Today we went around the Thanksgiving table and each named one thing we are particularly thankful for on this holiday. It was quickly evident how much we cherish each other as a family, as we all expressed our gratitude for family members - husbands, wives, sons, granddaughters.
And so I wanted to take a moment and really think about those things I am truly grateful for. It is at times like these that the everyday trappings are stripped away and you realize what really means the most.
I am thankful for my husband, who loves and protects me fiercely. His loyalty is unmatched. I am grateful we are married for 'time and all eternity' and that our family is sealed together forever. I couldn't imagine not being with them once this life is passed. What a blessing it is to have been sealed as a forever family in the temple.
I am thankful for my boys. I am thankful for their infinite love that gives me a glimpse into the love of my Heavenly Father for me. I am grateful that they so easily forgive my shortcomings. I am thankful for their cuddles and hugs.
I am thankful for the material provisions in life with which I am blessed. I am grateful I do not know the pangs of hunger or the bite of the cold. I am grateful not just for 'enough,' but for more than enough and some to spare.
I am thankful for the light and knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am thankful for the direction it gives me in life, and for the constant drive it provides in me to improve upon myself. I am grateful for the gift of life from my Saviour through his eternal sacrifice. Where would I be today without it?
I am thankful for the gift of music in my life. I can't imagine a day going by without hearing sweet melodies and beautiful poetry.
I am thankful for my beautiful life. It reminds me of a song by Hilary Weeks. When I hear her sing this song, I am reminded of all of which I am blessed.
I am blessed with a beautiful life
I am blessed
All I need He's given me
I am blessed.
There's no doubt Heaven watches over me
There's no doubt
Through thick and thin I'll trust in Him
There's no doubt.
I'll be faithful
Certain as the rising sun
And steady northern star
Constant and true to His name
Like an ocean wave pushing on
Until it reaches shore
Day after day I will remain
Faithful.
These lyrics constantly remind me that I truly am blessed by His love and grace, and are a reminder of the faith I promise Him in return.
Showing posts with label Philosophical Conversations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philosophical Conversations. Show all posts
Monday, 11 October 2010
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Nostalgia
Immersed in the world of the Bronte family as I am now, I find myself waxing nostalgic for the future. (I know, I know, is that even possible? But it was the best description I could think of.) I get these little glimpses of moments I hope to create in the future. Here, recorded for posterity, are a few of them. Forgive me if they all seem right out of "Little Women." I've always been a little old-fashioned that way.
***
Owing a dept of gratitude to the cable companies who decided I wouldn't be able to get free television anymore, I see myself and my family lounging in the family room in the evening. Someone is reading. Someone is doing the dishes (not me!) Someone is talking over a homework question. In fact, everyone is just doing their own thing, while I do my own thing, which is sitting in my armchair with a leg thrown over the side, strumming away on my guitar. I'm not performing or entertaining, just in my own little world, providing a little background music for my family.
***
The family sitting around playing a game, or reading a book aloud. Growing up we played tons of games. That is a staple of childhood for me, and continues now into adulthood also. But reading aloud as a family isn't something we ever did. I've heard a few of my friends talk about how they do this, and I fell in love with the idea. Instead of sitting and watching a movie together, we sit and read a book together. We pass the book around, each reading a page or two at a time. Or maybe I read a whole chapter at once while the boys stretch their bodies out on the couch or the floor. I hope this will be a natural extension of us reading so many children's books to the boys now.
***
Lying out on our backyard swing with one of the boys. Just the two of us, swinging lazily in the afternoon summer sun. The back of our swing collapses so that two people can actually lie side by side on it. A couple weeks back I heard a friend speak about how his mother used to swing on the backyard swingset with him when he was a boy and they would talk about the future, his serving a mission, his testimony of Jesus Christ. The image it stirred in my mind was so powerful that I hope to have moments just like this with my boys down the road.
***
A New Years Eve music party. About 6 years ago James and I were invited to one such party by some friends of ours. They actually have children our age, but our mutual love of music had bridged the generation gap between us and created a good friendship. This husband and wife actually own a music studio and store in Toronto, and they and their five children are all very musically talented. And so each year they hosted a New Years Eve party. The first portion was a sit down dinner in which we were all served a three course meal (they even hired servers!). After the meal we all retired to their music room, complete with a baby grand piano. Each guest had been asked to prepare some sort of musical presentation of a Christmas song. There were solos and duets, vocals, piano, cello, flute, trumpet, violin. We sang as a group and we enjoyed the solos. This was by far my favourite part of the night. After the music was finished there were one or two group games while we counted down to midnight. I hope one day down the road, when the kids are a little older, to host something like this.
***
Owing a dept of gratitude to the cable companies who decided I wouldn't be able to get free television anymore, I see myself and my family lounging in the family room in the evening. Someone is reading. Someone is doing the dishes (not me!) Someone is talking over a homework question. In fact, everyone is just doing their own thing, while I do my own thing, which is sitting in my armchair with a leg thrown over the side, strumming away on my guitar. I'm not performing or entertaining, just in my own little world, providing a little background music for my family.
***
The family sitting around playing a game, or reading a book aloud. Growing up we played tons of games. That is a staple of childhood for me, and continues now into adulthood also. But reading aloud as a family isn't something we ever did. I've heard a few of my friends talk about how they do this, and I fell in love with the idea. Instead of sitting and watching a movie together, we sit and read a book together. We pass the book around, each reading a page or two at a time. Or maybe I read a whole chapter at once while the boys stretch their bodies out on the couch or the floor. I hope this will be a natural extension of us reading so many children's books to the boys now.
***
Lying out on our backyard swing with one of the boys. Just the two of us, swinging lazily in the afternoon summer sun. The back of our swing collapses so that two people can actually lie side by side on it. A couple weeks back I heard a friend speak about how his mother used to swing on the backyard swingset with him when he was a boy and they would talk about the future, his serving a mission, his testimony of Jesus Christ. The image it stirred in my mind was so powerful that I hope to have moments just like this with my boys down the road.
***
A New Years Eve music party. About 6 years ago James and I were invited to one such party by some friends of ours. They actually have children our age, but our mutual love of music had bridged the generation gap between us and created a good friendship. This husband and wife actually own a music studio and store in Toronto, and they and their five children are all very musically talented. And so each year they hosted a New Years Eve party. The first portion was a sit down dinner in which we were all served a three course meal (they even hired servers!). After the meal we all retired to their music room, complete with a baby grand piano. Each guest had been asked to prepare some sort of musical presentation of a Christmas song. There were solos and duets, vocals, piano, cello, flute, trumpet, violin. We sang as a group and we enjoyed the solos. This was by far my favourite part of the night. After the music was finished there were one or two group games while we counted down to midnight. I hope one day down the road, when the kids are a little older, to host something like this.
Friday, 24 September 2010
The dream
I have just been absolutely inspired these past few days. Really, just bubbling over with excitement, and I just have to share.
I think I've figured out what I want to dedicate the next portion of my life to. Of course, it won't start for at least another four or five years, but it might take that long to shape and plan, so I'm not discouraged.
A few days back I wrote this post about an art centre, a dream I have for kids to freely explore the arts in an open environment. At that time is was a vague sense of an opportunity. But in the past few days the hazy sketch has become a hardened outline.
It begins with a house. Since we moved to Orangeville, I have been in love with a house just a block over from where we live. It's a fantastic old century home with a yard the size of three town properties. No houses were squeezed onto either side of it, so the yard is large and full of bushes and mature trees. There was only one problem - at some point someone built such a large extension on the back it is the size of TWO large houses. Way too big for what I want for my family. I like the idea of a smaller than normal house so that we are constantly bustling and interacting with each other. A big house means separation, isolation and a whole lot more to clean.
And so at least a couple times a week I would walk or drive by this home, feeling a strong connection to it and yet knowing I would never buy such a large property for myself.
Then for some reason, something twigged in my brain. Amid my thoughts on homeschooling and the art centre and the advantages to living in town over the country and wanting to have large, treed land on which to roam, finally a focused centre emerged. This house would be perfect to house my family in one half, and create my studio in the other!
Not studio, conservatory. That's what I would call it: The Conservatory. A place for kids, youth, and teens to explore the liberal arts and sciences on their own terms, according to their own interests, by themselves or under the guidance of someone experienced or with a group of peers. I see a small library with bookshelves that soar to the ceiling, big comfy chairs and lamps throwing pockets of light across the floor. I see a music room with a piano and my collection of varied instruments and shelves of sheet music and a keyboard and laptop on which to compose. I see a room with couches in which a lively political or literary debate is raging, or conversely a small reading of a Shakespeare play. I perhaps even see a kitchen in which the sciences are applied in real life and from which a delicious aroma seeps throughout the house. I see a large open room with old wooden floors polished up and reflecting a group of dancers learning to imitate the graceful motions of their leader in front, or a lively musical being staged.
It would be a place where someone with experience could come and teach a class on their particular area of expertise, without having to pay and arm and a leg for a space to run the class, and the youth enrolled in the class wouldn't have to break open their piggy banks to indulge their creativity. Local artists, literature lovers, scientists and naturalists drop in to have a cozy chat about their loves and lives and share some new discoveries with wide-eyed onlookers.
Do you see it? I feel like this place already exists and I'm just going to help bring it to the rest of the world. Kind of like that old adage of an artist who doesn't carve a statue from marble; he simply chips away the unnecessary pieces to reveal what was already there. Next week I'm going to visit with a real estate agent and let them know that when that house comes up for sale, I'm going to buy it. I have no idea when that will be, but I will trust in God that when (and if) it is time for me to pursue this course, He will make it happen.
I think I've figured out what I want to dedicate the next portion of my life to. Of course, it won't start for at least another four or five years, but it might take that long to shape and plan, so I'm not discouraged.
A few days back I wrote this post about an art centre, a dream I have for kids to freely explore the arts in an open environment. At that time is was a vague sense of an opportunity. But in the past few days the hazy sketch has become a hardened outline.
It begins with a house. Since we moved to Orangeville, I have been in love with a house just a block over from where we live. It's a fantastic old century home with a yard the size of three town properties. No houses were squeezed onto either side of it, so the yard is large and full of bushes and mature trees. There was only one problem - at some point someone built such a large extension on the back it is the size of TWO large houses. Way too big for what I want for my family. I like the idea of a smaller than normal house so that we are constantly bustling and interacting with each other. A big house means separation, isolation and a whole lot more to clean.
And so at least a couple times a week I would walk or drive by this home, feeling a strong connection to it and yet knowing I would never buy such a large property for myself.
