The worst invention of man is indeed what we all live in. The society that we have created has turned human nature into something that is looked down upon in the world today. The truth is that the world is a chaotic horrible place of extreme beauty and death. But, with the coming of society, a mask has been draped over the real world that does still exist. People that used to value the world for it could provide in terms of pleasure and recourses, now look upon it in terms of society(money, and scavenging the world for its good). The best places to go are the ones that could yield a high value. The world is an amazing place, but because the people are now involved with the workings of society, they are absorbed into this false reality of the world, and no longer value what the earth really is. I'm not saying that leaving society is the best idea, but that the best idea is one free of society.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Let Go
I believe that people should not live with regret; not dwell in the past. Everyone makes mistakes, so rather than ripping yourself apart, just get over it. Shit happens. People need to use their mistakes as an opportunity to learn something and make next time better instead of a set back.
I have been put in many situations that have made me question myself. Why did i do that? Was it worth it? When I was at the Mountain School, I was fortunate enough to travel to Ecuador and Peru. On both trips, I got extremely sick and couldn't do a lot of the activities that my classmates did. I mean it kind of sucked. But there wasn't really anything I could do about it, so I did my own thing to try to enjoy the time I had left. In Ecuador, I sat in a hammock by myself in the cloud forest and played set by myself. In Peru, I decided to just do everything anyway. Looking back now, I still appreciate those trips more than anything, even though I was sick.
I don't know if those are the best examples because those are more living in the moment ideas. But i like the idea of not dwelling in the past. I have learned that it does no good.
I have been put in many situations that have made me question myself. Why did i do that? Was it worth it? When I was at the Mountain School, I was fortunate enough to travel to Ecuador and Peru. On both trips, I got extremely sick and couldn't do a lot of the activities that my classmates did. I mean it kind of sucked. But there wasn't really anything I could do about it, so I did my own thing to try to enjoy the time I had left. In Ecuador, I sat in a hammock by myself in the cloud forest and played set by myself. In Peru, I decided to just do everything anyway. Looking back now, I still appreciate those trips more than anything, even though I was sick.
I don't know if those are the best examples because those are more living in the moment ideas. But i like the idea of not dwelling in the past. I have learned that it does no good.
I believe
I think that im going to write about change or art.. I cant decide! I think that change is very important. Nothing ever stays the same, or can happen the same way twice, and time is always moving forward. But change doesn't necessarily mean that everything has to be new. Old things, trends, and ideas can be brought back and be reinvented but nothing will ever be exactly how it was. It has changed. Through the rain and the sun and the wars and the revolution, everything in the universe is constantly changing. Our world is exactly like a human brain, always gaining more information, we just have to decide what to make of it.
Guys.. I think im going to write about art. Change might be too big of a task to tackle. I believe in painting. Oil paints are beautiful and rich. The first stroke is so tentative; beginning a new creation. But when the strokes fall into a perfect rhythm, my thoughts illuminate. Smearing the paint on the canvas becomes not just a task, but a thrill and gives me true joy. It makes me happy in a way that I will try to describe to everyone. I love that art is personal and international at the same time. more to come...:)
Guys.. I think im going to write about art. Change might be too big of a task to tackle. I believe in painting. Oil paints are beautiful and rich. The first stroke is so tentative; beginning a new creation. But when the strokes fall into a perfect rhythm, my thoughts illuminate. Smearing the paint on the canvas becomes not just a task, but a thrill and gives me true joy. It makes me happy in a way that I will try to describe to everyone. I love that art is personal and international at the same time. more to come...:)
Under the Banner of Heaven Review
John Krakauer unveils a violent and shocking tale of fanaticism and the bloody side of religion in Under the Banner of Heaven, an exploration into the Fundamentalist Mormon faith and culture. Spurred on by the murder of an innocent LDS mother and her 15-month old baby by her two fundamentalist brother-in-laws who believed they had been commanded by God, Krakauer dives deep into the core of the religion and the philosophy of the religious extremism itself. Shifting through the polygamy-ridden history of the mainstream Mormon Church, which happens to be the fastest growing religion in the world, the author examines the foundation upon which these extremists are built. Recounting incidents from the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart in 2002 to the perverse history of FLDS communities such as Colorado City, Arizona with engaging and thorough journalism, Krakauer digs down to the bedrock of the extremist’s mind. If you are unopinionated on the Mormon Church before reading this book then you certainly wont be a fan of it after you have. While the author is one-hundred percent factual, he does paint the mainstream Latter Day Saints in a harsher light than they deserve. Krakauer enthralls the reader in the stories of forced marriages, incest, rape and unmovable faith. It isn’t far into the book that the reader’s blood begins to boil. The unflinching truthfulness of the horrors told in Under the Banner of Heaven makes the reader wish they could wipe the fundamentalist Mormon church of the face of the earth. The author asks and then attempts to answer questions such as Where is the line drawn between faith and fanaticism? Krakauer conjures connections between Mormon Fundamentalism and other infamous extremist sects, comparing Ron and Dan Lafferty, the murderers who’s story opens up the book, to Osama bin Laden, Jim Jones, and other mass murderers driven by their faith. He says Colorado City, where the residents are strictly forbidden from watching television or reading newspapers and where 14 year old girls are pulled out of school to marry their uncles, is a “Taliban-like theocracy”. Under the Banner of Heaven is an extremely interesting and thought provoking book and Krakauer’s investigation into the FLDS Church leaves no stone unturned. A great read, as long as the reader doesn’t mind getting enraged by every passing page.
