I am 18 years old and currently a Nursing Student from Manila Central University. I am passionate about dancing as I am part of a dance crew before called, “Maximum Groovity.” We join contests a lot before, but since the pandemic started, I became a little rusty with my moves but I still love dancing! I’ve been a Kpop fan since I was in Grade 1 so I’m considered as an oldie in the Kpop community. 😅 I also love reading and collecting novels from various genres, but my current favorite book series is: Ms. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Finally, I also love to watch various movies and series from all over the world! Mainly from Korea, Japan, China, Thailand, Indonesia, USA, etc!
Welcome to My Time and Space!
A Safe Space For You and Me
This is a place where your free time and personal space comes first! Join me on this enjoyous time as we explore the different kinds of fun for us! I’m here to inspire you to make the most of your personal time and mental health.
All About Me
Hi there! My name is Sherobyll Bautista, but you can call me Shen!
Output #1: The Rubaiyat
All About The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám is the title that Edward FitzGerald gave to his 1859 translation from Persian to English of a selection of quatrains (rubāʿiyāt) attributed to Omar Khayyam (1048–1131), dubbed "the Astronomer-Poet of Persia".
Although commercially unsuccessful at first, FitzGerald's work was popularized from 1861 onward by Whitley Stokes, and the work came to be greatly admired by the Pre-Raphaelites in England. FitzGerald had a third edition printed in 1872, which increased interest in the work in the United States. By the 1880s, the book was extremely popular throughout the English-speaking world, to the extent that numerous "Omar Khayyam clubs" were formed and there was a "fin de siècle cult of the Rubaiyat".
FitzGerald's work has been published in several hundred editions and has inspired similar translation efforts in English and in many other languages.
Featured photo comes from Wikepedia
REFERENCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubaiyat_of_Omar_Khayyam
Theme
Carpe Diem
The theme expresses “carpé diem” which the poem tells us to enjoy every single moment in the present time or where you are right now because life is only short so it is important that we get to enjoy it. The Rubaiyat really was relatable and significant most importantly in today’s time. Maybe that’s why the author declared the poem to be a “Carpé Diem Religion”.
But not all of Khayyam’s verses contained the theme of carpé diem, it’s just how the author put together this whole poem to make it like the whole poem is about carpé diem. The first few verses in the poem already gives the message of urging people to go outside and enjoy their life. Some verses also tells us to focus on the present because yesterday has already passed and we don’t know what will happen the next day. In my opinion, all other themes can be traced back to this specific theme. The human brain holds a lot of information but we cannot know everything and we should not try to learn everything and just enjoy every single day that passes. Each and every one of our fates have been determined already, so going against it is useless. Being “even more” religious does not make our souls “better/cleaner” because death will come to us eventually and in the same way. In conclusion, a person should aim to live their lives in their best version of themselves every day and not waste the time by thinking of worse thoughts. We should enjoy it, really.
Featured photo comes from Google Images.
Verse
There was the Door to which I found no Key; There was the Veil through which I might not see: Some little talk awhile of Me and Thee There was--and then no more of Thee and Me. Verse XXXII
In my own understanding, the door that has no key that says in the first line, means that that is the barrier that seperates us from the Lord. There is the concept of dualism that is pertaining to this. The words “Me and Thee” has a sense of dualistic perception which means that there are seperate identities of the person and the Lord. Thinking about seperating from the Lord and seperation from your true self is the one and only pain of your own soul. With this, we feel pain, we struggle, and we encounter different kinds of circumstances that we try to hide through the other things we do in life. While thinking about it, this can also pertain to our soul and the Eternal having a deep conversation to each other; When we look at it deeply, and when that “barrier” is passed, not through the missing “key,” but through realizing and admitting that the barrier does not exist at all. Of course, we are shocked to learn that there really is no seperation of you and the Lord. The lines of “no more Thee and Me,” means that there is only the presence of our God everywhere.
Featured photo comes from Google Images.