Then for some reason, something twigged in my brain. Amid my thoughts on homeschooling and the art centre and the advantages to living in town over the country and wanting to have large, treed land on which to roam, finally a focused centre emerged. This house would be perfect to house my family in one half, and create my studio in the other!
Not studio, conservatory. That's what I would call it: The Conservatory. A place for kids, youth, and teens to explore the liberal arts and sciences on their own terms, according to their own interests, by themselves or under the guidance of someone experienced or with a group of peers. I see a small library with bookshelves that soar to the ceiling, big comfy chairs and lamps throwing pockets of light across the floor. I see a music room with a piano and my collection of varied instruments and shelves of sheet music and a keyboard and laptop on which to compose. I see a room with couches in which a lively political or literary debate is raging, or conversely a small reading of a Shakespeare play. I perhaps even see a kitchen in which the sciences are applied in real life and from which a delicious aroma seeps throughout the house. I see a large open room with old wooden floors polished up and reflecting a group of dancers learning to imitate the graceful motions of their leader in front, or a lively musical being staged.
It would be a place where someone with experience could come and teach a class on their particular area of expertise, without having to pay and arm and a leg for a space to run the class, and the youth enrolled in the class wouldn't have to break open their piggy banks to indulge their creativity. Local artists, literature lovers, scientists and naturalists drop in to have a cozy chat about their loves and lives and share some new discoveries with wide-eyed onlookers.
Do you see it? I feel like this place already exists and I'm just going to help bring it to the rest of the world. Kind of like that old adage of an artist who doesn't carve a statue from marble; he simply chips away the unnecessary pieces to reveal what was already there. Next week I'm going to visit with a real estate agent and let them know that when that house comes up for sale, I'm going to buy it. I have no idea when that will be, but I will trust in God that when (and if) it is time for me to pursue this course, He will make it happen.
Sunday, 12 September 2010
Looking into the future
Grey, cold, rainy fall days always seem to hold a mirror into the future for me. There's just something about this atmosphere that makes me think down the road.
I've been wondering lately, more than usual, what that road holds for me. What adventures might I embark on? Will I indulge the traveler within me, or will I feel the need for consistency and peace? While I was in the hospital a couple of weeks back, James and I had some time alone together (the nurse actually called it a "date!" and we took the time to read our Patriarchal blessings. These blessings were given to each of us 8 years apart, in different cities and by different people. For the first time we read them aloud to each other, back to back. And it was startling how many unique yet similar things were mentioned! Of course these are private and I won't go into detail here. But there are definitely some future events down our path together that I would not have written into my current "life plan." Right now I have the yen to by some property in the country, a small home that my boys can grow up in now and then come home to when they are grown. A place where my grandchildren will come and sleep in rooms their dads slept in as kids. A place to plant a large garden and grow some apple trees. A place where I will probably eventually homeschool, teach and learn with the boys, have adventures and joys and heartaches. I want to stay home even if they are all attending public school, tending to my home and being there when they come in the door. This little picture is exactly what my heart yearns for right now.
But a little seed in the back of my mind has unwittingly been planted (not by me!) and is slowly uncurling in deep, thick dark soil. I don't think my life has prepared me for what I write above. I have a love of travel, a heart for serving, a outreach to those in need. My father worked for the airlines, and I was practically raised on an airplane. I have an ear for languages, having been educated in French Immersion, and then I married a man also bilingual in French. I have been devouring books on how to homeschool, even though there seems no current need to do it. In our last church ward we were thrust into leadership positions even as young as we were. I just have this feeling that my training and experience will not let me just settle into a cottage in the country.
All these are exciting. All these things are adventures I could embark on with my children. All these are still conducive to me spending my time as mom with my kids every day. What is a little more unsettling is a small part of my blessing that talks about a career. I found it a little startling that in a church that is so family oriented, that encourages moms to stay home to raise their children (an idea I embrace and yearn for), my blessing noted that I would be a leader and exemplar in a chosen profession. I often try to skip by this part, since it was never in my plans to go into a profession or career. I want to stay home while my kids are still here, using my "free" time to volunteer in the community in various capacities. I want to be a "stay-at-home-mom" and then a "stay-at-home-grandma." But once again, something tells me there is something else down the road.
I pray I will have the courage to walk down the road God has in store for me. I pray that instead of clinging stubbornly to my idea of the future, I will embrace the learning and training moments in this school of life so that I will be prepared for the amazing journey planned just for me. I know it will be infinitely more satisfying in the end.
I've been wondering lately, more than usual, what that road holds for me. What adventures might I embark on? Will I indulge the traveler within me, or will I feel the need for consistency and peace? While I was in the hospital a couple of weeks back, James and I had some time alone together (the nurse actually called it a "date!" and we took the time to read our Patriarchal blessings. These blessings were given to each of us 8 years apart, in different cities and by different people. For the first time we read them aloud to each other, back to back. And it was startling how many unique yet similar things were mentioned! Of course these are private and I won't go into detail here. But there are definitely some future events down our path together that I would not have written into my current "life plan." Right now I have the yen to by some property in the country, a small home that my boys can grow up in now and then come home to when they are grown. A place where my grandchildren will come and sleep in rooms their dads slept in as kids. A place to plant a large garden and grow some apple trees. A place where I will probably eventually homeschool, teach and learn with the boys, have adventures and joys and heartaches. I want to stay home even if they are all attending public school, tending to my home and being there when they come in the door. This little picture is exactly what my heart yearns for right now.
But a little seed in the back of my mind has unwittingly been planted (not by me!) and is slowly uncurling in deep, thick dark soil. I don't think my life has prepared me for what I write above. I have a love of travel, a heart for serving, a outreach to those in need. My father worked for the airlines, and I was practically raised on an airplane. I have an ear for languages, having been educated in French Immersion, and then I married a man also bilingual in French. I have been devouring books on how to homeschool, even though there seems no current need to do it. In our last church ward we were thrust into leadership positions even as young as we were. I just have this feeling that my training and experience will not let me just settle into a cottage in the country.
All these are exciting. All these things are adventures I could embark on with my children. All these are still conducive to me spending my time as mom with my kids every day. What is a little more unsettling is a small part of my blessing that talks about a career. I found it a little startling that in a church that is so family oriented, that encourages moms to stay home to raise their children (an idea I embrace and yearn for), my blessing noted that I would be a leader and exemplar in a chosen profession. I often try to skip by this part, since it was never in my plans to go into a profession or career. I want to stay home while my kids are still here, using my "free" time to volunteer in the community in various capacities. I want to be a "stay-at-home-mom" and then a "stay-at-home-grandma." But once again, something tells me there is something else down the road.
I pray I will have the courage to walk down the road God has in store for me. I pray that instead of clinging stubbornly to my idea of the future, I will embrace the learning and training moments in this school of life so that I will be prepared for the amazing journey planned just for me. I know it will be infinitely more satisfying in the end.
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
An art centre
My favourite use of my taxes is the Ontario Early Years Centres. These are large rooms, or a grouping of rooms, set up in cities and towns and communities across the province; nearly anywhere you go you can find one. They are designed for children from birth to six years old. They have a large play area, with innumerable toys, easels for painting, and art and play-doh stations. Some of the centres have a separate "running room" - a large gym space with tricycles and balls and mats and climbing equipment. Many centres offer classes, from song time for toddlers to parenting workshops. Although the hours vary, they are generally open six days a week, and sometimes even an evening or two. And all of this is completely free.
We frequent the centres usually once a week, sometimes more often throughout the cold wintry days. We have one centre we can walk to, and two within a 15 minute drive. We visit them all on a regular basis; we know the employees by name and they know my kids by name. They often know what is going on in our life, and I know much about their families also.
Unfortunately, once your kids age out of this type of play area, there is not much left for them. Some cities offer Parks and Recreation courses at a reasonable fee, but in our town if you aren't up for swimming, hockey, lacrosse or soccer, you are out of luck. But even that small fee seems to be too much, since the middle class is fast disappearing and many families couldn't afford such a luxury as these activities.
It tugs at my heart strings for free activities. I have long wanted to offer free music classes, a dream that might become a reality this fall. I have wanted to start a book club at the library, since the only book club in town requires you to buy the book (more money). I can't wait to be able to get into our local school and lead a choir, or introduce the kids to different instruments, or start a debating team. The things about which I am passionate and of which I have some degree of talent, I have the desire to share freely. It just doesn't seem right to charge for something that moves me so deeply; instead I feel the obligation to share that love so that others may also discover it in themselves.
Pondering today, once again, on these emotions, led my thoughts down a path about how lovely it would be to open a building where school-aged children could come and explore their creativity on their own terms. With officials having decided that the arts are not a viable economic pursuit and therefore unnecessary in the school's curriculum, children have less and less exposure to things like visual art, music, dance, drama, film and photography. And yet I know how important these are to personal growth. They are ways to explore oneself, to find inner peace and strength, to build confidence, to inspire creativity. Certainly one might be able to perform menial tasks in the workplace without these skills; but there is no denying that to succeed beyond that requires a person to think beyond the rote memorization taught in schools and passed off as "education."
So today I record that "I have a dream." I have a dream of opening a free centre, like the Early Years Centres, where school-aged children could come and freely explore the arts. They would have access to instruments and sheet music, art books and supplies, a gym area to express themselves physically, and adult artists to teach and inspire. The logistics of it are a little beyond me right now; but certainly I could hope to convince government, schools and local businesses and towns of the benefits, right? There must be others out there who see the benefits of the arts, and mourn with me their disappearance from the lives of many children today. And if I could get them opened up all over the province...or even throughout the country! Yes, I do have a dream. And although in the busy days of young motherhood I may not be able to do more than dream right now, I hope that down the road I pull out these dreams again (and the others I have recorded) and get to work!
We frequent the centres usually once a week, sometimes more often throughout the cold wintry days. We have one centre we can walk to, and two within a 15 minute drive. We visit them all on a regular basis; we know the employees by name and they know my kids by name. They often know what is going on in our life, and I know much about their families also.
Unfortunately, once your kids age out of this type of play area, there is not much left for them. Some cities offer Parks and Recreation courses at a reasonable fee, but in our town if you aren't up for swimming, hockey, lacrosse or soccer, you are out of luck. But even that small fee seems to be too much, since the middle class is fast disappearing and many families couldn't afford such a luxury as these activities.
