An Individual’s Thinking

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” -Confucius. People want
to go on journeys thinking that they can go beyond what is normally done; which is the
meaning of transcendence where people goes above and beyond the limits of a person,
but there will always be a restriction along the way because everything has an existing
limitation that may hold one back in achieving their goal. Just like how people want their
surroundings to be clean and green, they are obliged to begin in being responsible for the
environment to reach their goal. Respecting the environment is a way to be responsible
for the environment because people will have rational use of natural resources and taking
steps to prevent pollution from different processes involved.

Being a minor, there will be many things that may limit oneself in obtaining or
achieving what they want or need. During this pandemic, there is a set of rules that people
have to follow and one of those is that age limit, where only ages 21 to 59 can go outside.
I am still 17 years old which means I can’t go outside our house, however, I want but all I
can do is to stay at home though there are times where I think beyond my capabilities.
My plan for transcendence is that I ought to patiently wait for the pandemic to end so that
people my age can also go outside and go to places without any limitations. Though, my
thinking in the present goes beyond what I should do, it still motivates me to wait for this
time to pass. Baking for me is also an experience for transcendence because I only have
the basic skills that limit myself to making something good but with trial and error I can
now make something better than my old version of it. People nowadays have so much
free time, which they should manage by doing their responsibilities towards the
environment which has so many ways to be done. To kill time in waiting for this pandemic
to end, I can do my responsibilities towards the environment by planting more plants or
flowers because growing up I have been surrounded by nature. In the back and the front
of our house, we have trees and plants and my mother is fond of growing flowers and
plants that is why I have to be more responsible towards the environment.
 There are so many factors that limit a person in achieving what they want. A
limitation of someone or something can mean that they can only do things that others
cannot do very well or a rule that prevents someone or something from growing what is
beyond their certain limits. Just like how the environment is being limited to its resources
because of humans which also results in people being limited to the use of natural
resources that they are taking for granted. Nevertheless, people still want to exceed what
they are limited in, they want to go above and beyond the limits of a person. That is what
people also expect to the environment, but it won’t lead to something fruitful without a
human being responsible for the environment because, without the care and respect, it
will eventually die or be destroyed. The UNSDG that I can relate my learning experience
to is the Goal #4: Quality Education, because I won’t know and understand the limitations
of a human through philosophy, the meaning of transcendence and responsibility towards
the environment without quality education. The journey in finishing one’s education can
lead a person to going beyond what they were limited to do and with education, I learn so
many things that I can do to care for the environment.

References:

Iberpapel. (n.d.). Environmental responsibility. Retrieved from

http://www.iberpapel.es/en/corporate-responsibility/social-environmental-
responsibility#:~:text=Respect%20the%20environment%2C%20making%20rational,con
tinuously%20improving%20our%20environmental%20performance.

Sustainable Development Goals. (n.d.). Take Action for the Sustainable Development
Goals. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-
development-goals/