A Short Analysis
Content Analysis
The Rubaiyat is a poem that praises God and its spiritual self. The beauty of this poem is so pristine that people of all faiths and those who have no faith at all can find a source of relief in them. Khayyam used symbols in praising wine and love. There are also hidden symbols about Sufism where wine is the spirit of joy and love is the true devotion to the Lord. Khayyam described the divine ecstacy as an alternative that leads to human enlightenment. He imagined what it would look like the joys in every day life because people liked to compare pleasures of the spiritual life. When you read the literal translations of this poem, you will really be confused and will think that this does not make any sense, but the hidden meanings are like a treasure that you keep on finding. But because of certain mistranslations, different people interpreted this poem in various meanings. In the west side, people interpreted the poem as highly erotic; the east side has accepted Khayyam as a religious poet. Diving deep in this poem can give interpretations that make it appear like God himself has written this. But Khayyam strictly said that the wine symbolizes the intoxication of spiritual joy and love. A few of the translators interpreted some verses saying that the poem as a whole is a calling of Agnosticism and gives the meaning of happiness through friendships and avoiding the pain that we feel.
Featured photo comes from Google Images.
Reference of a few sayings of Omar Khayyam: https://unlocking-the-future.com
Output #2: The Lady and Her Five Suitors
A Character Analysis
The lady and her five suitors revolves around a woman who tricked and wicked five men to put out her lover outside the jail. This lady is a gorgeous woman that captivates men's interest. She has something in her beauty that manipulates men in general in order to ger her desire. She uses it to bail out her lover. Moving on to the analysis, the first character I picked is the lady because she is intelligent and is willing to do everything for the person she loves the most. But staying true to my own beliefs, it is not right to cheat and fool someone for your own good only. In my opinion, I see her as selfish, but she is also surrounded by oppressors and her husband is not there for her, so I can't really blame her. But even with these bad traits I found of her, I admired her for being independent and strong. I learned from her that women can protect themselves and don't need any man to protect us. Sometimes, we do some things in life that is bad but we do not know that this is bad and we are not aware of the consequences of why we do this.
For the second character, I chose the carpenter because he is the most innocent out of all the suitors. He is a gentlemen and a guy that is respectful and considerate to the lady. He has engraved the sense of integrity which is a good characteristic. He stays true to what he says and himself. Integrity and Ambition are one of the qualities a man SHOULD have.
In conclusion, the moral of the story is a woman can trick men into their beauty while men get easily captivated by a woman as if it is a hypnosis that leads them to doing things they do not even like. I realized that beauty is not everything and if a guy likes you only for your looks, then what does that make you as a person? He does not even look at your inner qualities. Love is a beutiful thing that we want to experience, but sometimes this can also destroy us if we don't make the right decisions. In the right time, we will all found the love that we are looking for. Don't let down your guard because this is where your heart flows.
Featured image comes from Google Images.
Output #3: The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
An Overview of The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
The Prophet is a book of 26 prose poetry fables written in English by the Lebanese-American poet and writer Kahlil Gibran. It was originally published in 1923 by Alfred A. Knopf. It is Gibran's best known work. The Prophet has been translated into over 100 different languages, making it one of the most translated books in history, as well as one of the best selling books of all time. It has never been out of print.
The prophet Al Mustafa has lived in the city of Orphalese for 12 years and is about to board a ship which will carry him home. He is stopped by a group of people, with whom he discusses topics such as life and the human condition. The book is divided into chapters dealing with love, marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, houses, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, talking, time, good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion, and death.
REFERENCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prophet_(book)
Featured Photo comes from Wikepedia.
Theme: Freedom —
Chapter: On Freedom
And an orator said, Speak to us of Freedom.
And he answered:
At the city gate and by your fireside I have seen you prostrate yourself and worship your own freedom,
Even as slaves humble themselves before a tyrant and praise him though he slays them.
Ay, in the grove of the temple and in the shadow of the citadel I have seen the freest among you wear their freedom as a yoke and a handcuff.
And my heart bled within me; for you can only be free when even the desire of seeking freedom becomes a harness to you, and when you cease to speak of freedom as a goal and a fulfilment.
You shall be free indeed when your days are not without a care nor your nights without a want and a grief,
But rather when these things girdle your life and yet you rise above them naked and unbound.