It tugs at my heart strings for free activities. I have long wanted to offer free music classes, a dream that might become a reality this fall. I have wanted to start a book club at the library, since the only book club in town requires you to buy the book (more money). I can't wait to be able to get into our local school and lead a choir, or introduce the kids to different instruments, or start a debating team. The things about which I am passionate and of which I have some degree of talent, I have the desire to share freely. It just doesn't seem right to charge for something that moves me so deeply; instead I feel the obligation to share that love so that others may also discover it in themselves.
Pondering today, once again, on these emotions, led my thoughts down a path about how lovely it would be to open a building where school-aged children could come and explore their creativity on their own terms. With officials having decided that the arts are not a viable economic pursuit and therefore unnecessary in the school's curriculum, children have less and less exposure to things like visual art, music, dance, drama, film and photography. And yet I know how important these are to personal growth. They are ways to explore oneself, to find inner peace and strength, to build confidence, to inspire creativity. Certainly one might be able to perform menial tasks in the workplace without these skills; but there is no denying that to succeed beyond that requires a person to think beyond the rote memorization taught in schools and passed off as "education."
So today I record that "I have a dream." I have a dream of opening a free centre, like the Early Years Centres, where school-aged children could come and freely explore the arts. They would have access to instruments and sheet music, art books and supplies, a gym area to express themselves physically, and adult artists to teach and inspire. The logistics of it are a little beyond me right now; but certainly I could hope to convince government, schools and local businesses and towns of the benefits, right? There must be others out there who see the benefits of the arts, and mourn with me their disappearance from the lives of many children today. And if I could get them opened up all over the province...or even throughout the country! Yes, I do have a dream. And although in the busy days of young motherhood I may not be able to do more than dream right now, I hope that down the road I pull out these dreams again (and the others I have recorded) and get to work!
Sunday, 22 August 2010
Winning at the Telemarketer game
At least once a month, I have a phone conversation that goes like this:
"Hello ma'am. As a loyal Bell phone customer, we would like to offer you a deal on your other technological needs. Tell me, who do you have your TV services with?"
"We don't have TV."
"You mean you don't have TV with Bell."
"No, we don't have TV."
"Don't you watch TV?"
"No, we don't. We don't have TV."
(This is sort of a white lie. We have a TV set, but we don't have television programming. We only watch movies on the TV, but that's often too much information for a telemarketer to understand.)
"Oh. You don't have TV."
(Here there is usually a pause, while I imagine the person on the other end of the line flipping through their script for the answer to "we don't have TV." Silent chuckle on my end.)
"I notice ma'am that you don't have your cell phone with Bell. We would like to offer instead a deal on your cell phone."
"I don't use a cell phone."
"You don't use a cell phone?"
"No. I have one for emergencies only, and I use it less than once a year."
"Oh. You don't use a cell phone."
(Flip flip flip.)
"I notice you don't have your internet with us. Bell offers the best service-"
"Our home business uses an email in connection with our current provider, so we can't switch."
"Oh."
(Flip flip flip flip flip.)
"Well, Bell just wants to thank you ma'am for your loyalty to our company. Have a good day."
That's right. I never have to be rude or hang up on a media telemarketer. They eventually realize that there is absolutely nothing they can offer me, and, without fail, are always the ones to end the call. The call lasts less than two minutes, and I actually take a strange sort of pleasure in it. Odd, I know. But kind of fun.
"Hello ma'am. As a loyal Bell phone customer, we would like to offer you a deal on your other technological needs. Tell me, who do you have your TV services with?"
"We don't have TV."
"You mean you don't have TV with Bell."
"No, we don't have TV."
"Don't you watch TV?"
"No, we don't. We don't have TV."
(This is sort of a white lie. We have a TV set, but we don't have television programming. We only watch movies on the TV, but that's often too much information for a telemarketer to understand.)
"Oh. You don't have TV."
(Here there is usually a pause, while I imagine the person on the other end of the line flipping through their script for the answer to "we don't have TV." Silent chuckle on my end.)
"I notice ma'am that you don't have your cell phone with Bell. We would like to offer instead a deal on your cell phone."
"I don't use a cell phone."
"You don't use a cell phone?"
"No. I have one for emergencies only, and I use it less than once a year."
"Oh. You don't use a cell phone."
(Flip flip flip.)
"I notice you don't have your internet with us. Bell offers the best service-"
"Our home business uses an email in connection with our current provider, so we can't switch."
"Oh."
(Flip flip flip flip flip.)
"Well, Bell just wants to thank you ma'am for your loyalty to our company. Have a good day."
That's right. I never have to be rude or hang up on a media telemarketer. They eventually realize that there is absolutely nothing they can offer me, and, without fail, are always the ones to end the call. The call lasts less than two minutes, and I actually take a strange sort of pleasure in it. Odd, I know. But kind of fun.
Thursday, 5 August 2010
Born in the wrong century
I used to joke that I thought I had been born in the wrong century. This fast-paced, technological culture in which I live just seems beyond me. (Yes, I get the irony that I have a film degree, and pursued a field which lives and breathes technology.) Not that I haven't made my way in it; I understand computers and media and such a little better than the average person. I don't need to hit the speed dial for a repairman when something breaks down; I can often figure it out on my own. And yes, I know where all those wires go in the back of the television and media system. I just don't necessarily like where technology is taking us as a society. Mostly I yearn to cut out the middle man when it comes to earning a living. Why work for money to buy what you need, when you could just work for what you need? I don't fear hard work, and although a hundred years ago the work was physically taxing, it certainly wasn't as emotionally and mentally draining as navigating the current workplace is.
Alright, I know that I don't work outside the home now. And if I ever did go to work, it would likely be as a teacher, a profession that has been around for hundreds of years.
But I am getting off topic. I have heard more and more often lately that friends of mine share this same sentiment. This sent the wheels in my head turning: is there an underlying cultural reason that so many people are shifting their minds backwards a hundred years? Back to the basics, home gardens, moving away from the cities, naturopathy and homeopathy, the organic movement: all these ideologies seem to suggest a cultural shift.
I wonder if there is not some impending natural (or man-made) disaster? I have the sense that humanity is subconsciously preparing itself for the breakdown of society. Or perhaps we are being shaped by God in preparation for what is ahead. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what might be looming, other than to say that our current bumbling, breakneck pace cannot be sustained.
For those who have been awakened to the sense the self-sufficiency is going to be important, perhaps the recovery from the shock will be quick. I chuckle at the image in my mind of thousands of people standing dumbfounded with dead Blackberries in their hands, unable to do anything now that they're technological lifeline has been severed. But as I read about the reconstruction post American civil war, and the hundreds of families from high society who found themselves unable to mentally deal with their new reality, I am sure that history will repeat itself again. We must have our hands and hearts near the earth, and not be so far removed from the basics of living that we find ourselves wandering aimlessly with a far-off glaze over our eyes, with nothing in our future but failure and starvation.
Alright, I know that I don't work outside the home now. And if I ever did go to work, it would likely be as a teacher, a profession that has been around for hundreds of years.
But I am getting off topic. I have heard more and more often lately that friends of mine share this same sentiment. This sent the wheels in my head turning: is there an underlying cultural reason that so many people are shifting their minds backwards a hundred years? Back to the basics, home gardens, moving away from the cities, naturopathy and homeopathy, the organic movement: all these ideologies seem to suggest a cultural shift.
I wonder if there is not some impending natural (or man-made) disaster? I have the sense that humanity is subconsciously preparing itself for the breakdown of society. Or perhaps we are being shaped by God in preparation for what is ahead. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what might be looming, other than to say that our current bumbling, breakneck pace cannot be sustained.
For those who have been awakened to the sense the self-sufficiency is going to be important, perhaps the recovery from the shock will be quick. I chuckle at the image in my mind of thousands of people standing dumbfounded with dead Blackberries in their hands, unable to do anything now that they're technological lifeline has been severed. But as I read about the reconstruction post American civil war, and the hundreds of families from high society who found themselves unable to mentally deal with their new reality, I am sure that history will repeat itself again. We must have our hands and hearts near the earth, and not be so far removed from the basics of living that we find ourselves wandering aimlessly with a far-off glaze over our eyes, with nothing in our future but failure and starvation.
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
The move to no TV
I grew up without cable. While many people might wonder what on earth we did without TV, I should mention that the good ole' bunny ears meant that we still received a good 10 channels. Sometimes we might have watched our favourite shows through a fuzzy signal, but there were a few channels that were strong. Most of the major network shows aired on the channels we did get.
When I moved out into a basement apartment during university, full cable came with the place. I have to admit that I usually bypassed the lower channels and indulged in programs on the history and arts channels. My television viewing habits changed - I stopped watching television on a schedule (like tuning in for a weekly program) and started dropping in now and then when I needed a mental break.
When I got married, we had basic cable (I moved into James apartment, and he had the cable already). While I was grateful for the distraction for the 18 months of two pregnancies that I spent in bed, I quickly discovered that basic cable is a rip-off. The stuff I really wanted to watch was available via antennae. All the rest was just filler, stuff I would flip on to watch to "relax" or "pass time." None of it I really needed or wanted to watch.
With our move to our first house, we got rid of cable. And then we were hit with a surprise twist: our television downstairs couldn't get any reception, even off the 2 foot bunny ears we bought. It presented our first challenge to our media decision. Should we get cable or leave it? Luckily I was on a "simplify" kick, so it didn't tempt me for long. We put a little TV (previously used as a preview monitor for film editing) in our bedroom and left the TV downstairs for movies only.
Turns out it was the best decision we made. There is absolutely no TV on during the day, because with three kids I can't simply retreat and hideaway in my bedroom to watch something. At night the same principle applies. I've got too much to do around the house to sit up in one room. I never used to watch TV without doing second activity or chore at the same time, and still don't like doing it. The few times when I do flip on a movie, I'm usually folding laundry. The only thing I regularly watch is ten minutes of the nightly news just before going to bed.
Now I would like to thank the broadcast companies for helping me make the last move that we have, as yet, been unable to make. I wanted to get rid of the television completely, but since the analog signal was free, it seemed to not be a big deal to keep the two or three channels we get alive. Next summer the industry is switching to digital cable, which means I would need a digital box monthly subscription to watch TV. No deal. I am not paying for television. I simply don't need it anymore. I'm grateful for our gradual change, so that I don't have to go cold turkey (hmm, that sentence has undertones of an addiction, doesn't it!). Apparently I am one of about 1 million households in Canada that does not subscribe to cable. I wonder how many of us will let it go completely next summer? I imagine there will be a portion who opt to start paying, but I best the vast majority won't. I haven't read any studies on the subject, but I question the statement that most people who don't have cable don't have it because of budgetary reasons. I have heard reports in the past that in low-income areas people will go to the food bank for food but still have a big-screen TV and cable subscription.
