This is not about they or those who take it upon themselves to define them. This is not even about your goal to define yourself. What I am talking about... what I am going to talk about is: what a person is. Yes, I will actively and consciously choose to end that sentence with "is".
There is a moment in every individual's life that defines who they will be, and how they will sum up their existence. For many, their sickness or disease will become who they are. For others, their career, worth, or success will do this. In others, friends, family, and self-love can convey their beingness. Or, may I even go far as to say, this will be their haecceity. For in the end, a "this" or a "that" is all we are. An object with thought and action. Considering the advancements in technology, to turn "this" into "you" or "I" is not a farfetched task.
Nonetheless, these people will be rather offended if you are to turn around and say, "What are you?" This is a great fear of the troglodyte; lest you forget that our beginnings were meager and shallow. While I would not say we are entirely made up of those we evolved from, there is evidence provided by this evolution that we can easily progress. Digress, for that matter.
To return to the statement, "[T]heir sickness or disease will become who they are"-- this is not to be fooled around with.
----I am diabetes. I am cancer. I am depression. I am autism. ----
These are barriers from a reality. The truth that is scarier than any disorder. There is no question that these will all be obstacles. They will prevent some things, explain other things. They often become light sabers in the paws of filthy inauthenticity. Not to the fault of the Jedi wielding his or her weapon, but to blame those who ("who" implying humanness; something questionable at all times) armed he or she in need as a defense to any criticism, fear, or challenge.
The same as we believe we can chain and conquer .... I lost my train of thought.
It simply seems to me that we have all been trained and given negative reinforcement in order to achieve less- based on our excuses (either externally or self-implanted.) We were then forced to live to a lower standard because of a fear that we will reach the border of our limit and be given a shock from the collar around our necks.
Did that sound revolutionary and slightly conspiracy theorist nuttist to you?
I hope so.
Here is a fine example of a moment of mania. If you've experienced manic episodes, you can sense it. Quickly written, poorly formulated... sometimes just jumbles of words thrown together because they sound poetic. I almost think that most of the beat poets were living in one long mania. Ginsberg and Kerouac... heck, even Pollock. The twist here is- these gentleman didn't know, nor did they care why they did as they did. They don't care why they offended and astonished people; why no one understood their art at the time; why they were unlike the majority.... It did not matter, they simply used their "flaws" to create and be better than the sad, boring majority.
It was complete release that set these men apart. As we can see in other artists. The ones who changed the world. Emily Dickinson was agoraphobic, so she wrote. Some were addicts, some were traumatized. They had undiagnosed, uncared about, untouched rawness and therefore, untainted talent. It's so extraordinary. It's beyond what the average human can comprehend.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Monday, January 19, 2015
Indo-Israel
Most people who know me, know I want to go to India more than anything in this world. I have wanted to go to India for as long as I can remember, even when I thought India was occupied by Native Americans. Children are so stupid.... Yes, I also wanted terribly to go to Australia, but that was because of the animals they have there. India was another story. I have no idea why I wanted to go there when I was 5 or 8 or 15 or now. I just NEED to visit that portion of Asia. Visiting Nepal and Thailand are also on the list, but they are not quite as high on the "To Do" list.
One thing most people don't know about India (actually, I don't think most people actually know much about India), is that it has quite positive relations with Israel. There are very few countries that can say that! I think it's quite fantastic. Part of this may be because Indians have a shared disdain for Muslim countries. More specifically, both countries are sick of Muslim-related terrorism. Both have fought off terrorism most of their existence, and continue to hold certain... opinions on the Muslim faith. More so, some of its most devout followers.Not they I personally have any qualms with Muslims, but I can see why some folks in India or Israel may have their concerns. Basically, I'm just saying it's a commonality between the two countries, and this makes them allies.
That is not all that bonds the two countries, though. The two countries also have an extensive economic, military, and strategic relationship. The two countries connect through military equipment and partnership. This means, these two countries actually train together. The U.S. trains with Israel, as well, but Israelis are *not* impressed with the American soldiers and their equipment. From what I've seen and been told, I don't blame them. Apparently, however, Mahatma Ghandi wasn't completely onboard with the creation of Israel. This was because he did not like the idea of a country being created based on a religion. Considering that most of the countries in the world are Catholic or Muslim, I hope it occurred to him that this was a silly concern. Although, I can't disagree with his point. Most other following leaders and influential people of India were totally into the Israel scene. They celebrated it, even.