And how shall you rise beyond your days and nights unless you break the chains which you at the dawn of your understanding have fastened around your noon hour?
In truth that which you call freedom is the strongest of these chains, though its links glitter in the sun and dazzle your eyes.
And what is it but fragments of your own self you would discard that you may become free?
If it is an unjust law you would abolish, that law was written with your own hand upon your own forehead.
You cannot erase it by burning your law books nor by washing the foreheads of your judges, though you pour the sea upon them.
And if it is a despot you would 56dethrone, see first that his throne erected within you is destroyed.
For how can a tyrant rule the free and the proud, but for a tyranny in their own freedom and a shame in their own pride?
And if it is a care you would cast off, that cart has been chosen by you rather than imposed upon you.
And if it is a fear you would dispel, the seat of that fear is in your heart and not in the hand of the feared.
Verily all things move within your being in constant half embrace, the desired and the dreaded, the repugnant and the cherished, the pursued and that which you would escape.
These things move within you as lights and shadows in pairs that cling.
And when the shadow fades and is no more, the light that lingers becomes a shadow to another light.
And thus your freedom when it loses its fetters becomes itself the fetter of a greater freedom.
REFERENCE: https://americanliterature.com/author/kahlil-gibran/book/the-prophet/on-freedom
Featured Image comes from Google Images.
Personal Reflection
On Freedom: A Chapter from The Prophet
The prophet in the book says people worship freedom wherein just to have freedom, people are willing to become a slave. Inserting a line from the chapter, “a yoke and a handcuff” the people’s desire for freedom is so great, that finding for it becomes a harness (handcuff). Most people’s wish is to only be free from care, want, and grief. But in my opinion, the true meaning of being free comes from accepting what you face; true freedom comes from within your soul.
If you want to be free, you cannot just erase certain things or events in this world. These things are a part of humanity and maybe someone’s life or is something very important to them, so it is only right if you have also come to accept that you’re not the only one finding freedom, but also everyone else wants to find that too. It is important to think about yourself in how you are going to find freedom.
You shouldn’t pursue absolute freedom because you will be glued to only that and stray away from what really freedom is. Instead, to be free is to know that we will all have our own griefs and wants, but we can truly rise above them.
Featured Photo comes from Google Images.
Output #4: The Unteachable Monkey
A Panchatantra Tale
POV: Monkey
I am so cold. How I wish to feel warmth beneath my fur and sleep tight knowing I won't be able to feel cold anymore. Why is it always so cold here in the forest? Can't it be warm here even for just a day?
Wait, I see something from a distance. What is it? It's kind of bright and beautiful... oh wait. Is this? Is this what I think it is? I think it's fire! We lifted it with care, covered it with dry grass and leaves. Oh my! It feels so nice to feel this kind of warmth and scratching ourselves and staying close together! We keep on blowing and just staying by the fire when suddenly, a bird flew and sat next to us.
"My dear friends, that is obviously not fire. That is just a firefly. Can't you see it?" We don't really know why that bird came bothering us, but I don't want to listen to what that bird is saying. We continued to blow and scratched ourselves when suddenly, this bird started shouting at my ear! I got so irritated and pissed so I grabbed that ugly bird and smashed it on a rock and crushed its whole body, making its parts come off. I am not happy about what I did and I am so angry that I just killed that bird.
Original Story: https://swadhyayayoga.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-unteachable-monkey-panchatantra-tale.html
Output #5: Shell-Neck, Slim, and Grim —
“And that is why I say: To take advice from kindly friends Be ever satisfied: The stupid turtle lost his grip Upon the stick, and died.”
An event I picked for this book cover was the start of the story where Shell-neck, Slim, and Grim became friends and hang out together by the lake. Because I would like to show to the reader how they were great friends even before the tragic event that happened to Shell-neck.
Story: https://theoceanofstories.blogspot.com/2014/01/panchatantra-shell-neck-slim-and-grim.html
Output #6: Analect
1. Choose 5 examples of teachings from Analect and then answer the following questions per verse: *What kind of behavior does Confucius talk about in Analects? *Do you think that it is possible for a person to have the virtues that Confucius describes in this passage? Why or why not?
