What a whirlwind! Since the last time I posted, I've come across several things that inspired & appalled me. How do I get these things out of my system? I blog!
First, I'm sure you've noticed the new layout. While not as varied & eclectic as I am, I'm hoping it will be much easier to read.
Next, let's talk a little bit about Fountain Lady. *eye roll* Basically, this woman did something TO HERSELF. It was HER BAD. Could she laugh it off? No. She must sue someone! It's people like her who clog the judicial system with petty upsets. Would I have loved the fact that someone plastered my faux pas worldwide through the internet? NO! But I wouldn't be stupid enough to /sue/ over MY OWN MISTAKE! That really does compound the utter ridiculousness of this poor woman's situation. Honestly, I had worse faux pas happen to me at school. I survived EVERY ONE of them. This woman must be sorely upset with her life in general to push something like this. It would've been much better for her if she could have reveled in her moment of hilarity and been happy things /weren't/ worse. Why should the security guards rush to help someone who was quite obviously not injured? Why should she sue them for her own mistake? Ah! The beauties of our broken system abound! PS If you haven't seen it through the much publicized news circuit, you can catch it on youtube...unless the powers that be remove it for trial purposes.
I'm tackling this religious intolerance issue last because I feel strongest about it. Throughout history there has always been religious intolerance in some form or other. The Jews were hated by all kinds of people (and, regrettably, this still goes on today). The Christians were hated by the Romans. Traditional Muslims seem to dislike anyone not of their religion. But is that so different from today's Christians saying, "Be careful who you befriend. People of other religions make cause you to stray from ours!" Granted, our (Christian) Scriptures are not interpreted in such a way that we believe we must kill those who believe differently... My discussion of this topic has a focus. I'm getting there. Although we tend to align ourselves with a belief that most encompasses our own individual beliefs/morals, people need to realize that all practitioners of any given religion may not agree with every little tenet of that religion they choose to embrace. It is so very wrong to judge one person by one aspect of his life. (Yes, I am not PC and embrace the age old practice of using he/him/his to represent humans in general.) This is like judging someone b/c of the clothes they wear or how much jewelry they have on, or what hairstyle/color they choose. This is like looking at a tattooed person and saying "Oh! He must a biker or an unbeliever!" Good grief, people! Get a life! There are so many more positive things you can do with your life than deride those you call Friend for the religion they choose to embrace! Wake up! If you call someone Friend, shouldn't you support them in the choices they make? Perhaps you can present your OPINION to them but shouldn't this be done in a friendly discussion with no pressure on them to /conform/ to your way of thinking?
Well, I've said my piece. I'm out.
Remember to breathe!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
Perfection Is So Overrated
I haven't blogged in a while and recent life events have caused me to reflect on society's view of perfection, the wonderfully awesome post by Single Dad Laughing at http://www.danoah.com/ and how that was the start of a few interesting conversations around our house.
A few months back when Single Dad posted his great article about perfection/imperfection, it made such a great impact on me and my husband. We had a great conversation about it. At the time, we each shared some of the things that we considered to be our imperfections but not all was shared at that time. It took something major to bring out some of the other things. Now that those things have been aired, we can look at them and study them and tackle them together. I am really thankful to Single Dad for taking a great step forward and posting something that should've been posted a long time ago. I wish everyone would see the truth of it and the relief it can bring to just speak your imperfections and admit to imperfection. It's very freeing and it gives you an opportunity to 'change the things you can change' about yourself and give the rest over to God. Holding things in your heart, especially painful things, is very rough on the human soul. I wouldn't say trust everyone! No, not at all! But I would say find someone you can trust who will help you walk through those issues, struggles, imperfections and become a better person for your efforts.
On a different note about imperfections... I'm an artistic sort of person. I was always taught there are no straight lines in nature. I really, really like that. It means that when I look at something, the thing that catches my eye is the one thing that is different. For bugs and certain animals, this is quite a dreadful thing. On the other hand, those little differences are the things that make humans unique. I choose to revel in my differences and enjoy being the person I am. For too many years, I felt locked up in a box of 'You /are/ this. You are that. You are not this. You are not that." When the box was finally opened, there was a whole new world to explore right in front of me. Who was mostly responsible for helping me get out of the box? Well, that would be a combination of great folks but mostly my husband. His constant assurances of loving me as I am have helped me so very much. His encouragement for me to try new things has helped even more. My life is so much richer because he is in it and I thank God so very much for putting us together. Having said that, I'm not sure I've totally convinced him that I feel exactly the same way, that I love him just the way he is. His whole being is what makes him right for me, in my opinion. His smile brightens my day and when he's down and out, it troubles me.
My troubles start with laziness and serious cases of the 'I don't wannas'. They don't stop there but I won't go into my seriously long list of shortcomings. Suffice it to say I've made a conscious decision to strive towards doing much better in the year to come. My shortcomings are things that I /can/ change so I'm working to do just that, one step at a time. Working on hard things is much easier when two people tackle the job, even if one of those people is only there for conversation to lift the spirits. So pray for me as I start the new year with this determination, with this desire. I hope for good things in this new year, for me and for you all! Have a great one!
A few months back when Single Dad posted his great article about perfection/imperfection, it made such a great impact on me and my husband. We had a great conversation about it. At the time, we each shared some of the things that we considered to be our imperfections but not all was shared at that time. It took something major to bring out some of the other things. Now that those things have been aired, we can look at them and study them and tackle them together. I am really thankful to Single Dad for taking a great step forward and posting something that should've been posted a long time ago. I wish everyone would see the truth of it and the relief it can bring to just speak your imperfections and admit to imperfection. It's very freeing and it gives you an opportunity to 'change the things you can change' about yourself and give the rest over to God. Holding things in your heart, especially painful things, is very rough on the human soul. I wouldn't say trust everyone! No, not at all! But I would say find someone you can trust who will help you walk through those issues, struggles, imperfections and become a better person for your efforts.
On a different note about imperfections... I'm an artistic sort of person. I was always taught there are no straight lines in nature. I really, really like that. It means that when I look at something, the thing that catches my eye is the one thing that is different. For bugs and certain animals, this is quite a dreadful thing. On the other hand, those little differences are the things that make humans unique. I choose to revel in my differences and enjoy being the person I am. For too many years, I felt locked up in a box of 'You /are/ this. You are that. You are not this. You are not that." When the box was finally opened, there was a whole new world to explore right in front of me. Who was mostly responsible for helping me get out of the box? Well, that would be a combination of great folks but mostly my husband. His constant assurances of loving me as I am have helped me so very much. His encouragement for me to try new things has helped even more. My life is so much richer because he is in it and I thank God so very much for putting us together. Having said that, I'm not sure I've totally convinced him that I feel exactly the same way, that I love him just the way he is. His whole being is what makes him right for me, in my opinion. His smile brightens my day and when he's down and out, it troubles me.
My troubles start with laziness and serious cases of the 'I don't wannas'. They don't stop there but I won't go into my seriously long list of shortcomings. Suffice it to say I've made a conscious decision to strive towards doing much better in the year to come. My shortcomings are things that I /can/ change so I'm working to do just that, one step at a time. Working on hard things is much easier when two people tackle the job, even if one of those people is only there for conversation to lift the spirits. So pray for me as I start the new year with this determination, with this desire. I hope for good things in this new year, for me and for you all! Have a great one!
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