Of all the people you know (friends, colleagues, acquaintances, contacts, associates, relatives), what person (or persons), in particular, do you respect, admire, like, value, esteem and cherish most? Why did s/he influence you most?
For a bunch of years, you’re in a certain life your parents chose for you, and so are other people, and none of you have that much on your plates, so friendships inevitably form. Then in college, you’re in the perfect friend-making environment, one that hits all three ingredients sociologists consider necessary for close friendships to develop: “proximity; repeated, unplanned interactions; and a setting that encourages people to let their guard down and confide in each other.” More friendships happen.
Very good question! And I don't know if I'm able for a good answer.
This is an abstract od my PhD Thesis acknowledgments.
"The first person I wish to thank is my wife. Without her sharing this project nothing would have been possible. I thank her for the patience, for my absence filled with her love, for the comprehension, and so on. So, I thank her to exist. My parents. Without them nothing nothing could have been started a long time ago. They could never imagine where they allowed me to arrive. Professor Giovanni Di Nicola. I’m proud to have had a kind of supervisor. He always assisted me in difficult moments and trusting me, let allowed me reach some results that I would have never I will reached without him. With him I achieved my first publication, with him I discovered my first equation, with him I can speak every day about our research of our life, with him... At the end of my course, reaping the rewards of this experience, the most precious of them is without any doubts his friendship. Thanks Giovanni. Doctor Roman Stryjek. Once told me: “Mariano, I don’t teach you thermodynamics, but a method. This is more difficult!” If I only think to the possibility I’ve to be side by side, I will can only thank God for this opportunity. I’ll bring forever in my mind his hard work, his scrupulosity, the severity in the research and the fine talent. All this things won’t ever die because I’ll try to teach them to my students. Professor Fabio Polonara. In the few moments I had the possibility to talk with him I discovered a man in love with research a tireless worker, that teaches the beauty of this work. The first time I met him he clearly explained the purpose of any future tasks and he told me about the effort to spend in any work in order to continue and fulfill my aims. I hope I’ve not disappointed him expectations! Professor Giovanni Latini. His rigorousness and passion in research astonished me every time I’ve the fortune to see him working.Mario Vallorani. My insurance for my mathematical problems. I’ve no problems until you’re with me. At the end all the students I coped with. How much I got involved to give them all I knew, complementary learning something from them."
There are name and surname because these are the persons I admire most of all!
Thank you for letting us try and explain our feelings, and the way we love. Not at all easy to analyse in a pragmatical manner, things of the spirit and sensitivity.
Of course, I fully agree wth Subhash C. Kundu´s excellent contribute. It is easy to add an answer after his thorough analysis. (He said it all with spirit and wisdom).
I believe that there is no scale for love and emotions. even if you measure our heart frequency, when we think of those we love, there will be no grading.
I usually love with all my heart and with such intensity that it becomes disturbing. But this happens at every level and type of affection .
In the end, I might tell you that I am very rarely indifferent to others, and this includes the flowers in my garden, my cats and maybe even those who could be considered as my enemies.
It's a question of oversensitivity. It's part of my total integration in the World and I love every bit of it, with no scales.
Spontaneously, I think about three of several line managers I had throughout my working live of 30 years. I guess, I was more then fortunate to work with them, because each of them was - in his own individual way - a true leader:
'Like' is a very broad and expansive word, capable of holding many shades of meaning. Generally, it is easy to for me to like people who are humble, unassuming, open, and generous. I know it is natural for us to like our kins more than we do others, or people who are culturally similar than dissimilar, but our oneness, in fact, is quite a likeable idea as well. I quote someone here (not sure who): 'We were all humans until race disconnected us, religion separated us, politics divided us and wealth classified us.'
I do not respect, admire, like, value, esteem and cherish most of foolish, lazy, ignorant, corrupt and aggressive people. I do respect, admire, like, value, esteem and cherish honest, straightforward, hardworking, ethical, interesting and dear people independently they are students, researchers, colleagues, parents, teachers and seniors of mine.
One of my dear professors have impressed me very very much after I've seen him. He is a PhD of electrical engineering. Always I hear about him in the university but I didn't believe his kindness, knowledge, fun and so on. After I met him for the 1st time, everything changed.
In the class, he taught us not only the electrical machines but also the life. He always wanted to transfer all of his gained knowledge (technical and general) to us. I thank him very much and I have best wishes for him.
