New creative wisdom: “Not trying to say new words in an old fashion but saying old words in a new manner.”

"If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" That has been an old philosophical puzzle. But there is more.

Is there hunger and poverty in the world even though we don’t see it around us?

Is there discrimination and prejudice in the world even though we don’t experience it?

Is there sickness and suffering in the world even though we are healthy?

Is there hate in the world even though we don’t feel it?

Is there war and violence in the world even though we are not on the battlefront?

Is there dying in the world even though we are breathing?

And finally, is there love towards others or even to ourselves in the world even though we don’t practice it?

My question is: When are we going to walk into the forest so we can hear the sound of the falling tree? When are we going to start listening to so many of the other sounds?

Paul V. Montesino, PhD. 

"The existential paradox of life and death. October 19, 2008

When we are born, it is not only our own birth that takes place, we are also born for those who meet us and they are also born to us that day....  When we die, it is not only we who die, we die for those we knew but what is also very true is that those we knew also die for us. So today, while we live, it is all of us who live at the present time who practice aliveness. Be alive today, because that is what matters most; our births and deaths are irrelevant simply because they are not here.

La paradoja existencial de la vida y la muerte.
Cuando nacemos, no solo somos nosotros quienes nacemos, también nacemos para los que nos conocen al igual que ellos nacen para nosotros ese día....  Cuando morimos, no solo somos nosotros los que morimos, también morimos nosotros para ellos al igual que mueren ellos para nosotros.  Hoy día, mientras vivimos, somos todos los que vivimos los que practicamos la vivacidad de la vida. Viva hoy  porque es eso lo que más importa; nuestros nacimientos y muertes son irrelevantes simplemente porque no existen hoy."

"Do not let either the worries of the morrow that is to arrive yet nor the awakening of the buried worthless ghosts of a past that is forever gone never to reappear, take away the joys of your today."
"No permitas ni las preocupaciones sobre un mañana que no ha arribado todavía ni el despertar de los enterrados e inútiles fantasmas de un pasado que jamás reaparecerán, robarte del gozo de tu presente."
Paul V. Montesino, LatinoWorldOnline.com (9-1-2008 issue)

"Most men are subjective toward themselves and objective toward all others, frightfully objective sometimes--but the task is precisely to be objective toward oneself and subjective toward all others." Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), Journals and Papers.

LatinoWorldOnline "Philothought" of the month July, 2005: "Life is the time that starts with questions about our future and ends with answers about our past. Lucky are those who have answers to their questions; luckier still those who asked the right questions. Unlucky those who never asked the questions in the first place or have unpleasant answers to questions that were never asked. " From the Editor's desk. Dr. Montesino.

LatinoWorldOnline "Philothought" of the month May, 2005: "Consequential lives: Our lives are either consequential or inconsequential. What makes one or the other is not what we do but the quality of the path we follow in living that life and the love of those who share our journey through that path.” Dr. Montesino.

LatinoWorldOnline "Philothought" of the month April, 2005: "Life is a trip on a winding road where it does not matter where you come from, have been or are now, but where you are intentionally heading.”

LatinoWorldOnline "Philothought" of the month March, 2005: The Truth Shall make you Free," said Jesus. "An unexamined life is not worth living," said Socrates. Have you found the truth yet? Have you examined your life yet? If you have not, what are you waiting for? Are you hoping to be told?" 

LatinoWorldOnline "Philothought" of the month August 31, 2004: "New planets are being discovered as we speak and we wonder if they hold beings. If life on earth is unique, why did God create such a vast galactic enterprise where the only planet in existence has such a poor record of hate, violence, ignorance and poverty? If we are not the only ones with life on board, does that mean we are not at the center of the universe and specially created as the chosen ones? Is life in other planets bettter than ours?  Is that important? Do you care?"

LatinoWorldOnline "Philothought" of the month April 25, 2004 issue: "The most important part of our lives are not the things we own, the diplomas we hang from the wall, the money we accumulate that sits in the bank. The most important part of our lives is those people who will remember us when we are gone. The things, the positions, the money will not remember us anymore than we can remember them. It is those moments when we make a difference in the lives of those we love who will remember us that are truly important. Think of them. Live a life with the important! Catch the Accent'  " Paul V. Montesino, PhD.

Another Philothought previously published: "We are now, and every moment, standing at a fork in the paths of our lives. It is up to us to decide the direction we take. Watch how you decide. The responsibility is yours and yours alone. Once you step into the choice there is no stepping back." Paul V. Montesino, PhD.

Another Philothought previously published: "Humankind is constantly fooling itself with the distracting pursue of the irrational goals of a mirage lying in a never reaching horizon, while failing to realize that reality stands right under its own feet and surrounded by the needs of those we know and love as friends, families and even strangers who need us." Paul V. Montesino, PhD.

Another Philothought previously published: "Today is Yesterday’s future. Congratulations! You made it. Enjoy your future today." From an unknown source.

Another Philothought previously published: “What were you doing before your grandparents were born?” A Buddhist thought.

Another Philothought previously published: "There is a basic humanity in all of us, one that is the same. If we fail to see it behind the façade of gender, race, intellectual level, religious observance or financial position we get distracted and fail to be truly alive. It is as though we have lived our lives in vain because we have concentrated in the branches, which are feeble, and not the trunk and the roots, which are strong." Paul V. Montesino, PhD.

                                                        More To Come..... Catch the A'ccent!

Keep Philothinking!