Chinese Attitudes Toward Death

          In "The Sacred Art of Dying", chapter 6 - Chinese Attitudes Toward Death, Kenneth Kramer explains how the Chinese people view death and how they have related it to the world around them since the beginning of their people.
         The chapter begins with a big confusing paragraph about the Chinese belief of creation.
         "There is a not yet beginning. There is not yet beginning to be a not yet beginning to a beginning. There is being. There is non-being. There's not yet beginning to a non-being. There is not yet beginning to be a not yet beginning to be a non-being. Suddenly there is it being and non-being. But between this being and non-being, I don't really know which is being in it which is non-being. Now I have just said something. But I don't know whether what I have said has really said something or whether it hasn't said something."
         As I said, this is a large and confusing paragraph that takes time to understand. The way I interpreted it was that the being and non-being are life and death, and they coincide with one another. In the paragraph it states, " But between this being and non-being, I don't really know which is being in it which is non-being". I believe the philosopher here is unsure which he is experiencing at the moment, life or death. He just knows he must experience one to experience the other.

Last Day WIth A Loved One

          How would I spend a last day with a loved one? It is a tricky question because there is a lot of unanswered questions to go along with it. Am I moving far away? Is my loved one moving far away? Am I dying? Is my loved one dying? Are they suffering? Am I suffering? I believe I would spend the last day the same way whether it was me or the loved one going away or dying. I would like to look at this question in different parts, as in, how I would spend my last day with different people, such as; my girlfriend, my family, my best friend, and my dog.
          If it was my last day on earth with my girlfriend, Ashley, I would spend it having a good time with her and doing the things we love. We may go to the beach. During the summer Ashley and I went to the beach as much as possible. The beach we go to is located on Gooseberry Island near Horseneck Beach. At Gooseberry Island Beach we like to walk to the rear of the beach and set up our chairs and blankets there, where no one else is. We usually do not swim in the water, just sit in the sun and talk for hours on end. After the beach we would go out to eat at our favorite restaurant, Smokey Bones. Ashley and I go to Smokey Bones a lot because it is my favorite restaurant. Ashley has come to love the restaurant just as much as me. Finally after Smokey Bones, once it is night time, we would venture back to my house and hang out outside for the rest of the night. We would lay on the large trampoline in my back yard and watch the stars for the rest of the night. We would do this because this is the same way we began dating two years ago.
           If it was my last day on earth with my family, I would want to be with my entire family, not just my intermediate family. I have been fortunate enough to grow up with a loving, caring family that loves to get together and have a good time, all the time. Every time someone has a birthday or it is a holiday such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, etc. my family and I get together and spend hours with each other. I love the time spent with my family because we all have a fun time. I would want my last day with my family spent at my house. I wouldn't want it be anything special. Just a regular get together where we have a fire, play silly card and board games, eat tons of food and laugh until we cannot any longer.
          If it was my Dogs last day on earth I would want to spend every moment with her. My dogs name is Raven, she is an eleven year old mix between a black German Shepard and a Golden Retriever. In the past eleven years Raven has grown so close to my family. Raven touches every ones life she meets. Without her we would not be the same family we are today. Raven is getting older and we know one day, hopefully in the far future, we will have to part ways with her. This will be the toughest day of my life, and my families life. If we were fortunate enough to know when she was going to pass away we would take her to do all the things she loves, such as: playing catch, going for walks, and going to the beach. Raven loves to play ball with tennis balls. Over the years we have bought hundreds of tennis balls for Raven. It amazes us when we go outside and are unable to find a single tennis ball. Raven could play catch for hours, she just has so much fun doing it. As well as playing catch Raven loves to go on walks. I believe she likes to go on walks because it seems like an adventure for her. It is not often she leaves the premises of our yard, so when she does, she has the time of her life. The last thing we would do with Raven is bring her to the beach to swim. Ever since we would bring Raven camping she has loved to swim. She would swim in the lake with my cousins and I retrieving tennis balls all day. This is why I know she love spending her last day retrieving tennis balls in the water.
          Lastly, if my best friend was going away how would I spend a last day with him. This scenario is actually true. In two months, on January 26th, 2016, my best friend, Joe Rapoza, will be leaving for the United States Air Force. He will be shipped down to the Texas Air Force Base for basic training. This will be difficult for me and my other two best friends, Alex Lacasse and Brandon Lacasse, because the four of us always hang out together, during the week as much as we can and every single weekend. Joe and I have been friends since the first grade. We do a lot together, when he is gone it will be a big change. In the last two months we have with Joe, my group of friends and I plan on doing a lot together. In our free time, which is usually between the hours of 8p.m. and 5 a.m. we like to go off-roading and mudding. This has become a hobby for our group of friends in the last couple of months. I drive a lifted 1998 Silverado, Alex drives a lifted 1996 Blazer, and Joe drives a lifted 1993 Wrangler. Joe recently just finished his Jeep, it was out of commission for some time, so in the next two months I hope to go off-roading as much as possible with my friends. In the next two months before Joe leaves I also hope to go skydiving. This may not happen because skydiving season is almost over but I is something Joe and I have been planning on doing for awhile now. If we do not get to it in the next two months then I am sure we will in the future. Lastly my group of friends and I have a favorite restaurant, Fire and Ice, I hope to eat out with my friends a few more times here before Joe leaves.

