Sunday, August 12, 2012
Be Your Own Individual
"Groups tend to be more immoral than individuals."
-Reinhold Niebuhr
Although pretty self-explanatory, I like this quote because it pretty much explain about 70% of all problems in the world. For example, on a large scale, Nazi Germany. If the Nazis didn't have the support of the German people, there's no way those atrocities would have gone on for so long. I mean, they had lots of other things going for them too, but one of the easiest ways that Hitler controlled them was through herd-poisoning.
On a smaller scale, bullies in any setting (but we'll just focus on the playground). How many bullies do you see waltzing around by themselves? Chances are something you'll find them with at least two side-kicks. Bullies might start off by themselves, but they often attract other bullies. This them boosts their ego and then the group frequently moves from occupying the slides, to dominating the swings—the most sought after real estate on the jungle gym.
There is strength in numbers and it is painfully easy to go with the group, yet another reason why groups are dangerous. When separated, with no other influence, individuals are more likely to state their own opinion; rather than when standing next to the person who has the executioner on speed-dial.
This could be a reason why so much emphasis is placed on people to be their own person, unique, an individual; individuals can think for themselves, they have the morality groups will never attain.
Monday, July 30, 2012
It's YOUR Soul
"I will permit no man to degrade me soul by making me hate him"
-Booker T. Washingotn I love this quote so much. It's one of the first ones I ever wrote down. But this quote contains so much power. It tells the reader plainly and frankly that you are always in control about how you feel about someone. Adding in a little religion. The Bible says to "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;" Matt 5:44, and I agree with that. It means that you should love and forgive everyone no matter what they do to you. I don't know about you, but I just feel happier and lighter when I'm not fighting with someone. Life seems better and brighter. It's your soul and your life. Why should you taint it just because someone did something to upset you. Why should you waste your thoughts on something you had control over? If you spend your entire life thinking about all bad things people have done to you, you'll never live, because you'll use up all your time thinking. I know it's easier said than done, but just choosing not to hate someone is so much of a relief. In my experience, it takes effort to be angry at someone. But it's easy to let the anger go. You are in control of your own actions, so why not be in control of your own soul?
-Booker T. Washingotn I love this quote so much. It's one of the first ones I ever wrote down. But this quote contains so much power. It tells the reader plainly and frankly that you are always in control about how you feel about someone. Adding in a little religion. The Bible says to "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;" Matt 5:44, and I agree with that. It means that you should love and forgive everyone no matter what they do to you. I don't know about you, but I just feel happier and lighter when I'm not fighting with someone. Life seems better and brighter. It's your soul and your life. Why should you taint it just because someone did something to upset you. Why should you waste your thoughts on something you had control over? If you spend your entire life thinking about all bad things people have done to you, you'll never live, because you'll use up all your time thinking. I know it's easier said than done, but just choosing not to hate someone is so much of a relief. In my experience, it takes effort to be angry at someone. But it's easy to let the anger go. You are in control of your own actions, so why not be in control of your own soul?
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
The Person You're Searching For
"Home is wherever I'm with you."
-Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Going to Brigham Young University-Idaho is such a great experience, despite the cold and dry climate. Even though I'm only entering my third semester this fall, I've already seen 3 of my friends get married/engaged. There's people all over the place tying the knot and somewhere in the middle of it I'm supposed to find that 'special someone' too. Can you say nerve racking? If you said 'no,' you're obviously already married or are in a committed relationship. So because of all of this, I think about marriage more than your average young Joe. I confess, I'm actually really nervous about it. Being with someone for eternity is an awfully nice idea, but making it happen is a whole other ball game. I'm worried that I'll choose the wrong person. But, because I have been thinking about it a lot, I've come to the conclusion that the person you should marry is the person you can talk and laugh and just spend time with, fluently. Someone you feel at home with... And I figure, people almost always feel at 'home' in their physical houses; and whom may be in those houses? Why the people you love of course. For better or worse, for rich or poor, in sickness and in health, there's no way I'd ever desert my loving and patient mother, and energetic and witty sister. I always feel effortless when I'm with them.
"Home, let me go home./
Home is wherever I'm with you/"
-Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Going to Brigham Young University-Idaho is such a great experience, despite the cold and dry climate. Even though I'm only entering my third semester this fall, I've already seen 3 of my friends get married/engaged. There's people all over the place tying the knot and somewhere in the middle of it I'm supposed to find that 'special someone' too. Can you say nerve racking? If you said 'no,' you're obviously already married or are in a committed relationship. So because of all of this, I think about marriage more than your average young Joe. I confess, I'm actually really nervous about it. Being with someone for eternity is an awfully nice idea, but making it happen is a whole other ball game. I'm worried that I'll choose the wrong person. But, because I have been thinking about it a lot, I've come to the conclusion that the person you should marry is the person you can talk and laugh and just spend time with, fluently. Someone you feel at home with... And I figure, people almost always feel at 'home' in their physical houses; and whom may be in those houses? Why the people you love of course. For better or worse, for rich or poor, in sickness and in health, there's no way I'd ever desert my loving and patient mother, and energetic and witty sister. I always feel effortless when I'm with them.
"Home, let me go home./
Home is wherever I'm with you/"
Monday, July 2, 2012
Our Positions in Society
"Men are naturally equal, and none ever rose above the rest but by Force of Consent:"
-John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon At first when I first wrote this quote down, I thought it was quite clever. Then when I put it on here to write about it, I hit a wall. I wasn't sure what to write about, it didn't seem as profound until I thought about it harder and deeper. Obviously this quote heavily relates to slavery. This is clearly the case with the slave owners. The reason some were 'above' their slaves because they 'bought' them. That is a 'force of consent.' The longer I think about 'force of consent,' and the situations that it applies to, the more I think it is usually an intangible thing and how much it relates to the person 'below.' I also think it applies a lot to how we place ourselves in relation to others. Sometimes, when we feel inferior to other people, it usually means they are a bully. Because we feel inferior to them, that makes them 'above' us. And although they didn't buy us or torture us the fact is that we gave them that consent. Now I'm not saying that the bully isn't wrong, I'm saying that we have the power to make them 'above' us; but we also have the power to make us equal to them again.
