Yesterday I saw at least 20 caterpillars. There were so many of them! I put them on a patch of dirt. These were gypsy moth caterpillars and they eat leaves. They are not good for our trees!
Ashleigh
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I read so many books. I read ''Yes, No, Little Hippo'', and "Arthur Accused" too. I have also read ''Christopher Robin Gives Pooh a party'', ''Hop on Pop'. "'Mousekin's Special Day',' and many others. I like to read books. I write book reports on the books I read also.
Ashleigh “Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.” That's another quote by Rumi. Sorry, but every once in a while I find someone who has a bunch of thought provoking quotes, and instead of looking for someone new to quote. I'll just quote the same person a few times until everyone is sick of them (and me).
This man had a beautiful way of phrasing things.Above, he is telling us to live our own lives they way we want to live them. To live life exactly as someone else is a waste of time and energy (kung fu). Live your own life, and make your own decisions. While it is okay to imitate other's actions, and to take wise counsel, remember that the final decision in what you do is yours. It is your life to live and your story to tell. Make sure that you star in it. In the end, no one really cares if you do the same thing as someone else. They will remember you for what YOU do and for how YOU do it. Since that is the case, you means well live your life your own way. That is what Rumi's quote says to me. Live life to its fullest. And live a life worthy enough for people to remember you by! This is a quote from the ancient poet Rumi, and oh how true it is. I have to say that for a majority of the day, I've been reading through this guy's quotes- he was a very wise man and I strongly advise you go read some of his writings if you get the chance. However, I could only pick one for this blog post and I went with the one above because I so strongly agree with it.
Right off the bat, I'm going to take "goodbye" as being a notion to death. I suppose this quote could be applied to long distance relationships and such too, but for the sake of simplicity I will use death as the example for this post. I personally believe that death is one of the most traumatic things a person can go through- that and watching loved ones suffer. In my short lifespan, I've already lost 3 family members; one being my mother. I can tell you from experience, it is one of the worst feelings in the world... particularly when you feel you've lacked closure. However, while I got some closure and a chance to say goodbye to my mom, I don't think it's the last time we'll encounter each other. I don't know what the afterlife is or if it exists, but I know that her spirit still exists somewhere. And as long as her spirit exists, I have a firm belief that we will meet again. I still have memories and photos, and my love for her is no less than when she was alive. So I suppose Rumi is right- for those who love with heart and soul, there is no separation- even if the eyes can no longer see the person. Regardless of what happens in the aftermath, memories live on through those you have touched and loved and those who have loved you. And that is comforting enough to me that I do not fear death. -- Maddie Today I went to the hospital for my annual check up. I have grown over the past year. I am now forty eight inches tall. Dr. De Vera told me to eat a healthy diet of vegetables, fruit, and meat. She also told me to drink my milk and lots, and lots of water. She was very happy with my progress, and I am not due for any shots until I turn eleven!
Ashleigh Today I'm writing about my Bouncy Ball. I sit on it and bounce on the ball all around the house, kitchen and living room. I play with Dad by rolling it to him. Oh what great fun we have.
Ashleigh "You have no need to travel anywhere. Journey within yourself." That is a quote by Rumi. So who is Rumi? A good question, and one I also asked myself. It ends up that Rumi was a 13th-century Persian poet. I was a bit relieved to hear that! I thought he was going to be some old wasted hippy messiah or something.
