Thursday, February 26, 2009

Journal 1

Topic 1: Dependence

1) Dependency can mean many things to many different people, but to me it personally means that one thing needs another thing to do things that are not feasible without assistance of another. I wouldn't categorize then into types, but the relationship of weakness and strength comes in many forms. I will show some examples in the next category.

2) When Morrie was diagnosed, he tried to drive and could hardly push the brakes when he backed out of the garage; this was the end of his driving. He kept tripping and had to rely on a cane, and, eventually, a walker then a wheelchair. He couldn't dress himself when he went to swim at the YMCA and had to hire a home care worker to dress and undress him.

This summary shows that Morrie needed help to do certain things. This example of dependence is reliance on a physical object, which is the most typical. When someone or something is injured, they need help to stand up and help to do physical tasks. Some need mental help because of brain damage in an accident. A student who was absent a day in school would depend on friends and teachers to give them what was lost. This is the case of most. To recover or rehabilitate what was lost. This is only physically, and Morrie did need help physically, but, mentally, he was strong.

"Ted," he said, "when all this started, I asked myself, 'Am I going to withdraw from the world, like most people do, or am I going to live?' I decided I'm going to live- or at least try to live- the way I want, with dignity, with courage, with humor, with composure."

In this quote, Morrie is saying he wants to keep going; to keep trying. As you know, the brain tells the mouth what to say, so this is what I got from this statement: Morrie depended on himself to keep going, even though he would die from a disease that horribly disabled him. Though his physical body was weak, and relied on the help of other people, his mind, heart, and soul were much stronger. These are the things he relied on most. He was still himself mentally; not physically, but did this truly change anything? Yes, it certainly did, but in the sense that was more important? We all die; Morrie would leave the world with great knowledge and wisdom that he has given to much of the youth. This strong side heaves the weak side back up to keep holding on, to keep trying. They survive together and become balanced equally. Eventually the strong side must allow the weakness to leave, because, isn't that what we all have to do someday? Say good-bye and let go? This quote, which Morrie said, is a good example of internal/self-dependence.

I believe that:

PHYSICALLY Morrie needed help from other people.
MENTALLY he was able to help himself as well as others.

3) I definitely agree with what they are saying, as I explained above because everyone needs to rely on something for another thing, whether it be money from a job or your hungry and need food. There's a reason behind every action and word of a person and everyone definitely relies on something to get another. Dependence, in my opinion, is important. It's what keeps our community together. It's why people talk to one another and become friends or why people are able to live. Even the snotty rich people of the world have to rely on something: MONEY. They get that money from a dead relative or from becoming famous for one reason or another. It doesn't matter the reason. Dependence brings us together and helps us survive. Reading the book definitely made me think more about this and realize a great many things; I'm not even that far into the book!

4) What do you think makes the world go 'round and why might this relate to dependence?

I personally think plants make the world go 'round. Why? Is it because I'm a vegetarian and a "tree-hugger"? No. Well, yes, sort of, but, mostly, no.

What do you breathe? Air. Where does air come from? Plants. What else are plants- more specifically trees- good for? MONEY What is money used for? buying goods, clothing, etc.- the list goes on and on. So if we breathe air that keeps us alive, and we use money that allows us to get the things we need, then we can conclude that plants, including trees, keep us alive. How does this relate to dependence, you ask? Well, we DEPEND on AIR and MONEY to survive; this all comes from plants/trees! We physically NEED air as well as the things we can BUY from money. People feel the need to survive; this comes from their mind, heart, and soul. That internal strength and positivity also keeps us alive! That is what keeps us going when our life, or another thing, is at risk. We depend not only on others, but on ourselves as well. This is what I believe is the answer to the question I created.

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