Note to all who read my blog!!

Just a little note to all you who read my blog and leave comments:I would appreciate it if you all remembered that this is MY blog and MY opinions and you should respect that. I don't mind people leaving comments (actually I encourage it) but please respect the nature of this forum of discussion. Please don't be rude and consider others when you leave comments. I will respect your opinion as long as you respect mine.A lot of the things I write about our not black and white and willingly listen to others opinion as I feel they help make my views more rounded.Also, could those of you that are not lj users please leave a name (I like to know if I already know you)Thanks,Chris

What do you remember about me!!

Post a memory of me in the comments. It can be anything you want. Then post this to your journal and see what people remember of you. anyone?

Daffodil Principle!!

I have taken this from gr8gr88 it inspired me and thought it might inspire others:
Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come seethe daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead. "I will come next Tuesday, " Ipromised, reluctantly, on her third call.Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drovehere. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch!" Mydaughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother.""Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'mheading for home!" I assured her."I was hoping you'd take me over to the garage to pick up my car." "How farwill we have to drive?" "Just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'mused to this." After several minutes, I had to ask, "Where are we going?This isn't the way to the garage!""We're going to my garage the long way," Carolyn smiled, "by way of thedaffodils." "Carolyn," I said sternly, "please turn around." "It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss thisexperience."After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a gravel road and I saw a smallchurch. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand-lettered sign thatread,"Daffodil Garden."

We got out of the car and each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up andgasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as though someone had taken a shimmering vat of gold and poured it down over the mountainpeakand slopes.The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns-great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron, and butteryellow. Each different-colored variety was planted as a group so that itswirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue.There were five acres of flowers. "But who did this?" I asked Carolyn."It's just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's herhome." Carolyn pointed to a well kept A-frame house that looked small andmodest in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house. On thepatio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking"was the headline.The first answer was a simple one."50,000 bulbs," it read. The secondanswerwas, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and very little brain." The third answer was, "Began in 1958."There it was, The Daffodil Principle. For me, that moment was alife-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met,who,more than forty years before, had begun-one bulb at a time-to bring hervision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top. Still, just plantingone bulb at a time, year after year, had changed the world. This unknownwoman had forever changed the world in which she lived. She had createdsomething of magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principlesof celebration. That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires onestep at a time - often just one baby-step at a time - and learning to lovethe doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tinypieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find wecan accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world."It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I haveaccomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or fortyyearsago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years.Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way."Starttomorrow," she said.It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to makelearning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to onlyask, "How can I put this to use today?""Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantlyset about remedying them-- every day begin the task anew."St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622)French bishop & writer

Because you are beautiful, no matter what they say!!

A few weeks a go the winner of the artist's competition to design a statue for the vacant fourth plinth at Trafalgar Square in London was announced. For those of you who don't know the winner is a marble statue of a naked woman. Rather than aping classical sculpture, the model - Alison Lapper, born with no arms and stunted legs, is also pregnant. Given the plastic surgery, botox, atkins diets etc of today's society and the mentality that we all have to have classical good looks and slim bodies this could be seen as a rather interesting choice. Not surprisingly, the piece caused a major stir in both the art-world and amongst the general public. Many people felt disgusted at the piece and thought it would be more apt to have a statue devoted to the Queen Mother. I disagree, I think the piece it great. It shows so many different qualities, single motherhood, the acceptance of disability and for me most importantly that beauty is not all about classical good looks.For those of you who have seen the BBC programme 'Child of our Time' (This is the only television programme I watch as it is to do with genetics) you may have seen Alison Lapper with her child. She was Born with phocomelia, a congenital condition similar to that caused by Thalidomide, Ms Lapper stands at just 3ft 11ins, having cast off the artificial limbs she wore as a child. She is a courageous woman who does not care about what others think of her, she just gets on with her life. She is happy with her body (and so she should be) and has always refused to have plastic surgery when it has been offered to her. She doesn't have classical good looks but I see much more beauty in her than any of these so called beautiful super-models. Despite her disability she has managed to bring up her child as good as (and if you see the programme, probably better than) most able bodied people.If you look at the piece I think you will see that it does capture this spirit of the person, there is some kind of radiant beauty coming from it. I even dare to say that it is a modern day Venus de Milo. Most people recognise the Venus de Milo to be the most beautiful sculpture of a female in the world but no one ever questions the fact that the statue (although indirectly) shows a disabled person. This is a brilliant piece, it hasn't even been properly made yet but it has already caused the general public of Britain to think and argue (and that is what art should be about).The piece shows that disability is something to be proud off, it challenges the prejudices of today's society, it shows the diversity that exists in today's society, it shows that beauty can be found in many different things that society does't consider to be classically beautiful. It shows that it is what is in the inside of a person that counts. I really do like this piece, I think it is original and sets the right tone for the future. it will encourage those who are still uncomfortable with their bodies. It puts all these wannabe stick insects to shame.I never thought I would be quoting Christina Aguilera (actually I am a little ashamed that I know some of her lyrics) but I think that her song 'Beautiful' is rather apt:Christina Aguilera: Beautiful.Every day is so wonderfulAnd suddenly, it's hard to breatheNow and then, I get insecureFrom all the pain, I'm so ashamedI am beautiful no matter what they sayWords can't bring me downI am beautiful in every single wayYes, words can't bring me downSo don't you bring me down todayTo all your friends, you're deliriousSo consumed in all your doomTrying hard to fill the emptinessThe piece is gone and left the puzzle undoneThat's the way it isYou are beautiful no matter what they sayWords can't bring you downYou are beautiful in every single wayYes, words can't bring you downSo don't you bring me down today...

