Shining Thru

Heaven…interesting word…I think it means something different to every person on the planet.  Some people don’t believe that such a place exists…some people believe that they can find heaven on earth.  Some people envision fluffy clouds and angels with harps…while others imagine a paradise customized to them.

One of the things that got me to thinking about what Heaven really is, is the movie What Dreams May Come, with Robin Williams.  A very interesting movie that has a different interpretation of heaven and hell…or at least different to what I had grown up hearing for most of my life.  The movie is kind of the same idea as The Lovely Bones as far as Heaven goes…meaning that each person can create their own heaven or they can travel and go to the shared part of heaven and see other people that share a vision of the same things of pleasure and peace.  In both movies, the people have to figure out how heaven operates and they have a guide…I have to wonder if a guardian angel’s (if you believe in such things) job doesn’t end when you die, but rather is just beginning as they have to then guide you through the steps of existence in heaven….

I think that there is a mystery that intrigues a lot of people associated with anything that we can’t see or isn’t found in this life time.  Heaven is one of those things that makes people wonder simply because it is something that wont have an answer until after you die…and even then you might not get to find out, depending on who ends up being right in the long run….Since there is no way to find out until we are indeed dead. Although some people believe that there are “near-death” experiences that reveal at least a slice of heaven or what lies on the way to heaven.  There was even a gospel written by someone who claimed that they went to heaven and were able to see all that lies there, but it was decided that it was not worthy of the Bible.

Heaven can inspire so many thoughts, death, dying, hell, angels, God or gods…..

Why is it that some people can live in some delusion where they think that they are so much better than everyone around them and can decide what should and shouldn’t be in other people’s lives….We have no idea what goes on behind closed doors, further more, we have no idea what is liked behind closed doors.  Everyone has their secrets.  Looking at some sites today, I was reading a lot of comments about certain videos.  Some people were really nasty with their comments about other people simply because they didn’t approve of whatever behavior was going on in the video.  Talking about how she should go after the guy or whatever the case may be….it’s like some of these people can’t even fathom that other people may actually enjoy things that they don’t.  Someone once told me with a shrug, “some people eat bugs.”  I think that this is a great phrase to go by, some people do eat bugs, some people think that raw heart is a delicious treat for special occasions to eat.  Who are we to say that they are wrong in any regard.  What right do we have to disregard the likes or preferences of some people simply because they do not line up with our concept of “normality”.  I don’t think that such a thing as “normal” really exists.  I think that some people think what they are use to is normal but they have no idea what goes on in the next house down the road…not really.  They know what they have seen and what people have told them, but how many people reveal every intimate aspect of their life???  I’m not saying that the actions of a serial killer should be condoned and chalked up to them simply being unique and expressing themselves…but I am saying that people should really have more of an open mind and realize that everyone has their secrets, everyone has something going on behind closed doors, and maybe that should be considered before condemning another person for their beliefs, actions, kinks, preferences, or lack there of….

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?

Who ever said ignorance is bliss is a liar.  I hate not knowing what is going on….even more than that I hate it when there are ignorant people around me….maybe some people can be blissful while ignorant, but not me.  At the very least their ignorance pains me.  I hate it when I feel like I’ve lost some of my intelligence because an ignorant person was around me too much that day….sometimes you’re stuck around stupid people and it sucks. 

Ignorance is only hurting the world.  I can’t imagine the changes that would happen if we could educate people on the issues of the world and actually have that information soak in.  All of the education in the world is never going to help our society if people aren’t willing to admit that we have problems in our society.  But nobody wants to admit that they or anyone around them is stupid or ignorant….

Some people like to gain knowledge and squash the ignorance in its tracks, where as other people just like to ignore the problems of the world, even while those things are staring them in the face.  I don’t understand how people can live like that…choosing to be ignorant.  How can a person not desire knowledge, I thought it was human nature for the longest time…and yet I see people choosing ignorance over acknowledging issues in the world every day.  Some people want to live in a book that is only painted with the pictures of their mind, their issues, their beliefs….not ever accounting for the fact that there are people who live outside of their eyesight, that there are people who don’t feel the way they feel, who don’t believe what they believe, who don’t know what they know…who know more than what they know.  I can’t believe that some people can be so ignorant and so vain that they seriously cannot see beyond their own front yard so to speak.