I Believe...
I am still figuring out how to approach my topic it is on hard work/success/how people take the easy way out too often. They all tie together enough that i would talk about how hard work is the only way to be successful and when people do things the easy way they do not get as much out of it. There is nothing wrong with doing something efficiently and fast when you have a time limit but humans have lost the way of really working for what they want and getting it done the old fashion way. if you do every task to the best of your ability and not cheat yourself not only will you feel more accomplished you will more likely be successful. so if you want to be successful there are no short cuts or easy way outs, there is only hard work and doing things the right way.
I Believe in Learning to Change a Tire
Specifically, I am writing that every person should know how to change a tire. I am going to tell a story about how two other girls and I got stuck with a slashed tire on the way to Norwood and we had to change the tire ourselves because there was no cell phone service to call anyone. One of the girl's fathers had recently taught her how to change a tire, and if it wasn't for her, we would have been stuck for a while, because no one stopped to help us. In a broader sense, I am saying that pracitcal knowledge is more important than textbook information. Practical knowledge, in most situations, benefits you more than a fact on the Civil War. Changing a tire is something every person should know how to do, because most likely, you will be in that situation one day.
The Glass Castle
What makes a good story? Many writers spend their entire careers answering it over and over, hoping each time to get it right. But what does it mean to tell your own personal story? What makes a non-fiction hard to put down? The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is the ideal book to answer these questions.
The first page of her story really paints a picture in your head on how her life must have been like, “I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had over dressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw my mom rooting through a dumpster… It had been months sense I laid eyes on Mom, and when she looked up, I was over come with panic that she’d see me and call out my name, and that someone on the way to the same party would spot us together…” From the get go, you already know she would rather people didn’t know who her parents are. This also paints a pretty good picture that if her parents were homeless now, how their lives could have been like when Jeannette was younger.
The title, The Glass Castle, gives a very good fairy tale dream that the kids always talked to their father about, and becomes relevant to the story because it is about how it felt growing up with a family that is constantly on the move, running from one town to the next. Jeannette and her three other siblings learned to take care of themselves at a very young age. Both parents rarely worked and when her mother began to teach she would attempt to hide her paychecks from her alcoholic husband by telling her kids to hide some of the cash somewhere, however, she would always give in to his habits and he would end up drinking it all away, leaving their four kids to occasionally scavenge for food themselves.
The tone is phenomenal. The way Walls tells her story is more like a matter of fact, not sugar coated, not unrealistic, but true. There are no unnecessary word play, or irrelevant situations. You feel as if you are in her head, going through all the situations she went through. Imagine your friend telling you about a remarkable event that took place. They kept you engaged in what they were telling you while going into great, but not too much, detail. That is exactly how this story was told.
Overall, The Glass Castle is a remarkable read. It has everything a good story needs: a great story line, an incredible style and tone, unforgettable characters, and gives almost an inside look at a lifestyle most people would over look and label as lazy. You would be a fool not to recommend this book to a friend, family member, or stranger.
The first page of her story really paints a picture in your head on how her life must have been like, “I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had over dressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw my mom rooting through a dumpster… It had been months sense I laid eyes on Mom, and when she looked up, I was over come with panic that she’d see me and call out my name, and that someone on the way to the same party would spot us together…” From the get go, you already know she would rather people didn’t know who her parents are. This also paints a pretty good picture that if her parents were homeless now, how their lives could have been like when Jeannette was younger.
The title, The Glass Castle, gives a very good fairy tale dream that the kids always talked to their father about, and becomes relevant to the story because it is about how it felt growing up with a family that is constantly on the move, running from one town to the next. Jeannette and her three other siblings learned to take care of themselves at a very young age. Both parents rarely worked and when her mother began to teach she would attempt to hide her paychecks from her alcoholic husband by telling her kids to hide some of the cash somewhere, however, she would always give in to his habits and he would end up drinking it all away, leaving their four kids to occasionally scavenge for food themselves.
The tone is phenomenal. The way Walls tells her story is more like a matter of fact, not sugar coated, not unrealistic, but true. There are no unnecessary word play, or irrelevant situations. You feel as if you are in her head, going through all the situations she went through. Imagine your friend telling you about a remarkable event that took place. They kept you engaged in what they were telling you while going into great, but not too much, detail. That is exactly how this story was told.
Overall, The Glass Castle is a remarkable read. It has everything a good story needs: a great story line, an incredible style and tone, unforgettable characters, and gives almost an inside look at a lifestyle most people would over look and label as lazy. You would be a fool not to recommend this book to a friend, family member, or stranger.
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