Jeanette Paak

Christmas Carol

I went to a Korean church on Christmas, and you can't really see in the video of the carolers or myself because out of respect I was asked to put my phone away. But all the songs were sung in Korean but by the melody, you can right away tell which songs they were singing in the video because they are quite popular. One of the songs was Joy to the World.

Now Joy to the World was written by a English hymn writer, Isaac Watts, he wrote this song based on Psalm 98 in the Bible. 

Psalm 98

Oh sing to the Lord ya new song,

for he has done zmarvelous things!

His aright hand and his holy arm

have worked salvation for him.

2 The Lord has bmade known his salvation;

he has crevealed his righteousness in dthe sight of the nations.

3 He has eremembered his fsteadfast love and faithfulness

to the house of Israel.

All gthe ends of the earth have seen

hthe salvation of our God.

4 iMake a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;

jbreak forth into joyous song and sing praises!

5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,

with the lyre and the ksound of melody!

6 With ltrumpets and the sound of mthe horn

imake a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!

7 nLet the sea roar, and oall that fills it;

othe world and those who dwell in it!

8 Let the rivers pclap their hands;

let qthe hills sing for joy together

9 before the Lord, for he comes

to rjudge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness,

and the peoples with equity.

I discovered through my research that, "Watt wrote the words of "Joy to the World" as a hymn glorifying Christ's triumphant return at the end of age, rather than a song celebrating his first coming..." So now you know a bit more about "Joy to the World"

My Shema

1. He is the Creator of mankind.

2. Just lets the world the way it is and watches us from afar. 

3. Judges our choices.

I don't really have a specific experience that makes me think this way. But so far in my life, God hasn't really done anything special. I just have a lot of questions because there are a lot of bad events that happen around the world.

For some reason just looking up at the sky reminds me God because we always depict him on top of clouds.

Why is there war?

Why is there hate?

Why is there neglect?

Buddhism Reflection

Meditation was actually really difficult for me because I can never focus on clearing out my mind or even focusing on one thing for that matter. All I heard were these voices telling me the list of things that I had to do when I get home from school. Just counting down all the things that I had to do and all the projects and tests that were coming up. But meditation helped me realize that it's really hard for me to focus. I was always tempted to open my eyes or just take a quick peek at what other people are doing. I think technology and media distracts me from just clearing my head, so I wasn't used to the silence. I think what helped during the meditation was when I was practicing on my breathing. It kind of soothed me in a way.

The temples were amazing. All the detailed work inside the temple was so intricate. But there was one thing that puzzled me when you entered the temple. There were thousands of mini Buddha statues around a gigantic one that was in the middle. Each and every little Buddha statue had names on it. I wondered if they were dedicated to monks who have died or important people who have contributed to the religion. Then when you looked up there were chandeliers but not one of those extravagant ones with crystals hanging down from it. It looked archaic and had dragons incorporated in the design. Everything was so serene and I wasn't really used to the silence, so I guess I discovered that I am rarely in a peaceful environment. I'm always distracted with technology, school, etc.

Hinduism Reflection

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind" -Mohandas Ghandi

In the movie, the local civilians in India were walking through villages protesting with signs and torches. Then they started to retaliate against the soldiers by starting a fire at the station. Ghandi's goal wasn't to seek vengeance. His strategy was civil disobedience. If revenge was used as a strategy to gain independence, this will show that the Indians are just like the British. Ghandi wanted to show India how to stand up to the British and win back their independence without any bloodshed from the Indians. After this scene, Ghandi ordered all of India to stop the protest if they're willing to use violence to conquer the British by going on a hunger strike. He used his words and his methods to guide India on her way to victory. That's what made Ghandi an inspiring leader, because he didn't need weapons, guns, or soldiers to lead such big population of people.

"A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes." -Mohandas Ghandi

This quote is similar to the one up above. Ghandi's main concern through the struggle of gaining independence is how to show India how to tolerate with the British. He wanted to solve this problem with nonviolence, but it didn't mean India had to give into the British commands. It meant to put down the weapons and the fists. He wanted them to stand strong and to keep moving forward. This quote is similar to, "You are what you eat." "What he thinks, he becomes."

Yoga helped me notice the environment around me and how I am placed in my surroundings. I felt at ease, but at times it got difficult. But the one thing I learned from yoga is BALANCE! In every position balance was essential. In our daily lives, we don't really think about balance because we are always walking on our two feet. Yoga is actually pretty difficult because you have to empty your mind while focusing on balance. I think you need a lot of practice beforehand in order to get that relaxed feeling, because when I was doing yoga I was always struggling with balance. Overall, it was an enlightening experience to learn sun salutation, tree, downward dog, etc.

We are a mystery to the rest of the world

Questions unanswered

Our lips sealed with stone

We tower over the island, alone

We are the Moai

We can't tell you why 

We can't tell you how

Some just have to figure it out somehow 

We may represent ancestors 

or we may not

We lived here for a very long time

and the people have forgot.

Some say we could have walked

Some say it was magic

But there's no one to tell you now 

so that's quite tragic.

But all we can tell you is that

we are here for a reason

We stand tall and proud every season.