Eat

There are four foundations that I believe we need to cover in order to search for wisdom and build a brotherly society: health, security, justice, and education. We can relate eating to the first one — health — and health comes first. Our brothers and sisters need to eat, as we do, before they can study or work. There are many people who do not eat as we do, and there are plenty of people we could help.

We also need to work towards a better design for how we produce food. I think cities need to be planned with nearby sources of food as a contingency — a way to survive under emergencies such as natural disasters or wars. People must also know basic growing and harvesting skills in order to obtain their own food. Those with enough space at home could have their own greenhouse or keep animals as a source of food to complement what they obtain from the market.

We must also learn what best nourishes our bodies, and this should be part of mandatory education. We need practical subjects that teach sowing, harvesting, and cooking — not only theoretical knowledge. If we truly want to reach our objective of building a society that seeks wisdom, ethics, and brotherhood, we need to work on our threefold mission of developing in the physical, mental, and spiritual areas. Just as junk food weakens the body, junk information weakens the mind, and moral laziness weakens the spirit. We need a balanced diet in all three.

Jacket

We must put on the team jacket and work toward our goals. That jacket is a mark that we belong to a group. It gives us cover — physically, from wind, rain, and cold — but also mentally, because we embrace the cohesion of being part of something bigger than ourselves. And it can be spiritual too, when we embrace moral principles and an ethical code that unites us as a brotherhood.

A jacket can represent the group but also be personalized — with the person's name or initials, for example. There we find a symbol of individuality within the group. This is an example of carrying both sides: the group and the individual. Both matter.

In society we must also find the coexistence of both. We must allow the development of the individual and the group as one. And we must learn where to draw the line — where one part begins to endanger the other. The liberty of the individual must not put the liberty of other individuals or the group at risk. Nor must the liberty of the group put the liberty of the individual at risk. We are speaking of liberty here, but the same applies to rights and obligations.

This is what it means to wear the jacket of brotherhood. Are we all wearing the same jacket?

Demonio

Tal vez hemos inventado esta palabra para culpar a otro de nuestras malas acciones: para descargar responsabilidad. O bien el demonio nos tentó, o es cosa del demonio. En otras palabras, quien hizo el mal fue el demonio, o fuimos nosotros pero porque el demonio nos engañó. Ambas son actos de excusa, de irresponsabilidad, de lavarse las manos y no asumir responsabilidad.

Por eso algunos pensadores debieron reflexionar y concluir que el demonio está en nosotros, o que es parte de nosotros. En realidad, es una forma de etiquetar el mal dándole una personalidad ajena, o tratándolo como algo que podemos separar de nosotros mismos. Pero puede ser simplemente el resultado del libre albedrío ejercido por seres espiritualmente inmaduros.

Si el propósito de todo ser es amar, servir y buscar la verdad, entonces en su punto más maduro y perfecto es a lo que llamamos Dios. El demonio es solo el otro extremo. Y según el nivel de madurez espiritual de un individuo, este se encuentra más cerca de un extremo o del otro.

Cuando líderes espirituales como Jesús dicen que Dios está en nosotros, debe ser porque tenemos el potencial de llegar a ser como Dios. Para ello debemos desarrollarnos espiritualmente: la regla de oro es el camino.

¿No os gustaría revivir experiencias? Si fuéramos todopoderosos, podríamos vivir una infinidad de experiencias. Y nosotros somos, en cierto modo, experiencias. Al final, debemos ser experiencias de Dios en esta simulación llamada vida.

Lump

I like a mug of milk with Cola Cao. And I like the lumps that form in it. This usually happens with cold milk, not with hot milk. I like to add some chocolate powder and play with my teaspoon — wetting the lumps, watching them absorb the milk. I take them out with the teaspoon and eat them. Then I add a little more chocolate and repeat the process.

