Shining Thru

What is it about certain legends that make them stay alive generation after generation, never dying out into nothingness?  Why is it that it seems everyone knows some stories, people who seem to know nothing of the news today still know of legends that supposedly took place hundreds and hundreds of years ago.  What is it that intrigues us about stories like Arthur and Camelot?  Some legends are fairly recently, like all of the tales of the wild, wild west, but yet most people still want to hear the stories and tell the stories year after year, either to each other or are seen in movies and books…but they stay alive in some way.  Even though legends have been created right along with America, it still seems that the old legends from so long ago are the ones that survive.  Legends may alter and spins put on them at times, but still, they stay alive in the minds of generation after generation.  What is it that makes us want to keep believing, or at least keep honoring by retelling the stories from so long ago?

Could you kill the person that you love to save them from something worse?  Could you sacrifice breaking your own heart and rip it out as you declare your love for that person and kill them?  Watching The X-Men:  The Last Stand movie got me thinking about that.  It must be one of the hardest things anyone would ever have to do….right up there will having to decide weather to have an abortion or not if you know your child would have a horrible disease that WILL kill them before they are five and will only make them suffer until them….What do you do?  Do you give them the gift of life along with suffering while they are briefly on this earth, or do you spare them all of that and end it before it begins?  How can you ask someone to make that decision?

There is a reason that they say opposites attract…I was having a conversation the other day with someone who pointed out an aspect to this theory that I had never thought of before.  They stated that our minds look for symmetry…I started thinking about this and it makes a lot of sense.  People who are considered beautiful, are generally thought at least “market pretty” because their faces are as close to symmetrical as possible. 

The more I thought about this concept the more I realized that a lot of the time the symmetry comes from the presence of the opposite of any given thing.  Good vs. Evil; man vs. woman; light vs. darkness; and so on….it’s why we look for something yet to come in a movie, we’re not satisfied until we’ve been on the emotional roller-coaster.  We just can’t seem to get closer or don’t feel complete until the opposite of something is present.  Which takes me back to a theory that I’ve had for quite awhile, it just seems to make more sense now.  I have thought for many years now, that the definition of a word is not necessarily as important as knowing it’s opposite.  Without an opposite something cannot exist…I’m sure there could be holes in this theory…but it makes a lot of sense for most things…think about it, something like hunger…if being full didn’t exist, there would be no point to hunger, it simply would be and therefore wouldn’t exist…it would just be a part of our living condition. 

Do things exist without their opposites?  Or do we just not feel complete until we get the opposite and therefore don’t recognize something until the opposite has been made clear?

Spring and fall have always been my favorite seasons of the year because they both involve change.  I love the fall colors and how the flowers bloom in the spring.  I love how it feels different, it gives you more and it’s a beautiful change.  I never have to wonder if I will like it or not because the leaves always change to the vibrant fall rainbow and spring breaks the powerful and majestic thunderstorms and gorgeous flowers.  It’s funny how even though a lot of people associate fall with dying things, I still think it’s beautiful and just the right temperature.  You can enjoy the outdoors, without hiding from the sun or the snow.  Spring is the same, warm breeze that comes and sweeps through everything after the darkness of winter.  Even down in the south where there isn’t much of what the northerners would call winter, it is still bleak, cold, and gloomy at times.  Spring is refreshing and makes you enjoy life again. 

Spring and fall bring about a change that I can truly appreciate because they are the two seasons that are the most beautiful and I think the two that there is not a lot of arguing about when they show up.  When the ground thaws and the flowers start to bloom it’s spring; when the leaves start changing colors and you bring out the sweat shirts, it’s fall.  I like that it’s fairly consistent.  I don’t have to wonder about how severe or if the weather will stay.  These are the laid back seasons, a time to simply enjoy and not sweat the little things.  Time to enjoy the fresh air and the beauty of nature. 

Who should decide our expectations????  I think something that is very important to remember in this life and this world is that you are the only one who has to live with you 24 hours a day 7 days a week.  If you define yourself by anyone else’s standards there will always be a short coming because you wont really be you.  Husbands, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, children, grandparents, coworkers, all of these people are important in different ways but they do not have to live with you all the time… they don’t see you when you’re alone with your thoughts…they have no idea what is truly in your heart unless you are confident enough to live your life according to you. 

I hope that everyone can have the confidence and support around them to live their life according to their life dreams and expectations.  Sometimes our dreams are unrealistic, but I suppose that’s what makes them dreams.  I think that we should set goals (realistic goals) for ourselves and strive towards them and keep our dreams as our inspiration.

There are so many things in life that cannot be undone once they are done.  Just as there are so many things that cannot be done once the choice is made not to do them.  We make choices every day and we don’t know what the consequences will be, for better or for worse, we can only guess at how things will turn out…many people do not consider the consequences of their actions at all.

The words that we speak can never be brought back to stay only in our mind.  Once you say it, it is out in the world, which prevents a lot of people from ever confronting issues, but those who do chance it sometimes pay the price by ruining priceless relationships.  But if you don’t risk it you’re stuck with the stress and pain of wondering what would have happened.  It’s hard to make some choices in life:  what to say, how to say it, when to say it, if you should say it……What to do, who to do it with…..where to live, who to live with……

There are so many decisions we are expected to make and they are hard because there is absolutely no way to know the outcome of the decisions.  Some choices make us cry, even when we know we are doing the right thing, other choices we may regret for the rest of our lives….it’s hard to say if anyone’s life ever turns out right.  There are so many choices that affect everyone around you, not just you, but every person you come in contact with, are related to, even the people you choose to ignore affects that person, you, anyone you are connected to, and anyone they are connected to.  It’s a never ending chain of events that goes from one person to the next and we never know if it will come back around to us, or keep circling us. 

