If you have played with Legos at least once in your life, you can’t lose the incredible opportunity to visit “I Love Lego”.
Yes, precisely. I’m talking about those plastic bricks with which many enthusiasts of all ages have built castles, houses or boats over time.
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Friends, we have time until the 19th March 2023 to spend our time in Bari, marvellous city in South Italy and to discover its centre and the Murat Space where you can find this exhibition. Thanks to “I love Lego” we will be able to admire “castles inspired by the epic medieval battles and scenes of the Second World War; the contemporary city with its skyscrapers, the historic center, the recreational areas and the railway stations, and the glimpses of the streets of the historic center of typical Bavarian villages; the reproduction of a Christmas landscape full of surprises” (cited from. https://www.finestresullarte.info/mostre/spazio-murat-bari-i-love-lego).
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It will also be possible to get lost among fictional settings and characters such as Harry Potter or Darth Vader as well as among the reproductions of works of art such as the Mona Lisa and some works by the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.
You can find those photos in pixabay.com
All that remains is to catapult ourselves into the Murat Space from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 to 20 and get lost in the imagination and passion among colored bricks and dreams to be built.
Believing in yourself and in your abilities: when we talk about self-esteem, we should start from some basic concepts. Having good self-esteem allows you to look at life with confidence and optimism but above all with a greater confidence in your potential. Self-esteem can be built, trained and strengthened day after day even through small daily gestures which, in their implementation, can only contribute to building happiness. However, we must start from the awareness that disappointments, regrets and mistakes are part of the path of each of us and that therefore they will inevitably be seen as tools to build self-esteem. Whether this estimeem can be high or low will depend on circumstances and events but above all on the meaning we want to give them.
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A high level of self-confidence provides individuals with the ability to handle difficult situations, to react positively and effectively to challenges, to engage constructively in meaningful relationships, and to constantly improve their strengths and decrease weaknesses (cit. taken from https://www.psicologoacilia.it/autostima.html).
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Teenagers with a high level of self-esteem have the following characteristics: they are able to influence positively the opinion and behavior of others; face new situations positively; have a high level of tolerance towards frustration; they have good self-control and the belief that what happens is almost always the result of their actions, increasing their problem-solving skills. Often a low level of self-esteem can be seen as a temporary “state” linked to the influence of the specific problematic situation that is being experienced in a given period of time. (Heatherton and Wyland, 2003) (cit. Taken from https://www.psicologoacilia.it/autostima.html).
But how can we develop our self-esteem and therefore our personal vision of our life and the future? Simply following a few tips:
change attitude towards problems and difficulties, interpreting them not as failures but as a starting point with which to look at reality in a new way;
therefore change the gaze towards oneself, cultivating passions and interests with which to enhance oneself;
be more positive and aware of their potential and talents;
be aware but also proud of their weaknesses and frailties; transform weaknesses and frailties into strengths.
What is your relationship with your self-esteem? What do you think of you? How do you cultivate it in your daily life?
Born as platforms with high pervasive power (we cannot do without despite having lived very well without them for many years), social networks as Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter, despite their category of belonging, are a potential instrument of isolation par excellence.
This statement could appear paradoxical since, being “social” realities (even if virtual), they should have an aggregating function. However, the opposite is often frequent.
In the moment of a virtual interaction with the other, this “other” while actually existing and appearing real, in reality is merely illusory, being present only on the screen but absent in its authentic corporeality and effectiveness.
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However, the power of social media is not limited only to the ability to unite or isolate. There is something more intimate and deeper. So let’s start with some questions: how many hours do we spend in the company of social media, how much do they influence and determine us? Are our behavior and our relating to others and to our person affected by them?
In 1994, the Austrian philosopher Karl Popper dealt with the ability and power of television to influence the individual with his essay entitled Bad Teacher Television. Popper was convinced that television could affect viewers’ ideas, thoughts, actions and behaviors, albeit unconsciously but still in an important way. Our philosopher, who had had the opportunity to work with the psychoanalyst Alfred Adler, was convinced that the pervasive power of television was so strong that it could profoundly affect the cognitive development of children and that its power should therefore be reduced.
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Is it possible to apply Popper thinks also to the social networks? I really think so. Just think of the “virality” of some videos and the messages they convey, sometimes positive but sometimes also full of violence.
It would therefore be necessary to have a real education in the correct use of these realities that are now so essential in everyone’s life, regardless of age. And you, how do you relate to social medias? What use do you make of them? If you like want, share your thoughts in the comment space. Thank you.
Strongly linked to the future but unknowable, destiny or fate has fascinated everyone in its uncertainty and darkness since ancient times. It was represented by the three Moira in Greek mythology and by the Fates in the Roman one. Intent on weaving the life of men as if it were a thread, unwinding it without apparent logic and cutting it suddenly severing the life of each individual, they perfectly embodied the unpredictability of fate.