No matter who Rumi was, I must say that I really do agree with his quote. While I will be the first to admit that I am not a world traveler, I have traveled throughout much of North America and I must say that there is nothing that I have seen that can match my imagination. Don't get me wrong, I have been pleasantly surprised by some of the places I have been... a small town in Mississippi, so far off the beaten path that railroad tracks run down the main street and shop keepers come out of the stores and chat with the train engineers as the train slowly rumbles down the street. Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Peoria all surprised to the upside, as did Cincinnati, while Philly, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Dallas all seemed a little less special than I had imagined. To be honest, if I close my eyes for a moment I can picture beautiful landscapes of places I have never been. Amalgamations of places I have read about or pictures I have seen. So far, none of the places I have been can match the beauty I can perceive in my own imagination. Images are not the only thing you can explore in your mind. Your thoughts can also be examined. What do you think about when you are alone? I know that I oftentimes contemplate things that I normally won't talk about with most people. Furthermore, there are some things that just don't come up in normal everyday conversation. A wise man should know his own thoughts, that way he can better judge the thoughts of others. So, after saying all of that, does that mean that I am against traveling to new places? Not at all. All I am pointing out is that we all have things to explore within our own minds. While travel is nice, it is not necessary for a person to be well traveled to be a well rounded person. Know your mind, and the rest will follow. Travel if you can, but don't feel bad if you can't afford to travel often. Last Friday I tested in karate for my next belt. I did technique and blocking form one, and blocking form two. Then Hanshi and Shihan asked us to do Pinion one and Pinion two. I was the only one in my class who knew how to do leopard. I was sweating during the test. But I made it! I passed and received my purple belt with a black stripe.
Ashleigh Okay, this is going to be a short post tonight that kind of ties in with the post called Peace I did last week. In that post, I spoke about the government being corrupt and doing things that the corporations tell them to do.
Here is a blatant example. On Monday, this story was reported: President Obama kicked off his three-day visit to Vietnam with an announcement declaring the end of a U.S. arms embargo on the country, a ban that had been in place for decades. "We've come here as a symbol of the renewed ties....and the comprehensive partnership we have created over the course of my presidency," Obama said at a press conference. The trip will also see the nations discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is expected to usher in a new period of growth for export-oriented Vietnam. About two minutes later, this story hit the wire: Vietnam's VietJet has agreed to order 100 Boeing (NYSE:BA) 737 MAX 200 airplanes, in a deal worth $11.3B based on list prices. Delivery of the planes will run for four years beginning in 2019, and will make the airline one of the fastest growing low-cost carriers in the region. VietJet will sign the agreement later today in Hanoi during President Obama's visit to Vietnam. Just so we are clear here, while the Boeing order is for commercial aircraft, Boeing is also a defense contractor. An $11 billion order for commercial aircraft is small potatoes compared to some of the large defense contracts the company stands to win. I am sure the order was also in some way tied to the president making that announcement too. The timing is just too neat otherwise. I have said it before, and I will say it again, if you think that your one vote out of the 350 million people in this country really matters to anyone, then you are sorely mistaken. The corporations play the drums people. and "our" politicians dance. It's been that way for a long time, and there is really very little we can do about it until enough people realize it. Rant over... Good night! Hormones are different for every person. And just because some of us don’t know how to adapt to them or control them doesn’t mean others don’t. Every person is different and handles every aspect of life differently- including hormonal changes in adolescent years. So while you’d love to dwell on the fact that “we are teenagers therefore we have every reason to be depressed”, I’d rather be an outlier in the statistics. Yes, I get depressed- but who doesn’t? I’ve just learned to pick myself up after. Learned that everyone falls down, but when you fall you need to get back up. If you want to remain down… Then don’t complain about being stepped on. You’re the one making the choice to remain upset. You’re the one causing your own pain and then expecting everyone to understand. I get it. I’ve been there, done that, and it sucks. It’ll get you nowhere but places worse than where you already are and it’ll make you feel like life is worthless. It’ll make you want to die because you’ll feel no one understands you; and the fact of the matter won’t be that no one understands you but that no one cares. 80% of the population don’t give a shit about your woes and the other 20% are glad you have them. You need to move past this destructive stage and see that regardless of science, there are ways to be happy. Fluctuation in hormonal patterns that trigger random behaviors? I’ll buy that. Full-fledged uncontrollable depression being blamed on hormones and the fact that you’re a teenager..? I don’t think so.
Today I'm going to write about ''Arthur Accused!'' Arthur was collecting quarters to give to the fire department so the fire men could buy a puppy. At the end of the school day, Arthur went to give the bag of quarters to Mrs. MacGrady, but she was on the phone. He put the bag on the counter. A little flour got in the bag of quarters, but that was okay. Then he met his friend Buster Baxter, private eye. Arthur and Buster went to to the arcade to play some games. But the next day when he went to school the quarters were gone. Mrs MacGrady never got them. Arthur almost didn't make it for the third grade picnic as punishment for losing them. Buster solved the mystery though, and Arthur was allowed to go to the school picnic.