-John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon At first when I first wrote this quote down, I thought it was quite clever. Then when I put it on here to write about it, I hit a wall. I wasn't sure what to write about, it didn't seem as profound until I thought about it harder and deeper. Obviously this quote heavily relates to slavery. This is clearly the case with the slave owners. The reason some were 'above' their slaves because they 'bought' them. That is a 'force of consent.' The longer I think about 'force of consent,' and the situations that it applies to, the more I think it is usually an intangible thing and how much it relates to the person 'below.' I also think it applies a lot to how we place ourselves in relation to others. Sometimes, when we feel inferior to other people, it usually means they are a bully. Because we feel inferior to them, that makes them 'above' us. And although they didn't buy us or torture us the fact is that we gave them that consent. Now I'm not saying that the bully isn't wrong, I'm saying that we have the power to make them 'above' us; but we also have the power to make us equal to them again.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Recipe for Creativity
"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong."
-Joseph Chilton Pearce I don't know what exactly I like so much about this quote. But one of the things I like about it is that it implies that it's okay if we're wrong. Humans have this fear of being wrong and have the need to always be right. But being wrong is how we learn; it's how we grow and change. Creativity is what makes life interesting. If no one ever did anything wrong we would never progress, never questions, never dig deeper; we would never think outside the box, or in other words, live a creative life.
-Joseph Chilton Pearce I don't know what exactly I like so much about this quote. But one of the things I like about it is that it implies that it's okay if we're wrong. Humans have this fear of being wrong and have the need to always be right. But being wrong is how we learn; it's how we grow and change. Creativity is what makes life interesting. If no one ever did anything wrong we would never progress, never questions, never dig deeper; we would never think outside the box, or in other words, live a creative life.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
It's All You
"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self."
-Ernest Hemingway I like this quote a lot because it not only says something profound, but also helps the reader undersand it in the next part. "There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man," When people think of nobility, usually kings and queens come to mind; being of noble status. However, nobility can also mean 'fine personal qualities,' or 'high moral principles.' This quote could possibly be talking about this definition. If so, this quote is saying, "It doesn't matter if your morals are better than everyone else's. As long as you're improving, yourself you are a good person." I think this quote is referring to that. No one can judge you, you are your own person. There is no 'standard perfect person,' We are all human. Everyone makes mistakes. While some mistakes are bigger than others, everyone deserves a second chance. The important thing is to learn from them, and if you're doing that, it does not matter what other people think—and more importantly, what other people say.
-Ernest Hemingway I like this quote a lot because it not only says something profound, but also helps the reader undersand it in the next part. "There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man," When people think of nobility, usually kings and queens come to mind; being of noble status. However, nobility can also mean 'fine personal qualities,' or 'high moral principles.' This quote could possibly be talking about this definition. If so, this quote is saying, "It doesn't matter if your morals are better than everyone else's. As long as you're improving, yourself you are a good person." I think this quote is referring to that. No one can judge you, you are your own person. There is no 'standard perfect person,' We are all human. Everyone makes mistakes. While some mistakes are bigger than others, everyone deserves a second chance. The important thing is to learn from them, and if you're doing that, it does not matter what other people think—and more importantly, what other people say.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Forgive and Forget
"We can all be a little more forgiving."
-Howard W. Hunter I love this quote; I think it's so wise. There are so many things that wrong us in one day. They may not be big things, but they are there. The majority of them are forgotten and we go on with our day. It would be so tiresome to keep track of all the wrongs all people have done to us in only one day. When we let go of feelings of anger and resentment we can be happier. I've never heard of someone who's happy and angry at the same time. I've heard of people who are happy and hurt. Hurt is something that always fades with time, but anger is something that we can let go of because it doesn't involve anyone except ourselves. Often times, forgiving is the easiest way to let go of anger. Forgiving is like a conscious effort to forget. May 22, 2013: I've discovered that forgiveness is a gift that you not only give to others, but it's also something you give to yourself. When feelings are hurt, forgiveness is something that liberates you. I've recently discovered that forgiveness is when you dust yourself off and pick yourself off without waiting for someone or something else to lift you. Forgiveness is how your heal yourself. The other person may do all in their power to make it up to you, or to fix the problem; but until you help yourself, no one anyone does will make a difference.
-Howard W. Hunter I love this quote; I think it's so wise. There are so many things that wrong us in one day. They may not be big things, but they are there. The majority of them are forgotten and we go on with our day. It would be so tiresome to keep track of all the wrongs all people have done to us in only one day. When we let go of feelings of anger and resentment we can be happier. I've never heard of someone who's happy and angry at the same time. I've heard of people who are happy and hurt. Hurt is something that always fades with time, but anger is something that we can let go of because it doesn't involve anyone except ourselves. Often times, forgiving is the easiest way to let go of anger. Forgiving is like a conscious effort to forget. May 22, 2013: I've discovered that forgiveness is a gift that you not only give to others, but it's also something you give to yourself. When feelings are hurt, forgiveness is something that liberates you. I've recently discovered that forgiveness is when you dust yourself off and pick yourself off without waiting for someone or something else to lift you. Forgiveness is how your heal yourself. The other person may do all in their power to make it up to you, or to fix the problem; but until you help yourself, no one anyone does will make a difference.
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