So next summer we will get rid of television programming in our home. We will still have our TV and a collection of films. Any TV shows we really want to see we will rent or buy on disc (a much better way to enjoy the show, without the commercials!). I know the next step would be to get rid of the television completely, but as James and I are both filmmakers, I don't think we would ever do that. However a film is a two hour time investment, and certainly we only put in that time once or twice a week. I have loved the extra time I find I have, filling it with reading and quilting and kayaking and board games and music and writing. I hope soon to add composing (it's been too long since I engaged in writing music), finishing the children's book I started, learning more of the guitar, writing more letters, improving my gardening knowledge and skills...there are so many things I want to do and learn and now I have a plethora of time at my fingertips!
When I moved out into a basement apartment during university, full cable came with the place. I have to admit that I usually bypassed the lower channels and indulged in programs on the history and arts channels. My television viewing habits changed - I stopped watching television on a schedule (like tuning in for a weekly program) and started dropping in now and then when I needed a mental break.
When I got married, we had basic cable (I moved into James apartment, and he had the cable already). While I was grateful for the distraction for the 18 months of two pregnancies that I spent in bed, I quickly discovered that basic cable is a rip-off. The stuff I really wanted to watch was available via antennae. All the rest was just filler, stuff I would flip on to watch to "relax" or "pass time." None of it I really needed or wanted to watch.
With our move to our first house, we got rid of cable. And then we were hit with a surprise twist: our television downstairs couldn't get any reception, even off the 2 foot bunny ears we bought. It presented our first challenge to our media decision. Should we get cable or leave it? Luckily I was on a "simplify" kick, so it didn't tempt me for long. We put a little TV (previously used as a preview monitor for film editing) in our bedroom and left the TV downstairs for movies only.
Turns out it was the best decision we made. There is absolutely no TV on during the day, because with three kids I can't simply retreat and hideaway in my bedroom to watch something. At night the same principle applies. I've got too much to do around the house to sit up in one room. I never used to watch TV without doing second activity or chore at the same time, and still don't like doing it. The few times when I do flip on a movie, I'm usually folding laundry. The only thing I regularly watch is ten minutes of the nightly news just before going to bed.
Now I would like to thank the broadcast companies for helping me make the last move that we have, as yet, been unable to make. I wanted to get rid of the television completely, but since the analog signal was free, it seemed to not be a big deal to keep the two or three channels we get alive. Next summer the industry is switching to digital cable, which means I would need a digital box monthly subscription to watch TV. No deal. I am not paying for television. I simply don't need it anymore. I'm grateful for our gradual change, so that I don't have to go cold turkey (hmm, that sentence has undertones of an addiction, doesn't it!). Apparently I am one of about 1 million households in Canada that does not subscribe to cable. I wonder how many of us will let it go completely next summer? I imagine there will be a portion who opt to start paying, but I best the vast majority won't. I haven't read any studies on the subject, but I question the statement that most people who don't have cable don't have it because of budgetary reasons. I have heard reports in the past that in low-income areas people will go to the food bank for food but still have a big-screen TV and cable subscription.
So next summer we will get rid of television programming in our home. We will still have our TV and a collection of films. Any TV shows we really want to see we will rent or buy on disc (a much better way to enjoy the show, without the commercials!). I know the next step would be to get rid of the television completely, but as James and I are both filmmakers, I don't think we would ever do that. However a film is a two hour time investment, and certainly we only put in that time once or twice a week. I have loved the extra time I find I have, filling it with reading and quilting and kayaking and board games and music and writing. I hope soon to add composing (it's been too long since I engaged in writing music), finishing the children's book I started, learning more of the guitar, writing more letters, improving my gardening knowledge and skills...there are so many things I want to do and learn and now I have a plethora of time at my fingertips!
Saturday, 24 July 2010
That's love
Yesterday my sister Jennifer got married and became Mrs. Jennifer Germano. It was a beautiful day, perfectly representative of who she and Derek are. A gathering of friends and family, everyone enjoying the celebrations from afternoon right through into the night.
Seeing the last of my sisters get married, and realizing that there will be no more weddings in my family, made me think about the examples of love I have in my life. Three things immediately came to mind. Funny enough, they are all small things, tokens of someone's love that are seemingly unimportant, but to me stand for so much more.
The first is from my dad. (Mom, don't read this if you want to keep it his secret!) A couple weeks back we were talking about those nightly cravings you get. You know, when all you want is a bag of chips or a chocolate bar or (fill in the blank with your favourite treat) but it's 10pm and you just don't feel like running out. Sometimes love is when your partner does run out for you. But how is this for foresight? My dad shared with me that he keeps a few of my mom's favourite chocolate bars stashed away, so that if she's had a particularly challenging day and she really does need a snack, he can slip away and pull one "out of the air."
The second example is from my mom. Many years ago a friend of hers noted that my dad seemed to help out a lot around the house, doing whatever it was my mom asked of him. My mom then bragged that indeed he would do anything she asked. Her secret? She would never ask him to do anything she knew he would really hate doing.
The last example is one of my very own, from James. James always fills up the cars with gas. I can't tell you the last time I pumped my own gas! Even with two vehicles now, and me using the van more often than James, I still don't have to hit the gas station. The perfect example of this happened just this evening: tomorrow I have a long car ride (5 hours round trip) ahead of me, and so after the kids were in bed James actually went out and filled up the car with gas. I didn't ask him to, nor did I tell him the gas was low. He knew I had the trip tomorrow, that the tank was half empty (after I drove it today!) and that with tomorrow being Sunday, I would prefer not to have to fill up then.
Now, I must jump in here and say that I have no aversion to pumping gas. I know how to do it and am perfectly willing to do it. After all, I do use the gas! But this is just James' way of taking care of me, demonstrating his love for me. It really is the little things...that's love.
Seeing the last of my sisters get married, and realizing that there will be no more weddings in my family, made me think about the examples of love I have in my life. Three things immediately came to mind. Funny enough, they are all small things, tokens of someone's love that are seemingly unimportant, but to me stand for so much more.
The first is from my dad. (Mom, don't read this if you want to keep it his secret!) A couple weeks back we were talking about those nightly cravings you get. You know, when all you want is a bag of chips or a chocolate bar or (fill in the blank with your favourite treat) but it's 10pm and you just don't feel like running out. Sometimes love is when your partner does run out for you. But how is this for foresight? My dad shared with me that he keeps a few of my mom's favourite chocolate bars stashed away, so that if she's had a particularly challenging day and she really does need a snack, he can slip away and pull one "out of the air."
The second example is from my mom. Many years ago a friend of hers noted that my dad seemed to help out a lot around the house, doing whatever it was my mom asked of him. My mom then bragged that indeed he would do anything she asked. Her secret? She would never ask him to do anything she knew he would really hate doing.
The last example is one of my very own, from James. James always fills up the cars with gas. I can't tell you the last time I pumped my own gas! Even with two vehicles now, and me using the van more often than James, I still don't have to hit the gas station. The perfect example of this happened just this evening: tomorrow I have a long car ride (5 hours round trip) ahead of me, and so after the kids were in bed James actually went out and filled up the car with gas. I didn't ask him to, nor did I tell him the gas was low. He knew I had the trip tomorrow, that the tank was half empty (after I drove it today!) and that with tomorrow being Sunday, I would prefer not to have to fill up then.
Now, I must jump in here and say that I have no aversion to pumping gas. I know how to do it and am perfectly willing to do it. After all, I do use the gas! But this is just James' way of taking care of me, demonstrating his love for me. It really is the little things...that's love.
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Take me as I am?
The past week or two, my mind has been mulling over the idea of self-betterment. A concept prevalent in most religions, it seems to be disappearing (or perhaps was always non-existent) outside this realm. A strong voice crying "take me as I am" is the motto of today's conceited and self-centered culture. Herein lies no desire to change oneself, to cast of facets of personality which are undesirable and adopt admirable characteristics.
What a task self-improvement is. First to divine the habits or traits which are weaknesses, then to have the humility to desire change, then to embark on a long journey to rid yourself of the undesirable. Such depth of self-awareness is often painful, as opposed to the blissful state of ignorance (using both meaning, one of unknowing and the other of ignoring).
Perhaps just as long of a journey, though somewhat less arduous, is to adopt admirable traits. This involves not a study of self, but a study of others, to view in them such qualities as you wish to cultivate in yourself. Here the trick lies in keeping at bay the green-eyed monster known as jealousy. It is easy to pinpoint good in others, and then despise the easy manner in which it comes to them while it always seems just beyond your grasp.
Nevertheless, while it may be a lifelong journey up a gentle slope, it is important to remember that even a gentle slope taxes your muscles, and progress can only be measured after a great distance is covered and you can look back and see the height to which you have climbed. Not all of it involves lofty ideas; think of the joy in learning a new talent, or the accomplishment of a new skill. I take joy in strumming my guitar, or laying a hand-made quilt over my sleeping baby. I am amazed when I have listened to a still small voice and caught hold of an opportunity to serve another. Even my continued bewilderment at gardening has come to be a challenge to which I want to rise defiantly. When my housework skills prove lacking, I set my hand at it again, trying some new way to conquer it (for I keep constantly in my mind the definition of insanity: doing something over and over in the same way and expecting different results).
The spiritual plane of self-betterment always seems elusive. The constant admonition to set myself to daily prayer, daily scripture study, and to keep a focused mind during sermons and lessons reminds me of how far I have to go. But rather than be a discouragement, I hear it as a reminder of that call to improve myself. I don't want to simply settle for what I am now. I don't want people to have to deal with me as I am. I yearn for an age when I will be less selfish, more patient.
In fact, I am adopting Galations 5:22 as a personal goal. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." (NIV) In the past these characteristics seemed to blur together. I found it hard to distinguish one from the next, as they all seemed to closely related. Now, however, as a desire develops from deep within myself, I am more clearly seeing each for what it is, and the manner in which I can start to develop each.
Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self-control
What divine words they are, and each word holds within a beautiful idea. The calling of motherhood provides a fertile plot of soil to start cultivating these traits within myself. I am grateful for a desire to grow and change myself, to have courage to walk down the road of self-betterment in a the midst of a culture promoting a useless universe revolving around self. I am grateful for a husband and children who inspire me to become better and to keep at it, one step at a time.
