Today I am going to talk about the Circus. We are going to the Circus in April! The family is coming:
Daddy, Maddie, me, and Neema. We are going to eat cotton candy, hot dogs, and popcorn. I can't wait! I am so excited. We will see animals, clowns, and high - wire acts. Ashleigh
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"Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn't anyone who doesn't appreciate kindness and compassion." That's a quote by the Dalai Lama. I find this man to be like a modern-day Buddha. Honestly, you need to go and read some of this man's quotes! In fact, he credits the reading of Buddha for many of his own ideas.
The driving force behind the Dalai Lama is kindness. In fact, he has said "My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness." Could you imagine Donald Trump saying that? Or Hillary Clinton? Neither one of them could pull it off. And yet, the Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of his people! It both amazes me, and gives me hope. Here are a few of his quotes that impress me.. in no particular order: "It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come." "There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness." "Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive." "When we meet real tragedy in life, we can react in two ways - either by losing hope and falling into self-destructive habits, or by using the challenge to find our inner strength." "I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe." "Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." "Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions." "The purpose of our lives is to be happy." "Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them." "Sleep is the best meditation." There are just a few of his quotes, but I think it gives you a good idea about where he is coming from. That said, I think I will now take some of his advice. It is just after 12:30 in the morning. It would really make me happy to get some sleep right now. Since the purpose of our lives is to be happy, AND sleep is the best meditation, then I think that is what I'll do! Good night folks! This is a quote from the 14th Dalai Lama... and I can't exactly say I agree with it. I mean; I don't disagree. I just think that love is a lot more than just an absence of judgement. Obviously, being able to accept some of the odd quirks about your partner is a good thing... but I don't think that judgement should be absent from the equation entirely, you know? Judgement is one of the most important sense we have, if not abused.
The power of judgement is our own way of evaluating people and situations to keep ourselves safe; and I think that if you void that in the case of love; you could wind up in a really bad relationship being completely vulnerable and thinking it's fine. To a certain degree; judgement doesn't belong in a relationship. But your wits? Your wits definitely do, and so does your brain because it's one of the only natural ways that your body keeps you safe. So, what even is love then; if not an absence of judgement? I've said it before; and I'll say it again- I have no idea. I think that love is one of those emotions and experiences that everyone in the world encounters at some point or another; and creates their own meaning for based on their biases and experiences. Personally; I don't have enough experience to have an opinion on it... that may be a blog post topic that my dad might want to explore. In fact; I request it! Dad, as dumb as it may seem... I want a blog post about your opinion on love, and what it means to you. If anyone who deems themselves worthy would like to leave me a comment with their thoughts on this matter as well; I'd love to hear them. Peace, Maddie Today I read a new book called ''The Big Red Sled''. One night Fred creeps down stairs
and gets his sled. He goes outside and he ran into his friend Ray. He and Ray race down the hill. When they got to the bottom, they saw their other friends. Fred says good bye and goes home. Ashleigh The quote above comes from Marcus Aurelius; but I just used it due to a situation I was dragged into over the past few days. The actual topic I'd like to discuss in this blog post is the meaning of my karate school's bow; which is an open hand over a fist. The meaning of this bow (a traditional kenpo bow) is peace over power. Peace over power is also the motto of our school. Now, while this motto is definitely to be kept while in the dojo... it is also a great way to live life outside of the dojo. Below is a list of a few key points that are important to following the 'peace over power' code:
But yeah... essentially; I wanted to share that with readers today because I learned an invaluable lesson from my dad about this today; and that is the realization that it can be used in all aspects of life; not just in the dojo. Naturally; I knew this before my dad's help but I just wasn't applying it properly to the situation I was in. It's sometimes better to use neither peace nor power; but simply walk away from an issue to gain peace that you deserve. That's all I'll say. - Maddie (Thank you dad) Today I am going to talk about my i Pad. I can play games on it. I can make videos with
it too. I like to play ''Learning with Homer'' also. I make funny videos. I also do some of my math homework on it. Ashleigh Now normally, I'm not one for putting schoolwork up as a blog post.. but this week in sociology we were discussing racism and different social situation in which race and ethnicity come into play, and I'd like to share at least some of it with you.
