Don't Make Me Mad
Philosophy is my new enemy.
Temper is one of my major problems during my younger years (although I'm still young now at 17). I have often been tagged as scary, masungit and pikon. And I'd get even angrier when they point this out to me. Funny, right?If GMA has her plataporma for the next coming years, I, too, have my own resolutions even though New Year is still a whole calendar away. One of my major repairs would be (guess what?) my attitude problem. I don't know how I did it but I pulled it off. It has been months now since I got mad. (HAHA! I think it still is normal, isn't it?.)
Stoics, one of the first group of Hellenic philosophers, believed that one should always put to mind that everything happens according to the Divine plan and it is an awful waste of time and energy to feel too much emotion. Sadness, happiness and anger are more or less nothing but nuisances to everyday life.
They say that there once was a Stoic slave who was being maltreated by another person. This other person grabbed him by the arm and the slave told him, "You're going to break my arm." The other person didn't care and really twisted it hard! All the stoic said was, "I told you you were going to break it." Although this is an exaggeration of the Stoic belief (mind you, this is true), it depicts the way of living of these philosophers.
There are also the Epicureans (from the founder Epicurus) or the garden philosophers who believed that "Pleasure is the highest good." They say that our desires need not be curbed. On the contrary, we must follow and aim for our wants. They, however, also emphasize that pleasure of the mind is much more rewarding than pleasures of the body and that we must sometimes sacrifice now to achieve a longer and purer pleasure in the future.
Meanwhile, a group of misguided philosophers branched out from the Epicureans. These philosophers, on the other hand, think that it is best for humans to readily satisfy their immediate pleasures for life is too short to be wasting time and sacrifices - for we'll never know when it'd end.
Why am I saying this? Because this is how I have helped myself control my temper. By combining the thoughts of Stoics, Epicureans and even the sub-Epicureans, I have come up with my own philosophy that really works for me.
I have resolved that happiness is my desire and I shall reach it both by sacrificing and by attaining some of my immediate pleasures. Happiness can be gained by removing all hatred from within and ignoring the urge to release internal fury. Yes, some say that it is more dangerous to suppress the emotions inside. But I think mine is of a different case. "Monica, huwag mong sirain ang araw mo dahil lang sa walang kwentang bagay na yan." And I shift all the emotions to happiness.
How? I look at it not on the bright side but on the funnier side! I always try to imagine that same situation ten or twenty years ahead of time when it no longer ticks me off and instead make me laugh out loud. It makes more sense for me to do this because my main goal is to be happy. I will not settle for a "saktong feeling". I want birds chirping, leaves rustling, sunny skies, twinkling stars, fresh air and all the glory God has bestowed upon us to be absorbed, felt, lived.
Lately, tempers have been flaring here and there. Yes, I am still affected in a way. (I am not oblivious to my surroundings.) I get sad when I hear loud voices shouting at the top of their lungs as if they own the whole building. But I don't let it get to me the way it always did when I was younger.
*dramatic pause* I've changed. *dramatic pause* I may not be a real Stoic for I still enjoy a good and hearty laugh and still feel pain. I may not be a genuine Epicurean because I want both pleasures of the mind and of the material world. I am my own philosopher and I do what I think is best for me. Losing temper was never my best point. With the help of my enemy, I have conquered my weakness.
Aristotle said that Happiness can be gained through the complete utilization and actualization of skills and talents. That, too, is part of my philosophy. This only means: Go lang ng go! *Charaaann!*