What a task self-improvement is. First to divine the habits or traits which are weaknesses, then to have the humility to desire change, then to embark on a long journey to rid yourself of the undesirable. Such depth of self-awareness is often painful, as opposed to the blissful state of ignorance (using both meaning, one of unknowing and the other of ignoring).
Perhaps just as long of a journey, though somewhat less arduous, is to adopt admirable traits. This involves not a study of self, but a study of others, to view in them such qualities as you wish to cultivate in yourself. Here the trick lies in keeping at bay the green-eyed monster known as jealousy. It is easy to pinpoint good in others, and then despise the easy manner in which it comes to them while it always seems just beyond your grasp.
Nevertheless, while it may be a lifelong journey up a gentle slope, it is important to remember that even a gentle slope taxes your muscles, and progress can only be measured after a great distance is covered and you can look back and see the height to which you have climbed. Not all of it involves lofty ideas; think of the joy in learning a new talent, or the accomplishment of a new skill. I take joy in strumming my guitar, or laying a hand-made quilt over my sleeping baby. I am amazed when I have listened to a still small voice and caught hold of an opportunity to serve another. Even my continued bewilderment at gardening has come to be a challenge to which I want to rise defiantly. When my housework skills prove lacking, I set my hand at it again, trying some new way to conquer it (for I keep constantly in my mind the definition of insanity: doing something over and over in the same way and expecting different results).
The spiritual plane of self-betterment always seems elusive. The constant admonition to set myself to daily prayer, daily scripture study, and to keep a focused mind during sermons and lessons reminds me of how far I have to go. But rather than be a discouragement, I hear it as a reminder of that call to improve myself. I don't want to simply settle for what I am now. I don't want people to have to deal with me as I am. I yearn for an age when I will be less selfish, more patient.
In fact, I am adopting Galations 5:22 as a personal goal. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." (NIV) In the past these characteristics seemed to blur together. I found it hard to distinguish one from the next, as they all seemed to closely related. Now, however, as a desire develops from deep within myself, I am more clearly seeing each for what it is, and the manner in which I can start to develop each.
Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self-control
What divine words they are, and each word holds within a beautiful idea. The calling of motherhood provides a fertile plot of soil to start cultivating these traits within myself. I am grateful for a desire to grow and change myself, to have courage to walk down the road of self-betterment in a the midst of a culture promoting a useless universe revolving around self. I am grateful for a husband and children who inspire me to become better and to keep at it, one step at a time.
Monday, 20 April 2009
Arghhh!
The other day James was expressing his frustration over work. As a business owner, he lamented that he hated the fact that he never knew if he was succeeding or failing, and that there was no definitive end to anything he was doing. I told him the problem was clear - he simply had to unlearn everything he had learned in school, and then he would be alright.
Seriously. What he was longing for was someone to give an outline for a project, with a list of expectations and a due date. He wanted a mark upon completion, a definitive reward for having worked hard and completing the task according to specifications. But the real world doesn't work like that. Not the individual, thinking, business owner world. He actually drew the parallel to his previous university job at Chrysler, which was not an assembly plant, but operated in exactly the same way.
My frustration is boiling over. I am battling my own education background. I was thankfully allowed critical thinking and some educational freedom in the enhanced learning class I attended, but I still struggle against the futile act of simply performing as instructed to receive the paltry (and meaningless) reward of an 'A' grade.
I see how easily I am manipulated. I see how easily I fall into the mainstream. But I also see how easily I am picked up by every canoe paddling upstream. Persuasive government lulls me into a state of passivity; persuasive revolutionists convince me to string along the back of their tails. What I find hard is swimming on my own - being able to listen and analyze and understand the issues and really figure out what is best for me, my family, my community, my society, my culture, my world. I'm allowed to do that, right?
I am furious at our societal model. Wake up, go to work, collect a paycheque, spend it on things, lather, rinse, repeat. We are driven by the media and I'm appalled at the control wielded by people using this vicious tool.
Consume: Why on earth do I need a new top, because I don't have one in mauve? My boots still fit fine - even if they are only a 2" heel rather than the current stylish flats. My TV projects an image, if I even dare to turn it on. The toy room can't be kept tidy for an hour because of the mountain of toys. And yet I am bombarded by the argument that I need/want/deserve more. I have the urge to abolish gift-giving. Can there possibly be anything else I need? Is there an empty nook or cranny to be found?
Entertain: How is it we can empathize with a television character when we so sorely lack empathy in the real world? Why do we know more about 6 "Friends" than our neighbours? Why are our children unable to entertain themselves without a black box? There aren't enough hours in the day already - why on earth do I give up precious time to sitting uselessly in front of the TV?
And so you have it. Work to get money, and then have other people tell you how to spend it, then mindlessly engage in a fictional world so you aren't distracted by the real issues going on around you.
I'm not giving up everything I am. Questioning doesn't mean discarding. It just means knowing why you are doing it. It means understanding what it's really about, not just what others tell you it's about. It means making a truly informed decision about the real issues and motives. It means asking harder questions, not just answering the polite questionnaire distributed in the name of "free choice". It means beating your own drum because you know it's the right way to go, in spite of politicians, experts, media, and even friends and family. And then it's about accepting the decisions of your friends who have likewise opened their eyes and made their own decisions. Just because we come to different conclusions doesn't mean anyone is wrong. Everyone is right, when they have engaged in the process of critical thinking and understanding. And this revolution doesn't necessarily mean extremist. In fact, I might caution that extremism is just another persuasive movement vying for your vote. It's simply about regaining control.
Seriously. What he was longing for was someone to give an outline for a project, with a list of expectations and a due date. He wanted a mark upon completion, a definitive reward for having worked hard and completing the task according to specifications. But the real world doesn't work like that. Not the individual, thinking, business owner world. He actually drew the parallel to his previous university job at Chrysler, which was not an assembly plant, but operated in exactly the same way.
My frustration is boiling over. I am battling my own education background. I was thankfully allowed critical thinking and some educational freedom in the enhanced learning class I attended, but I still struggle against the futile act of simply performing as instructed to receive the paltry (and meaningless) reward of an 'A' grade.
I see how easily I am manipulated. I see how easily I fall into the mainstream. But I also see how easily I am picked up by every canoe paddling upstream. Persuasive government lulls me into a state of passivity; persuasive revolutionists convince me to string along the back of their tails. What I find hard is swimming on my own - being able to listen and analyze and understand the issues and really figure out what is best for me, my family, my community, my society, my culture, my world. I'm allowed to do that, right?
I am furious at our societal model. Wake up, go to work, collect a paycheque, spend it on things, lather, rinse, repeat. We are driven by the media and I'm appalled at the control wielded by people using this vicious tool.
Consume: Why on earth do I need a new top, because I don't have one in mauve? My boots still fit fine - even if they are only a 2" heel rather than the current stylish flats. My TV projects an image, if I even dare to turn it on. The toy room can't be kept tidy for an hour because of the mountain of toys. And yet I am bombarded by the argument that I need/want/deserve more. I have the urge to abolish gift-giving. Can there possibly be anything else I need? Is there an empty nook or cranny to be found?
Entertain: How is it we can empathize with a television character when we so sorely lack empathy in the real world? Why do we know more about 6 "Friends" than our neighbours? Why are our children unable to entertain themselves without a black box? There aren't enough hours in the day already - why on earth do I give up precious time to sitting uselessly in front of the TV?
And so you have it. Work to get money, and then have other people tell you how to spend it, then mindlessly engage in a fictional world so you aren't distracted by the real issues going on around you.
I'm not giving up everything I am. Questioning doesn't mean discarding. It just means knowing why you are doing it. It means understanding what it's really about, not just what others tell you it's about. It means making a truly informed decision about the real issues and motives. It means asking harder questions, not just answering the polite questionnaire distributed in the name of "free choice". It means beating your own drum because you know it's the right way to go, in spite of politicians, experts, media, and even friends and family. And then it's about accepting the decisions of your friends who have likewise opened their eyes and made their own decisions. Just because we come to different conclusions doesn't mean anyone is wrong. Everyone is right, when they have engaged in the process of critical thinking and understanding. And this revolution doesn't necessarily mean extremist. In fact, I might caution that extremism is just another persuasive movement vying for your vote. It's simply about regaining control.
Weapons of Mass Instruction
Uh-oh. I'm reading another education book. This time I'm going to have to make sure I don't infringe on copyright with the number of fantastic passages I want to share. But I'll start with this one, from the prologue of the book "Weapons of Mass Instruction" by John Taylor Gatto:
I don't think his statement about "perfectly obvious specifications" is too harsh at all. Children spend the majority of their time in school, therefore the majority of their thinking patterns and behavioural habits would be learned there. I have some serious reservations about the current school system, but I don't think I need to delve into educations specifics to convince anyone. You can tell the tree by the fruit it bears, and it's safe to say the fruit today lacks in so many ways. Should we not be inspired to reformation simply by seeing the undesired product?
"Ellwood P. Cubberley (dean of Standford's School of Education and in charge of publishing elementary school texts) wrote in his book "Public School Administration (1922) that "Our schools are...factories in which the raw products (children) are to be shaped and fashioned...And that is the business of the school to build its pupils according to the specifications laid down."
It's perfectly obvious from our society today what those specifications were. Maturity has by now been banished from nearly every aspect of our lives. Easy divorce laws have removed the need to work at relationships; easy credit has removed the need for fiscal self-control; easy entertainment has removed the need to learn to entertain oneself; easy answers have removed the need to ask questions. We have become a nation of children, happy to surrender our judgments and our wills to political exhortations and commercial blandishments that would insult actual adults."
I don't think his statement about "perfectly obvious specifications" is too harsh at all. Children spend the majority of their time in school, therefore the majority of their thinking patterns and behavioural habits would be learned there. I have some serious reservations about the current school system, but I don't think I need to delve into educations specifics to convince anyone. You can tell the tree by the fruit it bears, and it's safe to say the fruit today lacks in so many ways. Should we not be inspired to reformation simply by seeing the undesired product?
Monday, 13 April 2009
Dumbing down our universities
Yes, this is exactly the suggestion I heard summarized on a CBC radio program yesterday. The topic was: are today's high school graduates sufficiently prepared for university? Call after call came in about how universities were not looking at who their students were and what they had reasonably accomplished in high school, and how their curriculum should be built.
I actually started to have a heated debate with the car radio.