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?

Perception, Truth, Reality….

It’s strange when you think about the relationship of these three words.  Your perception of the truth is your reality…it doesn’t really matter what other people see as true, because the truth is different for everyone.  Three people could see the exact same thing happen and yet three different stories will come out of the event…how is this possible?  Who is telling the truth?  How can everyone be honest and yet no one know the truth?  These are all questions that I’m sure police officers have to deal with all of the time. 

Is there such a thing as absolute truth?  If our perception is our reality, and reality is what you live by and how you arrange your life, then does an absolute truth really exist?  And if it does exist, does it matter?  Is it important to know the truth or simply what you believe to be the truth.  Some people can live in denial for weeks, months, or even years about things that they don’t want to admit to themselves is true.  They could have proof right in their hands and still go on believing other wise.  For them, their beliefs are their truth because they can’t handle the thought or don’t want to have to handle the thought of another reality.  They want things to stay as they are, and the only way to keep reality from shifting to is to hold on to that false security… to put up a wall and convince yourself that nothing matters except for what you “know” to be true. 

A person’s mind is a very powerful thing.  I think that there is a lot of truth to the phrase, mind over matter.  A person can convince themselves of just about anything if they really want to, or sometimes need to, just to survive.  Does it matter that we know the truth, or does it matter that we understand our perceptions to the point where our reality will help us to survive?  Does any of it matter beyond what goes on in your own head?

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?

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”.

People’s different impression of God is so vastly different…some different cultures have multiple gods…some people believe in more a guiding force like fate or something similar….even all of the people who believe in the one all knowing…all seeing God..have incredibly different opinions of the personality (for lack of a better word) of that God….some people believe that he is all fire and brimstone..just waiting to throw you into hell…while others believe that is all loving and ever forgiving….some people believe that there is simply a higher life form such as aliens that live as we do, but are much more advanced and therefore have god like qualities. 

People’s beliefs are really interesting to learn about.  Especially believes on things that have no proof one way or the other.  At the very least, sometimes people can surprise you and give you something to think about that never would have crossed your mind otherwise…that is if you’re open to hearing other people’s beliefs and opinions. 

What is also very interesting is how our society pushes certain impressions of things like God and aliens….I once heard someone say that if a giant monster landed in a round or square space ship and came out with eight arms some people still wouldn’t believe that it was an alien…because we “know” what aliens look like…I am willing to bet that if we took a poll we would get just about the same answer from at least 90% of the population when asked to describe an alien.  They have been depicted for years and even generations now in movies and on TV, much less in books and comic books. 

How much influence does Society have on our beliefs?  What opportunities have we all missed because we refuse to see what is right in front of us or listen to something that seems off the wall just because we haven’t heard it before?

What is so important it is worth dying for?  Is there any cause that is worth standing up for to the point that you are willing to put your life on the line?  On the other hand, how much of your own beliefs and way of life are you willing to put aside for any reason?  Some people die within themselves, maybe because they want to blend in, maybe they don’t want to cause problems or tension, maybe they want to get ahead in a job or career…whatever the reason, where do you draw the line?

Watching a movie called Swing Kidstoday got me wondering if I would be able to stand up for what I believe in when everyone around me is sending the opposite message.  The movie is about a group of teenage boys who live in Germany during WWII.  These boys didn’t want to join the Hitler Youth, but two of them are forced into it; exposed to propaganda every day and expected to act a certain way.  The boys thought it would end up being the perfect cover:  “Hitler Youth by day and Swing Kid by night”.  Unfortunately, the boys get caught up, one more than the other.  One of the boys figures out that it really is all propaganda and that he could never be a Nazi and live with himself.  It takes his friend almost killing him and seeing him taken away to a work camp to come around and remember what he believes in.

Could I stand up for what I truly believe in?  What if doing so put my family and friends in danger?  I would hope I would never compromise myself because of a need to fit in with a popular crowd or teaching.  On the other hand, I can’t imagine ever putting my loved ones in harms way because of a personal cause…so where is the line?  How do we know when is the time to fight and when is the time to lay low?