Shining Thru

I think it’s interesting how many different things can motivate different people.  Some people are motivated by something that would completely offended another person, while other people are only motivated by one or two things.  However you look at it, it always seems like there are many more things to distract a person rather than to motivate them.  A person finds themselves getting bored and suddenly can think of a million other things that “need” to get done rather than the thing that they are working on…or if you try to force yourself to work on a project without the motivation, you might just find that you are simply staring at it while the clock ticks the minutes by. 

So when you find that you are unmotivated, what do you do?  Is it better to try and force yourself to work on something that you are obviously not interested in, or is it better to let yourself be distracted by everything except that one thing that you really were planning on getting done? 

How do you figure out what motivates a person?  How can you try and find that one trigger that will get it done; people can’t always figure this out for themselves much less other people.

Why would a high school baseball umpire need a body guard?  Apparently because he threw out the entire crowd from the bleachers.  You can find the story at:  http://allweirdnews.com/137/#comments.  My concern with seeing this article is that I do believe that a lot of times parents can be not only rude but just plain crazy, especially when it comes to sports.  So many of our children are pressured into sports more than they are to perform well in school.  I think there is something wrong with those priorities, personally, but the real concern is that a lot of parents do not set any type of an example for their kids except that of disrespect, pressure, and stress over a game.  I think that it’s great that parents want to go to the games and support their children, but I think that although the parents think they are helping and supporting, teaching their child confidence…I think they are only teaching aggressiveness, which is not as useful or as easy to challenge.

I think that being confident in life is great, although some people are taken as stuck up or arrogant simply because they are confident in themselves, I do not think that it’s a bad thing at all.  A lot of people lack self confidence, and therefore a lot of people turn to aggressiveness or even putting other people down in order to feel some sense of purpose in their own life.  I think that we need to break this cycle with the younger generation.  Kids need to be encouraged yes, kids need to know that they are worth something, of course….but kids do not need to put other people down or attack other people to find that self purpose. 

Competition is great, but I feel sorry for those that think it needs to be in every single aspect in their life.  I wish we could just teach kids to be proud of themselves because they did their best and did it with pride and honor….what happened to those old ideals and values?  When did we decide to replace those old values with violence, insults, and a sense of “I need to be too good for you”???  What have these things ever helped in developing the character of a person?

People tend to fight what they don’t understand…especially older people who are set in their ways, and already have their opinions on what certain words mean, certain theories, etc.  Watching some clips from the Daily Show that were shared with me, I realized once again how so many people form and express their opinions out of ignorance, or simply because they don’t want to see any change.  I’m not saying that they are right or wrong, but explanations that have nothing to do with the topic of health care, which was being discussed with expressions like, “we should all fear Obama” don’t really inspire me with confidence that these people have actually studied and thought about the topic at hand…instead it makes me think that they have simply decided that they don’t like it because some media personality has told them that it’s a bad idea, or because they don’t want to see things change….maybe my perception is wrong…but none the less it is what it looks like to me.  I don’t understand why so many people keep their pre-perceived information or what the media tells them to believe without being open to new evidence, or arguments about the topic that they are working so hard to fight without any facts.  The only arguments I have heard against Obama’s new health program plan do not have any facts to back them up…just phrases that are designed to scare people, as Jon Stewart’smock experts so nicely demonstrate.  I have a friend who says that people should always write down their logic on paper and read it out lout to see if it still makes sense.  I think this is a good policy since I think that as humans we have a great ability to justify all sorts of things in our own minds….but then when we take a step back and look at the logic behind our own thoughts, we realize that we may have missed a few things as our thought process made it’s mental leaps and went spinning through all of the thoughts on the topic.  I think that the evidence of a great mind is in that they can realize their own fallacies in logic. 

(If you’re interested in the clips that spurred these thougths for me you can find them with the link:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/11/jon-stewart-vs-town-hall_n_256272.html )

I don’t understand what makes our society fear change so much?  What is so bad about moving forward in our way of living?  What is so wrong with accepting that there is a new administration and although you may not agree with everything they come up with, it doesn’t mean that everything they come up with is automatically wrong simply because there are one or two things that you do not agree with.  I don’t know why people feel that they cannot be wrong, is it really that hard to admit when you realize that someone has evidence to prove you wrong?  I don’t understand why we have made that a bad thing in our society.  I would think that we would try to get people to grow from experiences like that, instead of making them feel that they need to fight for their honor, or something like that; that is how people end up making stupid arguments that only they think sound logical, and other people who wont give up the same misconceptions.