India recognized Israel as a nation in 1950, so they were kind of ahead of the game. As a matter of fact, in 1954, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said he would not "be a party to a resolution which stated that the creation of Israel was a violation of international law". He also wrote a letter to Frances Gunther expressing his support for the general Jewish behaviour in Palestine. How 'bout them apples?
India has been very kind to Israel, and visa versa. They make a good team. As a matter of fact, according to various tourist websites, about 40,000 Israelis visit India each year. Considering their low population, that's a pretty good number! There was also a Jewish-Hindu interfaith leadership summit in New Delhi in 2007. The chief Rabbi of Israel and Swami Dayanand Saraswati attended. What they had to say was that, "[t]he Jewish and Hindu communities are committed to the ancient traditions of Judaism and Hindu dharma respectively, and have both, in their own ways, gone through the painful experiences of persecution, oppression and destruction."[ Mertzger quoted:"For thousands of years we have marched on parallel causes and have now built bridges of cooperation between the two religions. Jews have lived in India for over 2000 years and have never been discriminated against. This is something unparalleled in human history".
At this point, India is pushing more and more for Israel, particularly as they view the Muslim community in a different light. Ties between Jerusalem and Delhi are only getting closer and more positive, and therefore, India is actually considering changing its pro-Palestinian stance at the UN, as you can read further into at: India may change stance at UN
The two countries have really begun to rely on one another for military action and protection, as well as on a more personal level of relations and camaraderie. This is wonderful news, I think, and I can't wait to see what comes of this bond over time. This connection only gives me further reason and desire to visit India. I think it will be a great relationship for years to come.
One thing most people don't know about India (actually, I don't think most people actually know much about India), is that it has quite positive relations with Israel. There are very few countries that can say that! I think it's quite fantastic. Part of this may be because Indians have a shared disdain for Muslim countries. More specifically, both countries are sick of Muslim-related terrorism. Both have fought off terrorism most of their existence, and continue to hold certain... opinions on the Muslim faith. More so, some of its most devout followers.Not they I personally have any qualms with Muslims, but I can see why some folks in India or Israel may have their concerns. Basically, I'm just saying it's a commonality between the two countries, and this makes them allies.
That is not all that bonds the two countries, though. The two countries also have an extensive economic, military, and strategic relationship. The two countries connect through military equipment and partnership. This means, these two countries actually train together. The U.S. trains with Israel, as well, but Israelis are *not* impressed with the American soldiers and their equipment. From what I've seen and been told, I don't blame them. Apparently, however, Mahatma Ghandi wasn't completely onboard with the creation of Israel. This was because he did not like the idea of a country being created based on a religion. Considering that most of the countries in the world are Catholic or Muslim, I hope it occurred to him that this was a silly concern. Although, I can't disagree with his point. Most other following leaders and influential people of India were totally into the Israel scene. They celebrated it, even.
India recognized Israel as a nation in 1950, so they were kind of ahead of the game. As a matter of fact, in 1954, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said he would not "be a party to a resolution which stated that the creation of Israel was a violation of international law". He also wrote a letter to Frances Gunther expressing his support for the general Jewish behaviour in Palestine. How 'bout them apples?
India has been very kind to Israel, and visa versa. They make a good team. As a matter of fact, according to various tourist websites, about 40,000 Israelis visit India each year. Considering their low population, that's a pretty good number! There was also a Jewish-Hindu interfaith leadership summit in New Delhi in 2007. The chief Rabbi of Israel and Swami Dayanand Saraswati attended. What they had to say was that, "[t]he Jewish and Hindu communities are committed to the ancient traditions of Judaism and Hindu dharma respectively, and have both, in their own ways, gone through the painful experiences of persecution, oppression and destruction."[ Mertzger quoted:"For thousands of years we have marched on parallel causes and have now built bridges of cooperation between the two religions. Jews have lived in India for over 2000 years and have never been discriminated against. This is something unparalleled in human history".
At this point, India is pushing more and more for Israel, particularly as they view the Muslim community in a different light. Ties between Jerusalem and Delhi are only getting closer and more positive, and therefore, India is actually considering changing its pro-Palestinian stance at the UN, as you can read further into at: India may change stance at UN
The two countries have really begun to rely on one another for military action and protection, as well as on a more personal level of relations and camaraderie. This is wonderful news, I think, and I can't wait to see what comes of this bond over time. This connection only gives me further reason and desire to visit India. I think it will be a great relationship for years to come.