Ashleigh Today I'm writing about The Song of Big mouth Billy Bass. He is mounted on a plaque. You turn it on and he sings two songs. ''I want to know, can you help me?'' ''Take Me To The River And Put Me In The Water''. The other one is ''Don't Worry Be Happy''. The little songs make people laugh because the head of the fish and his tail moves.
Ashleigh " We do not know enough about the unknown to know that it is unknowable.” That is a quote from G.K. Chesterton. He was an English writer that George Bernard Shaw once called a colossal genius. Overall, he seems to be known for his quotes more than anything else.
I like the quote above because it is simple and true. Just because something isn't known now, doesn't mean that it is unknowable... it just means that at this moment we don't know enough about it to say it is known. Take space flight, for example. For thousands of years man could not leave the earth's atmosphere. In effect, how to do it was unknown. Yet as we progressed as a species, more and more became known about flight and eventually we made it to the moon. While it was unknowable for much of human history. The secret of leaving earth's atmosphere is now known today. I think that eventually man will make it to other planets. Within my lifetime, I am hoping to see man land on Mars. Eventually, I believe man will eventually visit other star systems. What is unknowable today will likely someday become known. And that is just one example! Think about the advances in medicine we have seen in just the past 150 years. Or the changes in technology since the early 1980's! Man has the uncanny ability to, as a race, build on our past knowledge. I believe that in the future, a lot of what is currently not known, will become common knowledge at some point. Not so much about our past... but unknowns about the human body, the mind, human potential and the physical sciences. I hope I am alive to experience much of it! The quote above is one of my own- though I'm not sure if it's ever been used elsewhere online before and quite frankly, I am too lazy to go search for it. In any case, in the context it'll be used in in this post, it's my own quote.
I wanted to make this post a positive one, because lately- so many of my friends have been so damn depressed. It's awful, honestly... I can't believe it. There's so much sadness in the world as it is without letting small things impact you and weigh you down. From regret to worry, these trivial things are controlling my friends' lives for no other reason than they don't know how to move on and realize that the past can't be altered! I really do believe that knowing that is a key to life. Once you realize the past can't be changed, you can learn to live without regret- and honestly, I think that removes a lot of stress from a person. Worry can't change the future, and regret cannot change the past. Both of those emotions are pure negativity and they aren't productive in any way- all they do is cause trauma, stress, and weigh you down to make you feel like you're wrong about everything. I don't know about you, but that sounds like no way to live life in my opinion. To get back to the title of my post- when I say make your own day and don't let it make you, I mean that only you have control of how you choose to perceive and react to your day. While not every day will be a good one, there is always a way to make the best of things. The world could be falling apart around me (which it essentially is, what with all the shit going on surrounding war) and I could still find a reason to smile- even if it was just admiring the sky. There's always happiness. You need to identify it, and then search for it. -- Maddie This quote says a lot, to be honest. But it is wrong in ways. The future belongs to everyone- but the brightness of that future depends on how much you believe in yourself, and your dreams. All the way through our childhood years, starting when we're maybe 6 or 7- adults ask us what our dreams are, and what we want to be when we grow up. At age 14, I can safely say my dreams have changed so much over the course of the past 8 years, and they may continue to- but I am happy with my current dreams.
Now, before I go and list off my own dreams... I'd just like to say that at my age, I find it sad that some of my friends are so undecided and depressing when it comes to the future. Upon asking three of my friends what they wanted to be when they grew up: One responded "I don't know" One responded "I don't care" And one replied with "I've given up on dreams". I've. Given. Up. On. Dreams. AT FIFTEEN?! WHAT!?! This one statement drives me nuts. I hate it. I hate the fact that someone so close to my age is already giving up. Having dreams is nothing to be ashamed of, and there's nothing stupid about it. Dreams hold wants, needs and desires and to be honest, I think a person's dreams (or lack thereof) says a lot about who they are as a person. I personally want to become either a therapist of some sort or a writer when I grow up, and if I am to go to college I want to major in psychology. If anything, I just want to be happy with myself and as peaceful as can be when I grow up. I want to still be a dreamer, with goals and ambition. I never want to become someone who can no longer find beauty in the little things... because no matter where I've been in life, I have always had a dream, always a goal, and I've always been able to find beauty in a sunset or even a rainstorm. Chase you dreams now, because life waits for no one. -- Maddie "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." That's a quote by Thomas Edison. All of the successful people I have ever known, got that way by stepping away from what was comfortable for them.