I completely agree with the consensus that most students are not prepared for the level of work expected at the university level. I DO NOT agree that the universities need to change anything. Our high schools (and also, therefore, public and middle schools) are where the problems are. Every decade we are gradually making the majority of our kids dumber by expecting less. Kids are coddled through each grade, with second, third, fourth chances, with special attention, with bell-curves, with the inability to fail a grade. High school students today would have no idea how to engage in meaningful debate or conversation or critical thinking on their subjects. Even the bright students at the top of their class rarely have a chance to work to their full potential; rather they simply provide what will get them their 'A' and loll around the rest of the time (I know: I was one of these).
Do you know most university students don't use a library? I understand the innovation of the internet, and completely promote the use of it for research. However, the lack of credible sources and the over-saturation of information has resulted in essays, papers, and presentations founded on faulty research. Most high school students (and perhaps even many university students) believe Wikipedia to be as solid a source as the Encyclopedia Britannica. For some reason, even in the world of Facebook and Blogging, kids believe that if it's online it must be true. Somehow even the "National Enquirer", which proves that even if it's in print it's not always truth, hasn't made a connection in their brain.
It makes me want to put my kids in private school. The only difference between private school kids and public school kids is the number of figures in their family income. Yet I wonder what the acceptance rate at the top notch universities is, private compared to public students. Most private schools have a general assumption that their graduates will go on to the top universities. Few public grads will even think of applying to them.
On second thought, it doesn't make me want to put my kids in private school; it makes me want to radicalize the public school system. It makes me want to get in there and push the kids and the teachers and the administrators and the curriculum builders to do better, to help these kids reach their maximum potential.
In ancient Greece, when a tutor took on a student, (or disciple, in a specific discipline) a contract was signed. The teacher agreed to teach and pass on the knowledge to his student, but likewise, the student agreed to do all he could to learn. The majority of students may be lazy today, but I believe this is a result of the system of teaching and learning we currently use. If each was challenged to their maximum potential (not ability, but potential), many more would strive for excellence, succeeding in high school, university, the workplace, society... There is a cycle of success that would be started and spiral upwards with each turn.
I actually started to have a heated debate with the car radio.
I completely agree with the consensus that most students are not prepared for the level of work expected at the university level. I DO NOT agree that the universities need to change anything. Our high schools (and also, therefore, public and middle schools) are where the problems are. Every decade we are gradually making the majority of our kids dumber by expecting less. Kids are coddled through each grade, with second, third, fourth chances, with special attention, with bell-curves, with the inability to fail a grade. High school students today would have no idea how to engage in meaningful debate or conversation or critical thinking on their subjects. Even the bright students at the top of their class rarely have a chance to work to their full potential; rather they simply provide what will get them their 'A' and loll around the rest of the time (I know: I was one of these).
Do you know most university students don't use a library? I understand the innovation of the internet, and completely promote the use of it for research. However, the lack of credible sources and the over-saturation of information has resulted in essays, papers, and presentations founded on faulty research. Most high school students (and perhaps even many university students) believe Wikipedia to be as solid a source as the Encyclopedia Britannica. For some reason, even in the world of Facebook and Blogging, kids believe that if it's online it must be true. Somehow even the "National Enquirer", which proves that even if it's in print it's not always truth, hasn't made a connection in their brain.
It makes me want to put my kids in private school. The only difference between private school kids and public school kids is the number of figures in their family income. Yet I wonder what the acceptance rate at the top notch universities is, private compared to public students. Most private schools have a general assumption that their graduates will go on to the top universities. Few public grads will even think of applying to them.
On second thought, it doesn't make me want to put my kids in private school; it makes me want to radicalize the public school system. It makes me want to get in there and push the kids and the teachers and the administrators and the curriculum builders to do better, to help these kids reach their maximum potential.
In ancient Greece, when a tutor took on a student, (or disciple, in a specific discipline) a contract was signed. The teacher agreed to teach and pass on the knowledge to his student, but likewise, the student agreed to do all he could to learn. The majority of students may be lazy today, but I believe this is a result of the system of teaching and learning we currently use. If each was challenged to their maximum potential (not ability, but potential), many more would strive for excellence, succeeding in high school, university, the workplace, society... There is a cycle of success that would be started and spiral upwards with each turn.
Saturday, 4 April 2009
For the mind
I just spent the last hour reading a newspaper. I combed through some stories, read others in depth, completed the puzzles (crosswords and other word games). The Toronto Star has a promotion this month, where we get a paper six days a week for free. I am totally aware that this is to lure me into a subscription. In the past I have always declined, as I usually check in online to see what the top stories are.
But I have rediscovered the love affair I had as a teenager with newspapers. I abhor most television and radio news programs, because it seems that the only thing they count as news are horrible personal tragedies, such as car accidents and murders. The more violent, the more sensational, the more coverage. I can see how some of these incidents may be of interest to the public, when it concerns public safety or a larger issue that needs to be taken note of. But I cannot stand seeing or hearing footage of car accidents. It in no way will shape my world view, or inspire something in me, or inform me about something. I suppose it is from this morbid fascination that the following originates: "It's like a car crash - you just can't look away."
This isn't what I wanted to write about. Back to the newspaper. In the past couple of weeks, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about an underground restaurant phenomenon, how Disney markets teen shows to toddlers and a small Spanish town famous for it's cider customs (just a smattering). I've loved doing the puzzles. Instead of clicking on a site and scanning for 30 seconds the news highlights, I've been slowing down and spending time in my world.
Slowing down. (My enlightened mind seems to be meandering.) This has been on my mind a lot lately. I haven't worn a watch in the past few years. I've been learning that there are few places I really need to be at by a certain time. I'm realizing that while planning ahead is the only way to ensure things get done, a rigid schedule is not necessary to accomplish things.
I will be starting my gardening plans soon. When I think of growing my own food, I think of slowing down. It isn't about instantly filling your fridge from the store; it's about planting and caring for and caressing my food into being. It's about starting something now that will not give yield for months. It's about slowing down.
I am reminded of the book "Better off: Flipping the Switch on Technology" - one of my favourite books I've read. I think I'll give it another read. The faster the world around me goes, the more instant things become, the more I feel pulled in another directions, the more I'm resisting.
Another newspaper article captured what I feel happening in the world. "Cirque du Soleil" is presenting a special event for a local summer festival. Here's the description:
(Well, I think my newspaper's promotion just may have worked: I might find myself enjoying the luxury of time and a paper more often.)
But I have rediscovered the love affair I had as a teenager with newspapers. I abhor most television and radio news programs, because it seems that the only thing they count as news are horrible personal tragedies, such as car accidents and murders. The more violent, the more sensational, the more coverage. I can see how some of these incidents may be of interest to the public, when it concerns public safety or a larger issue that needs to be taken note of. But I cannot stand seeing or hearing footage of car accidents. It in no way will shape my world view, or inspire something in me, or inform me about something. I suppose it is from this morbid fascination that the following originates: "It's like a car crash - you just can't look away."
This isn't what I wanted to write about. Back to the newspaper. In the past couple of weeks, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about an underground restaurant phenomenon, how Disney markets teen shows to toddlers and a small Spanish town famous for it's cider customs (just a smattering). I've loved doing the puzzles. Instead of clicking on a site and scanning for 30 seconds the news highlights, I've been slowing down and spending time in my world.
Slowing down. (My enlightened mind seems to be meandering.) This has been on my mind a lot lately. I haven't worn a watch in the past few years. I've been learning that there are few places I really need to be at by a certain time. I'm realizing that while planning ahead is the only way to ensure things get done, a rigid schedule is not necessary to accomplish things.
I will be starting my gardening plans soon. When I think of growing my own food, I think of slowing down. It isn't about instantly filling your fridge from the store; it's about planting and caring for and caressing my food into being. It's about starting something now that will not give yield for months. It's about slowing down.
I am reminded of the book "Better off: Flipping the Switch on Technology" - one of my favourite books I've read. I think I'll give it another read. The faster the world around me goes, the more instant things become, the more I feel pulled in another directions, the more I'm resisting.
Another newspaper article captured what I feel happening in the world. "Cirque du Soleil" is presenting a special event for a local summer festival. Here's the description:
"This event is an inquiry into the very essence of human civilization. Beginning Friday night, two “communities” will form on the Toronto waterfront: one representing the natural world in which we have our instinctual roots and the urban community, the world we have constructed around ourselves. They’ll make their homes at opposite ends of the site, each in an environment antithetical to their respective world-view. What will happen as the weekend unfolds and the two communities encounter and interact with each other?"I am feeling my instinctual roots tugging me back to the natural world. These feelings are not new to people around me - I wonder if they won't be representative of the majority some day soon, and truly lead to a revolution in the way we live. Can we (do we want to) survive the current aggressive thrust by technology?
(Well, I think my newspaper's promotion just may have worked: I might find myself enjoying the luxury of time and a paper more often.)
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
The sanctity of medicine
I feel as though I'm slowly waking up to the world around me. (I know this is supposed to be the role of education, especially post-secondary education, but, well, you all know how I feel about that.) I'm realizing that I do not have to be a little lemming, running around in my little life while others seemingly more powerful, more educated and more wealthy dictate how my world should be created and lived. I am realizing there are not as many laws of society as I thought there were - there are simply a lot of codes. Codes that are passed off as laws to us "little guys".
I believe the only way to "fix" the education system is a complete dismantling. I also believe the only way that will happen is if our society is plunged into something so destructive life as we know it is altered permanently. And yet there is the expectation of enrollment, as though that were the only viable option to produce an adult of any societal worth.
But that isn't what's bugging me today. Today, it's medicine. I was engaged in a conversation today that began about vaccination and ended in a consideration of the unquestioned authority the medical world holds. Likely this is a result of a subject so vast and detailed, which requires so many years of in depth study. The conclusion is that since the average person likely has no further knowledge than grade eleven biology, that we must simply yield to the important and definite answers of medicine.
Then I consider the history of medicine - the terrible gaffes, the horrific experiments, the evolving understanding. Remember when doctors recommended brands of cigarettes? I can just imagine 200 years down the road, students in a medical class joking about the "gall of those doctors, treating x with y. What ignorance!"
I always feel as though I'm reaching beyond my knowledge when it comes to medicine. But I'm also discovering that in fact I do know a fair amount. That which I lack, I can often discover through the various (credible) portals of information available to me. One of the best gifts I ever received is the CMA Home Medical guide. From the forward: "Using clearly written text and abundant illustration, the guide explains how the body works, provides tools for interpreting symptoms, describes how and why diseases occur, and outlines the details of modern diagnostic tests and treatments." The "assessing your symptoms" charts are my favourite part of the book - a flow chart of questions that helps diagnose your symptoms.
