the military demarcation line, tensions have decreased. In the demilitarized zone, we have opened up a road to meeting and dialogue. The road leading to trust is before us and we need to meet and work towards building community.
The peace that Jesus came to give us is not the kind that we can choose to ignore our brothers and sisters and go blithely ahead looking for peace on our own terms. We pray for reunification and do all we can to realize it by what we do and say.
Stress is the body's reaction to pressures from changes in life
situations with physical, mental, and emotional responses. Stress is a
normal part of life, an understood reaction to a stressful situation or
pressure. Not always easy to deal with. A medical health practitioner
gives some help to the readers of a parish bulletin on how to deal with
stress.
Stress and anxiety are not always easy to
distinguish. The words are often used interchangeably. Stress may be
positive but anxiety is always negative and long-lasting. Stress may
develop into anxiety. Both may be followed not only with headaches and
the raising of blood pressure but with depression and other
psychological problems. However, when we take extreme steps to avoid all
pressures we are not acting wisely for a certain amount of stress in
life is expected and not harmful and can be helpful. What we can do to
rid ourselves of the factors that produce the stress is all for the good
but some stress is not bad.
Stress factors make life
difficult. However, often the secondary responses to the stress are what
makes the problem troublesome. An example: "Why does this happen to
me?" "Why did I act so foolishly?" and blaming oneself. Trying to
solve the problem by drinking and other harmful acts are to be avoided.
It may be difficult to prevent stress but we can prevent the secondary
acts that follow upon the stress.
Psychological capital
refers to what we have within ourselves to deal with adversities. It's a
positive evaluation and perception of our abilities. The ability to
bounce back after a fall, resilience to recover from failure, motivation facing negative events, optimism that accepts positive events
internally and persistently. It's necessary to find and cultivate such
inner psychological resources. When all our efforts at overcoming the
stress encountered are of no help we need to ask for help.
These
days in the liturgical year we are hearing of the mysteries of our
faith which in a word deal with the love God has for his creation. God
is love and this is repeated in the liturgy. Faith is a belief in this
love and the desire to accept it. However, the noise we have to contend
with in our world drowns out a great deal of the messages. Below are the
words of St. Francis de Sales on anxiety which we can understand as a
type of stress and more serious.
Anxiety is the greatest evil
which can happen to the soul, sin only excepted. Just as internal
commotions and seditions ruin a commonwealth, and make it incapable of
resisting its foreign enemies, so if our heart be disturbed and anxious,
it loses power to retain such graces as it has, as well as strength to
resist the temptations of the Evil One, who is all the more ready to
fish (according to an old proverb) in troubled waters.
Anxiety
arises from an unregulated desire to be delivered from any pressing
evil, or to obtain some hoped-for good. Nevertheless, nothing tends so
greatly to enhance the one or retard the other as over-eagerness and
anxiety. Birds that are captured in nets and snares become inextricably
entangled therein, because they flutter and struggle so much.
Therefore,
whensoever you urgently desire to be delivered from any evil, or to
attain some good thing, strive above all else to keep a calm, restful
spirit,--steady your judgment and will, and then go quietly and easily
after your object, taking all fitting means to attain thereto. By easily
I do not mean carelessly, but without eagerness, disquietude or
anxiety; otherwise, so far from bringing about what you wish, you will
hinder it, and add more and more to your perplexities (Introduction To A
Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales).
"Mr. A speaks a great deal and mostly with complaints." A religious sister in the Catholic Peace Weekly writes about her experiences and in this week's column on what a young friend tells her about an encounter with a person who as soon as he sits down begins complaining. Her friend respectfully but with determination: "Sorry, but that kind of talk makes me uncomfortable. Why don't you speak to the person directly yourself?" His face flushed, got out of his chair: "OK, OK I understand," and left the room slamming the door.
Complaints may be an indirect way of calling attention to oneself. I want to be confirmed that I am right, good and just. I may be looking for comfort and looking for some kind words, possibly struggling to seek revenge for some injustice and painful situation.
