“Friends are siblings God never gave us”- Mencius
All of us humans have friends. We have friends because we want to have companions in our journey towards life. Friends are God’s gift to us. Their presence shows the great goodness of God. If our family is our closest group of people, our friends are the second group of people closest to us. In life, it is really good to have friends. Aside from our family, it is through our friends that we can savor the great importance of others’ existence, that we need others for us to survive in life.
We humans are relational beings. It is the nature of man to relate with others. One needs others and others also need others. We have friends because we don’t want to be alone in life. Living w/out any established relationship with others is really a sad and lonely life. Because we humans are relational in nature, we find someone to relate with. I choose the quote of Mencius on friends because I want to emphasize in my paper the importance of others’ existence and I want to relate this to Heidegger’s “Mitsein.”
“Mitsein” in Heidegger’s philosophy means “being-with.” “To be with” needs an other. In “being-with-the-other”, relationship starts. Friendship starts in “being-with-the-other.” The more the “being-with-the-other”, the more the relationship grows and the more it becomes deeper. It is only possible if there is an effort exerted both from the ego and the other to deepen their relationship.
Here in the seminary, “being-with” is highly emphasized especially the “being-with-the-community.” Community act and community living is highlighted here in the seminary. Everything is communal act. Because here in the seminary, we have more time in “being-with-the-other” (the same persons-everyday), the more our relationship with our friends and brothers seminarians, priest formators, faculty and staff grow deeper. That is why, as what I have observed, when seminarians go out of the portals of the seminary, they are still close with each other because of their many experiences of “being-with.” The brotherhood and friendship in the seminary is really intense compared to the brotherhood and friendship of other people outside. Same also happens with the priest-formators, and the faculty and staff of the seminary.
Like our family, our friends are important to each and every one of us. They play a big role in our life. If we can share exclusive matters with our family, there are also matters that we can only open up with our friends. If we have problems, we can also ask the help of our friends. They can also give us advice and their views in our problems. If they cannot, at least they are with us listening.
Friendship is the best example of Heidegger’s “Mitsein.” Friendship starts w/ “being-with.” Through the “being-with-the-other”, relationship starts. With each other’s efforts, it continues to grow. The “being-with” shows that we cannot live w/out others. What I mean is that we cannot last long in this world if other human beings like us do not exist. That is why in the book of Genesis, when Adam told God that he cannot see anyone like him, God immediately gave Eve to Adam for him to have a partner, to have an alter ego (another ego). It is also similar in friendship. W/out any friends, we will live a sad and lonely life. That is why it is really important for us humans to find friends while we are living. The more we have friends, the more we relate, the more we affirm our being human (for we humans are relational in nature).
According to Mencius, “friends are siblings God never gave us.” For me, no matter we and our friends are not siblings biologically, still we are siblings with our Father God who created us all. Let us always remember that being relational is our very nature as human beings. Relating with other beings such as our family and friends affirm more our being human. The more we relate, the more we are human, the more we become persons. Remember, our friends have important role in our lives. Aside from our family, they are the “other” that we need which can affirm our being human by relating with them.
All of us humans have friends. We have friends because we want to have companions in our journey towards life. Friends are God’s gift to us. Their presence shows the great goodness of God. If our family is our closest group of people, our friends are the second group of people closest to us. In life, it is really good to have friends. Aside from our family, it is through our friends that we can savor the great importance of others’ existence, that we need others for us to survive in life.
We humans are relational beings. It is the nature of man to relate with others. One needs others and others also need others. We have friends because we don’t want to be alone in life. Living w/out any established relationship with others is really a sad and lonely life. Because we humans are relational in nature, we find someone to relate with. I choose the quote of Mencius on friends because I want to emphasize in my paper the importance of others’ existence and I want to relate this to Heidegger’s “Mitsein.”
“Mitsein” in Heidegger’s philosophy means “being-with.” “To be with” needs an other. In “being-with-the-other”, relationship starts. Friendship starts in “being-with-the-other.” The more the “being-with-the-other”, the more the relationship grows and the more it becomes deeper. It is only possible if there is an effort exerted both from the ego and the other to deepen their relationship.
Here in the seminary, “being-with” is highly emphasized especially the “being-with-the-community.” Community act and community living is highlighted here in the seminary. Everything is communal act. Because here in the seminary, we have more time in “being-with-the-other” (the same persons-everyday), the more our relationship with our friends and brothers seminarians, priest formators, faculty and staff grow deeper. That is why, as what I have observed, when seminarians go out of the portals of the seminary, they are still close with each other because of their many experiences of “being-with.” The brotherhood and friendship in the seminary is really intense compared to the brotherhood and friendship of other people outside. Same also happens with the priest-formators, and the faculty and staff of the seminary.
Like our family, our friends are important to each and every one of us. They play a big role in our life. If we can share exclusive matters with our family, there are also matters that we can only open up with our friends. If we have problems, we can also ask the help of our friends. They can also give us advice and their views in our problems. If they cannot, at least they are with us listening.
Friendship is the best example of Heidegger’s “Mitsein.” Friendship starts w/ “being-with.” Through the “being-with-the-other”, relationship starts. With each other’s efforts, it continues to grow. The “being-with” shows that we cannot live w/out others. What I mean is that we cannot last long in this world if other human beings like us do not exist. That is why in the book of Genesis, when Adam told God that he cannot see anyone like him, God immediately gave Eve to Adam for him to have a partner, to have an alter ego (another ego). It is also similar in friendship. W/out any friends, we will live a sad and lonely life. That is why it is really important for us humans to find friends while we are living. The more we have friends, the more we relate, the more we affirm our being human (for we humans are relational in nature).
According to Mencius, “friends are siblings God never gave us.” For me, no matter we and our friends are not siblings biologically, still we are siblings with our Father God who created us all. Let us always remember that being relational is our very nature as human beings. Relating with other beings such as our family and friends affirm more our being human. The more we relate, the more we are human, the more we become persons. Remember, our friends have important role in our lives. Aside from our family, they are the “other” that we need which can affirm our being human by relating with them.
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