1. "Don't do unto others, what you don't want others do unto you."
* Confucius said that if there was a word that could guide you throughout your life, it should be forgiveness. This means putting yourself in the position of others and not forcing them to do what you do not want. This is the basic principle of life and coping with problems. Confucius believed that one should help others achieve their goals. If he doesn't want others to teat him in a particular way, he must be the first person to not treat others that way. In short you are trying to understand and treat others by putting yourself in their place. Before doing anything, think about what to do if you are in the same position as others. The idea is most likely to provide a fairly correct solution to the problem. However, I think it is very difficult to put this belief into practice. Therefore, this is one of the most famous sayings that teachers teach students.
* I think it is possible for a person to develop this passage because I know there are a lot of people who are nice and are trying their best to be good to others even if they are the ones hurting. Although if you are trying to change, this may be hard to achieve at once, but the important thing is that you can take things slow and achieve it one at a time.
2. "Exemplary persons would feel shame if their words are better than their deeds."
* This is simply like, "actions speak louder than words." Most people are usually "all talk" but if they are going to put it in actions, they don't want or cannot do it. These kinds of people are the ones Confucius talk about in this passage. We should be careful of what we say, but for others to notice we must put it in actions and do good for them/
* I believe in our time today, this passage is already developed in most people especially since this pandemic, we are only all in online so people slur out words but if they begin to act or do a deed, it is not present.
3. "If a man keeps cherishing his old knowledge, so as continually to be acquiring new, he may be a teacher of others"
* This passage is almost directly made for teachers. We all know that old practices never really go "old" as it says because these practices are what made us how we are right now so I think that adding new knowledge to these old practices will be more effective for teachers.
* Even from before, this passage is already used because even though as time progresses, teachings will not go old and never used; it just keeps on improving and helping others more effectively.
4. "Study as though you cannot catch up to it, and as though you fear you are going to lose it."
* A lot of students can relate to this very much especially now we are all in online class and a lot of us are struggling so we all need motivation to study. Confucius has said this passage for us to be motivated in studying and achieving our goals in life.
* In this pandemic, this passage can be hard to use because many of us are having a hard time and feel unmotivated because a lot of bad things are happening, but once you get to understand what Confucius is trying to say, we'll realize that we need to be motivated in order to achieve our goals.
5. "Things that are done, it is needless to speak about; things that have had their course, it is needless to remonstrate about; things that are past, it is needless to blame.”
* You should not boast about the things that you have done and you should not complain about what has already occured and has already ended. Do not blame things that are in the past and move on. One example of gloating about the things you did is when you gloat about winning a game. Confucius reminds us that whatever accomplishments we have in our lives, we shouldn't take it too far.
* This passage has already been in action even from before since greediness usually takes a toll on people and when this gets worse, people get out of control and keep on gloating. We should be reminded of this passage as a reminder that greediness will take us nowhere in life.
Output #7: Taoism
A. Choosing one Tao Teh Ching teaching from the picture sent to our group chat. B. Identify what Taoism principle being described and explain. C. Create a personal insight in relation to man’s condition and experiences.
a. Be whole, but first be broken;
Bend and be straight;
Empty and be full;
Wear out and be new;
Have little and gain;
Have much and be confused.
Embrace the One
And set an example to all.
b. This teaching is a Principle of Oneness - A Holistic View. The yin yang symbol represents the universal oneness with black and white colors rotating in a circle. This simply means that by connecting these two, we can balance and interconnect everything in our lives with a holistic view and the fulfillment of oneness. The yin yang clearly describes our lives because even if there are good and bad things seperated, but with the symbol it becomes as one.
c. There are times in our lives where we feel broken and feel that we cannot do anything, but we remember that there are always the good in our lives and fulfilment in the things that we do best. Although we feel these things althoughout our lives, there is a balance happening; There are bad times, but there are also good times and this is how the yin yang symbol is essential in our lives.
OH HEY, FOR BEST VIEWING, YOU'LL NEED TO TURN YOUR PHONE