Define race and ethnicity. What is the difference between the two? Race was socially constructed by humans to categorize large groups of people based on their culture, appearance, and economy. Race isn’t biological due to the fact that different societies have different races (or ways of defining them) than us. Ethnicity is often confused with race and used interchangeably; when they have different meanings almost entirely. Where race judges and places you in a category based on appearance and the society you were raised in; ethnicity categorizes you based on your heritage. This includes country of nationality; ancestry; language; and religion. Race is used to bring out biological differences/similarities, while ethnicity is more focused on different cultures. Do you think that racism still exists in society? Why or why not? Racism definitely exists today; just not to the extent that it did years ago. While racism was defined by discrimination; laws; and slavery in the past... it has now taken a lesser (but still just as offensive) form. Racism now exists in the form of online videos, memes, and insults tossed about by people trying to be funny. Just because you label something as a joke; doesn’t make it any less insulting. List one stereotype that you have heard. Where did you hear this? Do you think it is a common stereotype in society? How might this stereotype be damaging to the group involved? I often hear stereotypes about my own religion; as I was raised in a Catholic church. I may not love the religion I was brought up in... but some of the things people associate it with are horrible. I’ve heard all sorts of stereotypes about it but I feel that the worst one is that people label Catholics as being snobby and/or intrusive; feeling the need to cram their religion down people’s throat. Now while I have met Catholics like that; I’ve met more who are respectful of other religions and mind their own business. I’ve heard it so many times online and a few times from people who live in my area; but since it’s online I’d assume that it’s a pretty common stereotype. This is damaging due to the fact that if people find out you were raised Catholic (or still attend a Catholic church); you may be discriminated against and people may be less likely to approach you. It affects the group as a whole as well, since less and less people want to be a part of that religion. It is actually estimated that atheism is the dominant “religion” in the U.S. currently. - If anyone would like to add to this, they can feel free to. Leave me a comment! - Maddie "He who angers you conquers you." That's a quote by Elizabeth Kenny. She also said, "It's better to be a lion for a day, than a sheep all your life." I like that. This girl's got spunk! Kenny is credited with being the founder of physical therapy. Her story is rather interesting, If you have nothing to do, read about her on Wikipedia.
Kenny, to me, seemed indomitable. Both of the quotes above seem to bear that out as well. Sometimes, you need the spirit of the warrior just to survive. As a nurse during World War I, who traveled on "dark ships" I am certain that she had this. To get back to the quotes, oftentimes it is true that if someone angers you, they do in effect conquer you. At least for a little while. My daughter's battle with phony accounts on Instagram brings this to mind. It seems someone set up a phony account and made nasty comments to a number of people on Instagram. My daughter's reaction to the ordeal makes it clear that it really bothers her, and it has changed the nature of what she had been doing in her life. To that affect, she has been conquered by her anger. Instead of just blocking the fake account and then carry on happily with her friends as she usually does, instead she is trying to "prove" who the person is that made the fake account. To what end? What good will it serve to stir the pot in this instance? And does someone's snide comments now really matter? She has let it ruin her day, and it seems that others have let it ruin their day as well. In fact, this has been going on for three days. Her response, as well as her friends, almost guarantees that the behavior will continue. Not only does the person who set up the fake account now have an avenue to antagonize my daughter and her friends on a regular basis, but so does anyone else who has taken notice of the response... including people who are in the group that is responding. Fake accounts are so easy to set up and manipulate that any of them can set up a fake account and mimic the behavior of the current fake account holder. Not only that, but each response and "outburst" on group chat etc. gives people ammunition for future attacks. Why wouldn't people file away what they know bothers each of the people in the group. In the future, I hope my daughter does not allow others to conquer her through her anger. At our dojo, we practice peace over power. This philosophy is supposed to carry over into our personal lives as well, not just when we are training. There is no need for a group response to a fake account. Just move on and go about being happy. Report the account, block the account, maybe even respond with a short comment to what was said. But then move on. Life is too short to allow someone to conquer you with mere words. I read a new book today called ''Hop Right On''. A crocodile was looking for food. He saw three frogs. He asked the frogs if they wanted a ride? Yes they said. The crocodile went to the bottom of the river. He did this two more times. Finally, he tried to eat them!
Ashleigh |
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