In addition to being a scientist, I am also an accomplished dancer, choreographer and dance teacher. I have always had it in my spirit to use both my left and right hemispheres of my brain to a very deep level. When I was 19 years old, I had a dance professor who has been my most important and respected mentor for the past 23 years. She has lived her passion, inspired countless students, many of whom were disadvantaged and special needs, accepted me and supported me through every dream, aspiration and challenge of my life, whether or not it had to do with dance. As our bond grew over the years, I became the expert and mentor to her and many of her students, and she supported me in this growth without getting angry, jealous or sabotaging my success or our relationship. This is the relationship and collaboration to which I hold up all others and decide whether or not I am in them for the long run.
Given that your question reflects your best values I will try to respond by unleashing my heart to speak. The person who was decisive in my town it was my great parternel father. My choice sights on this person is not accidental, but stems from various reasons. He taught me the true values through Sufism love of neighbor, the knowledge and the search for Truth. All these foundations have contributed to the person I am. How not to admire this man who left me immeasurable wealth crystallized in the love of others remains the way and straightness to know the Divine.
A very good question to honestly grade people who came across our lives. Naturally to me my parents were the first people that I encountered on earth and trusted the most for their unparalleled, unreserved natural protection, love and care they have offered.
My brothers were the next circle of people with whom I grew up learning and teaching each other to a positive influence and then our teachers and university professors were given utmost respect and credit for their invaluable contributions to our education to become who we are today.
Finally from the recent arrivals, my wife and later my son are the most valuable and loving group of people that complement and complete my life. From colleagues, I value those who are ethical, very honest and truthful in their lives and in what they do, who are just in their decision making habits and value performances and credits than acquaintances. I do not like those who are power abusers, corrupt and who do injustice on others for mere display of authority.
"Tell me about your friend, and I will tell you who you are." :-)
We do not choose our parents and children, sometimes we are mistaken about our spouses...
Still, this is them who create and shape our character...
I would not say that I like everything in my son's character...
No!!! Not at all! Still, he always had and still has a huge influence on me.
He is the most valuable person in my life and my main teacher: he added a lot of patience to my character; he brought me to God; he taught me to believe, not to give up...etc... I do respect him...
Speaking of teachers...I am very lucky to have wonderful teachers. Not just one.
This is Charin Victor Sil'vestrovich, my University Professor,
Pshenichny Boris Nikolaevich, my University Professor and colleague,
Lina Borisovna, my school teacher of mathematics,
My classmates Jane Kuz'menko, Galia Woitsehovskaya, University friend Sophia Tarnopolskaya...
I stop...
The list is too long.
My valuable people are wise, honest, supportive and kind.
The attributes which I like most in any person, I get into contact with whether for short or long period of time, are honesty, straightforwardness, humbleness, and forgiveness. I detest any person who has one of these characteristics: arrogance, deceit, racism, and closed mind. The four mentioned positive attributes have influenced me immensely & they were embedded in exemplary persons who are to follow by me & not just to admire.
Dear @Marwan, it was my late father Alexander who taught me honesty and core values which have to be adhered to in life. He was a role model to many others!
Speaking of the best friend I have ever had, I should say it is Kamal. He has never been my superior. He has always impressed me as an intimate companion!
It is with the greatest sorrow that I have to report that Kamal has decided to abandon RG altogether! He has his reasons and concerns about several issues for which he has failed to get an answer!
I am surprised myself following his disappearance from the RG community. He has closed his account for good. From what I know personally, I can say that the very little time he could save, he used to stay in touch with you so much so that he eventually could not afford to do this anymore, given the intellectual strain!
I know for sure that we are all accustomed to Kamal's daily friendly presence, and we are gonna miss him!
What, Marwan, no Kamal on RG any more? That puts a void in my heart. As I once wrote you, I came to love the man. He filled us all with his wisdom and good humor. He even made me see wisdom where I would never would have ventured to look: let us say, the sayings of model Heidi Klempf. He showed us views of the world which many of us could not have afforded to see: the canals of Venice, the Treveri Fountain. He was fiercely patriotic, a Jordanian through and through, proud of Petra and of his national heritage; and he gifted me with a video on Jordan that I will treasure forever. Finally, he was a true friend, and when he thought I had a problem, would send me private notes inquiring how I was coping. Nobody on RG was enriched by Kamal more than I, and I am deeply grateful to him that he has left us your company as his angel and emissary.
