The Guest

In the story, The Guest from Albert Camus’ Exile and the Kingdom, my favorite character would have to be Daru. He was the schoolteacher that helped every child that came to school and even helped the father and brothers with grains. He even mentioned in the story of why he was more happy having little to himself if he was able to help everyone first. Another thing that stood out about Daru was that he was very patient with a prisoner that was staying overnight before being turned in for murder. There was never a time where Daru was rude and angry to the Arab prisoner. Most answers to Balducci were kept short and to the point. Daru was nice to nourish the prisoner while he was staying at the school. Daru offered him tea, food, showed him where to bathe, and even set up a place to sleep. It does not sound too common where a person would treat a murderer so kindly in his home. What was also surprising was how much Daru trusted the Arab prisoner having no need to have a weapon so close for protection. Daru treated this prisoner as if he were any other guest in the school. Treating them how he would like to be treated. 

Live, Learn, Love

Fromm believes that the art of loving is not just directed to your significant other. It is more of a whole of how you treat everyone in our surroundings. You would have to be objective. In doing so, there is inner activity and outer activity. Inner activity is what you do yourself, such as the knowledge or reflection of oneself. Outer activity is what you do to others, such as communication, openness, receptiveness.

One way to learn about being objective is moving to another city and finding roommates to live with for school. This is what happened to me. I had moved out to San Francisco from a little town called Tracy, which is in the central valley. I was able to move into a townhouse with some friends that I knew back in high school. I knew these girls and hung out with them but it was always on campus or in a group setting, so I was not as close to them as I was to others. I did not know if I was going to be able to get along with them after learning more about them and their habits. Hanging out with friends is very different from living with them, seeing them all the time.

At the beginning of the year, we were all having the best of time. It was good because we were all getting along and it was fun because we were just getting to know each other. It is kind of like the start of a new relationship, you see all the good parts before the bad. It is even like a first date. You try to do the right thing or say the right thing and show nothing that is unflattering about oneself to the other. After some time in the house, we were all getting comfortable with each other and start acting more like them. In the household, there are some that are very messy and some are very clean.

I am pretty kept together and have things organized in my room. Don’t get me wrong, I do have those days where I have things lying around for a couple days in my personal area, such as my side of the room. I don’t like leaving a mess in common areas, such as the kitchen or living room. I remember seeing one of my roommates leaving her stuff out in the kitchen because she was making lunch. I thought she would clean after herself after she eats. Then, she left her leftovers on the table in the living room before she left the house. I wanted to see what she was going to do when she got back but she didn’t do anything. I asked her if she could clean after herself or at least put everything in the sink. She agreed and explained to me that she is not normally like this at home. It’s just the fact that she is now on her own, her parents are not there and she’s a little busier with school. I kept an open mind because there are other factors to what she was doing and it was good to get an understanding and know where she was coming from instead of jumping to conclusions of her being a slob. It still happens every now and then but we have gone through so much and gotten much closer, so I tolerate more. 

I am trying to be responsible and keep the house under some control. I know not everyone is going to be just like me. There are some compromises or adjustments that need to be made to keep a good relationship. I was able to be “productive” with this because you need to treat each situation the same. Try to understand all sides and then take action. Being objective is good for everything and makes you a better person. The lesson learned from this situation is that you should treat the others how you would like to be treated. If I were doing something that someone didn’t like, I would like to hear from them and try to adjust myself, while still being myself, not completely changing who I am. This relates to significant others because you put in the same thought if not more by listening to them and understanding where they are coming from. You still have to keep your standards. Once you are able to live by your own standards, you will have a better understanding of yourself, and do the same to others around you. It is only until then that you will be able to love someone else. 

A Little Bit Can Go A Long Way

One of my favorite songs at the moment is “Miracle” by Norwegian Recycling. It is an amazing mash-up of songs of several different genres. There are a total of 16 samplings of different tracks applied to this song. The songs included are: Michael Jackson’s “Miracle”, Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger”, Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are”, B.O.B. ft. Bruno Mars’ “Nothing On You”, Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy”, Britney Spears’ “Hit Me, Baby, One More Time”, Jason Durelo’s “In My Head”, Justin Timberlake’s “My Love”, Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance”, Leona Lewis’ “Bleeding Love”, Ne Yo’s “So Sick”, Snoop Dogg’s “Sexual Eruption” and “Signs”, Taylor Swift’s “Fifteen” and “Fearless”, and Savage Garden’s “The Animal Song.”

This song is important to me because this is not what I normally come across that often. There are often remixes of songs but not like this. There are 16 tracks that blend and go so well together. If I was unfamiliar with the various tracks on this mash-up, I would have had no idea that every part was an individual artist, in a solo path, not a group.

This song represents how I see things with myself or others; such as being in a dark place and knowing that things will get better. This song can be interpreted as a song for a better world, religion, or spirituality. This past summer was not the best summer. With unfortunate events of knowing five people that have passed away, I still believe that there are miracles for the survivors left behind. Whether the deaths were suicide or illness, families were able to get out of being in such a dark place. There’s always hope for better.

The experience of listening to the song makes me think of hope. The lyrics, “I’m going to take it slow back on the street, and take my time now that I’m back on my feet.” This is coming from two different tracks, Snoop Dogg’s “Sexual Eruption” and Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” which does just that. The rhythm is up tempo. There is a faster beat which makes the heart beat a little faster. It’s true that when you listen to something that is slower in pace can calm you down and once you listen to something that has a faster beat can get your heart racing. Once you are in your happy place it is something to remember. Such as the lyrics, “Just dance in this moment. Now capture it, remember it.” This portion of the song is from Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” and Taylor Swift’s “Fearless.”

There are many emotions that can be exposed from this song. Most of the artists that are part of this mash-up are singing their truths that connect with me. There are lyrics on their own separate tracks that represent parts of me. Such as “perfect just the way you are” and “just dance, it’s going to be okay.” This is how I live my life and being consistent with it. Allen Watts’ video was telling us that we should not focus on the end note. It is too often that where were want to be in life is taking over every aspect of your life. This song is not like that for me. I want to keep listening to the song and not hope that the song ends soon. I have listened to this song to kill time, while studying, and just for a good listen. If it were a song that I didn’t enjoy, then I would just hit the next button. I actually do this to a lot of songs that are on my iTunes too. I just haven’t gotten tired of the song yet. But in the meantime, I can’t get enough of it.