Have You Heard?! 11/14/2011
Youth are capable of achievements adults often only day-dream about. Nothing is impossible until you believe it is. Think not? Teatro V!da is a prime example of this truth, this reality: http://rebuildspringfield.com/?p=264 Be sure to check out their elaborate proposal for Rebuilding Springfield here: http://rebuildspringfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/REBUILD_SPRINGFIELD_YOUTH_PLAN_for_Samalid2.pdf Who else is ready to step up? Add Comment Firstly, some figures: Salary of retired US Presidents ………….$15,000 per month FOR LIFE House/Senate…………$14,500 per month FOR LIFE Speaker of House……$18, 625 per month FOR LIFE Majority/Minority Leaders……..$16, 116 per month FOR LIFE Average salary of a teacher……..$3,339 per month Average salary of Soldier deployed in Afghanistan……$3,166 per month Single Parent on Welfare in New Jersey: $140 per month Yet what is it that new laws are focusing on? Oh that's right…..further restricting access to welfare and exacerbating the present humiliation of the process. After all, it's not like those who receive welfare funds need it to make ends meet or anything……and Dubya obviously needs the money he receives to, ya know, fertilize his golf courses or something……IF ONLY that made any semblance of sense or could be phrased to not sound ridiculously stupid and ignorant. So while some think there is something to be celebrated in the new welfare laws of Florida and Kentucky that require drug-testing prior to the reception of the funds, I'm here scratching my head, unable to wrap my head around what exactly is to be celebrated: If through the application of this type of law, substantial savings are expected to be made………..well let's just say one would have to be completely stupid to believe that would even happen. How many would have to be denied access to those funds in order for it to really save money? …….but a more pressing question is what then? Once folks are denied such funds and find themselves in worse poverty……what then? What about the children of the parents who are denied? According to this article re: the law in Florida, those parents who fail a drug test may "designate another individual to receive the benefits on behalf of their children…" Alright……so the drug addicted parent must, what, phone their clean friend to arrange for that? What happens to the child(ren) meanwhile? If anyone thinks DCF is the answer, they are most (and at best) naive. Of course I agree that children whose parents are unable to provide for them or do harm to them in any way should be removed to a better home but: 1. it's never that simple or easy and 2. state agencies such as DCF are already over-worked and under-staffed. Florida actually has a pretty horrific track record regarding DSS work. Thus to ignore the social implications of such a law is so dangerously short-sighted. This type of law is malicious and convincing: it serves to convince the middle class that Uncle Sam or Big Brother has their back. But it does nothing in reality that can be classified as a symbol of progress. It's like putting a penny every year in the piggy bank and then beaming that great measures are being taken to fix the economy or invest in the future. Yet concomitantly it costs us much of our humanity while guaranteeing the equivalent of nothing for the type of progress that is necessary in regards to the economy and society. As far as the argument relating to how some jobs require drug testing so it's only fair…..blah blah….etc….the fact of the matter is not every job in America requires drug testing. I argue that if something like this which deals with people on such a personal level and considers personal habits is going to be a requirement for any group of people, it should be required for all of the people who generally belong to the same group (U.S. citizens for example.) White collar positions should also be entirely and especially required to undergo drug testing prior to employment. If we agree that those "under the influence" are a risk in the workplace as in society (as would have seemed to be implied by the new law itself--why else would a law be required?) what sense does it make for those virtually helpless (those on welfare) to need to undergo drug testing to receive the funds but not those white collar employees or employers who have so much more control in general? But here is where logic seems to fail. As made obvious by this law, people are quick to assume those on welfare are more of a risk to society if on drugs than those not on welfare. The same kind of assumption that allows for all kinds of deals and schemes in the world of the powerful to occur whilst we less informed celebrate the perpetuation of our own stupidity and oppression. Three cheers for business as usual; here it goes fooling us again. And the reality is that even if we agree here that everyone should be required to undergo drug testing in any situation, good luck trying to get a law for that passed. Seriously, WAKE UP AMERICA. These new laws are nothing but hindrances dressed in the clothing of progress. Why Hearts are Meant to be Broken 08/15/2011