I would say about 20% of my friends have stepped out and started their own businesses. Does this make them happier? It is hard to say. Some businesses have really taken off, while others have failed. A few have languished somewhere in the middle. Sometimes the difference is in how well thought out the business was in the first place. Other times, it really depended on how much work the person who started it was willing to put into it. Sometimes, neither of those things mattered. After saying all of that, I can tell you that opportunities (at least for starting businesses) rarely just fall into your lap. There is either hard work to do or a lot of networking involved to be in the right position at the right time. Sometimes, very specific knowledge is needed. One thing that is always needed, I find, is a general unhappiness with the status quo. In general, it is when you are unhappy with something in your life that you will find the extra oomf necessary to take the initial step out of your comfort zone. I know that is the way it was for me. Not only with starting my own business, but with losing weight, getting in shape...nearly everything. No matter what you want to do in life, there is work involved. Nothing comes free. There is going to be some cost. For instance, whether an opportunity works out or not, there is always going to be the time you used to take the opportunity. That will always be a sunk cost. Think of it like: "If I do this, then I can't do that." Simple. There could also be a monetary cost. Again, this could also come back to time. If I spend my time working on "A", then I can't make money doing "B". In the end, many people are just too lazy to take the first step. Others, look to skip steps to get to where they want to be sooner. I find that this doesn't work either. Make a plan on how to logically get to where you want to go, and then follow the plan through. If at some point, you see a way to improve the plan, then by all means, do so. Just don't start without a plan and then decide to wing it as you go along. From my experience, this just doesn't work out too well. There are just too many ways for things to go wrong then. When you make a plan, you have at least thought it out to that point. In all aspects of your life, smart working will get you where you want to go. While there will be some hard work involved. I always found that most of that came in the planning stages. Doing the actual work is oftentimes enjoyable. After all, whatever it is you are pursuing... whether it is a new business, an new love interest, or a new personal goal, you chose it didn't you? That means that you likely must enjoy something about it, otherwise, you would have chosen something else. Maybe I'm silly, for not wanting everything.
For not wanting to make a lot of money For not wanting a job with long, tiresome hours Is it foolish that I want simplicity? Just enough to get by? I personally don't think so. I want happiness. I want to be happy with who I am And what I do And how I live. And if I can't be happy in working, Then what's the point? The money I make would be pointless if I wasn't enjoying what I was doing to earn it. But no I am silly For only wanting happiness. I should have more ambition than that, because obviously I was made for greater things After all, I have what most would consider a good head on my shoulders So why wouldn't I want some taxing job that pushed my brain? Because maybe Just maybe I don't want my life to be decided by if I have good grades Maybe I want to try something that's a bit out there Maybe I want to have fun with whatever I do It shouldn't come as that big of a surprise. My dreams in life all coincide with happiness. I try to smile as often as possible, and find beauty in everything So why wouldn't the same apply to my career path? I don't want or need a big house or a fancy car. Give me a small apartment with the bare minimum that I can afford And I'll be happy. Material things have such little value to me. It is the moments throughout my life that bring me happiness. And that is why I don't want to be a doctor. Or a scientist. Or someone who works with stocks. Or someone who runs a bank. Or manages a company. Or starts an empire. No, I want to be happy. Because at the end of the day When life fades out It is our memories that will remain, Not our possessions -- Maddie. "You can find peace amidst the storms that threaten you." That is a quote by Joseph Wirthlin. Here's another one. This is by Thomas Merton. "We are not at peace with others because we are not at peace with ourselves." Finally, "In peace, sons bury their fathers. In war, fathers bury their sons." That one is from Herodotus. I am not going to spend too much time telling you who those people are. It's not the message I am trying to bring. Instead, this post is all about peace. No matter how much our leaders talk about peace we never seem to achieve it. Why is that? It is because they have no skin in the game, that's why. In the past, leaders used to lead from the front