One’s mind is the greatest gift; is the one who causes the most damage. The subconscious of our mind influences all the decisions we make and all of the emotions we have. The mind is considered a gift to us because we have the ability to control our body and our body functions without us needing to think about it. But is there such a thing as a perfect “gift”? If the mind isn’t a perfect gift then there are some flaws to it. Human beings experience anxieties, fears, and have negative thoughts on themself that all come from their mind. These thoughts are normal, but a lot harder to overcome and sometimes even get to you. The anxieties create a larger pain within and you may wonder why this is happening.  The only explanation that you can think about is that you are the reason for all of this pain. But this pain is something that we should learn from. As we go through life and have more experiences with life, then we learn how to control our emotions and conquer pain. 

When “Your head is on the block and all you can think about are your whiskers” then you’re creating the most damage to yourself. In the 1954 film, Seven Samuari, Gisaku says this to Manzo to give him advice. His advice is to focus on the main idea rather than the little details to make his life easier. Focusing on something irrelevant will only cause more unnecessary trouble. In a situation like this and your life is on the line then you should focus on your life rather than your whiskers. As humans, we often look at the small details thinking it’s important and we focus on the details more than the bigger picture.  However, this only creates more work in the end. If someone focuses too much on the little details then they might miss the bigger picture only hurting themself more.

“Siddhartha began to realize that no happiness and peace had come to him with his son, only sorrow and trouble.  But he loved him and preferred the sorrow and trouble of his love rather than happiness and pleasure without the boy.” (Hesse 96) What does this quote mean? The quote is from the novel Siddhartha and he finds out that he has a son, but his son is spoiled and does not care about him. Siddhartha is a father that wants to be present in his son’s life and loves him even if his son does not reciprocate the same love for him. But the affection that is not repaid to him only creates a larger pain that continues to grow. However, Siddhartha would rather have no happiness and be with his son than be happy without his son. Some may think why would he want to go through that pain if it means no happiness? Siddhartha is fully aware that his actions are the reason for his pain and unhappiness. Siddhartha continues to put his son first regardless of his own feelings.

How does this relate to today’s society? Because of children. In the podcast, The Rules Can Set You Free explains the play of children from the age of 3 is different from the play of children at the age of 6. As children grow they create more games with more rules. Rules are meant for everyone to follow but they often set boundaries for people. Does this mean that rules affect children’s play? Yes, because children are told to play a certain way which limits their learning. Play is shown to improve children’s creativity and learning so if it is limited then they can’t learn as much as they can. Rules are good for serious situations but when it comes to playing children should be given more freedom.

Many things in life may seem beneficial but can end up making our lives harder. But as humans, we can learn how to overcome these difficulties and grow.