It is a good way to be present in the moment. I watch and enjoy the lumps being wetted. I smell the chocolate. I hear the teaspoon entering the mug and stirring through the milk. I feel the teaspoon in my hand — and through it, the resistance of the lumps. I feel the lumps on my tongue and how they break apart. I taste the chocolate wrapped in milk, and then the pure chocolate that releases when the lump breaks. All five senses, fully in the moment.

That is a moment of relief — just relaxing, enjoying, and flowing. A moment of finding joy in small things.

Nowadays we eat while watching videos and scrolling through social media. We put food in our mouths and swallow it without being present, without joy. Why? We have become addicted to being entertained. It is also a trap disguised as efficiency — the feeling of being productive by doing two things at once, learning and eating simultaneously. But in reality we lose the present moment, and with it, the joy of food.

Afilar

¿Conocen la breve historia de afilar el hacha? Hay dos personas: una empieza a cortar un árbol directamente con su hacha, y la otra se detiene primero a afilarla. Al final, quien dedicó tiempo a afilar tarda menos en ejecutar el trabajo, y además se desgasta menos físicamente.

Esta historia nos enseña que es importante dedicar tiempo a prepararnos. Pero igualmente importante es evitar los extremos.

¿Cuáles son esos extremos? Uno es no prepararse en absoluto y lanzarse a la acción: tan impulsivos y torpes que quizás ni siquiera cogemos el hacha, y queremos derribar el árbol a cabezazos. El otro extremo es querer afilar tanto el hacha que nunca llegamos a cortar el árbol: nunca nos lanzamos a la acción, o lo hacemos demasiado tarde —cuando otro ya nos ganó—, o cuando ya no importaba que lo hiciéramos nosotros.

Para mí, estas enseñanzas deben estar inseparables. Solo así evitamos caer en dichos extremos. Hay muchas enseñanzas que debemos examinar con esta misma lógica: ¿es inseparable de otra en el contexto social de la época en que vivimos? Otro ejemplo puede ser el de la libertad: para que no nos lleve a la dictadura de los ofendidos ni al libertinaje sin responsabilidad. Hay más variables en el arte de afilar que debemos tener siempre presentes. Me hace pensar que ninguna virtud existe sola, siempre necesita una hermana que la equilibre o complemente.

Recruit

Do we need mandatory military service? I think it is not strictly necessary — if what we learn through it can be acquired in other ways, perhaps with the help of similar institutions. But in order to prepare and train society in certain areas, we should at least consider some aspects of it.

I do not think we need to be recruits just to learn how to march. My point is that we must be trained to know how to act in emergencies — natural disasters, dangerous environments, whether in the mountains, the desert, the sea, or the jungle. A couple of presentations from doctors or police officers on first aid or earthquake safety is not enough.

We must stop giving talks and put everyone into practice — in primary school, secondary school, university, and every few years after that, to stay ready and updated on current standards. It could take the form of a gap year between secondary school and higher education, or it could be distributed throughout mandatory schooling. Either way, we must be prepared. And critically — to avoid forgetting what we learn — we must repeat the training regularly. A week once a year, or a few weekends, where people come together, retrain, and practice rather than just listen.

This is true learning. And it is a way to build brotherhood and a mark of a wise society.

Listen

We spend years learning how to speak. But how much time do we spend learning how to listen? We learn how to speak and how to listen — and both require continuous improvement. In communication there is a sender and a receiver. As someone who wants to communicate a message, we must learn to improve our delivery and put effort into communicating as well as possible. Along the way we learn about melody, silence, body language, presentation, tone, types of audiences, and so on.

But as receivers of messages, we must also learn how to listen. We must put effort into understanding the message even when the sender is not communicating it well — because we can empathize with the fact that not everyone is a master communicator, and many are still learning. Also because good listening requires the humility and curiosity of a child: always open, always waiting to learn and understand.

Listening is a skill we need to develop as part of building the four foundation areas: health, security, justice, and education. It is an essential part of education in particular. And it will help us reach our goal of an ethical and brotherly society, as part of our purpose of loving, serving, and seeking truth.