The End of Hope!!

I was shown told to go to this site by Rich as he I think he was trying to freak me out. The site shows all sorts of pictures of things that would tend to make most people a little squeamish. For some reason (I hoping it is because I have a really strong stomach and not that I am a sick) I found that I could easily look at pictures without them having all that much effect on me. Well all but one.There was this one pic which (if you will excuse the pun but I can't think of any other way to put it) when I saw it, I felt as if I had been hit by a train. If you follow the link the end of hope you will see this pic but WARNING: This is not a nice picture, and may make you feel very squeamishFor those of you have decided not to follow the link, the picture shows a young child (no older than 4/5) lying in between the two metal parts of a train track. The child has obviously been hit by a train and as a result it's two legs have been amputated which can also be seen. There is a possibility that this picture is a hoax but it does look very realistic.I am not often all that emotional and it takes a great deal to make me cry but this picture brought a tear to my eye (something that I am proud to admit to). I hate to see pictures or hear of dead children, to me this a symbol of lost hope. The loss of an innocent child's life really upsets me. They have so much still to learn, to see etc, they potentially have so much to offer the world but have not been given the chance. If it had of been someone older I don't think the picture would have made much of an impression on me but as it was a child it did.Sometimes, I think we under-estimate really young children, they are not bothered about materialistic things, they be who they want to be. It is only when they become that little bit older and come into contact with this big bad world that they become corrupted. They start to judge others and feel the need to have all the material that society says they should have. When I see a young child, I feel so happy that they can just get on with their lives with few worries. I think the reason that a dead child upsets me so much is that they fill me with hope. Hope that they will not be corrupted by today's society, hope that they will make the world a better place, hope that they keep this trait of not being judge-mental. Remember: the youth of today are tomorrow's future

Can you buy happiness?

I was browsing some philosophy site last night and came across a philosopher called Epicurus. I had heard of him before but as most of the philosophy that I have been looking at recently is from the modern era I hadn't really had much chance to look at his ideas in any great depth. His philosophy was mainly about how we achieve happiness in our lives. He didn't believe that material objects can bring you much happiness but true happiness was achieved if you had the following:1. Friendship: Epicurus says that 'Before you eat or drink anything, carefully consider who you eat and drink with rather than what you eat or drink: for feeding without a friend is the life of a lion of a wolf'This is a little extreme but I think what he is trying to say is that it doesn't matter if we have all the worldly goods we want, if we have no one to share them with then what's the point. And conversely, if we have little it doesn't really matter as long as we have someone to share what little we have with, then we can be happy.2. Freedom: For this he says that 'We should free ourselves from the prison of everyday affairs and politics'By doing this, the simple life you would lead does not affect you or friends status because by distancing yourself from the commercial world you cease to judge yourself on a material basis. By living this way you have nothing to prove.3. Thought: By thinking about a problem that one may have, we are able to find its essential aspects emerge. Once we know these aspects then we can remove the problem or the secondary, aggravating characteristics.Given that Epicurus in 341BC I thought this was a rather interesting way of thinking considering the emphasis put on material possessions in today's society. To a certain extend I believe that this Epicurean way of thinking about achieving happiness is more relevant today than in his era. But this would mean that a lot of the developed world are unhappy, most of the people in the developed world think that having beauty treatments, going on nights out, buying themselves that fancy house will make them happy. Often it doesn't, I wouldn't be all that surprised if they did lack one of the three properties of Epicurus' philosophy (most likely the freedom one).I suppose this could mean that the only way to be happy in Epicurus' eyes would be to live in a commune and more or less be self-sufficient and give up your job. You would be among friends, have nothing to prove to anyone and have all the time to think that you desire. This does seem a bit rash and I am sure that people can live happy lives without being as strict as Epicurus was, I think we just have to not be worried about being judged and not feel the need to give in to the social pressures of having all the material things that we are expected to have. To a certain extend I feel that the saying 'Being a student is the best days of your lives' because generally students have all an equal status, and they are not as worried about material things compared to when they were a teenager and after they graduate. And they are more accepting (don't look down at those who have little) and hence live a more happy life then. Just a pity it only lasts for three years!!