People that come into one’s everyday life for a brief period may leave behind messages that could transform the way one sees the world. Often, people may respond to these messages, taking them to be insults. However, this is a human weakness that prevents one from ameliorating one’s living condition. In order for one to improve his or her life it is important to remain open-minded.

If one can remain open-minded, there is every chance of learning through every experience, and this is how one manages to realize his or her strengths and weaknesses; in a sense, this is what realization is about. In a philosophical sense, it may be then said: what passes over one at any given point in time is sometimes a blessing.

Though such realization is something that may not always be true, it is worth considering it at the very least. As in the case of American speeches, when they assert “It’s a nice to place to visit, but I would not want to live there”, they refer to the standard and quality of living, and are in fact being frank about it (Bissell, p 3). Though such a statement could well be taken as an insult, it must be realized that such statements are truthful; they are in fact truths being spoken when officials visit countries.

If one were to realize the in-depth value of these words, one can also liken them to the nun that visited Ned’s farm.

The nun that visited Ned’s farm was indeed a guest for a while, but she taught the man about what was missing from his life. He had recently been left alone by his wife after she got fed up of leading a drab and untidy life with him. It was through the nun’s example of better living that Ned realized what was missing; he also realized that he should do something about it instead of living alone.

The part of this story that also touched Ned was the message that the nun gave him about Saint Anthony; she asserted that even the fish listened to him; “when he saw the fish, he even started preaching to the fish” (Block, p 7). In other words, she broadly hinted that he too should sit up and pay attention to the message instead of leading a life that is lived day-to-day. Reinforcing this notion are words from Arcane High: “I say, I know they relate” (Svoboda, p 339).

However, in McEwen’s text the author asserts: “I was aware of the word ‘Europe’, but had no clear idea what it meant” (McEwen, 1953, p 53). Yet, in these words, it is evident that there is something that attracts one to Europe, and this is the development that they endeavored after facing horrific experiences such as the Second World War.

Hence, it may be asserted here that there has been a sense of realization on the part of Europeans. Speaking of realization when it comes to America, it may be finally asserted that had for a long period “America embraced a revolutionary foreign policy; friendship with all nations” (Schlosser, 1959, p 58). It is this realization that transformed their average outlook into one that sets standards in contemporary times.

Works cited :

Bissell, Tom. Escanaba, Michigan. 1974. pg 3
Block, Ron. Saint Anthony and the Fish pg 7
McEwen, Tod, Orange, California, 1953, pg 53.
Schlosser, Eric. New York 1959. pg 58
Svoboda, Terese. Arcane High pg 339