What if we all believed in the saying: “Hearts are meant to be broken*”? That to feel heart-broken is indeed natural; that hearts are supposed to be broken, to feel broken, instead of wasting our time trying to find some twisted sense of self-rightness and anxiety about how “hearts aren’t meant to be broken but shit happens because that’s life (and life sucks…..especially for me and you)^”….that hearts are meant to feel everything, not just experience the “good” emotions….. but in fact every emotion we may ever encounter? What sense would it make for our hearts, our emotional-organs if you will, to feel only “positive” emotions all the time? How could the heart that does this be considered the real thing? And I know I have no interest in anything fake ….. Of course! heartbreaks are not something to stay up and wait for all night……but they are a lesson from life from which to gain some deeper knowledge. Why not consider them a symbol of a so-far-well-traveled life, a mark to pencil-note on the next now-open door? What if we believed each of our experiences of heartache are meant to actually enlighten us to the fact that we are all so very alive, and on the exactly right path? What if we chose to wade through our pain to find once again that light that is the connection to our path that we could have (and probably did) lost sight of in the influence of whomever or whatever we loved? “If anyone can do it, you can do it.*” Hell yes! living with a broken heart is tough ……but to live in the shadow of a heart-break is a choice that we can choose not to make…..a choice that will always decrease the lifespan of the hurt. To exist in the shadow of some thing is to be controlled by that thing. It is within only our individual powers to choose that we will find the meanings to heal. “Every person must climb out of his own hole.*” What else but some kind of pain can we expect from “negative” emotions? But how can we believe we are really living if we do not sometimes experience them? They are responsible for toughening our skin and making us wiser….if we actively choose to treat them as a sort of climbing tool or a 100% natural endurance enhancer. Ending here, for the sake of applicability: “A minute of thought is worth more than an hour of talk.” Happy Flourishing C: -- Credit where Credit is Due: -Any phrase followed by a "*" indicates a quote I read rather randomly in a book that I did in fact not have the pleasure of writing......the book is 8,789 words of wisdom and it is by Barbara Ann Kipfer (Workman Publishing Company, Inc.) -The phrase followed by a "^" indicates a quote inspired by various conversations of a seemingly most typical high school experience. ( ;P ) Unless you built the rollercoaster, it's best to not suggest alterations to it's foundation. 06/09/2011
You might be surprised at how well that can be applied to so many areas of life. Essentially I mean to say unless one knows the nitty-gritty, specific, intricate details in every possible way of some thing, one should not feel entitled to try to superimpose changes on it. I find myself not abiding by this much more often than listening to my own advice though and I have to say it hasn't been working out so great thus far. Now don't be confused, I am in no way meaning for this to be taken into any type of political consideration; please debate as often as you can with as many people as are willing. Nothing tightens or clarifies our opinions quite as well. But what I mean is that trying to have control over the path in which life takes us is in many aspects holding us back, and I'm sure that I'm not the only one who feels this way. One of my most mountain-esque control-freak OCD issues concerns specific areas of my personal life over which I have absolutely no control but wish that I did. But as a fact, when I start to try and control something in these areas, the biggest result is a much more aggravated me. The perceived need or want for control typically only debilitates what is the natural flow of situations in life. I obviously realize this, yet it seems that realization comes after the control-freak has done some "fix-up-damage." Anyone try to fix some thing or situations and end up only making it worse? The most appropriate response for me would be to plead the Fifth; near behind my inner control-freak is my inner critic, and you never know what will be used against you. You know what I mean. However, earlier today I sensed myself on the verge of letting control-freak take over, and took about a thousand steps back (succeeded in ignoring the urge to count for the purpose of accuracy) and a few really deep breaths. It was then when the title of this blog came to mind. Not that I was about to suggest alterations to the foundation of an actual roller coaster, but I was about to about bitch slap a situation so as to try and force it to answer my ever-growing questions concerning it. I really wanted to suggest alterations that would better fit my impatient side. But all impatience creates is shaky foundations. Life is and should be made of sturdier stuff. And as it is, I'm quite a newbie when it comes to Life and quite honestly the majority of it's situations. The expert to consult on Life is Life itself, and inherently Time. Patience is a necessary tool for living, and that kind of lesson I am continuously re-facing and needing to re-learn. It's not a non-fixable weakness or damning sin though; it's an area that needs-improvement. And as long as progress is being made, it is nothing to be ashamed to admit. We are all works-in-progress, and trusting that as our status is beautifully liberating. Trust needs to be placed in the natural, meant-to-happen-this-way course of Life, since Life is in fact the most knowledgeable on the subject. Think of it this way: would you want an inexperienced random person to design or re-design the foundation for the roller coaster on which you will spend the entirety of the rest of your life, or have an expert oversee all of it's processes and mechanisms to ensure, amongst others, its smoothness and safe speed? Peace and Love to All. Who else is HUNGRY? 05/22/2011