Major Loss

          Ronald Antone Soares was an amazing man who lived an amazing life. In his spare time he enjoyed working. He was also an avid mechanic, fisher and hunter. Watching Nascar was one of his favorite pastimes. Ronald Antone Soares was my Grandfather, who unfortunately passed away in 2009 leaving behind 3 children, a wife and many grandchildren.
          He was "Pop" to me and the rest of the family. I'm not sure where that nickname for him came from but it stuck. We had called him that for as long as I remember. The memories with Pop are only good ones, ones that I will cherish forever. Out of high school Pop joined the Marine Corps, he stayed in this for four years. During this time he traveled the world and in his last few years in the Marine Cops he was stationed on a base in North Carolina, where him and my grandmother had their first child; my Auntie Kim, whom we call Auntie Coco. In the Marine Corps Pop was stationed on boats. His job was to keep the engines maintained. After the Marines Corps Pop went to two years of college for business. Around this time he had two more children with my grandmother, my father; Ronnie, and then my uncle; Richard. Pop then worked at a regional high school as the automotive teacher, but only for a few months. This regional high school is the high school attended. After this my grandfather settled down. Him and my grandmother bought a twelve acre property in Swansea Massachusetts set back far in the woods and built their dream home. He them worked as a diesel mechanic, for as long as I can remember.
          I love my Grandparents home. As I said it was set back far in the woods, about half a mile. Once you drive up the terrible pitted driveway you come to a large hill, Sitting on this hill was my Grandparents home, standing in all it's glory. Inside it was always dimly lit and very old fashion, but I liked that about it. One day I hope to own this house and property. When we were young my brother and I would sleep at my grandparents house. We stayed up watching cartoons with my grandparents and slept in their California king sized bed with them. When we would wake up there would be two boxes of donuts waiting on the counter for us. These donuts came from a bakery somewhere in Somerset, they were not like any other donuts I had ever had before. They tasted so much more delicious than an average donut from dunkin donuts. Pop would go and buy us these donuts every time we slept over so we could eat them for breakfast, before he would go to work for the day.
          One thing I recall about my grandfather that believe is amazing is how great of a mechanic he was. At the time before his passing he owned a 1948 Chevy Coupe he had restored and a 1969 Ford Mustang Gt Fastback 351 Windsor five speed which he was in the process of restoring. This car is an extremely rare car and my grandfather knew that. His plans were to restore this car to its former glory while leaving it as original as possible. Six years after his death this vehicle sits exactly where he left it. In pieces in his garage. One day I will finish what my grandfather couldn't. Today it is very evident that Pop's love for vehicles has rubbed off on his sons, and me. My uncles main toy in his 2012 Shelby GT Mustang, an incredibly expensive car. My father owns a 1965 Mustang coupe and 1970 Boss 302. He is currently in the process of restoring the 1965, he has owned this since he was 18 years old. One day I hope to help him finish both. I have recently learned of my love for vehicles. I hope to go into field where I can work on vehicles.
          On March 31st, 2009 I was in the sixth grade, I came home to an empty home. This was odd since my parents are always home at this time. My cousin picked up my brother and I and we spent the day at her house. When my parents came to pick us up later that night they brought us outside and told us the news. We immediately broke down to what we had just heard. Earlier that day, around 12 O'clock I'd say, after his daily routine of going out to eat and seeing friends, Pop was cutting down a large tree in his yard. He was working on this project with my Grandmother and my older cousin. Pop cut the tree down and sent my grandmother and cousin to fetch some ant killer in the garage because there were some ants. When they came back my Grandfather was on the ground. My cousin proceeded to give CPR but unfortunately it was too late. My Grandfather had suffered a heart attack and was pronounced death upon the arrival of the ambulance.
          Only two days before we had visited my Grandparents, this was the last time a saw Pop. That day, in the twenty minutes we were at my grandparents house, I showed my grandfather what I had been learning on the guitar, he seemed so proud. That day I also learned that he had played the bass guitar and he planned on showing me a thing or two on bass. Since then I have become a successful musician in my band, The Fairview. Pop had lived an incredible life, it is extremely unfortunate that we are forced to live without him now. I hope to live a life as great as his, and to one day be as an incredible of a man as he was.









