We, Humans

So many things have happened. From Noria passing her evaluation as a tea master, her dad passing away, the situation getting worse, and Minja getting sick, to Noria finally telling her best friend Sanja the secret. Among these many stories, two quotes grabbed my shirt and stopped me to ponder.

“I believe it is possible to change the surface of things while retaining their core intact, just as it is possible to retain the surface appearances while carving the core hollow.” (Pg. 101) What a joyful moment it was when Noria spoke out against Niiramo the tea master who gave her the evaluation test! She was going against the tradition and speaking out to point the importance of the core of someone or something.

Yes, often times we miss the important thing: the heart. What i mean by heart here is the essence of everything. We keep ourselves presentable, doing all we can to make ourselves pretty, handsome, clean, likable, lovable, adorable, and kind. But, what matters if inside of us is ugly, dirty, non-likeable, miserable, and worthless? Does the surface of things really matter when the core is hollow? Isn’t it also the problem concerning global warming? Most people, including myself, just act as if they care, retaining our surface. However, there are no changes inside of us. Let’s look back at the core of us. Is it hollow? or is it full even though our surface is a little messy?

“The house was different, and my life was different, and I had to submit to it, even as my blood screamed against it.” (Pg. 127)

I think that would be my response if I had to accept something I didn’t expect to happen. It was her father’s death and mother’s absence for Noria. I imagined having a completely different climate at some point of my life. I would think, “I did not agree to this. Everything’s different. The air. The wind. The sunshine. And the Ocean. My heart cries against it but I have to submit to it.” How sad is it to experience an absence of something or someone? Even if we lose a little key accessory, which might not mean ANYTHING to a person, we feel grief. But our nature? That sounds like I’m gonna be in depression for years. haha. Man. I wish everything gets better and the climate gets better so that I could live in this wonderful Earth until I die, and also for my children to taste the same experiences I had.