One of my assignments back in my World Literature class in college was to read about Dr. Faustus by Goethe. It was one of those assignments, I would say, which took much of my time considering that reading was never a hobby.
The story was about Dr. Faustus, who wa in search for the true essence of life, God, and The Devil named Mephistopheles. A deal was made between God and Mephistopheles: The latter may receive Dr. Faustus’ soul only if Dr. Faustus stops his search for meaning, quest for knowledge and understanding. In other words, the Devil must satisfy Dr. Faustus that he (Faustus) will not desire for anything on earth. The devil had to lure Dr. Faustus with anything. However, it showed that Dr. Faustus’ desires levelled up (craving for more) as one desire was realized. In the end, God won the game.
Don’t we have the Dr. Faustus in us? We seek for many things in this world: knowledge, wealth, fame. We don’t seem to get THAT satisfaction we desire for in life. No matter how much we have, we always wish and strive to get much more, much better. “I got a cellphone but I wished I have the newest model”. I got two, but it would be better if I had three. Simple. We have so many of these “simple” desires that if we sum it all, it would define our values and attitudes. And maybe, it will define the way we live. Our lives are defined by the number of cellphones we have, the model of car we own, the cost of the house we lived in, the projects we have accomplished, the positions we have handled. And for many of us, we fear the loss of any of these. We become slaves of our own possessions. We’re like the rich young man in the Gospel (Mark
It is not a sin to own things. It is alright to possess things as long as these things do not draw us away from the Truth that our hearts desire not for things here on earth that are temporary but for God’s Love and the Kingdom that is eternal. The reason why we never get to fill our hunger for anything is because this is not what our hearts truly long for. Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father. To follow Him, we should learn to let go of the things that may stop us from seeing the Way and finding the Truth.
We’re like Dr. Faustus, tempted by Mephistopheles, but let us remember and be fully aware that whatever Mephistoheles has for us will never truly and fully satisfy us. Let us continue to search for that true peace and happiness not in the material possessions but in Christ, who helps us find the way to the Kingdom.
5 comments:
I had this prof who studied averything that interests him --- the paranormal and occult, spiritual, religion, computers, life equations, more math and how to get more money! (He's a tsino businessmen you know!) He found this sign on a jeepney saying, "Jesus is the Answer." Being a taoist, he shrugged and philosophically (read: pilosopo) asked, "What's the question?".
And so it went the same for everything.. he continued to search for more information. He studied different religions, learned yoga at all levels, learned kulam and practiced some, and so on... One day, his wife asked him, "Ano pa bang gusto mo? Ano pang kulang?". The question hit him. And it hit him hard...
You bet he found the answer!
You see.. all search end anyway.
errr... blog ko ba to? hehehehe! hi ma'am erls!
I hope you don't teach English, because you mix tenses and your syntax is generally poor. Perhaps you might consider hiring a competent proofreader before making additional postings.
To Anonymous,
How many languages do you speak? Probably only one. Multilinguistic people will tend to mix tenses between their mother tongue and other languages.
thank you for the comments... i wish to edit it. but i forgot my password. it has been a long while since I logged on to this account.erlyn
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
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