The American Dream….so many raced to get to the “New World” to get a new fresh start for themselves for their family.  People have come from all over the world to be American…and yet we seem to easily forget that fact.  Our country is still very negative and degrading towards “outsiders”…but how can there be outsiders when the only people who were here, Native Americans, when the immigrants came, the immigrants killed most of the population?  If Americans are made up of generations that came from other countries, how is it that as a society we are still very unwelcoming to new immigrants…we still fear those that we do not understand.  People like to say things like, “why can’t they be more American?” and “they’re in our country now and need to act like it” or “they need to go back to their country if they don’t like our traditions.”  All too often these types of phrases are spoken, have people really forgotten, or never realized that the American society is a hodgepodge of cultures, traditions, and languages from all over the world.  The perception is that Americans speak English, but many Americans don’t, and many more throughout the time of the United States did not speak English when they first arrived here.  I am willing to be that many of these people who like to speak out against the immigrants now coming to America, are the grandchildren, or great grandchildren of someone who did not speak English here in America.  Besides that, we do not speak a pure form of English, our language has many words and phrases that have been adopted throughout the generations from countries all over the world.  And yet, people have an issue if they want to keep some of the cultural traditions that their ancestors have practiced for as long as anyone can remember.

Some people are quick to say that people should adopted American cultural traditions when they move here, but what most of those people don’t realize is that a lot of the American heroes and traditions are based on lies.  Because America wanted to declare its independence from England, and it was such a new country, they simply made things up, or stretched the truth enough to give people something to celebrate and create a sense of community and nationalism.  What is wrong with people wanting to live in America, be American, while still hanging on to their heritage?  Nothing, besides the ignorance of those people who can’t see that their own traditions are also based on a heritage, they just happen to be in the majority of people with that same heritage and those same customs and traditions. 

Many people don’t realize that like the immigrants that they are speaking out against, or criticizing because they want to celebrate their heritage as they come to a new country, are probably very similar to what their relatives went through when they first arrived in this country.  I think that we need to realize that there isn’t anything to fear in differences of heritage or culture, instead we should embrace and respect each other’s differences and realize that our diversity is what makes us American.  When we are able to live in peace, with acceptance of our diversity, then and only then will I think that we have accomplished “the American Dream”.

How much do people need and desire the emotion of love?  I feel like a lot of people try to bring as many people that they love into their lives as possible.  While others fear the commitment, they fear the need they feel, and don’t trust anyone and therefore push away anyone who loves them.  What is it about this emotion that makes it so powerful, how can something that is so beautiful at times be so hurtful at others?  Even when you have the love, sometimes it is so passionate and powerful that it hurts; and it becomes really painful while the person that you are in love with isn’t there…even for a short time, and heart breaking when it’s forever. 

Why does this emotion seem to be among those that we appreciate, search for, and fear the most?  Love effects us in so many ways, it’s just so unusual….at least when we know we’re scared we know we’re scared, but in love we never know what will happen….and yet I keep desiring to keep it in my life.  Left to do nothing but Hope for the best and hope that it continues on and enjoy every second of it. 

Love is important to everyone, at least I think so…even the people that do fear it, don’t trust it, and push it away…I think that they still secretly want it, even if they wont admit it to themselves.

I started thinking about all of the types of news that people get every day:  personal news from family and friends, good and bad; news from work, good and bad, urgent or casual; media news on a city, state, nation, or world level, good or bad, happy or sad……people learn bits of news every day, and I think that every one of those pieces effects us, maybe in the smallest of ways, but I think that it effects us in the long run of things.  Good news builds and builds and makes a person feel good, but the same is with sad or stressful news in that it builds and builds until it starts to wear on a person. 

Some people take bits that they learn about life in stride and just deal with things as they come, try not to let it in if it’s negative, and are sometimes quite successful, but it is still now a reality in their life, whatever that news is.  While others take everything that they learn on a very emotional level, they can’t help but let the emotions overwhelm them sometimes; a lot of the time it’s a conscious effort to keep logic ahead of emotion when they learn of news in life. 

