Everything Will Pass

in

Recently I was exposed to two interesting ideas that helped me think about my experiences differently.

The first was a meditating method called Vipassana. I saw a documentary about it’s presence in Indian jails, and the effect it had on the inmates as well as the officers. From what I understood, it revolved around the idea of things passing. Good things, bad things, everything passing. Seeing it in your mind, acknowledging it, and letting it pass, all while focusing on your breathing. I’m sure I’m not explaining it well but you can go to dhamma.org for a better understanding. 

This idea of things passing made me think about all the heart wrenching emotions I’ve had in the past couple of months. Thoughts of regret, of missing out, of hurting others, of hating others…emotions I felt strongly, that chewed at my insides every day, emotions I couldn’t get away from that have finally begun to subside. It’s like I’ve acknowledged them, and now I’m watching them pass away. And not only the hurtful emotions but also the happy ones, I’ve watched them all just settle down and pass away. Putting this all into perspective, puts me at ease because I can accept the fact that the past is the past and I can only move forward, and try to correct what I can. But it also makes me appreciate the beauty in feeling something so powerfully and the wisdom necessary to control/guide that feeling. Which leads me to my second encounter.

I read a story about an 87 year old woman who returned to college, and quickly gained the affection of her peers. So much so, that her peers asked her to give a speech at an event. At this event she said something to the effect of “We, the elderly, don’t look back and regret the things we’ve done, but the things we didn’t do.” Which I’m sure you’ve all heard before in some form or another, but hearing it in the context of this story, and along with what was going on with me now, I began to see the importance in taking action. There are several things I want to do, several impulses I’ve suppressed for various reasons, and I think in some of those situations I was wrong. 

I was afraid so I held back, but I was afraid of things that will eventually pass, things that won’t look so daunting a few years from now. And I don’t want to regret not taking action…

With that said, I’ll take a moment to mull a few things over in my mind and make some changes.

^-^: soulsticesetting: Even though I’m not religious anymore I’ve learned...

in

soulsticesetting:

Even though I’m not religious anymore

I’ve learned not to fuck with people’s faith

Who’s to say whatever they believe in isn’t real

Who’s to say everything everyone believes in isn’t real an all the gods are somewhere chilling wondering when we’re going to get it…

^-^: soulsticesetting: Even though I’m not religious anymore I’ve learned...

in

Gentlemen. This is what rape culture is like:

Imagine you have a Rolex watch. Nice fancy Rolex, you bought it because you like the way it looks and you wanted to treat yourself. And then you get beaten and mugged and your Rolex is stolen. So you go to the police. Only, instead of investigating the crime, the police want to know why you were wearing a Rolex instead of a regular watch. Have you ever given a Rolex to anyone else? Is it possible you wanted to be mugged? Why didn’t you wear long sleeves to cover up the Rolex if you didn’t want to be mugged?

And then after that, everywhere you go, there are constant jokes about stealing your Rolex. People you don’t even know whistle at your Rolex and make jokes about cutting your hand off to get it. The media doesn’t help either; it portrays people who wear Rolexes as flamboyant assholes who secretly just want someone to come along and take that Rolex off their hands. When damn, all you wanted was to wear a nice watch without getting harassed for it. When you complain that you are starting to feel unsafe, people laugh you off and say that you are too uptight. Never mind you got violently attacked for the crime of wearing a friggin time piece.

Imagining all that? It sucks, doesn’t it.

Now imagine you could never take the Rolex off.

The Wretched of the Earth: [TW: rape] On Rape Culture  (via ghettogwenythpaltrow)

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(via dearmegan11)

Do It All

in

I’ve become the go to person in my church and at home. Whenever my parents need something I’m the person to make phone calls, send emails, type things up, print things out, translate bills/documents…at church I hold 3 titles but they tend to get combined with other titles, and I tend to be dubbed leader of anything that involves youth.

Today I was working on details for a trip I’m organizing, and I received a text message to do something for my dad, asked to write a proposal, told to write a statement for a meeting, asked to fill a deposit slip, and asked to set up a meeting…all within 10 minutes. All of this must be done in addition to my personal errands.

Lately I’ve been pretty bitter about having to do so much, and I even decided that if it wasn’t MY specific responsibility I just wasn’t going to do it.

I wrote a very vague status about “doing it all” on FB, and 3 very successful people, that I admire and respect, that are around my age, confirmed that yes I have to do it all (in other words it’s not a bad thing). Then today at church we had a youth service and the pastor preached about this very topic, again confirming that yep I should do it all. How else will I learn what I’m good at if I don’t try things?

So my level of organization is going to go WAY up. I’m going to prioritize, and I’m going to do it all (within reasonable limits of course). Here’s to making moves!

Not Quite

in

I’m content that’s for sure. All the important factors are present. The things that irk me are tolerable, fixable, small…It’s not a burden, it’s helpful. The only problem is I can’t see past tomorrow.

It’s actually quite similar to the last one. Everything was right, somethings bothered me but nothing was toxic. Generally it was good…until it wasn’t, and that’s the problem. If there’s no bond then what reason will you have to hold on when things get too complicated?

in

I will love you as we find ourselves farther and farther from one another, where we once were so close that we could slip the curved straw, and the long, slender spoon, between our lips and fingers respectively. I will love you until the chances of us running into one another slip from slim to zero, and until your face is fogged by distant memory, and your memory faced by distant fog, and your fog memorized by a distant face, and your distance distanced by the memorized memory of a foggy fog. I will love you no matter where you go and who you see, no matter where you avoid and who you don’t see, and no matter who sees you avoiding where you go. I will love you no matter what happens to you, and no matter how I discover what happens to you, and no matter what happens to me as I discover this, and no matter how I am discovered after what happens to me as I am discovering this.

The Beatrice Letters by Lemony Snicket (via lostinthesounds)
in

Health:

  1. Drink plenty of water.                                                                           
  2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
  3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
  4. Live with the 3 E’s - Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
  5. Play more games.
  6. Read more books than you did in 2011.
  7. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
  8. Sleep for 7 hours.
  9. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.


Personality:

  1. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
  2. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
  3. Don’t over do. Keep your limits.
  4. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
  5. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
  6. Dream more while you are awake.
  7. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
  8. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
  9. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
  10. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
  11. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
  12. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
  13. Smile and laugh more.
  14. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Society:

  1. Call your family often.
  2. Each day give something good to others.
  3. Forgive everyone for everything.
  4. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
  5. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
  6. What other people think of you is none of your business.
  7. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:

  1. Do the right thing!
  2. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
  3. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. 
  4. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
  5. The best is yet to come.
  6. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.