The laws of Hospitality

Savater has, in the end, related all we have read in the book with the word "hospitality".

I think this word is a gook summary of what being a real human being is.

Hospitality involves respect, treating people like people, helping others and so on.

In fact, I have just realized that by answering "you are welcome" to "thank you" you are showing hospitality, you are saying to this person that he/she should be comfortable in your space/home.

After reading the whole book, I can only ask myself: Have I been a real human being? Are my principles (or even my ethics) contradictory to my actions?

The only thing I can do is reflect on those actions, thinking twice and remembering which is my true self, what do I believe in and just follow what my heart and my mind (difficult but possible) tell me to do.

In my opinion, the best part of the book is how by not being selfish and helping others we help ourselves and make our lives better too.

I have learnt that the word "guest" is more than staying in a person´s property but also the hostess is a guest as well. We always need the hospitality of others because without them, we could not live.

So, BE A GOOD GUEST/HOSTESS TO BE A REAL HUMAN BEING!

10 años despues ante el nuevo milenio, Savater - Etica para Amador

Choosing and more choosing...

The act of living can be summarized by the making of choices. The question is how?

Well, as Savater says, is something you have to figure out by yourself. You can listen to different options or ideas as helping tools but you have to create your own life journey. It is important to create it considering your individuality as well as your uniqueness.

I have chosen (so far) in my life trying to reflect on what I want and how am I going to reach those wants. What I would like to add to my choosing process is what Savater calls "opening up" to others, to new experiences and to different joys.

I think we sometimes choose out of practicality and we leave aside the idea of choosing options that could lead to more and more other options. We should keep our minds open to new challenging experiences, even if those choices are not that practical and need a little bit of more effort to reach them!

We may be surprised to find out how those risky choices can make our lives better!

Epilogo, Etica para Amador - Savater

And it all comes down to "Human Rights"...

Ethics and Politics can be sometimes linked and other cannot. But, what they surely share is the fact that we as humans in isolation as well as part of a community want life to be based on freedom, justice and help.
These requirements can be summed up in what we call: Human Rights.
As teachers, we should keep on insisting with these rights, trying to teach our students to be aware of them and show them that they are not words written in a document but powerful actions that CAN be achieved!
Teachers play an important role in this process that is not only filled in by showing them what can be done but by being a part of it!
Because we are helping are future politician, doctors, lawyers, etc to grow up, we should at least share with them what we want for our society; those minimum requirements that each individual wants: to have the possibility to choose, to be treated with justice and dignity and to promote mutual help between neighbours.
There are some problems (hunger, poverty, and so on) that cannot be easily resolved. But, we humans can make our place to live a little bit better:

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

Heal the World by Michael Jackson (http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/michaeljackson/healtheworld.html)

Try to make our world inhabitable and beautiful: MAKE A BETTER PLACE FOR YOU AND FOR ME.

Chapter 9, Etica para Amador - Savater

Carpe Diem!

Enjoy life, enjoy each day as unique.

As Savater said, we need to search for today´s pleasures. This way will be easier to make those pleasure real, true. If you piled everything up and try to look for all of them in one day, you will probably feel frustrated.

The key is finding a way to enjoy everything that surrounds you: family, work, hobbies....

You should do what makes you happy, what brings you JOY. If you do things out of boredom, routine or because someone told you (orders) then the day will finish with you felling rather miserable.

I agree with the fact that true pleasure means knowing how to enjoy your everyday life.

Even when things get tough, the idea is to find a twist in the situation to make the most of it.

For example. if you decided to start working in place you thought it would be great and good for you but then you realize that was not what you expected, you should find something in that job that challenges you and makes you feel excited to go everyday.

In my life I have experienced some tough moments (choosing doing two careers at the same time, working, trying to find some "me" time, and so on) but then I think about it and I know that If I could do everything all over again, I would choose the same path. I try to give one step at a time, trying not to rush to satisfy all my pleasures at the same time yet slowly and with responsibility I reach (and still reaching) them one by one.

Regardless the situation, you should live for the moment and seize the day!

Chapter 8, Etica para Amador - Savater

Put yourself in my shoes!

Two posts before, I wrote about treating people like people. After reading this new Savater´s chapter I realize it is not only a matter of respect but also a matter of truly recognizing somebody as similar to you. This is not an easy job.
We might be so blinded by our whims and views that filling somebody´s shoes can be harder than it seems.
However, we should try to understand the situation in full, from the inside; trying to adopt other people´s view points.
In my experience, I sometimes feel that because I think my view is so true and the only right option, I do not stop and try to analyse other ideas.
As teachers, we need to take into account out students´s viewpoints i.e, take into account THEIR RIGHTS.
If one of my students could not come to class, I shouldn't be mad or upset with him but I should try to put myself in his position, trying to analyse the reasons why he did not come: tiredness, job problems, family issues, etc.
I think this is what being open minded means: DO not stick to one option, opinion or idea; DO research, find out motives and fill somebody´s shoes!

Chapter 7, Etica para Amador - Savater

Developing our "moral good taste"

I liked particularly this sentence because I believe it is a process to build up this conscience that will help you decide which things you despise and which others you side with.

I related this "moral good taste" with the snap reactions or decisions we take when a situation shock us.

When I see that somone or even me is not treated "fairly" I cannot help reacting: weather it is disrespect, violence or any kind of injustice that contradicts my beliefs.

Nowadays, students seem not to know or care about how to treat their mates, family or teachers.

As teachers, we cannot just sit there and watch it happen. If our "moral good sense" is switched on, we have to react. We should try to show our students (maybe by giving the example) how to treat the ones that surround you and at least we give them a taste of our "moral good taste".

Chapter 6, Etica para Amador - Savater

GIVE RESPECT. GET RESPECT!

Treating people like people pretty much involves taking into account their wishes, their needs, in other words: giving respect. Showing these attitudes to another person will probably lead to reciprocity; i.e, you will get the same respect that you gave.

As Savater said, because citizen Kane gave no respect to the people surrounding him, he got no respect at all so for that he felt empty.

We feel empty, upset or even sad when we perceive that people is disrespectful to us. I think this has to do with us feeling little, less in front of others. In my experience as a teacher, I sometimes feel like my students are disrespectful to me but I still do not "lose hope" and I keep on giving my respect to them.

I think that to treat people like people is important to think about how we like to be treated and implement those thoughts in our everyday-relationships: at work, at university, at home, etc.

Even if you still do not get the respect you expected (despite you efforts), you still have that person´s respect that follows you everywhere: YOU!

In my life, I try to give and show respect for others: my teachers, my mates, my coworkers and of course to my students.

Even if you feel you are not being treated with respect, you should not give up. Keep on giving the example, showing that in our world we treat people like people (or at least it should be our ultimate goal, don´t you think?)

Chapter 5, Etica para Amador - Savater