TOW: Family

I have been thinking a lot about family this weekend.  What makes a family?  An interesting quote from Aristotle:

"I am speaking of the premise from which the argument of Socrates proceeds, 'that the greater the unity of the state the better.' Is it not obvious that a state may at length attain such a degree of unity as to be no longer a state? Since the nature of a state is to be a plurality, and in tending to greater unity, from being a state, it becomes a family, and from being a family, an individual; for the family may be said to be more than the state, and the individual than the family. So that we ought not to attain this greatest unity even if we could, for it would be the destruction of the state. Again, a state is not made up only of so many men, but of different kinds of men; for similars do not constitute a state."

A state can't be comprised of 'a bunch of people that are all the same' since a social order relies on the idea that each of us is good at doing some different, for the betterment of ourselves and others.  And a family is a unit within society, one of the most important.  It's a mini state unto itself.  A society requires differentiation to be a good society, not unity.

We all sometimes wish the family we have would be different, or that they would like more things like we like.  Wouldn't it make it easier to get along with them?  But the truth is, being different will make us happier than being the same.  Because most of us get bored of ourselves quite quickly, how quickly would we be bored of others who were the same as we were?  We seek what it is different, what is exciting, what keeps us interested in society, in living, in participating in a great social structure.

For myself, I suppose I often seek out those people who will make up my deficiencies, of which I have many.  I need people who can point out what I am doing wrong, and who can be honest with me about who they see me as.  In my family, people never have trouble speaking their mind.  And that's refreshing in a lot of ways.

Happy Family Day to the family I was born to, and the friends who became my family throughout the years.  

Happy Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day.  And it's not necessarily the holiday that warms the hearts of each and every one of us, but for me, it's something special.  I find it to be a time when I can celebrate my familial and friendship loves.  While there is romantic love as well that I am celebrating this year, and I have celebrated that way in the past, Valentine's for me is about sharing love, not receiving love.  Love is gift, and it is worth celebrating and thinking about during this time of year, when it is cold outside, to remember to be warm inside.

So, in honour of this day, I say Valentine's is about what you give, not what you receive. It can be fun to tease ourselves about whether we are single, or together, but let's never forget how important it is to love one another, as much as we can, as best as we can.

Have I told you I've started teaching lately?

I have!

I'm doing a course on visual communications at my old PR college, Centennial.

Been a great experience so far.  Smart people in the class, learning a lot myself.

It's definitely a challenge trying to balance that with working full time...since this is basically another job on top of my current job.

But so far, so fun!