The Devil We Know

I'm sure there are some professors out there trying to determine why some people will go all the way and commit criminal acts such as rape, child abuse and murder while most people would stop short of any such things. Bells ringing upstairs. A conscience. A sense of what's right and what's wrong and, for some, the fear of getting caught and the fear of jail.
But, no doubt, the devil is within all of us. We all know about anger, rage and tons of other components with "the devil made me do it" tags attached to same.
It's within us. I don't think Rousseau was right about Man being born pure and then corrupted by society. Excuse me, but there is something innate there. that "clean slate" proposed by some Greek philosopher is not so clean. That nastiness is there. It is a daily battle for all of us to keep it in check. Of course, fear of retribution helps a lot too.

Mental Health

Though we might consider ourselves "normal", sometimes we're faced with situations which turn our world upside down. We fail a crucial exam which puts an end to our big plans and certain ambitions. We get fired from a job. We suffer a huge heartbreak It's the end of the world.
The reaction to any kind of loss will vary depending on the individual but there will be shock, there will be stress. How to remain on an even keel and not to drop too low into the black hole of despair? You want to lick your wounds for a while, but you don't want to isolate yourself. You want to vent your anger but you want to talk to somebody. Someone you trust. A teacher, a priest, a minister, your doctor. Whatever. Hey, you take a pill for a headache. This is a major one. The chosen person will make suggestions propose a course of action even. Every bit helps, and when you're in a bind, you need a lot of it

HIV-AIDS

Those very letters scare me to death. And yet it's as if this death sentence does not even exist. I'm reminded of the case of this professional lady, late forties or so. In love with this new Prince Charming. We're talking Rich People, rich decor. Highly educated people.
Guess she didn't question much because one day she woke up with AIDS. And killed herself with an overdose of pills.
Amazing how we think we're all above catching any sort of sexually transmitted diseases. Besides, we're in love. It's Romance. It's Hormones and love is blind and should I ask my partner to fill out the medical clearance form between first base and second base - or not.
You do what you want. It's your life. Question is, would you prefer safe sex for a while, or play dice with your own life?

Assisted-suicide

Some countries allow it under certain circumstances and with rules and regulations. Most do not. It's not an easy subject and one of the pictures which readily comes to mind is that of the greedy heir(s) among other vultures who may be tired of waiting for the old bat to die and eager to increase that dose of morphine. One very good reason to prohibit assisted suicide.
But there have also been cases of paraplegic persons afflicted with MS and other troubles who've said "enough is enough" and requested a friend's help so they would be done with this pain.
Very close to this is the aspect of compassionate killing. Whether it's the 80 years old man who can no longer watch is terminally ill wife suffer or the father wishing to put an end to his daughter's terrible plight. There are many moral and ethical problem to consider. But there should be leniency somewhere. I think that assisted-suicide should be allowed in very specific circumstances. ompassionate killing is another story, Factors are different. There's the question of will to die. Or not.

Stretch

The very idea of getting out there and doing some sort of physical exercise depresses you. It is contrary to your beloved Couch Potatoe image. Yes, you'd look like a dowling ball in one of those spandex outfits. Ok, skip the outfit. Go for comfortable clothes instead. Something loose fitting. And forget the car keys (that could be quite traumatic in itself but nothing is easy).
And go for something manageable. A walk around the block, a brief excursion to the nearest park That should suffice for that big first step.

Truism

It's true that if you laugh, the whole world laughs with you. Doesn't mean you have to be a clown all the time, though some great comics are really unhappy souls who try to "overcompensate", thus hiding or repressing all that negativity under layers of face paint and funny accoutrements.
It's a grim, silly, sick world we live in. We all know it. A tiny little bit of clownishness will not hurt anybody and will certainly lift someone's spirit.
And that's not a bad thing.

Alone versus Lonely

You can be alone, at peace with yourself and quite content that way. You can be married and be lonelier than the loneliest soul in the desert. And there are plenty of reasons why a person would not want to alter her status. Alone is good.. Nobody to bother you, no compromise to be made on anything. Listen to whatever kind of music you want whenever you want.
A duo is something else altogether. It's a lot of work, of emotional involvement, of give and take. A chess game. It's always a matter of what you feel most comfortable with. It's a bit like swimming really. If you don't breathe properly, you're not going to last very long. Some marriages lasr for a life time, others last for ten minutes.
And if you prefer your space - peace and tranquility - that's alright too.

Alone Versus Lonely

Think nice

Impossible to have a positive view of the world if you don't love yourself first. If you can't look at yourself in a mirror, you have a problem. Hey, maybe you,re great looking. Gorgeous. On the outside. And feel like you're rotten inside. A great deal of work needs to be done and, as always, the longest journey starts with a tiny step. Do something which will make you feel good about yourself. Force a smile on your face. Rather incongruous with negative thoughts. Buy a sweater, get a haircut. Treat yourself. Take that first step.

Google not nice

As per an article by Frida Ghitis in the Sunday edition (jan 29) of the Montreal Gazette, Google agreed to "help China censors searches on the company's brand new Chinese website". Nice. So any word coming close to "democracy" is immediately blocked. Amazing. And that Internet stuff was supposed to help break down barriers, open channels of communications blah blah blah. Money talks and Google is not alone in its quest to "infiltrate" the Chinese market. 1.3 billion people makes for a lot of surfers and a very nice gold mine. But let's not be too hard on Google. I'm sure we'd all do the same. It's nice to have principles. It's nicer to have a nest egg.