line. They would be right up there with their men leading the charge. Nowadays, the "leaders" stay behind in Washington and instead allow our sons and daughters to die for their causes. And the people go on voting for these people time after time. Since 2001 we have been in a never-ending war. And what have we got for it? A generation of men and women scarred physically and emotionally from their service. Crying mothers and weeping fathers. So as with anything else, we need to look at who benefits from this never-ending war. Surely it is not the soldier. The media makes a big deal of calling all of the soldiers heroes and generally making them feel good for risking their lives. The pay, though, isn't so good. For example, a corporal makes about $23,000 to $28,000. With pay like that, our government certainly isn't paying them like heroes now are they? So who ARE benefiting from our soldiers risks? Well, the corporations that supply weapons for the troops are certainly big beneficiaries! Let's look at the stock price performances of some of the big defense companies and see how they are doing. Well, let's see. It looks like Lockheed Martin shareholders are doing pretty well. They are not risking their lives on the front lines, but the return on holding Lockheed Martin shares are more than five times what you would have gotten by investing in the S&P 500. In my mind, it is certainly in Lockheed's best interest to cheer-lead the troops and keep the U.S. fighting whoever they can convince us is the enemy. Okay, you say, "But that is only one company! Who else?" Well, take a look at almost any defense contractor. They are all making money handover fist and it is in all of their best interests to keep the wars going. Below is the chart of General Dynamics. Their stock has gone up more than three times the return of the S&P 500. So "Corporations are created to make money" Yes, that is true. However, most don't make it by keeping our children at risk. It is not just the corporations making insane amounts of money though. The leaders of the defense companies are also making millions. Below is the annual pay of the CEOs of companies benefiting from the carnage. Do you think with paydays like those any of them want the war to end? Seriously? Lockheed Martin CEO. 2015 pay: $28.5 million General Dynamics CEO, 2015 pay: $20.4 million Honeywell CEO, 2015 pay: $34.5 million Haliburton CEO, 2015 pay: $20.5 million In the end, it is my belief that our politicians are being swayed by large amounts of cash from many different directions. As long as they and their families are not expected to be on the front line, they really don't care if you and yours are put into harm's way.
It is time that we make our "leaders" lead from the front! Not just the president, but our congressmen and senators too. In fact, I think it is time we put limits on war profiteering and possibly have a draft of men and women who have benefited the most from our sixteen year war on a faceless enemy. To have peace, you must be at peace. War...even though it is somewhere else, is not peace. While there is no easy way to hold the peace, I think we can cut down on the amount of the carnage by forcing our leaders to lead from the front. For me, I want my daughters to live in a world of peace. We cannot achieve that dream, if the United States are always at war. It has been about sixteen years folks. When will it be enough? This quote bares an interesting meaning to me- because it has a point. Most people, however, don't fear the pain of death- they fear what comes AFTER death. If you've ever talked to someone who is afraid of dying, they aren't ever afraid of the physical pain that may come with it. Some of them aren't even afraid of how their death may impact their family or friends! But most of them will pin their fear of death to the after-life- or lack thereof.
Honestly, having a fear of pain is pretty stupid. Pain is temporary and can usually be numbed. It never lasts forever. I myself have a high pain tolerance, however, so perhaps I shouldn't speak. That just happens to be my opinion. Jumping quickly to a different quote- "the only people who fear death are those with regrets." I find this to also be true. It ties in with having a fear of what happens after death; and also the fear of not being able to have a successful life or mend wrongdoings. I'll give a tiny bit of advice- regret and worry will NOT solve anything. You can't turn back time. You can't change the past. Worry is purely negative and will only stress you. The best advice I can give to you, reader? Live your life to its fullest right now. Chase your dreams, set goals to achieve, laugh and love, and treat each day as though it may be your last... because one day, it will be. - Maddie Today, I saw dandelions. There are two types. The first have yellow flowers and are very pretty. The second type has white hairy seeds that I like to blow off the stem. When they fly away, it looks like parachutes!
Ashleigh |
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