Dr Abe V Rotor
Young lawyer, Gandhi - Man of the Millennium (1001 - 2000)
Young Rizal, medical doctor - Philippine national hero
Dr Abe V Rotor
It
is said, that indeed everyone is great in his or her own way, if
greatness is measured by ones ultimate capacity to do good, and goodness
means being of service to others and by contributing something, even
only a drop in the bucket, so to speak, towards betterment of mankind,
and in making this world a better place to live in. Nay, but how so few
come to the knowledge of others for the good they have done. They are
like the unknown soldier. They are like what Thomas Gray said in his
famous poem “Elegy on the Country Churchyard.”
“Full many a gem of purest ray serene
The deep unfathomed caves the ocean bear;
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And wastes their sweetness in the desert air.”
The
poem makes us think though, that if we do not make use of that which
can make us great, then we are like the obscure gem under the sea and
the blooming flower in the desert.
Amongst
us stand rare and distinct men and women who have excelled, more than
most of us have ever done. Their contributions are of outstanding
significance that has invariably affected us, our way of living, our
thinking and even our perception of the future. And indeed if we have to
look back without them we would doubt if ever we would be in the
present state we are in. What would the world be without them?
Undoubtedly
too, greatness is mirrored not only on the norms of how most of us live
and would like to live, but on how these rare breeds of men and women
perceived ideas beyond their time in the way of the pioneer, in space
and in time that few would dare to travel by, which in the words of
Robert Frost goes like this –
“ I will be telling you this with a sigh,
Ages and ages hence
where two roads meet in a wood.
And I, I took the road less traveled by.
And that is what made the difference.”
How
many people dare to take the road less traveled? How many of us found
true freedom while treading on it? How many of us have dared to take the
road of truth? The lonely road, the road barely a path? And to beat it
in order to make one? Is it a choice? Is it fate? And fate we associate
with gift – or luck we often refer to as serendipity?
Our
world goes around and around, fortunate that there are people whose
ideas were born ahead of their time? From these ideas bloomed into many
ideas that found expression in a multitude of ways. It is to these
people whom we dedicate this lesson. In so doing we may lay down an
alternative path and present models of living particularly to the youth
of today.
We have chosen for this purpose the following great men and women from various nations:
- Charles Darwin – Interpreter of the pattern of life, founder of theory of evolution
- Louis Pasteur – Father of immunology, science in the service of man
- Jose Rizal - National Hero of the Philippines
- Andres Bonifacio - Leader of the Katipunan against Spain rule.
- Florence Nightingale – Founder of the nursing profession
- Joan of Arc – The saint who freed France
- Albert Schweitzer – Road of “the life of service”
- Abraham Lincoln – Champion in the emancipation of slavery
- Carlos P Romulo - Filipino statesman, writer, Pulitzer awardee.
- Ramon Magsaysay - Man of the masses, Philippine president
- Francis of Assisi – Father of Ecology, the “upside down” Saint
- Robert Baden-Powell – Chief scout of the world
- Leonardo da Vinci – The man of many minds
- Fernando Amorsolo - Philippine National artist
- Juan Luna - painter, propagandist, Filipino hero
- Pablo Picasso – Painter of an epoch
- Anna Pavlova – Prima Ballarina
- Ludwig van Beethoven Stormy genius of music
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Prodigy whose genius is therapy
- Galileo – Greatest of early scientist
- Thomas Alva Edison – Man of practical knowledge
- Manuel L Quezon - First president of the second Philippine republic
- Ferdinand E Marcos - led the Philippines into the international arena
- Wilbur and Orville Wright – Conquerors of the Air
- Charles Dickens – Life of the imagination
- Christopher Columbus – Discoverer of a new world
- Alexander the Great – Conqueror of Kings
- Socrates – Man of Character
- Francisco Balagtas - Founder of Balagtasan, Shakespearean version.
- Severino Reyes - a.k.a. Lola Basyang, creator of children's stories
General Characteristics that accompany greatness
- Genetic propensity, genius, talented
- Meeting challenge in early life
- Endurance of pain and various trials
- Persistence, often stubbornness,
- Resoluteness and dedication
- Inquisitiveness
- enthusiasm
- Pioneering
- Humility
- Sacrifice
- selflessness
- Courageous,
- Steel character
- Competitiveness, often against oneself
- Accuracy
- Perfectionism
- Strong character
- Grateful
- Admired, vice versa
- Periodicity, the element of Providence
The other “side of midnight” in the lives of many great men and women
1. Short-lived
2. Unhappy
3. Loner
4. Turbulent
5. Sickly/with infirmity
6. Misunderstood
7. Outcast
8. Maligned, punished
9. Non-conformist
10. Poor
Challenge to audience: tell something about the following:
- The legendary figure: The Boy who Save Holland
- Whose perspective/point of view is greatness determined?
“The greatest good for the greatest number of people,” is this parameter a good measure of how great a deed we have done?
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