Friday, January 9, 2015
Zara: The Princess of Everything
Zara was always told that she was the Princess of Everything.
From the day she was born, her grandmother loved her unconditionally,
like no one else ever would. She reminded Zara constantly that she
was the Princess of Everything and she could do anything she wanted
to do, be anything she wanted to be, and have anything she wanted to
have. Her grandmother believed it, too!
When Zara was a little Princess, she believed this. Although most people weren't very nice to Zara, she stayed calm, smiled, and remembered that she was the Princess of Everything. It wasn't always easy staying cheerful. Sometimes people hurt her. Both, physically and verbally. It didn't matter, though, because she knew that one day she'd have everything she ever wanted.
Also, since Zara knew she was the Princess of Everything, she felt she was also responsible for taking care of everything. This meant that she had to make everyone as happy as she was. She did what she could to bring smiles, food, and love wherever she went. If anyone needed help, she knew it was her job to help them.
As Zara got older, she began to notice that no one else thought she was the Princess of Everything. Her grandmother still believed it, but Zara felt she didn't have anything. She didn't have all the toys or all the books or all the puppies, not even all the stickers. Not to mention, even when she helped people, they didn't seem to care. She knew this couldn't be how the Princess of Everything should feel. Her grandmother kept reminding her that she was indeed the Princess of Everything. She told her that even though it would take lots of time and lots of tears, one day, everything would belong to her. With this in mind, she fought on like a trooper. No matter how angry or sad she got, she kept taking care of everything, making sure everything was okay.
When Zara got very sick one day, no one came to make her better. She didn't understand. When Tommy was sick, she got him soup. When Tulip was sad, she hugged her. When Danny was scared, she protected him. Now that she was sick, no one came to help her. Finally, her grandmother came to make her better. Zara asked her grandmother what she did wrong. She knew she must be such a bad Princess that no one wanted to help her when she was sick. Her grandmother reminded her that as the Princess of Everything, she would sometimes have to be a little lonely. The boys and girls who weren't princes and princesses didn't care as much as she did. She hugged her Princess and told her it would be okay, in a few days she'd get all better, and one day she would have everything.
Zara didn't get better, though. As a matter of fact, Zara got worse. Much worse. When she woke up the next time, a part of her heart had fallen off and turned black. Zara jumped up and grabbed the piece of heart from the floor. Her breathing got faster and she started to sweat. She did the one thing she knew to do when she was scared, she called her grandmother. When her grandmother answered, she sounded different. Her grandmother told her she too was sick. However, instead of losing a piece of her heart, she lost a piece of her stomach. A very large piece of her stomach had fallen to the floor and turned black overnight. This terrified Zara. Something like this had never happened before! In the past, she had control over everything. She could make good things happen so easily. When she tried to fix her grandmother's stomach, it didn't work. Just like the piece of her own heart, it wouldn't glue back on.
Her grandmother was also upset, but reminded Zara that she was the Princess of Everything. That meant that even if her grandmother's entire stomach fell apart, Zara would still be a princess, she could still have everything and be okay.
For the first time ever, her grandmother's words did not comfort her. Zara couldn't find the strength to smile anymore. Each day, as more of her heart fell off, she felt more and more sad. She kept helping everyone, but she found it harder to smile, harder to laugh, harder to do things she used to love to do. Instead, she stayed inside all day. She didn't want to eat cookies or sing songs. She didn't want to talk to friends or play with puppies. All she wanted to do was sleep and, sometimes... sometimes she would even cry.
One day, when Zara's heart was nearly completely gone, she decided to visit her grandmother. She was ready to feel better and take over as the Princess of Everything finally. As Zara was going to visit her grandmother at the doctor, she came across a doorway. The door was white and brightly lit. It didn't seem to be attached to anything. This confused Zara, but it was so beautiful that she couldn't resist the urge to grab the handle, which was pleasantly cold, and pull the door open. On the other side, it was so bright that she couldn't see anything. It looked amazing, though! She knew what she had to do. Even though it was a risk, she wanted nothing more than to enter the door and find out what was on the other side. Just in case anything went wrong, she took the juicy, ripe plum from her pocket and ate it up.