It wasn't ever that I didn't believe in God, or felt as if there wasn't a Creator in the divine sense....it was that there were always too many holes in what I understood of the religion I was raised in to allow the logical side of my brain to believe. But lately I've realized that a part of me is not being fed and its hunger prevents me to a significant degree from embracing my life in the present. Though that may resonate with some cliche, the feeling itself is overwhelmingly powerful and fresh. I was raised a Congregationalist, which is a denomination of the Christian-Protestant religion, and yet still I don't feel as if I can explain what exactly that means, except for it being seemingly more liberal than most other Christian denominations. Somewhat surprisingly perhaps for folks who know me, the fact that it is more liberal is not enough to satisfy my logical brain. I especially was turned off when I began to notice actions by church officials that seemed exactly contrary to the principles taught in church. In all honesty, I'm also unsure of Christianity in general as it is essentially the religion of the colonizer and of capitalists alike. I speak in a generalization there, and if you consider yourself a Christian not of the sort, then great- but one must appreciate the facts in history and presently. I dislike the enormous influence Christian moral values have over the entirety of the globe because it does indeed stifle and at times unjustly invalidate the voices of so many. But still I was raised a Christian, and old habits die hard. I could rant/write so much more about this, but it isn't the intended topic of this post, so pardon my lack of further elaboration. As I said, I recently realized (more so acknowledged) that a part of me was starving. I was pretty successful at putting the issue in the back of my mind. I moreorless considered figuring out what I believe in terms of religion/spirituality a long term goal, not one too helpful to spend time pondering over presently. But issues that are perhaps more important than one would like to admit have a way of boiling over until one pays them there due attention. Since becoming more consciously aware of religion and its impact, I've wanted to learn about all of the world religions. I still don't know much about any of them on the whole. You can bet I'll be figuring out how to pack some more classes into my schedule revolving around it. However, I was able to sit in on one of my western ethics professor's other classes: "World Religions". The topic for that particular class was on Islam. I had a pretty awesome experience whilst sitting in on the class and have since realized that the spiritual part of me is in fact hungry and needs to be fed, listened to, and understood. I don't know much at all about Islam, but the class intrigued me. Especially one of the points made about how all religions seem to have this golden-connecting thread. I hadn't been back to a church service since May of last year, until today. My geeky self did some online research and found a Unity Church in Greenfield. As part of the sermon, the minister reiterated in his own words that same point that was made in the class. I appreciated and respected that immensely. So I've decided to embark on a type of spiritual journey to figure out what exactly I believe, and if there are any already existing religions that fit me. The beliefs of the Unity Church so far resonate pretty well with me, but we'll see where it all leads! Maybe this a strange statement to hear/read from a woman of 19 years. Maybe it's odd because so often we choose to take what is given and never question how it compares to what we hold as truth. I don't think it needs to be a weirdo idea, though (regardless of my pride in being a weirdo :P) In fact I think its counter-intuitive to not do so, and especially counter-productive to thriving as yourself in life. Food for thought, at the very least. I'm planning on blogging about my experiences and as usual thoughts regarding them. Documenting change is important after all, and I hope to inspire the idea of thinking for yourself in whoever presently does not, and perpetuate that concept into the future. More like fire-ball launch it. ;) In Praise of You 03/16/2011
