Skillet’s Bacon Jam

Now that is advertising.

Voice

How we converse with ourselves is a lot more important than how we converse with others.

My own internal dialogue has prevented me from doing things I have wanted to do in the past.  I can remember countless times where I have talked myself out of doing something and have allowed myself to become comfortable or satisfied with certain situations.

This is destructive because, essentially, you are letting inner voice prevent you from pursuing goals.  Procrastination, convincing yourself the time is not right, ‘you’ll do it next time’ – all self-destructive devices manufactured by an unhealthy inner voice.

Someone once told me that you get in life what you are, not what you want. 

So be deserving.

Be motivated.

Be positive.

Actively pursue things, even if it may not feel comfortable.

In the words of a very motivational individual:

If you are not willing to risk, you can’t grow.  If you can’t grow, you can’t become your best. If you can’t become your best you can’t be happy.  And if you can’t be happy, then what else is there?

Control your voice.  Don’t let your voice control you.

Ego and You

What is it called when you only start wanting something previously available to you once it becomes unavailable?  There must be a name for the phenomenon, but I can’t find one – all I know is that it annoys me.

When confronted with this type of situation recently, I realised that it is probably all about ego.  A girl who might have been interested in you gives up, moves on, starts seeing another person….suddenly you feel more available then you did when she was interested in you. 

You start to feel like you missed out on what could have been a good relationship opportunity.  You feel a tug of regret…why were you so unavailable before?  Your mindset does a 180 flip.

It’s all bullshit.

Nothing changed other than the fact that there was a blow to the ego.  The word ‘blow’ is probably too strong – your ego is being stroked by one less person. 

It is so child-like.  It reminds me of when I was 6 years old and mum would be trying to convince me to do something I really didn’t want to do like get a haircut or go somewhere.  She would give me her full attention; ask me to do it just for her.  Stubbornly, I would continue to refuse, until finally she would become angry and storm off.  Now that she had taken away her attention, I wanted it back, so I would run to her and say that I would get my haircut or do whatever it was that she wanted me to do (even though I still didn’t really want to get my haircut).

The reality is that the reasons for not wanting whatever was available did not change.  You simply enjoyed the attention or accessibility.  It fed the ego.  Even writing this I still feel some regret about the situation and feel annoyed that I can’t mange my own impulsivity. 

Don’t let ego get the better of you.  Let go.

Food

I. Feel. Hungry.

Faith & Freedom

Do not be bullied out of your common sense by the specialist; two to one, he is a pedant.

-Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes

I want to preface this by saying, I do not hate religion.  Religion interests me greatly.  I think there are a lot of positive principles that can be taken from many different religions, but the concept of blind faith seems curiously archaic to me.

People close to me, particularly, seem irritated by my unwillingness to have faith in a set denomination, simply because they said I should.  Often I am bombarded with the parrot-like spouting of Bible passages which are supposed to enlighten me, or am lectured on what priests have said, with the expectation that I will accept a priest’s view without question, because they are specialists in the area of faith.

It seems to me that common sense and the view of a specialist, are often mutually exclusive.  Never have I seen a better example of this than religion.  It is quite amazing to me how very sensible people often wall up their sensible side when it comes to faith.  This seems to happen when they have been raised in a particular religion from birth.  The faith engrained as a child seemingly circumventing the process of critical thinking.  We were told it is, therefore it is.

I have time for people who want to discuss faith.  I find the topic interesting.  But I feel pity for those who attempt to overwhelm me with memorised Bible passages and religious sayings.  Usually people have committed these to memory, but have not given them thought; have accepted them, but neglected the dull tug of common sense when putting them in context.  If you believe it, okay.  But at least think about what is being said before repeating something like a mantra.

It is robotic, lacks substance and will not successfully bully me out of my common sense.

These people often say to me it is liberating and comforting to have faith in a particular denomination. If you are unable to exercise your common sense, are you really comfortable?

Are you really liberated if your ability to appraise the validity of a certain Bible passage is suppressed? 