The more we complain the easier the words of dissatisfaction with others come out. The world is unjust, ruthless and here I am suffering alone. They lose their peace of mind. St Francis de Sales says about this situation: they try to remove the reason for the thorns but the thorns only go deeper into the body.
In modern psychiatry, people complain a lot about health problems due to a biochemical imbalance. Stress hormones increase, resulting in sleep disorders and body aches. Even little irritations can increase the stress hormones and instigate feelings of anger and uncomfortableness.
Of course, those who complain are not always complaining. They also have many positive things to say, are humorous and enjoyable to be with at times. They can praise, joke and be very pleasant but it doesn't last. Negativity is not easy to overcome and being positive is not a familiar situation. They forget quickly their good feelings. They go along at peace but irritation arises. They want to be cheerful, but pain here and throbbing there is the reason for lament. The feeling of peace comes and goes like a stranger. The brain has been accustomed to this way of dealing with life's problems. Habitual complaints reinforce the negative view of the world and make it difficult to overcome even the most ordinary situations.
Even if my thoughts and feelings are negative when we speak and express ourselves positively, will we not change our thoughts and feelings in some way?
My sorrow and suffering of the heart are transferred to the persons who are close. Repeatedly, however, being negative and complaining about others makes others uncomfortable and tires the listener. The brain is unable to distinguish thought or imagination from the actual situation. What we see and hear and the feelings aroused are being transmitted to others
I have to tell myself every day that I am fine, there is a reason for everything, all said with a smile. Then, as you become acquainted and familiar with the positive feelings, will not the world and neighbors look brighter and clearer?
In the Kyeongyang magazine, a psychiatrist writes about the black hole of greed and its antidote: temperance and the golden mean. Lessons learned from life.
He begins with a short story by Tolstoy: How Much Land Does a Man Need? Briefly, it's about a farmer told he could have cheaply all the land he could encircle by sunset. He began early in the morning but realized in the late afternoon that he would have difficulty returning to his starting point before sunset. In that case, he loses everything. He started his return trip but was so exhausted when he arrived that he dropped dead. Tolstoy gives us the answer to his question of how much land does a man need. He needs enough to be buried.
We can't see beyond the horizon. We don't have permission to enter this area. Our life is limited by the horizon of time. Time beyond the horizon does not influence us. It is the great unknown. Is this concept too difficult to understand? Time goes beyond the horizon never to return. Today's rice cannot fill the hunger I had yesterday.
He gives the example of a student who had the opportunity to take an exam for a job. He didn't feel that he was prepared and didn't take the exam. He did come to a time when he felt he had the knowledge to pass the exam, more so than anybody else, but the second opportunity never came. Time went beyond the horizon. Once the time is gone it never returns.
The word moderation and temperance are often used with food and drink but not limited to that. Wordly gain, carnal desire, lust for power, and many other cravings we need to control. Our cravings are many. When not controlled the wise both in the East and West have always emphasized misery and sadness will follow.
Controlling greed is no easy task. Problem is solved if we desired the necessary amount then temperance would not be necessary But the reality is a person who desires only 1,000 dollars when received goes on to desire ten times that sum, the person who says only one room would be perfect goes on to desire a penthouse.
Life begins with acknowledging time is limited and we don't know how much. We can make a guess. Nobody will remember reading these words in a few years. If we made a graph of our time on earth it would disappear into the horizon.
We crave as if we will live here on earth forever. We don't know when life will come to its horizon. It's not given us to know. If I knew I was to die tomorrow I would use my possessions in a most significant way since nothing goes beyond the horizon. If at that stage what would we crave what would we abandon? It will be different for each one of us but we will not be craving anything materially.
Do we fret about having something? It may be a shining sports car, a beautiful face, or even the praise of others, a nice house for the family or money to have the family live in comfort. To achieve these aims we have to understand the time needed for their acquisition and weigh them against the time left before the horizon. A person in his 50s these are not something to crave.
Moderation is not something to endure. We don't know how much time before the horizon but a need to live wisely. Once we realize that time is limited, at that moment, we will want only what is needed—only what is necessary.