Choices….

I wonder why it is that some people feel the need to not only know but comment and make assumptions about other people’s personal business?  Some people have nothing better to do then spread rumors like they are back in high school.  I don’t understand how someone does not have something more important to do with their time…but some people just don’t.  Which leads into why people feel it is their place to judge the people around them, if their opinion is asked for or not.

Some people are so passionate and want to believe that they are right morally and spiritually to the point that they need to make a stand towards everyone else.  My question is, if you are that sure of yourself then why are you so insecure about what others are doing?  Why not just know that you’re right and leave it at that, let other people do as they will.  I don’t know why they think it is their place to make it known to the world that they are not going to support certain things or ideas. 

These people have been around throughout history.  How many famous people were thought to be stupid, immoral, or simply wrong by the general self-righteous population?  Too many to count. 

I suppose what I’m trying to say is that every person is entitled to live their own life the way that they see fit as long as it is not destroying that right for another person.  As long as the person isn’t hurting another person, we should keep our assumptions, comments, and objections to ourselves.

Do soulmates exist?  I did not always believe so.  I changed my mind in high school and it has been recently reinforced.  In high school I had a teacher that spoke of his wife with such love and passion I couldn’t help but believe in soul-mates.  Sometimes we would find ourselves listening to his stories and just staring at the wedding ring he still wore at all times, although his wife had been deceased for five years at that point.  He never stopped loving her.

Although I believe that there can only be one soul-mate for a person, I do believe that there maybe more than one person in the world that could make you happy.  I think that is why some people can have a good marriage and life, but still meet the person of their dreams later.  Sometimes you can meet the perfect person for you…after you are already committed to someone you feel you can be content with for the rest of your life.  I believe a soul-mate is something more than just someone you are happy/content with.

I believe a soul-mate is someone you are connected with…someone you relate to on all levels.  Someone you can have deep discussions with, cuddle on the couch and watch a thriller or a stupid comedy (which ever you were in the mood for), of course there would need to be a sexual connection for the relationship to work.  I believe that soul-mates enjoy each other’s company but know when they need their space.  I also believe that at times it can completely catch you off guard.

What if you find your soul-mate after you have your life set up and everything is going well….do you change everything to have your true love in your life?  Or do you stick with what you know is working……Sometimes you find someone who will make you moderately happy…and sometimes you can find someone perfect for you.  It’s up to you if you let the opportunity pass you by or not.

The world is changing all the time, everywhere around us.  Is change always a good thing?  I feel that most change provides opportunities which is a good thing.  I think it is pretty awesome that we have the first black president in the white house.  I think it shows the growth and change of our country.  Here are a few links to the wonderful site of youtube for some humor with our new president. 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PqI12R8YNU&feature=email

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-yJBsjatW0&feature=email

On a more serious note:  I use to be extremely conservative; however, it was pointed out to me that if you don’t like what has been happening than it’s time to try something new and different.  I am really hoping that this change will do good things for our country.  Sadly, I think the country has been going down hill for awhile as far as the economy and the way we are raising the younger generation.  I do hope that a new administration will provide relief from the issues that we have been dealing with for the past few years.  Things need to change and I really hope that our country is ready for it and will embrace the changes that need to be made.

Is beauty really in the eye of the beholder?  I once had a teacher that posed the question, What is beauty?  The discussion eventually led to the question, Does beauty exist?  His argument was that  if beauty is really in the eye of the beholder, then it doesn’t have a definition and without a definition, it could not exist….there will be no surprise here to find out that not only was he a Literature teacher but also had a genius IQ.  Although I think he only played devil’s advocate in our many round table discussions in class, it does pose an interesting question.

What is beauty?  Just because something or someone is beautiful to me, doesn’t mean it will be to the person standing right next to me at the same moment.  I personally love scenes in nature.  For me finding beauty in nature brings a type of inner peace.  I also have a lot of friends that would rather never go where there isn’t a paved path, for them there are other things that bring that same inner peace. 

I think that true beauty lies on the inside, even when you see something beautiful it brings a certain feeling of awe and wonder that leaves you knowing that it is beautiful.  Of course a lot of people claim to believe that the beauty of people lies on the inside, but until recently there wasn’t anything in pop culture that preached this concept to the younger generation.  I am thankful that there is now a TV show out called “True Beauty.”  This is a show with hidden challenges to measure the good qualities or inner beauty of the contestants on the show.  The only thing that I don’t like about the show is that they do also consider outer beauty…how would the results be changed if they were only looking at the hidden cameras to see how people act towards one another and how they act in the situations they are put in?  They have already decided that the people there have outer beauty qualities, so why continue to judge that?  I think it would be interesting for them to only judge the inner beauty qualities; but again, what is true beauty?

There are qualities of beauty that I think most people can agree on, but I do not believe that beauty can ever have a true definition.  If beauty was scientific, it would lose the emotions and feelings attached to it, it would instead rely on logic and reason.  To me the loss of the emotion I feel when I see something truly beautiful would be a tragedy.  If it’s a person, a waterfall, a painting, or a music composition, I am glad that my heart is open to the emotion of beauty these things hold.  All of these things have stirred that feeling of awe and wonder of beauty inside of me at one time or another; that feeling that makes you wonder how it’s even possible that something like that could exist.  I hope that everyone is blessed with this feeling of beauty in their life.