          

Excellent Deffinitions of...

          How does one define normative, culture and ontology at a macro, meso and micro level, separately and as one?
          Lets begin with the first, normative. Normative is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as; "of, relating to, or determining norms or standards," (Merriam-Webster.com). Normative to me is something, an action for example, that is regular or done on a routine and / or traditional basis. We can look at the United States of America as a macro level for this definition. In the United States of America we have rules and regulations that are considered normative. For example, Streets rules such a signs, lights, signals etc. . People who obey these rules and regulations on the street are aware of the normative. Without even thinking about it people obey these rules each an everyday because they are considered the normative. Others may be aware of the normative but disobey anyways. Normative is not only restricted to rules and regulations. Like stated before the normative can be something done on a regular and / or traditional basis. For a meso level we can look at our home state of Massachusetts, or even the north-eastern states if you wish. During the winter plowing can be considered a normative for the Massachusetts area. It is a normative because we do it every year, on a sort of routine basis, because if we don't then we are not able to move around. To define normative will use myself. In my house I follow rules of the norm, for example; doing my homework first, taking out the trash, cleaning up after myself, etc. . Normative to me can also be following a curfew at night that my parents set (Even though that may not always be the case).
          Moving on, culture can be defined as, "the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time," (Merriam-Webster.com). When I think of culture, what comes to my head is, a different groups of people's habits and characteristics. What defines those different groups are their culture. Looking at culture at a macro view we can look at the United States of America once again. In the United States of America we celebrate certain holidays because it is in our culture; Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving. (Not everyone in the United States may celebrate these holidays but the majority do, it is a cultural norm). At a meso level Massachusetts is a perfect example. In Massachusetts we can look at our Boston sports teams as culture. Everyone in Massachusetts cheers for teams like; The Red Sox, The Patriots, The Celtics, The Bruins, etc., (or at least they should). Finally at a micro level I will use myself as an example once again. Micro and macro can be viewed almost at the same level here. My family and celebrate birthdays. We get together with our entire family for just one day and celebrate a single person or multiple people. I would consider this our culture. Just like at the macro level we can look at celebrating holidays at a micro level as well.
          Defining the word Ontology is not difficult. Understanding it is. Ontology is defined as, "a branch of metaphysics concerned with the nature and relations of being". Some people may read that definition and not completely understand the concept of ontology at first. It is not an easy concept to wrap your head around. To get a better understanding of the word here are some questions that an Ontologist may ask. "What is existence", "What is a thing?", "When does a thing and / or object cease to exist", "What other things and / or entities are out there and / or exist". We can look at the United States of America and Massachusetts at a macro and meso level for Ontology. The United States of America is a country of many religions. In religion people believe in a God and / or a higher entity. Some people in these religions may be skeptical of these gods or entities actual being. "Do they actually exist,"  they may ask. At a micro level we can look at myself or any single person. Fitting perfectly into the category of ontology are aliens and the paranormal. Some may wonder if these creatures and entities actually exist.