I am not suggesting that the medical profession is obsolete - far from it. My own knowledge is fine for the small stuff - but it's nice to have a professional standing by when needed. But I think North American medicine lags far behind where we really need help: promoting healthy lifestyles and preventing people from needing doctors and medication.
I try to take medicine as little as possible. I so rarely take it that I always check the expiration date before I even open a bottle. Everything we have, which includes Tylenol to vitamins to Tums, fits in a little box 8" x 8" x 6". I took a strict personal policy while pregnant and breastfeeding not to take any kind of medication. What I have discovered is that I have not only survived, but also thrived, these past 4 years. Yes, I think it's actually been that long since I've taken any type of medication.
I heard a radio interview today with Dr. David Sackett, who believes in evidence-based medicine. His lecture is called "helping smart doctors stop prescribing dumb treatments". If you get a chance, listen to the CBC interview called "Stop dumb treatments" on Metro Morning, or follow his links on Wikipedia - he perfectly articulates my feelings about current medicine.
I am an intelligent person. I have been given my own brain that is capable of unbelievable things, should I choose to use it to its maximum capacity. I am enjoying stretching myself lately, realizing all that I am truly capable of.
I believe the only way to "fix" the education system is a complete dismantling. I also believe the only way that will happen is if our society is plunged into something so destructive life as we know it is altered permanently. And yet there is the expectation of enrollment, as though that were the only viable option to produce an adult of any societal worth.
But that isn't what's bugging me today. Today, it's medicine. I was engaged in a conversation today that began about vaccination and ended in a consideration of the unquestioned authority the medical world holds. Likely this is a result of a subject so vast and detailed, which requires so many years of in depth study. The conclusion is that since the average person likely has no further knowledge than grade eleven biology, that we must simply yield to the important and definite answers of medicine.
Then I consider the history of medicine - the terrible gaffes, the horrific experiments, the evolving understanding. Remember when doctors recommended brands of cigarettes? I can just imagine 200 years down the road, students in a medical class joking about the "gall of those doctors, treating x with y. What ignorance!"
I always feel as though I'm reaching beyond my knowledge when it comes to medicine. But I'm also discovering that in fact I do know a fair amount. That which I lack, I can often discover through the various (credible) portals of information available to me. One of the best gifts I ever received is the CMA Home Medical guide. From the forward: "Using clearly written text and abundant illustration, the guide explains how the body works, provides tools for interpreting symptoms, describes how and why diseases occur, and outlines the details of modern diagnostic tests and treatments." The "assessing your symptoms" charts are my favourite part of the book - a flow chart of questions that helps diagnose your symptoms.
I am not suggesting that the medical profession is obsolete - far from it. My own knowledge is fine for the small stuff - but it's nice to have a professional standing by when needed. But I think North American medicine lags far behind where we really need help: promoting healthy lifestyles and preventing people from needing doctors and medication.
I try to take medicine as little as possible. I so rarely take it that I always check the expiration date before I even open a bottle. Everything we have, which includes Tylenol to vitamins to Tums, fits in a little box 8" x 8" x 6". I took a strict personal policy while pregnant and breastfeeding not to take any kind of medication. What I have discovered is that I have not only survived, but also thrived, these past 4 years. Yes, I think it's actually been that long since I've taken any type of medication.
I heard a radio interview today with Dr. David Sackett, who believes in evidence-based medicine. His lecture is called "helping smart doctors stop prescribing dumb treatments". If you get a chance, listen to the CBC interview called "Stop dumb treatments" on Metro Morning, or follow his links on Wikipedia - he perfectly articulates my feelings about current medicine.
I am an intelligent person. I have been given my own brain that is capable of unbelievable things, should I choose to use it to its maximum capacity. I am enjoying stretching myself lately, realizing all that I am truly capable of.
Friday, 9 January 2009
Sleep issues
As a parent, have you ever come across a piece of information that made you sigh one of those sighs that comes from deep within, and releases a huge weight from off your shoulders? I have had this a few times, and an article I just read on infant sleeping had this exact effect on me.
For all mothers of infants who just won't seem to sleep, check the article out:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T070900.asp
It's titled "5 reasons why high-need infants sleep differently". I love that the article is not called "why your baby won't sleep" or "why won't your infant sleep through the night by one years old." It wasn't called "sleep issues" or "sleep problems". The title doesn't insinuate there is something wrong with my child, just that there is something different.
Reading the article was such a relief. We know Caleb is high-needs, a definition which includes several important and distinct differences from your average infant: different temperament, different stimulus barrier, different transitions, different sleep maturity and different nighttime needs. All of these difference combine to make sleep a difficult thing for him.
- a tense daytime temperament results in nighttime restlessness
- sensory overload causes him to overreact instead of retreating and tuning it out
- having a hard time making any transition means difficulty going from awake to asleep
- immature sleep habits mean his deep sleep periods are not as long as the average infant
- craving constant physical contact and not being able to self soothe during the day translate to needing mom's presence to sleep at night during the first months. However, these same characteristics as the infant gets older mean that the close presence they crave will actually stimulate them into not sleeping.
This is a perfect description of Caleb. The article doesn't give any "advice" or "solutions". It's simply about understanding your child. and really, that's half the battle. We can read all the books out there, surf all the web sites and desperately try to find someone who wrote something that comes sort of close to what your child is. But the truth is, you'd have to write the book on your child, because no other child out there is exactly like yours. I've found that as I've read books looking for solutions, the case studies might come close to describing our situation, but they rarely include all the elements. Any number of differences could result in a complete success or failure of a method. The best thing I've found is this: read to understand your child, and then use the old mommy instinct (and a little faith a and prayer always help!) to come up with the best solution.
For all mothers of infants who just won't seem to sleep, check the article out:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/T070900.asp
It's titled "5 reasons why high-need infants sleep differently". I love that the article is not called "why your baby won't sleep" or "why won't your infant sleep through the night by one years old." It wasn't called "sleep issues" or "sleep problems". The title doesn't insinuate there is something wrong with my child, just that there is something different.
Reading the article was such a relief. We know Caleb is high-needs, a definition which includes several important and distinct differences from your average infant: different temperament, different stimulus barrier, different transitions, different sleep maturity and different nighttime needs. All of these difference combine to make sleep a difficult thing for him.
- a tense daytime temperament results in nighttime restlessness
- sensory overload causes him to overreact instead of retreating and tuning it out
- having a hard time making any transition means difficulty going from awake to asleep
- immature sleep habits mean his deep sleep periods are not as long as the average infant
- craving constant physical contact and not being able to self soothe during the day translate to needing mom's presence to sleep at night during the first months. However, these same characteristics as the infant gets older mean that the close presence they crave will actually stimulate them into not sleeping.
This is a perfect description of Caleb. The article doesn't give any "advice" or "solutions". It's simply about understanding your child. and really, that's half the battle. We can read all the books out there, surf all the web sites and desperately try to find someone who wrote something that comes sort of close to what your child is. But the truth is, you'd have to write the book on your child, because no other child out there is exactly like yours. I've found that as I've read books looking for solutions, the case studies might come close to describing our situation, but they rarely include all the elements. Any number of differences could result in a complete success or failure of a method. The best thing I've found is this: read to understand your child, and then use the old mommy instinct (and a little faith a and prayer always help!) to come up with the best solution.
Friday, 2 January 2009
Personality
Have you ever taken one of those "personality" tests? They come in all varieties; some are assign you a colour, some an animal, some combination of letters. Over the years, I've taken a few different ones, some in school, some at church activities, some with friends, and even one of the leading psychiatric versions.
I am always consistent in my results - an exact, even split of everything. I am a schedule-driven free spirit. I rely equally on scientific fact and emotional feelings to make decisions. I am an extroverted introvert. I am a mathematical poet. I thrive on crowds but need to be alone. I am a quiet performer. Basically I am a study of contradictions.
Most often this mish-mash of personalities has worked for my benefit. I find myself at ease in almost any situation. I did well in all areas of schooling. I am usually the peacemaker because I understand nearly every other type of personality.
Sometimes, however, the result is a crushing wave of confusion. My goals, wants, and desires can be so far-reaching and conflicting. I find myself unsatisfied, while living out one facet of my personality and, in so doing, completely neglecting another side of me. I can devote vast amounts of time to achieving a long yearned for goal and feel unfulfilled. Most of all, it makes me tired.
But that's me, I guess. Those giving the various personality tests always marveled at my unusual results. Sometimes I chalk it up to two parents who are diametrically opposite in nearly everything; I must be a complete and perfect meld of the two. But mostly I guess that's just who I am. Nature and nurture, it's who I am. I guess my challenge in life will always centre around reconciling the ocean of opposition within.
I am always consistent in my results - an exact, even split of everything. I am a schedule-driven free spirit. I rely equally on scientific fact and emotional feelings to make decisions. I am an extroverted introvert. I am a mathematical poet. I thrive on crowds but need to be alone. I am a quiet performer. Basically I am a study of contradictions.
Most often this mish-mash of personalities has worked for my benefit. I find myself at ease in almost any situation. I did well in all areas of schooling. I am usually the peacemaker because I understand nearly every other type of personality.
Sometimes, however, the result is a crushing wave of confusion. My goals, wants, and desires can be so far-reaching and conflicting. I find myself unsatisfied, while living out one facet of my personality and, in so doing, completely neglecting another side of me. I can devote vast amounts of time to achieving a long yearned for goal and feel unfulfilled. Most of all, it makes me tired.
But that's me, I guess. Those giving the various personality tests always marveled at my unusual results. Sometimes I chalk it up to two parents who are diametrically opposite in nearly everything; I must be a complete and perfect meld of the two. But mostly I guess that's just who I am. Nature and nurture, it's who I am. I guess my challenge in life will always centre around reconciling the ocean of opposition within.
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Resolution
I'm not one to make New Year's Resolutions, but I read this today and thought that if I did, this would be a good guide to a thoughtful compilation of things to work on, for myself or my kids:
"Set yearly goals with your children - things they would like to obtain, qualities they would like to develop, and skills they would like to acquire."
"Set yearly goals with your children - things they would like to obtain, qualities they would like to develop, and skills they would like to acquire."
Thursday, 27 November 2008
Freedom of Speech
This is an interesting yet difficult entry to write. I am amazed sometimes at the audacity of the claim that North Americans hold to regarding freedom of speech.