When she lifted her foot, she ended up scratching her ankle on a poorly-placed vine. Although the cut bled a bit, she ignored it, and entered the door, with no doubts or fears. The last noise she made while on the grassy ground was a gasp.
When Zara was a little Princess, she believed this. Although most people weren't very nice to Zara, she stayed calm, smiled, and remembered that she was the Princess of Everything. It wasn't always easy staying cheerful. Sometimes people hurt her. Both, physically and verbally. It didn't matter, though, because she knew that one day she'd have everything she ever wanted.
Also, since Zara knew she was the Princess of Everything, she felt she was also responsible for taking care of everything. This meant that she had to make everyone as happy as she was. She did what she could to bring smiles, food, and love wherever she went. If anyone needed help, she knew it was her job to help them.
As Zara got older, she began to notice that no one else thought she was the Princess of Everything. Her grandmother still believed it, but Zara felt she didn't have anything. She didn't have all the toys or all the books or all the puppies, not even all the stickers. Not to mention, even when she helped people, they didn't seem to care. She knew this couldn't be how the Princess of Everything should feel. Her grandmother kept reminding her that she was indeed the Princess of Everything. She told her that even though it would take lots of time and lots of tears, one day, everything would belong to her. With this in mind, she fought on like a trooper. No matter how angry or sad she got, she kept taking care of everything, making sure everything was okay.
When Zara got very sick one day, no one came to make her better. She didn't understand. When Tommy was sick, she got him soup. When Tulip was sad, she hugged her. When Danny was scared, she protected him. Now that she was sick, no one came to help her. Finally, her grandmother came to make her better. Zara asked her grandmother what she did wrong. She knew she must be such a bad Princess that no one wanted to help her when she was sick. Her grandmother reminded her that as the Princess of Everything, she would sometimes have to be a little lonely. The boys and girls who weren't princes and princesses didn't care as much as she did. She hugged her Princess and told her it would be okay, in a few days she'd get all better, and one day she would have everything.
Zara didn't get better, though. As a matter of fact, Zara got worse. Much worse. When she woke up the next time, a part of her heart had fallen off and turned black. Zara jumped up and grabbed the piece of heart from the floor. Her breathing got faster and she started to sweat. She did the one thing she knew to do when she was scared, she called her grandmother. When her grandmother answered, she sounded different. Her grandmother told her she too was sick. However, instead of losing a piece of her heart, she lost a piece of her stomach. A very large piece of her stomach had fallen to the floor and turned black overnight. This terrified Zara. Something like this had never happened before! In the past, she had control over everything. She could make good things happen so easily. When she tried to fix her grandmother's stomach, it didn't work. Just like the piece of her own heart, it wouldn't glue back on.
Her grandmother was also upset, but reminded Zara that she was the Princess of Everything. That meant that even if her grandmother's entire stomach fell apart, Zara would still be a princess, she could still have everything and be okay.
For the first time ever, her grandmother's words did not comfort her. Zara couldn't find the strength to smile anymore. Each day, as more of her heart fell off, she felt more and more sad. She kept helping everyone, but she found it harder to smile, harder to laugh, harder to do things she used to love to do. Instead, she stayed inside all day. She didn't want to eat cookies or sing songs. She didn't want to talk to friends or play with puppies. All she wanted to do was sleep and, sometimes... sometimes she would even cry.
One day, when Zara's heart was nearly completely gone, she decided to visit her grandmother. She was ready to feel better and take over as the Princess of Everything finally. As Zara was going to visit her grandmother at the doctor, she came across a doorway. The door was white and brightly lit. It didn't seem to be attached to anything. This confused Zara, but it was so beautiful that she couldn't resist the urge to grab the handle, which was pleasantly cold, and pull the door open. On the other side, it was so bright that she couldn't see anything. It looked amazing, though! She knew what she had to do. Even though it was a risk, she wanted nothing more than to enter the door and find out what was on the other side. Just in case anything went wrong, she took the juicy, ripe plum from her pocket and ate it up.
When she lifted her foot, she ended up scratching her ankle on a poorly-placed vine. Although the cut bled a bit, she ignored it, and entered the door, with no doubts or fears. The last noise she made while on the grassy ground was a gasp.
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