However, not only mythology but also physics speak about the unpredictability and obscurity of destiny. Just think in this regard of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle which states that it is impossible to know the speed and the position of a particle at the same time.
“This principle establishes the impossibility for science to arrive at a complete knowledge of reality. The fact that it is not possible to determine in any way all the variables of a physical system means, in fact, that it is not possible to accurately establish its future evolution “. (quoted from “Destiny: the future is never written” by Rossana Rossi, in Airone, year XXXIII n ° 403, November 2014)
Does it all depend on us? I believe that a lot of what we live depends on us and on our conscious and not random choices. We are not rag dolls at the mercy of some divinity who enjoys playing with our life and upsetting it. We can choose and the course of the events derives from our choices. Of course, faced with the multiplicity of options and variables in life, a constant question always remains: “What if I had done so instead of that way?”
Unfortunately or fortunately we will never be able to have a satisfactory answer to this question. What remains is only the awareness that almost everything is in our hands. It is up to us to decide whether to continue undeterred or to change direction and face the consequences. Concluding the article, some questions spontaneously arise which I hope you will answer in the space dedicated to comments.
1. Are you satisfied with the course of our life and destiny right now or would you like to change it?
2. Are you willing to change it and commit yourself to it?
today our philosophy lesson will be a little different than usual. In fact, I will ask you a question: how far is the moon? No, I don’t mean in terms of kilometers but in terms of imagination and dreams.
Have you ever imagined to travel in space and to reach the lunar soil taking a few steps? Actually we should say “jumps” and not steps because the lunar force of gravity is different than the earth one and you are so light that you can practically walk making small leaps.
What would you do on the moon? Who or what could you see but, above all, why all these strange questions? Simple. I would like to know how important your dreams are and how far you can go to make them come true.
Which is your closest dream and which is the most distant one? Can all dreams be achieved or is there someone who, once they have fled to the moon, cannot be captured? How far are your dreams from you? How far is the moon?
Probably one the most known novels written by the Italian writer Susanna Tamaro, “Va’ dove ti porta il cuore ” is definitely one of the most beloved books by myself. In fact, I have read and reread it so many times that I do not even remember how many but being always overwhelmed by a whirlwind of very strong emotions, as if it were the first time.
photo realized by Maria Domenica Depalo
The elderly protagonist Olga, returned home after a hospitalization, wants to write a letter to Marta now in America. Their relationship, initially rich in complicity and affection, has deteriorated so much time after time that the girl has moved far. The girl’s grandmother, aware of her precarious health, however, far from wanting to interrupt Marta’s stay in the United States, wants to tell her about her origins before it is too late.
The scrolling of the pages emphasizes the most difficult but also the most intense moments of their life, of the relationships with the family but also of the strong conflict between the narrator and her daughter, Ilaria. A problematic, fragile woman full of resentment towards her parents whom she considers the reason of her failures. At the same time Ilaria is the reflection of the past, of the mistakes but also of the hopes disregarded by the author of this diary.
photo realized by Maria Domenica Depalo
Marta’s mother can be seen in particular as a symbol of a fragile and intrinsic defeatism whose roots are deep but which do not justify it. However, our attention cannot diverge from a narrative full of truth and pain and whose redemption seems to be represented by that girl temporarily far from home but who is still certainly strongly linked to it.
Maria Domenica Depalo
P.S. While Olga recalls her relationship with little Marta, she remembers a book read together and that will soon be another of the protagonists of this column: The Little Prince. Have you ever read it before?
“Questo noi sappiamo: la terra non appartiene all’uomo, è l’uomo che appartiene alla terra. Tutte le cose sono collegate, come il sangue che unisce una famiglia. Non è stato l’uomo a tessere la tela della vita, egli ne è soltanto un filo. Qualunque cosa egli faccia alla tela, lo fa a se stesso”. Con queste parole pronunciate dal grande capo Sealth, oggi celebriamo la giornata mondiale della Terra.
“This we know: the earth does not belong to man, it is man who belongs to the earth. All things are connected, like the blood that unites a family. It was not man who weaved the web of life, he it is only a thread. Whatever he does to the canvas, he does it to himself “. With these words spoken by the great chief Sealth, today we celebrate World Earth Day.
“Das wissen wir: Die Erde gehört nicht dem Menschen, es ist der Mensch, der zur Erde gehört. Alle Dinge sind miteinander verbunden, wie das Blut, das eine Familie vereint. Es war nicht der Mensch, der das Netz des Lebens gewebt hat, er ist es nur ein Faden. Was auch immer er mit der Leinwand macht, er macht es mit sich selbst “. Mit diesen Worten des großen Häuptlings Sealth feiern wir heute den Welttag der Erde.
Pif has been a beautiful and pleasant discovery. I knew about him and his “Caro Marziano” on RaiTre, the film “La mafia uccide solo d’estate” and his work with “Le Iene” on ItaliaUno.