Last month James and I saw an interesting documentary called "Expelled", regarding the theory of Intelligent Design in the world of science. The basic idea is that the genesis of all life was begun by some sort of creator. The community does not necessarily saw "God", but simply that the very first spark of whatever needed some sort of designer to put it there. Even evolutionists cannot agree on how that very first spark of cell could have appeared. The documentary explores the suppression of this theory in the scientific community, and how professors and researchers are having their careers ruined by even considering the idea. It is not an argument about the theory of evolution, it is an exploration on freedom of speech and expression.
This past US election gave birth to a new controversy regarding freedom of speech. You likely have heard about Proposition 8, which asked Californian voters their thought on the definition of marriage. By a slim margin (about the same that Barack Obama won the Presidency), the Proposition was passed, defining traditional marriage as a union between a man and woman.
Many religious voters organized themselves to campaign for this proposition, expressing their personal beliefs in traditional marriage. Likewise, many people campaigned against the proposition also. Now, after it passed through the fair and long-standing way of voting, people are rioting against communities who voted for it. What I'm specifically referring to are the acts of defacement, destruction, and threatening against members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The church has pulled out thousand of volunteer missionaries, fearing for their safety. Religious church buildings and temples have been seriously vandalized. People attending the churches have been warned: "Let this be a warning to the Mormon church: Dissolve completely or be destroyed."
I believe opponents of Proposition 8 have every right to express their feelings on the subject, but I am in awe that they feel these tactics are justified. I think this quote sums up exactly my feelings on the subject: "To place anyone in fear of threat to their houses of worship or their personal security because they have expressed deeply held religious views is contrary to everything this nation represents."
Sometimes I think Western countries sit on high horses, staring down their noses at countries who put others' lives in jeopardy for expressing their beliefs. Just last week there was another attack on girls in Afghanistan trying to go to school. The acts were condemned by the West, and I doubt you could find many people in North America who would agree with the perpetrator's actions. And yet....
This isn't a journal entry on whether or not Proposition 8 should have been passed or not. This is about the freedom to vote according to your conscious, and not to live in fear because of your beliefs.
It will be interesting to look back on history 100 years from now and see how "archaic" our lives today seem. I think back to the mid-1800s in the US when an extermination order was issued against people of the Church of Jesus Christ (the Mormons). An extermination order. I would hope and pray something like that wouldn't come about today, but it seems, according to some (small, marginal) groups, that the warning "dissolve completely or be destroyed" is not that far away.
Last month James and I saw an interesting documentary called "Expelled", regarding the theory of Intelligent Design in the world of science. The basic idea is that the genesis of all life was begun by some sort of creator. The community does not necessarily saw "God", but simply that the very first spark of whatever needed some sort of designer to put it there. Even evolutionists cannot agree on how that very first spark of cell could have appeared. The documentary explores the suppression of this theory in the scientific community, and how professors and researchers are having their careers ruined by even considering the idea. It is not an argument about the theory of evolution, it is an exploration on freedom of speech and expression.
This past US election gave birth to a new controversy regarding freedom of speech. You likely have heard about Proposition 8, which asked Californian voters their thought on the definition of marriage. By a slim margin (about the same that Barack Obama won the Presidency), the Proposition was passed, defining traditional marriage as a union between a man and woman.
Many religious voters organized themselves to campaign for this proposition, expressing their personal beliefs in traditional marriage. Likewise, many people campaigned against the proposition also. Now, after it passed through the fair and long-standing way of voting, people are rioting against communities who voted for it. What I'm specifically referring to are the acts of defacement, destruction, and threatening against members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The church has pulled out thousand of volunteer missionaries, fearing for their safety. Religious church buildings and temples have been seriously vandalized. People attending the churches have been warned: "Let this be a warning to the Mormon church: Dissolve completely or be destroyed."
I believe opponents of Proposition 8 have every right to express their feelings on the subject, but I am in awe that they feel these tactics are justified. I think this quote sums up exactly my feelings on the subject: "To place anyone in fear of threat to their houses of worship or their personal security because they have expressed deeply held religious views is contrary to everything this nation represents."
Sometimes I think Western countries sit on high horses, staring down their noses at countries who put others' lives in jeopardy for expressing their beliefs. Just last week there was another attack on girls in Afghanistan trying to go to school. The acts were condemned by the West, and I doubt you could find many people in North America who would agree with the perpetrator's actions. And yet....
This isn't a journal entry on whether or not Proposition 8 should have been passed or not. This is about the freedom to vote according to your conscious, and not to live in fear because of your beliefs.
It will be interesting to look back on history 100 years from now and see how "archaic" our lives today seem. I think back to the mid-1800s in the US when an extermination order was issued against people of the Church of Jesus Christ (the Mormons). An extermination order. I would hope and pray something like that wouldn't come about today, but it seems, according to some (small, marginal) groups, that the warning "dissolve completely or be destroyed" is not that far away.
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
Work
Work. Job. Career. These three words have evolved to have very different meanings over the thousands of years of human life.
"Work" implies getting something done. The very basic of the idea, a task, perhaps menial, perhaps enjoyable. These days often termed as a "dirty four letter word".
"Job" is the next step up from work, a place where you go to earn money. It is often neither enjoyable or passionate, but it "pays the bills."
"Career" insinuates formal training, personal interest, climbing the corporate ladder, investing your time. Many people feel defined by their career and display a certain amount of pride in their chosen field.
Ultimately, though, all three things boil down to fulfill the same thing: the basic needs of life. Whether I'm doing work, performing a job or fulfilling a career, I am earning money to put a shelter over my head, clothes on my back and food in my tummy.
This thought has made me pause and consider the lifestyle our culture has come to embrace. Many people go out and spend 40+ hours a week earning money to buy these necessities. Doesn't that seem like an unnecessary middle step to you? First you spend the time working, then you spend the time in the stores buying, then you spend the time fixing and cleaning the home. What if we simply worked for the necessities in the first place?
I know, I know - completely archaic, right? I mean, our ancestors did that for thousands of years - thank goodness we have our modern conveniences that free up our time to enjoy pleasure and leisure.
Free time?
When was the last time you actually had "free time"? If you look back to "primitive" people's lives, it is thought they spent somewhere between 2-5 hours a day collecting and preparing food. Their simple dwellings were built by their own hands, completed within months (if it took that long). General tidying and upkeep went fairly quickly - even I could keep two or three rooms clean. Sewing became a skill they were so adept at that a roll of material could be turned into a dress, a pair of pants, a shirt, in a day or two. Granted, the material needed to be purchased, as did a handful of other things, but those people realized that direct trade was much more efficient than first working for money, then going out to spend that money.
I wonder then what my life would look like today if our family relied on these "primitive principles"? (Okay - I realize first I'd have to buy a little land, and endow myself with years of experience my family does not currently have. But after that...)
James would not commute an hour and a half into the city for his company. Work would begin right here in our own home and on our own land. Most of our time would be spent in the area of food - planting, harvesting, preserving. In order to "purchase" those extra items needed, we would like trade our famous family berry pie, or perhaps a music lesson or two. Maybe James is enlisted to perform at the local Christmas concert, or I help in the neighbours' children's school studies. No, we couldn't trade these skills for a widescreen television or a computer, but I think the community socials, neighbourhood gatherings, and family nights would fill what I could indeed call "free time".
I'm not working on a time-machine, here. In fact, quite the opposite. I think this could be a movement of the future, where jobs like "telemarketer" don't exist, and where essential careers like "doctor" are supported by the community. Then we could work 20 hours a week side by side with our family, instead of spending 20 minutes with the kids before we tuck them into bed at night. Our kids might learn the value of work and actually leave home before the age of 30. We would be satisfied with less, because that "less" was wrought with our own hands. And we might finally have some free time on our hands, to do with as we please.
"Work" implies getting something done. The very basic of the idea, a task, perhaps menial, perhaps enjoyable. These days often termed as a "dirty four letter word".
"Job" is the next step up from work, a place where you go to earn money. It is often neither enjoyable or passionate, but it "pays the bills."
"Career" insinuates formal training, personal interest, climbing the corporate ladder, investing your time. Many people feel defined by their career and display a certain amount of pride in their chosen field.
Ultimately, though, all three things boil down to fulfill the same thing: the basic needs of life. Whether I'm doing work, performing a job or fulfilling a career, I am earning money to put a shelter over my head, clothes on my back and food in my tummy.
This thought has made me pause and consider the lifestyle our culture has come to embrace. Many people go out and spend 40+ hours a week earning money to buy these necessities. Doesn't that seem like an unnecessary middle step to you? First you spend the time working, then you spend the time in the stores buying, then you spend the time fixing and cleaning the home. What if we simply worked for the necessities in the first place?
I know, I know - completely archaic, right? I mean, our ancestors did that for thousands of years - thank goodness we have our modern conveniences that free up our time to enjoy pleasure and leisure.
Free time?
When was the last time you actually had "free time"? If you look back to "primitive" people's lives, it is thought they spent somewhere between 2-5 hours a day collecting and preparing food. Their simple dwellings were built by their own hands, completed within months (if it took that long). General tidying and upkeep went fairly quickly - even I could keep two or three rooms clean. Sewing became a skill they were so adept at that a roll of material could be turned into a dress, a pair of pants, a shirt, in a day or two. Granted, the material needed to be purchased, as did a handful of other things, but those people realized that direct trade was much more efficient than first working for money, then going out to spend that money.
I wonder then what my life would look like today if our family relied on these "primitive principles"? (Okay - I realize first I'd have to buy a little land, and endow myself with years of experience my family does not currently have. But after that...)
James would not commute an hour and a half into the city for his company. Work would begin right here in our own home and on our own land. Most of our time would be spent in the area of food - planting, harvesting, preserving. In order to "purchase" those extra items needed, we would like trade our famous family berry pie, or perhaps a music lesson or two. Maybe James is enlisted to perform at the local Christmas concert, or I help in the neighbours' children's school studies. No, we couldn't trade these skills for a widescreen television or a computer, but I think the community socials, neighbourhood gatherings, and family nights would fill what I could indeed call "free time".
I'm not working on a time-machine, here. In fact, quite the opposite. I think this could be a movement of the future, where jobs like "telemarketer" don't exist, and where essential careers like "doctor" are supported by the community. Then we could work 20 hours a week side by side with our family, instead of spending 20 minutes with the kids before we tuck them into bed at night. Our kids might learn the value of work and actually leave home before the age of 30. We would be satisfied with less, because that "less" was wrought with our own hands. And we might finally have some free time on our hands, to do with as we please.
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