The interesting triangle (week 3 blog)

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is a very interesting subject to study. It is what I found most interesting in last class. Basically, Maslow mapped out human needs by first having the most basic needs at the beginning and the more "complex" needs towards the end. Maslow's concept is usually portrayed in a pyramid form. (As shown at the bottom right.) Although, it is interesting to know that Maslow never used a pyramid of any form when creating these ideas.

http://convene.com/wp-content/uploads/MaslowsHiearchyofNeeds.png

          Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs has 5 categories, is begins with basic necessities of survival at the bottom, for example; water, food, shelter, sleep etc.. It continues with safety, for example; a person's families physical safety, physical self safety and financial safety. Maslow's next category is belonging. One a person has stability in their life and does not have to worry about basic necessities the next feel the need to belong. This can include but not be limited to; friendships and family. Maslow continues with his research and comes up with esteem as his fourth human necessity. After a person does not have to worry about basic necessities for survival, they have personal and financial safety and they have a sense of belonging they feel the need to be respected by others. After reaching this stage a person will want to be accepted by other people. They will have self- esteem. Lastly, Maslow came up with his final human need, Self- actualization. It is extremely rare, says Maslow and many of the people the study his works, for an individual to reach this stage. What Maslow is saying here is, once a person knows what they can become and what they could do in life, nothing will stop them from achieving that goal. Although one can only achieve this by first working through and mastering the previous four stages.
          If I could personally ask Maslow a question it would be: Can an individual achieve the last phase of needs, self- actualization, without having the work through and master the first four? This is something I would like to know his opinion about because, for instance, if an individual is born into a wealthy family and does not need to worry about the first four phases of needs, like shelter and security, could they go right onto the last, self-actualization phase? I believe Maslow's answer to this would be no because they have not mastered the previous phases.
          Maslow is an interesting man with many interesting ideas. In the future I wish to study his more.

Me, Myself and I; Ron soares (Week 1 blog)

Hello fellow colleagues, my name is Ron Soares. I am from Rehoboth Massachusetts, recently I just graduated from Dighton Rehoboth Regional High School. I am enrolled in Bristol Community College as a full time student under the General Studies Major. While not in class I work as a part time employee at the Chartleys Country Store Deli and Meat Market in Rehoboth. I also work at the Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro as an Environmental Aide. During my free time I enjoy spending time with friends and family, playing music in my band; The Fairview, and working on my truck. What do I expect out of life? I hope to live a long life, when I am older I wish to marry and have children and have a stable job so money is not a problem. I would like to have a career in mechanics, working with vehicles. I also hope to buy my grandparents 7 acre property one day and make it my own by fixing up the house my they built over forty years ago. Out of Bcc I expect to obtain a degree in general studies, with perfect or at least near perfect grades, and go onto a four year college and/or join a branch of the military. I would like to join the military because I love the idea of serving our country and it is also what my Grandfather did out of high school. If I had to choose three of my most precious possessions, in order, they would probably be my dog, my truck, and my drum set. My dog, Raven, is a girl, she is a mix between a Black German Shepard and a Golden Retriever. We got Raven as a puppy when I was in the second grade. Without Raven I don't think that our family would be the same. She is a huge part of us. I choose my truck as my second most precious because it is something I am incredibly proud of. My truck is a black 1998 k1500 Silverado, lifted 6 inches on thirty-five inch tires. Everywhere I go a head turns, I am proud to say that all the money and the work that has gone into the truck has been mine and not my parents. My last most precious possession is my drum set. Last year my friends and I started a band, The Fairview, and we got much further than we ever thought we would. Our largest accomplish was winning a battle of the bands. We went up against twelve other bands, only two bands would be chosen at the end of the night to go onto the world famous warped tour along with hundreds of other great and popular bands. My band was one of these two bands. After that our success did not end, we kept playing out, some weeks playing an upwards of 3 shows a week. When I am in deep crap there are acouple people I can go to, one of the people I always go to first though, is my best friend Joe. Joe and I have been friends since the first grade. Joe and I have a lot in common and we are always hanging out when it is possible. Joe is always there for me, when other people aren't.

From my camera roll