Discovering him as a writer was an extraordinary revelation. With a funny but never banal story, it led me to rethink some aspects of my life that I have put aside for too long, forgetting them or pretending they never existed.
“… Dio perdona a tutti” is the story of Arturo, an estate agent whose life is similar to many others but with a great passion: sweets and candies. He has no particular vices apart from stopping in front of the shop windows of pastry shops and trying to start speeches (mostly monologues) on the techniques to make “sciù” and pastries with “ricotta” in the most correct way.
His life seems to run smoothly at least until he meets Flora, a beautiful pastry chef, with whom he falls madly in love and for whom he decides to take the big step, even if only for three weeks … No, no. I’m not talking about that big step but about another one: living as a true Catholic. You will see some good ones but I don’t want to add more than necessary.
The language flows quickly, the images follow one another in an alternation between sweets, soccer games, apartments and sprightly elderly. What emerges is the depth of a thought that highlights a double moral that belongs to all of us, some more and some less.
But I don’t want to add anything else. If you want, read it and let me know what you think.
Welcome back little philosophers to our monthly space. Today we will start with two words that will guide our lesson: are you ready to start? The terms in question will be Philia and Neikos. The first word corresponds to Friendship while the second to Enmity. Empedocle used them in his scientific and philosophical researches. Lived in the 5th century BC he was a philosopher, a doctor and a poet but above all he was an extremely curious man. Consider him a detective. Actually every philosopher should be considered this way.
According to Empedocle, Philia and Neikos are the reasons of the union or the disjunction of the four roots of our world, namely air, earth, water and fire. Even birth and death would be closely linked to those two causes.
But let us try to understand better. What happens when you argue? Everyone tries to prevail over the other. So, this is what happens to our two principles: when Philia prevails, the roots of our world come together creating the reality in which we live while when Neikos prevails the roots move away and the creative process ends.
However, just as we fight, we are looking for a balance, an agreement that is good for all parties so friendship and enmity also seek a balance that satisfies both of them. Because if one succumbs the other succumbs too, because they are closely linked to each other.
“Astonished fixes himself and without being able to detach his eyes it remains as unethy as a marble-carved statue of Paro. Lying on the ground, he contemplates those two stars that are his eyes, bacchus-worthy hair, worthy even of Apollo, and smooth cheeks, ivory neck, beauty of the mouth, the soft pink on the white niveo, and all he admires is what makes him wonderful” (from vv. 418- 424, Metamorfosi di Ovidio)
Taken from the Metamorphosis, these extraordinary verses tell about the hunter Narcissus who, after rejecting the love of the nymph Eco, was condemned to love himself to the death. Aware of his beauty, in love with himself, he isn’t able to have the object of his love and condemns himself to desperation even in the underworld.
Why are we talking about him? We are talking about him because he represents the model of a dangerous type of person you have to avoid. Those who love themselves in a correct way are able to love the people around, respecting them in their individuality, feelings and characteristic beauty: therefore they are able to build healthy relationships based on respect for the others. But there are also those who love themselves in a way that is not only selfish or self-referential but can become extremely harmful: they are the narcissists.
In this person there aren’t those feelings of empathy and affinity that allow us to understand what the people feel. The narcissist in particular seems careless of those around him who indeed become mere instrument of the worship of his own person and his prerogatives.
But what could be the roots of this way of being? Surely at the base there is that feeling of insecurity and inner fragility as a result of which one is constantly looking for confirmation from outside. However, when the other becomes only an object thanks to which he can confirm only one’s individuality, then the prospects change.
The narcissist believes that he is a “unique” and incredible individual for beauty, talents or ability so much that he claims to be admired by others. In fact, he is convinced that he has such a value as to justify his centrality and importance in his circle of knowledge that thus become the way in which to allow his self-referentiality to be expressed.
Everyone and everything exist only because it must help his self-expression, without remorse toward feelings or expectations of the others. He doesn’t feel empathy: however, he is able to fake it by creating relationships of addiction of which he is director.
It is not easy to deal with an individual of this kind who is also prey to jealousies and envies, and it is not even easy, once one has become aware of one’s own way of being, to get out of this status.
“Narcissism has a share of charm from which it is difficult to get rid of it and therefore the first advice that can be given to those who suffer from it is to acknowledge that it is not a healthy self-love but a pathological distortion of relational reality. The narcissist establishes logorous relationships of addiction and often of hatred/love with others (and basically with the false image he wants to give of himself…) and can never show himself as he really is, with the fragile sides that everyone has. If you realize that you have unlimited success fantasies, if you often feel if not always the best, if you request admiration to the point of manipulating others to get it but can not identify with them, you probably already suffer from it. Getting help as soon as possible is a sign of intelligence as well as true self-love.” (taken from https://www.riza.it/psicologia/tu/4021/nella-gabbia-del-narcisismo.html)
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