“The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering.” -Ben Okri I can't tell you with a straight face that life will ever be easy for you. No human I know possesses true knowledge of future events. No human I know lives an "easy" life. Perhaps this is because I live in the wrong place to know folks with this type of life, or perhaps everyone has been dealt their share of difficulties that make it impossible for anyone to have a truly easy life. Life may always stay at the same level of difficulty for you, but as is proven fact: life goes on. It moves on, and it loves to take you anyway it can in it's flow. You have to choose to be a navigator for yourself by yourself, or it will catch you, with or without your welcome, in it's undercurrents. If there's anything I can promise you that is necessary for living, it is self-empowerment. It's true, whether you think you can or can't, you're right. There is no other human who can power you enough for living; what is necessary must come from inside yourself, must come from your own maps and charts, must feel like an authentic reason for you. There is no doubt that people help each other in so many diverse and beautiful ways. There is no doubt that other humans help us back on our feet when we've been knocked down by an unforeseen or ignored undercurrent, but it is only ourselves who can keep us living life. We are only truly responsible for the preservation of ourselves and the maintenance of our dreams. Should we offer our help when we cross paths with anyone who is in need of help that we can give? Of course. I'm in no way arguing against help, please don't be confused. In this post, I'm saying that we as human beings need to find ways to self-empower ourselves, find through the brambles of existence, a genuine purpose to which we can sign our own name. I'm saying that when we rely on anyone but ourselves to give us a reason to breathe, we lose our self-value, we lose our purpose. I was recently informed of a suicide of a close friend's best friend. He was 21. I have been informed of too many suicides. So much is lost when we lose hope. Too many lights are dimmed in the absence of self worth. I wish I could change every mind that sets on self-destruct. I wish I could fill everyone with self-power, just as I wish everyone cared about the well-being of each other half as much as I know to be a healthy level. But both these wishes fall sort of attainability for reasons that could make the Guinness book of world records for the largest list. After hearing the news, I told everyone in my family that I love them, and made it a point to give bear hugs and warm smiles. I implore everyone reading to do the same everyday all day for their loved ones. Why is it tragedies are what pull us back into the important places of our lives? I really wish for everyone to know inner peace. To know what motivates and inspires themselves. To feel a genuine reason for breathing that is infallibly true to them, and to continue toward it or with it regardless of earthly or whathaveyou consequences. To go for it no matter what. One of the only ideas I know holds an immense amount of truth, period/phase/section/whathaveyou of my life is the following and I offer it to you, may you agree: With certainty, only this can be said: you've come this far, and it's much too far to look back and wish for anything but for clarity in life's lessons. Have you too noticed that some folks like to bash anything they can? As if it's some addiction that can only be medicated by bitching constantly. Notice how some choose to use facebook as such, which is essentially to perpetuate negativity toward something else. Does this inspire a response from you also? Feel free to comment if so inclined. But be sure to read the entire post first. Back to the facebook issue, I think perhaps people stopped answering these folks phone calls because they "didn't want to hear it" or something such as, and so now, they resort to attacking newsfeeds with their disfigured complaints. These people seem to fall into two categories: those who have never personally experienced that which they are bitching about (Group A), and those who have to some limited degree (Group B). Members of Group A are (in my opinion of course) pretty high on the list of the worst type to have living nearby, or have any bit of knowledge about anything in general, because this group twists the truth of any thing into an unrecognizable weapon to use against the humanity of human beings. The latter group can hardly be argued to be ignorant to some truth, but what good is to be found in perpetuating negativity of a very limited and narrow nature for the sake of giving an entirely bad name to the whole of something, when the empirical truth is only a tiny part of the whole? There is another group, which is the opposite of the above, which uses facebook to post jokes and connect with old friends, new friends, and pass positive vibes through the internet. I personally enjoy the company of these friends, via facebook or otherwise, who enjoy spreading the light instead of smearing spit all over and bashing something relentlessly and incessantly. Of course these groups are anything but accommodating to the extreme fluctuations that can be observed in the diversity of life as we know it and likewise human actions. However, as you might agree, there are some people who do their conscious best to be positive and there are some who do everything they can to force negativity into the world, shoving it in any direction deemed removed from them to any place it will catch. I'm having trouble thinking of any situation in which the perpetuation of negativity for sake of grimaces, obstacle courses, superiority