To dear Professors Kamal & Mahfuz :Sweet is the memory of distant friends! Like the mellow rays of the departing sun, it falls tenderly, yet sadly, on the heart. ~Washington Irving.
I shall miss you a lot. You have been very good friends. May God bless you.
If I were to guess, Kamal was above all a surgeon who loved researching. A researching surgeon, it stands to reason, does not enjoy administration. But his administrative tasks as president of the Hashemite University must have caught up with him. Therefore he must have felt it wiser to abandon us researchers to attend to those tasteless chores. My hypothesis is fed by my own distaste for administrative work. Like Kamal, I did it well, but I hated doing it all the while.
I hope dear Marwan will copy-paste our comments and show dear Kamal this living proof of how much, so many people have grown in emotion and honest respect and admiration for his character and human qualities.
We love you dearly, Kamal ! We miss you, but we respect, above all , your wise decisions.
National surveys find that when someone claims to have 5 or more friends with whom they can discuss important problems, they are 60 percent more likely to say that they are ‘very happy’.
It is with sadness I read your notice regarding Kamal's decision to leave RG. He is indeed the knowledgeable and resourceful wise man of reason here in RG that lightens debates with ideas. We all will miss him dearly but we hope also one day he will decide to come back and join us.
The persons whom I have valued most and continue to respect are those who criticized me at various points of my life:
1. The Math teacher who called me a donkey for I just got 49/100. She believed that I was capable of a full 100. Though I changed over from Math later, I topped the University.
2. The rifle shooting instructor who kicked the rifle away from my hands and told me never to surface in the range. Courtesy him, I earned the gold medal for the Best Shot.
3. The girl in my school who made fun of my inability to speak two sentences in English. I am not sure if I have risen to her expectations. But I suppose I manage to make myself understood.
There are quite a few like these that I can quote. I suppose our ability to take criticism as an opportunity to bring out the best in us matters most in life. The one lesson that I learnt from these people is that we must criticize not to belittle someone, for everyone is entitled to his dignity of person; we must do so to motivate him to grow higher.
Yes, dear Eraldo. What great universal truth. When we so dearly love someone, we have to learn how to let go, for the love and for the good of that someone.
All people that share the same universal values (including Kamal and Francesca) were, are, and will be forever my friends, Dear Marwan. I hope Kamal and Francesca can come back soon to RG. Good references are important (I believe we both share these two references):
“On Love, Knowledge and Compassion by Bertrand Russell”
”Jonathan Livingston Seagull, written by Richard Bach, is a fable in novella form about a seagull learning about life and flight, and a homily about self-perfection.”
I am very much agree with the answer of dear Carmen, it is impossible to name all the person but of course one person, my mother. she is my best friend and i can't explain how much i love her...
Dear RG colleagues, I have never seen or met anyone of you but I really like, respect, value, admire and esteem all of you. I have learnt a lot from you. I wish I could meet all of you someday. With Love and Great Respect, I send my best regards to those who have recently left us. To Dr. Kamal and Dr. Mahfuz, I wish you happiness, health and so many good things in your life..
By leaving RG and us, his researcher friends and admirers, Dr. Kamal Eddin Bani-Hani has taught us two great and opposing lessons: like his company, the goods of this world are only borrowed and remain with us on borrowed time; and yet the friendship we feel for him will last as long as we walk this earth.
Dear Marwan, You wrote: “It is with the greatest sorrow that I have to report that Kamal has decided to abandon RG altogether! He has his reasons and concerns about several issues for which he has failed to get an answer!”. Any human being does not accept easily this type of injustices. Please tell me what the “issues for which Professor Kamal has failed to get an answer”. Some researchers looked very worried with the issues related with the planet warming and water scarcity. Professor Kamal did follow the wrong persons or got tired of personal quarrels created by eventually perturbed people somewhere? (I received flowers from Kamal personally). My University email is [email protected]. A Professor expert in Climate gave a lesson in my Department some months ago about Climate change (after my invitation). I hope I can help, who knows?
Only focusing all hearings and noding/with yes to those all may lead to some wrong decisions by one -- a friend need to also judge and advise to his / her best, only a listener may not be a good friend,.
Family deserves the first place. Is it possible to love anyone more than your children? @Arno is right about his wife. I will add, there are no children without wife!