Reality and Illusion

reality and illusion. Beautiful house, rich sector of town. Perfect picture and most envied family. Daughter keeps a straight A average , through college , and keeps winning those beauty contests. Everything is such a dream. So many girls envy her.
Until one day when she's left home for good and decides to unburden herself. as it turns out her father took advantage of her since a young age. Assaulted in her own home. Child abuse.
Where was the mother, we might well ask. It is impossible to even believe that she would have remained silent had she known We hope not. So the father was one devious bastard. And an upstanding member of the community.
Meanwhile the daughter grew up to be a fine and seemingly well-adjusted lady. Fine in appearance but the daily battle to go on and create a normal environment for herself (and eventually a family of her own) must be tremendous. What courage it must take indeed.

start-up

The very idea of getting out there and doing some sort of exercise, some sort of physical activity depresses you. It is contrary to your beloved couch-potato image. Yes, you'd look like a bowling ball in one of those spandex outfits.
So skip it. Go for something closer to home. Comfortable, loose fitting clothes. Forget the car keys (that could be traumatic in itself but nothing is easy) and go for a walk. Go for something manageable. A few blocks will do for starters.

start-up

The very idea of getting out there and doing some sort of exercise, some sort of physical activity depresses you. It is contrary to your beloved couch-potato image. Yes, you'd look like a bowling ball in one of those spandex outfits.
So skip it. Go for something closer to home. Comfortable, loose fitting clothes. Forget the car keys (that could be traumatic in itself but nothing is easy) and go for a walk. Go for something manageable. A few blocks will do for starters.

Way out there

while we strive to follow the straight line, we are human and we we will err. But short of committing murder, pretty much everything else is forgivable. And sometimes when we fall, we fall pretty low. Some people will drink till they pass out only to wake up in half a blurr, see that they've losr pretty much everything from job to family life, home and everything else, the n go back to their drunken stupor until their frozen body is found next to a dumpster.
Booze, drugs, gambling. Some unfortunate souls are burduned with all three at once. Jackpot. Suicide is next. Unless the person wakes up long enough to come to the only applicable answer. The blame for all his (her) problems is usually a) the boss, b) the job, c) the spouse, d) the system, e) all of the above.
Or, finally, none of the above. Ray of light. The blame game is over. Time to take responsibility for one's actions
Having lost everything, all that is left is hope. And an upward upward battle. But there' a lot of help out there. It may even take a while before you find the one that's best suited for you, but once you've taken that first step, it becomes easier to take the next one towards rebuilding your home.

Oh, Lord

Religion. Philosophy. Spirituality. Separate yet intertwined. So many big groups Catholicism, Buddhism, followers of Islam. Protestant and Jewish people plus so many smaller groups and sects too numerous to mention. A true Tower of Babel.
That we're born and raised into one doesn't mean that we have to stick to all the dogmas and precepts of same. Not so many people switch from one major group to the next though. It seems to stick to us like DNA. We don't switch but, at least some of us get away from the formal stuff of the established Church. We can no longer tolerate the discrepancies between what is preached by the clergy (from priest to pope) and what is practiced by a good deal of them behind closed doors in real life. We can no longer deal with the hy^pocrisy and the base acts that surely will send them staight to Hell. We blacklist them altogether.
It gets impossible to believe that a charitable God - of whatever denomination - would allow all the atrocities done in His or Her name. And thus to philosophy and spirituality.
Back to the basics. In the end we come to the conclusion that a Greater Entity had to create this world. A wonderful experiment gone wron somewhere. But that conclusion has more to do with one's own conscience and one's own view of the world - and not based on some dogma fuelled down by someone or some group dictating how, who, and what you must believe.
Yes, that anonymous document called the Desiderata, barely one page long but worth twnety bibles sums it all up very well.

St Valentine's check

So Valentine's day is around the corner and you want to impressyour lady friend. Maybe you're thinking Flowers, nice restaurant, fancy bottlr of wine. Very nice. But you,re a bit short of cash and both your credit cards are maxed out.
Some people would see a problem here. Others would not. Hey, fudge about it, get a third credit card. That gives you another two thousand bucks, if not more. Instantly. Carpe diem. Enjoy it now. Others might just see that big brick wall coming up.
Nothing wrong with a third credit card. If you pay your balanceat the end of the month. Bill Gates can have as many cards as he wants. You and I best tread carefully. Two things here.
Eitheryour lady friend would appreciate the honesty more than the flowers and settle for something scaled down (a Romantic dinner at home) or she blows you away because you can't keep up.
It' so easy to get deeper into the muck. Much more difficult to get back to square one. If
you're ready for that possibility, make a financial plan (get someone you trust to help you if necessary), get out of the financial hole and breathe better.
The first step might be to make a good use of that pair of scissors and snip away.

home base

we stray so far from it but eventually, like Voltaire's hero we find that tending to our little garden is best. Yes, things get cluttuered and clogged up. We accumulat so much stuff. Material things aw well as intellectual and spiritual bagage. So much stuff, the house is full of useless junk (junk we desperately needed at one time in order to feel better about ourselves) and impress the Joneses.
Where to start? Yes, order in the house. Whether it's a tiny apartment or a huge mansion, the principle is the same.
Time for a good clean up of body, mind and home - though not necessarily in that order.

home base

ok, so there's no place like home, and around here you should be able to say whatever you want, and talk about whaterver problem you,re having.we'll see about finding a solution. there's always a way. It can be a very down to earth and one (though not always an easy one), while for others the answers may have to be found elsewhere.