and, consequently, inequality has ever made the world better. Don't be confused. I do not wish for faux happiness and for everyone to smile, or something else that seems to represent happiness, regardless of how they might currently feel. In fact, I have not addressed that topic yet in this post, and it is not at all what I'm analyzing, so do not be tempted to misquote me. I am for "being real"; that is to say, truthful and aware of yourself at all times regardless of the consequences that may occur because of your honesty and awareness. What I am not for, and what I aim to address in this post, is the perpetuation of negativity for any reason that is not worthy of its ripple effects. An example of what I mean to say? Example A: I am from a city, and am all too aware of how "horrible a city it is." I am much more aware though of how beautiful it is, and how much it is trying to grow, ready to bloom. I am only minimally aware of who else knows this well kept secret of the city, and who is doing things to spread a positive message throughout the city. I believe thoroughly that in no way is any place, thing, person, etc any type of "lost cause" that members of the very first group (both A'ers and B'ers) I mentioned would have anyone with influence-able ears think. The city I’m from is Springfield, MA, and maybe you’ve never heard of it, but perhaps if you look objectively at your place of residence, you can find a city that undergoes the same type of ungrounded scrutiny nearby. Or perhaps you share a similar experience. To members of the aforementioned Group A, all I can say is you are what you concern your thoughts with. If your thoughts, that so foolishly and boldly, take the shape of criticism and negative imagery are based in that which you have no knowledge of, then you are by definition ignorant. To see the web definition of ignorant, click here: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&defl=en&q=define:ignorant&sa=X&ei=TIZ9TfDiH62C0QHBga3eAw&ved=0CBQQkAE--You might also be interested to see the web definition of "ghetto" as well. Sort through the various examples and then see where the term fits. You may find yourself needing to rethink a few things. Here is that link: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&q=define%3Aghetto&btnG=Search Members of Group B are in someway connected with what is being negativity portrayed. It is that thread that differentiates them from those who simply are ignorant, and yet self-appointed as experts, of said topic. Specifically in the case of my city, which again is Springfield, MA, I find it especially annoying to see the complaints of those who used to live in Springfield, often because that is where they went to school for some period, and have now perhaps graduated high school, moved what are a few miles away in the broader scope of life. Somehow so many now possess, rather magically, an expertise as to how horrible the city is, and make ungrounded claims as to it's salvage-ability, or lack thereof. Their proof of these claims are the stories in the news, the falling rates of whathaveyou, and how they remember this one time at school there was a lockdown because some kid brought a gun into the building. Let’s dissect this example situation: As human beings, we have an amount of empirical knowledge. Unfortunately, empirical knowledge always proves subordinate to what is discerned through rational, logical thinking. As a former Springfield resident (to follow the given example), you have a very limited amount of extremely situational knowledge that has a very limited amount of extremely situational truth, and the aforementioned truth is wholly dependent on life happening the exact same way it happened when you were there. I’m not sure anything of that nature happens, or has ever happened, and therefore, on what grounds can such a truth be based? Simply because at some point in the 18 years you resided in Springfield, and 12 of which you spent in it’s classrooms, a fellow student brought a gun into the school building, does not mean you, now a resident of some other city which you claim to have much superiority over your former city of Springfield, possess the foreknowledge with which to accurately deem Springfield “a lost cause”. Even if, at some point, some media source (which is what you, now a resident of “superior x place”, mostly rely on for updates of the state of Springfield) reports another student brought another gun into the same building, you still lack the foresight to assert such a label onto the whole of Springfield. Unless you now are a fortune-teller, and can see with clarity into the future to be able to say with any semblance of accuracy that Springfield is indeed doomed and everyone should move out and on. I wonder who would take your advice seriously if you claimed to have such knowledge of the future. Few, I would guess. Yet your claims somehow find a level of stability. I think there can be a case made for cyber-bullying here. Or at the very least reckless endangerment. Assertions that are only half-aware can't be taken with anything more than a grain of salt. Don’t be confused. I’m in no way implying that a student bringing a gun into a school building is in any way anything to ever be seen as an acceptable (re)action. I do not believe this type of (re)action (or a threat of violence or violence in general) is ever the solution to any problem. I recommend against responding to this tiny part of this post as well. I’m not writing this with intentions to promote anti-gun laws or whathaveyou; in this post, I intend to address solely the issue of the perpetuation of negativity and how facebook comes into play as either a weapon against humanity or means to spread light. Getting back to the example of a Group B’er, as you may see, it doesn’t work to doom some thing you may have once been a part of based off the very limited experiences you had while involved with that thing, in this case, the city of Springfield. All of the holes in the assertions of these Group B’er’s add up, for me at least, as being much too numerable to have any truth that I could ever use to back any choice I (the equivalent of random civilian number 5) might make in my life- a “choice” being considered to cover all thoughts, actions, and speech. So what is it then, assuming what I argue makes some logical sense, that allows these people to have any influence in how current or future members of Springfield are seen or see themselves, or how Springfield as a city is viewed by other places or views itself, or any city or thing if I were speaking in more general terms? Is it the idea of attaining self-empowerment? “I got out of there!” posts the Group B’er, as perhaps a status. And then the attempts to persuade others, as perhaps wall posts: “You can get out too! Apply to this college in this other place! The location is top-notch, so much better than Springfield. Springfield is truly a lost cause. Haven’t been back and never plan on it!” But I ask this Group B’er to back up for a second- firstly, glad to hear you are enjoying the fruits of your current location. However unless in your short break from Springfield (often a semester or two) you have attained a degree that allows your opinion of what a lost cause is and is not, that is based off what you have heard on the news, through the opinions or stories from whatever contacts you may have still there, and in the limited, conditional and empirical truth you may have gained while in Springfield, which should indeed be required to be deserving of genuine respect, and thus be worthy of all the potential ripple-effects of the consequences of professing such, or you very quickly are becoming a member of Group A. If you lack the required knowledge to deem what is and isn’t a lost cause, please do all of us still living there, who you sometimes call a friend, a favor, and leave the bitching to those who are struggling to make change in a place that has become hardened to and by such criticism as means to self-protect. Leave the half aware supposed truths off masked face of the internet. Cease professing the damnation of a place where humans still live, learn, love, and indeed grow. The worst part of all of this negative talk is that these people (Group B’ers) usually have family or friends who still live in Springfield. Why would it ever be in the best interests of those you claim to love, to bash or spread negativity about the place wherein they live? Are you comfortable with the fact that you become a part of the problem that attacks Springfield’s potential to be better when you bash it with negative generalities such as “it’s a lost cause”? Do you realize that every time you spew these things from a place of personal inner contentment, perhaps something unknown to you while in Springfield living with the same faces (which you sometimes call loved ones) confined to a desk in a high school, you make it that much worse and harder for the people who are still living and trying to be productive where you used to dwell? What does this say about you, and your sense of gratitude for what was actually good when you actually lived here? Can what was good for you never equal anything when compared to what was bad for you? If you can even truly answer that previous question with a yes, what good can be found in your condemning the city to non-salvage-ability over the internet? What does this do for the newborns that indeed will grow up there, maybe in the same neighborhood as you? Does it aid them in any way? Does it aid anyone in the city in any way? Does it aid anyone anywhere in the world in any way? If so, who or what? I argue that the only thing that benefits from such condemnations is inequality, injustice, bigotry, and, of course, the perpetuation of negativity. How can this be justified by logic? Long story short: If you’re not a part of the solution, then get out of the way. If you have no desire to help, then don't be surprised when there is no help. If you have no hope for change, then don't be frustrated with the lack of hope in life as it's known or the pace, or direction, of change. And if you’ve got nothing nice to say, don’t spread it as venom. Especially when you have no type of authority on the issue. LIVE AND LET LIVE! And if you've got a suggestion as how to do it better, faster, with more efficiency for all, please speak up. I know so many who will listen. | WARNING:This is not for the fickle hearted, or those swayed by the negative views of any one or thing outside themselves. ArchivesAugust 2011 Categories |
Souled
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