Solitary Soul

ARE YOU A TRAVELLER  OR A DRIFTER? Mario D’Couto   Let me begin with the question as seen above, “Are you a traveller or a drifter?” A traveller is one who knows his or her destination while a drifter does not have a destination. Such a person does not know where he or she is going. A drifter is one who is just being carried away with the current of life. Sometimes a traveller may not know the way to his or her destination but he or she has the option of asking other people for directions. Some of them may know while some may not. Yet, what one needs to be careful about is to get the right direction as there is every possibility that he or she can be misled in the wrong direction. For a drifter, it would not matter at all because he or she does not know where he or she is going.             Do you consider yourself a traveller or a drifter? Do you have a life that you aspire to and by this I don’t mean to s...

BREAKING THE HABIT Mario D’Couto             Aristotle once said that we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act but a habit. In one of my previous articles called, “A Christian Understanding of Virtue Ethics” https://insightsfromacommonman.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-christian-understanding-of-virtue.html , I mentioned that we become good by doing good. It can be compared to mastering any skill like playing the guitar, playing soccer, learning to dance, drawing and so on. Yet, most of us in life, struggle with the fact of living out the life that we truly want. Year after year, so many people make new year resolutions or sometimes they may say things like, “I’m going to master this skill or I’m going to hit the gym and lose weight” and so on. And yet, after the initial gusto, the drive to change slowly begins to fade away and dies out eventually. And what’s the common excuse? No time! Of course, there are many ...

IT IS BETTER TO BE ALONE ……. Mario D'Couto              It is better to be alone than in the wrong company. This article is actually a chapter from the book , “KNOW YOUR LIMITS – THEN IGNORE THEM” by John Mason which I thought was worth sharing, “Tell me who your best friends are and I will tell you who you are. If you are with wolves you will learn how to howl. But if you associate with eagles, you will learn how to soar to great heights. The book of Proverbs says , ‘A mirror reflects a person’s face but what he/she is really like is shown by the kind of friends he/she chooses’ (Proverbs 27:19).   The simple but true fact of life is that we become like those whom we closely associate, either for better or worse. Think about it, almost all our sorrows spring out of relationships with the wrong people. Instead, ‘Keep out of the suction caused by those who drift backwards’ (E. K.   Piper). The less you...

SOMETHING THAT I HAVE LEARNED ……. Mario D’Couto             We have completed another beautiful season of lent and Easter. And it is truly indeed beautiful as it is a time for growth. Too often the season of lent is perceived as a drag, as something that we have to put up with. But such is not the case.             The word “Asceticism” comes from the Greek word, “Asketikos” which means “exercise” or “work” or if I may add, “training”. A person who is an ascetic undergoes the hardship of pain and suffering for a higher good. It kind of reminds me that when an army sends its troops into battle, it first trains them. They don’t just send their troops to fight just like that. Imagine if soldiers were simply given tanks and told to try their best, they would run over innocent people, accidentally shoot hospitals and cause more harm than good.    ...

TO ALL SINGLES AND THOSE PURSUING/DISCERNING MARRIAGE Mario D’Couto             Today, it seems as though we are living in a crisis of relationships. The word ‘love’ rather being understood in its true form has been associated with a sexual connotation or romanticism and it has nothing much to do other than a rush of feelings and emotions. This article is to address the issue.             When it comes to pursuing a relationship, the first question, we need to ask is the ‘why’ of it. “Why am I pursuing a relationship in the first place?” Once your ‘why’ has been set, then you would automatically find the ‘who’ of your relationship, that is, the person whom you’re pursuing. “Is this person on the same page of what I am thinking?” “Does he/she stand for the same values I stand for?” True and genuine relationships is always about willing the good of the oth...

GENUINE FRIENDSHIPS Mario D’Couto                As human beings, we are all social beings. It’s hard to imagine a person all by himself/herself. If such was the case, we can become mad or go crazy. But while friendships are important, it is equally important to have the right kind of friendships. It has been proven from various studies conducted that it is our circle of friends that has the most direct impact. This does not in anyway undermine the role of the parents at home. The ambient at home also has its place in the shaping of children into adults. But yet given the kind of lifestyle that we are all living in, with all its hectic pace, it is hard to imagine the impact of parents on their children. It is for this reason that the friend circle of a child becomes his/her ‘second home’ . However, the purpose of this reflection or article is not so much about addressing the different issues about how to raise up on...