Thought Police.  I hate police.

Truth

The Fruits of Religion

Recently a friend of mine, who happens to be christian, quoted to me a passage from the Gospel of Matthew.  I think that my problems with the usuage of the passage are better expressed in the following post from http://12tuesday.com/:

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Andy Burke

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

The above passage, taken from The Gospel of Matthew 7:18-20 (KJV), is a beautiful piece of poetry.  In a wonderful metaphor, Jesus explains how to distinguish between true prophets and false prophets, “by their fruits ye shall know them.”  But while I do recognize the merits of the writing, I have mixed feelings about its message – and perhaps Christians should have these same mixed feelings.

In the book Is Christianity Good for the World? A Debate, Christopher Hitchens points out that, “If Christianity is to claim credit for the work of outstanding Christians or for the labors of famous charities, then it must in all honesty accept responsibility for the opposite” (p. 23).  And this, to me, seems like a fair point – not only for Christianity, but for all religions, ideologies, institutions, and governments.

Even science, if we are to credit it for all the ways in which it makes our lives better, then we should also take responsibility for the horrors caused by modern warfare, global warming, and alike. Indeed, it seems as though many scientists do take on this responsibility by both researching potential solutions to these problems and championing political organizations aimed at helping the cause.

With this in mind, it seems Jesus’ claim that “a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit” is simply wrong.  Modern science has brought about evils, but most people would agree that it has essentially been good for the world.  The same might be said about the United States, democracy in general, or any number of other things.  So, contrary to what Jesus says, it seems that a good tree might bring forth both good and evil fruit. Or an evil tree might bring forth some good fruit (even Nazi Germany, for example, contributed advancements to cancer research; advancements which we don’t “cast into the fire” with the rest of Nazi ideology).

But what about Christianity, Islam, Judaism, or religion as a whole? Certainly there has been a mixture of good and evil fruit, but on the balance, do we define these institutions as generally good or bad for the world?  I find this extremely difficult to answer (though I have certain opinions in one direction), so I leave the question open to the reader.

On the other hand, perhaps the whole idea of “good trees” or “evil trees” is some type of fallacy.  For example, I find that atheism should neither be credited nor blamed for any good or evil outcomes.  It may be true that James Watson is an atheist, but it was not his atheism that led him to co-discover the structure of DNA.  Similarly, it was not atheism that led Stalin to initiate the Great Purge.  People will do with their non-belief what they will (that is, if anything can be done with non-belief).  So perhaps people also take their religion and do with it what they will – charities or inquisitions; equal-rights movements or crusades.

Maybe the pertinent question is this:  Would the world be better off without religion?

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,                                    

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

 

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

 

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

 

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll.

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

 

–   William Ernest Henley

Ego

Reflecting upon a recent failure, I have to say that, frustratingly, I forgot this.  Too much ego WILL KILL your talent. 

If you were good at something years ago, you may still have talent for it now.  However, don’t expect to just pick up where you left off.  If you have not engaged in an activity or practiced a skill-set for years, most likely the level of ability you had will have depreciated over time. 

You may have been the best…one of the best….it doesn’t fucking matter.  The chances of you being exactly the same as you were are slim.

It is irritating that I expected to be the same and through that expectation, set myself up for a fall.  Fortunately, I feel much more determined as a result, and my next attempt will be executed with far more humility. 

So remember people – too much EGO will KILL your TALENT.  Or something to that effect.

Mindless Shock

How easily are you shocked?  

If you find yourself to be particularly susceptible to techniques like shock value, ask yourself: am I thinking for myself?

Don’t let laws, rules and dominant opinion define your own thoughts.  Try not to let things shock you.  If you are constantly allowing what is ‘shocking’ to be defined for you by culture then you are a willing victim of lethargy of custom and lack of imagination. 

Next time you see something that triggers ‘shock’, stop.  Think.  Manage your impulsivity.

You’d be surprised what you can handle.