Some news reminds you how beautiful life can be:  falling in love, knowing that you have found the love of your life, seeing a new baby born, a sunset on the beach, children laughing, the view from a mountain top.  Other things remind you of how much life can hurt and how ugly it can be:  death of a younger person, natural disasters destroying homes and killing many, children lost or crying, someone you know becoming ill, etc. 

So, there will always be good news and bad news as long as we have emotions we are going to respond to those things.  It’s part of being of the human race I suppose, but sometimes it can really weigh on a person, I suppose that’s why we need to remember the good things that we have in life and always deal with what comes as best we can. We need to try and not leave ourselves vulnerable to letting the bad, stressful, or sad news build on our hearts or minds.

Twists and turns, climbing through the loops

Trying to reach the goals of life

Don’t let people manipulate your goals

Don’t set the goals based on the wrong ideals

Be careful with ignorance, it will get you every time

Sometimes we float on clouds

Sometimes we drive full speed through the twists and turns.

Sometimes we can dance and spin

……Getting dizzy and out of focus, just for a second.

Then the haze clears and we are able to see our true desires

The desires that last for life

The commitment of Love and Life, Passion and Desire.

The goal of all your hopes and dreams is in sight,

You can see the prize, you are focused, your desire is stronger than ever before…

Do we plunge in or proceed with caution? 

Do we pass over a good thing, even though we trip over it running to the prize?

Or do we see everything and anything …..not kicking things out of the way?

A good thing so close, but feels so cold and distant

A love that has filled your soul, still strongly pounding…burning

Left wanting for the loving arms at the end of the race

The love, security, and passion….all coming together

When your eyes meet, and a smile can’t be controlled

This is the dream, this is what’s in sight

This is what I want.

The burning desire in my mind and heart fills my soul

Love that wont disappear, will always be there….happiness waiting to be tapped to completion. 

A happiness that has started the sparks, and now wants to burn fully, but needs the oxygen of the space in sight.

Plans, hopes, dreams…

fall through your fingers like dry sand

Sometimes like clay, clumping in bits and pieces,

IF squeezed without being dropped

Why waste your time, why fill your head

Why not look around where you are?….because we want more

we know there is more and we want it…

Want, need, desire, crave

See, Act, Fight For….sometimes to no avail

Sometimes winning more than we knew

“There it is.  We get used to everything.  We find hope in anything.”  -  Ender’s Shaddow by Orson Scott Card.

I thought this was a very interesting quote as I was reading along.  I was wondering if it was actually true.  I can remember when a teacher once told me of a motif found in Crime and Punishment which was a square foot of space, someone being trapped in a small space, praying for death, but then when faced with it, they choose to stay where they are.  I wonder if that is how it works for most people?  I wonder if most people will adapt and “get use to” ANYTHING rather than choosing death, or not being alive at that time.  …. it can’t work for everyone, or there wouldn’t be suicide….those people have obviously not been able to adapt, and just get use to their situation…or do they just snap and not give themselves time to get use to it? 

As for hope, it’s a concept that I’ve wondered about quite often…what makes us hope in something…a situation, a person, a religion, a higher being; whatever the thing may be that we find great hope in….what is the reason behind it?  Do we need to feel that there is hope?  Or is there really reason to hope?  What good does having hope do for a person?…..

Are there certain emotions and feelings that we search for in life and don’t feel complete until we find them?  Are some people designed to only search for some of those things while others crave to experience all of them?  Does everyone have need of “hope”?  What if they are in their perfect situation?  What about a person who has gotten so use to not having something that they no longer feel hope for anything, have no ambition, have not need for the emotional comfort of hope, since it has only let them down in the past?  What about the people who secretly hope, but don’t want to admit it to anyone, sometimes even themselves?  They want to hope, they still have this “need” for it, but have been let down so many times that they don’t want to give it another chance to knock them down again. 

Are these things instilled in most of us and we just adjust to what we do with the needs and desires we are designed with?  Or are they things that society has drilled into us as needing?  Maybe it’s neither of these options….