The Baby Egg exercise was quite an experience! After we were all done with dropping the eggs, we had a really good discussion. First of all, what caught my attention was that all groups cared equally for the babies, we were all worried and caring and we even talked to them and some of us even drew faces on them! So I considered that to be a proximal protective factor, that all of us shared and by looking at the bigger picture, that is exactly what most members of the community share towards their newborns and children.

This helped illustrate that, yeah poverty can be considered one of the strongest stressors, but yet there’s still the love of the family that counts for the coping or the protective factor, as what happened to group #4, they didn’t have the resources that they thought was enough to care for the baby and keep it safe, yet they thought of other alternative ways to protect their baby, as what happened to group #3 as well, when Dina thought of wrapping the bag with a piece of the foam bag cuz the supermarket ran out of tape, and how Group 4 couldn’t afford anything, so they resorted to creative ways for safety.

I thought that this exercise demonstrated how people from different economic statuses deal with and use resources. Like for instance group #1 had the privilege of going first, which meant they had a wider variety of choices and the privilege of being the richest or having more resources than everyone else. While the 4th Group went last, and had the least and had to be innovative while using the little amount they had with the little options they could afford.
And by the end of the exercise with dropping the eggs, fortunately they all survived, but Group#4’s egg showed the most resilience, by surviving the fall, yet with very limited protection and resources.

All parents of all communities want

safety, security and comfort for their children

On Reincarnation: Review

I always thought reincarnation was an interesting concept. Although I thought it was a little bit strange I have nothing but respect and admiration for people who believe in it, cuz they don’t just believe in it, they literally live for it as was seen in the movie. And after watching ‘Reincarnation: The Thread of karma’, my feeling of respect was definitely strengthened.

Reincarnation is the belief that the soul, upon death of the body, comes back to earth in another body or form. In the Buddhist and Hindu traditions, the belief of Karma, not just as it is commonly known now as ‘what goes around comes around’ has a much deeper meaning to it. It means that the total effect of a person's actions and behavior during the successive phases of his existence, determines his next incarnation, destiny and fate. Karma is believed to be a fruitful activity.

The movie shows a Tibetan monk, named Choenzey, trying to find the reincarnation of his recently deceased master, Khensur Rinpoche, and it demonstrates how eventually Choenzey finds a 4 year-old boy and then takes him to the Dalai Lama who recognizes him as the one; the reincarnate lama.

The movie then shows Choesnzey and the reincarnate lama, Phara Khenchen Rinpoche, after 16 years had passed and now the lama is 20 years old. Choesnzey then talks about the reincarnate lama in a metaphorical way as a very good seed that if it was taken good care of and nurtured, it will blossom into a very expensive and a rare flower. Here he means to say that since the incarnate lama is a reincarnation of Rinpoche who was a great Monk, and who Choesnzey was his disciple, Phara would turn out to be just as great, cuz he is the same soul as Rinpoche. What was quite nice yet confusing about their relationship was that Choesnzey was once the disciple of Rinpoche, they have lived together as master and disciple, and now after he had passed away, Choesnzey is now the attendant of his reincarnate, demonstrating the meaning of reincarnation as a cycle that keeps on going and not even death can stop it.

The movie was really nice overall, it was really quiet and they didn’t talk much, which added to the sense of tranquility that the movie put across.