“WHAT YOU DO TO OTHERS YOU DO TO YOURSELF” (E. FROMM. 1947.)

 

When reading this sentence many of us will immediately associate it with the word karma. What is karma? In Hinduism and Buddhism the term karma means action and it has to do with a cycle of cause and effect. Let’s remember that Karma is not a synonym of fate. As a matter of fact, our karma can change if we change some of our behaviors. Karma is not written in stone by any means. By doing to others what we would want them to do to us we can gradually change our life; and we should. According to Asian beliefs karma is a dynamic flow of energy that acts as a consequence for every one of our actions. If karma would determine our fate, we would be giving up our power to change our negative behaviors to become better human beings. Needless to say, the consequence brought about by karma has to do with our own wellbeing and serenity. Fromm found a great way to define what happens when we hurt others: happiness will forever evade us. Our life becomes an empty shell with no gratifications, with unpredictable moods, and a deep feeling of loneliness. On the contrary, when our behaviors have to do with compassion and respect for others suddenly our life expands and becomes meaningful. When I was young, I sometimes was less than respectful to others, especially when things were not going my way. As years went by, I understood that others are not responsible for whatever happens to me and became more respectful to those I encountered. The most difficult of all challenges was to be respectful to those who had hurt me or offended me. Then I learnt that I could confront these people in acceptable ways without losing my cool.  The result has been that by not denigrating others I have never denigrated myself.

ESTA NOCHE

 

¡Qué noche límpida ésta que me rodea,
quieta como agua de mares adormecidos,
mares cuyo rumor nunca se aquieta
Sí, ésta es una noche de deseos desconocidos.

Esta noche yo quisiera cerca de mi cuerpo
un alma que hablara de sueños invisibles,
y cuya voz me hiciera olvidar los terrores,
las ausencias, las mentiras y los sinsabores.

En esta noche a la vez oscura y transparente,
ya no puedo recordar lo sucedido,
porque inmersa en su luz de luna llena,
vuelvo a renacer como si nunca hubiera vivido. 

5Irene Salazar, Justo J. Sánchez and 3 others

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REFLECTIONS OF SECLUSION - AMAZON

 

This book is a collection of articles I published on Linkedin as well as on this blog. These are reflections about life in general, mainly generated by the solitude that afflicted all of us during the Coronavirus pandemic. Being at home most of the time and with no social life to distract me, I took advantage of my retirement hours to remember and reflect on some of the issues that I needed to grasp more deeply; forgiveness, solitude, friendship, divorce, the meaning of life, and last but not least what awaits all of us after we pass on. All these are topics that we need to explore, comprehend and integrate into our knowledge of existence. Writing these pages helped me understand myself better, and I hope that it will help my readers achieve the same goal. All the best.

Marina Oppenheimer