Teaching Children Without Humiliation

Today I was shopping in an area Target and saw something that made me gasp.  As I was waiting in the checkout line, I noticed this young girl (and I'm not good with ages, but I'm going to guess she was around 7 years old).  She was sitting in the shopping cart.  I really didn't pay that much attention to her but out of a glance, her eyes caught mine.

Then all at once, the mother slapped the little girls legs rather hard and the minute she did, she put her legs together.  Up until that point, I had not even noticed that this girl was sitting that way.  Of course, nothing was said, but you could get the feeling that the mother was saying, don't you dare open  your legs around a man.

Before you think I'm any kind of a pervert, I'm not.  So, please don't be reading that into any of this because you would be so far off from the truth, it would be sad.

The thing that got me though was what the mother was teaching the little girl.  First of all, the physical part of this makes me cringe.  While many may say, oh it is for their own good, or it doesn't really hurt them, I would beg to differ.  When that girl's reaction was so immediate and automatic, the neural pathway in her brain has already been forged together.  She knows exactly what the message is, but more importantly the cells and tissues of her body know what the message is.  When that happens, it is a long lasting life event for her.

Damage By Jet Lag And the Night Shift

I'm amazed at how we take care of our bodies and while some of it is unavoidable, there are steps we can do to minimize the impact of stress on our physical body.  In an article in The Telegraph, they discuss some of the research that is being done to understand how we are affected by jet lag and the night shift.

In both of these events, they disrupt the normal circadian rhythm and actually throw gene sequences out of sync when the sleep patterns deviated from what was the norm in these people studied.  Our bodies are biologically made to operate in a certain way and although we may interrupt that schedule, this is a biological reality.  The body can adapt, but each adaptation often brings stress with it.  Remember that stress can be positive or negative and stress is anything that causes change to the body.


From work I've done and what I have experienced in my own life, I believe that if you take the time out to really recharge your batteries on a daily basis, some of this is not an issue.  I would love to be able to test this idea fully.

Opinions Become Facts

I constantly watch and listen to people around me.  I've always been a people watcher because sometimes it provides plenty of free entertainment.  Today while traveling, I heard someone making statements as if they were fact.  Of course, these statements were nothing but this person's opinion.  There was absolutely nothing to back them up.

In our world, there is so much of this type of behavior.  It happens in all walks of life.  It happens in the media, in the office, at home and just about every place in-between.  We often point the fingers at others and call them out on their own opinions, only to close our blind eyes to our own shortcomings.

One could say that my blog is just nothing more than my opinions.  I'm sure you could make a case for that and I probably could not defend every statement I make on here or elsewhere in life. I try hard, but I also fail. Fortunately there are people in my life that will call me out on it when I jump overboard into the sea of my own opinions.

Is Humanity Lost?

Some days I really wonder about the human species.  I wonder if the animals truly are the more advanced life forms on this planet.  Heck, for that matter maybe the plants are more advanced than humans.  Everywhere you look though, humanity is either asleep or just down right as hateful and evil and greedy as they can get.

So is humanity lost?  Let's explore a few of the faces of humanity that seem to be getting all the attention these days and see if it is truly lost.

Humanity is not greed.  It seems that everything these days is done out of right-out-greed.  The dollar controls every action in corporations and the news media.  Politics is no longer about the best ideas, it is about who has the money to control it.  Okay, maybe its always been that way to some degree, but in the past few years, it feels like greed is taking way too many steroids or drinking way too much caffeine.

Humanity involves creativity.  Creativity is asleep at the wheel.  What is created these days seems to be flat.  It is a rerun of the same things that are done over and over until we're so exhausted by them, we no longer know what creativity is all about.  Songs are nothing more than electronically synthesized music that makes the sensitive souls cringe as if someone was scrapping their fingers on a chalk board.  Music that is turned out these days has no soul.  It lost its soul.  Entertainment and movies has to be "greater" and "more action oriented" and "more extreme" to get anyone's attention.

Our Actions Impact All Mankind

Some days my mind never stops thinking or reaching or striving for more.  I continue to see things that make me sometimes weep and cause pain as I look at them taking place.  We all are part of a continuum in life where what we do unto others is connected to all of mankind.  I'm more convinced of this now then I ever was.

It is the little things that we do in our day that have much impact upon the world, even if we don't see it.  How we speak to others and how we come across to them is more than just a momentary string of words or actions.  It impacts not only their day, but it strongly impacts our day.

As we read the news stories online or share social networking posts, do we ever truly stop and question ourselves about the comments we leave or things we share?  Are we just another sprocket in the sharing of news that may or may not be the best to disseminate to the world?  This goes for the constant barrage of "feel good" posts to the angry critical displays of madness we all see and often partake in.

Things Happen

At times I never stop to consider little moments in my day as being anything but little moments.  Yes, sometimes that is all they are, but sometimes they are part of a much bigger picture.  Often times we are part of events that occur every day and yet when "things happen" at some point in the future, we don't necessarily connect the two.

Its too easy at times to look at your life and complain about all that  you perceive you don't have or all that is going wrong in your estimation.  Its too easy to look at your life and think you've been dealt the unlucky hand, wishing for things to be different.  Its too easy to look at your life and ponder why everyone else appears to have it all and you're struggling with every moment of your day.

Yes, there are times when life truly sucks.  There are times when what you are experiencing truly is more than you feel like you can handle.  In life, we can often feel like we are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Yet, if you stop and look back over  your life, you will see a different picture.  If you could look at your life from many miles above it, the perspective would change.

Hate Is The Absence Of Love

Some of the things I continue to see in our society, do very little to advance the human race.  One such thing is hate.  While many may not even own up to this in their day, it none-the-less fills their hearts, minds and bodies.  You cannot have love when you are filled up with hate.

Hate is defined as feeling an intense or passionate dislike for someone.  It could include detesting someone or feeling hostility and animosity towards a particular person or group of people.

Unfortunately in our day, we've gone so over the edge of reality that we barely recognize our own hatred we have for other humans.  It is almost as if we can point the finger at someone else who hates, but we can't see what lies within our own lives.  We hate through judgement and the condemnation of others.  We hate through our silent words and thoughts as well as our actions.

Whether it is through the words we write on anonymous message boards or comment sections on websites, we spread this stuff into the world.  You may think you are anonymous, but in many ways you are not. Some people choose to spew it on TV news programs or in all kinds of TV shows and others choose to participate as a viewer and listener.  It doesn't matter what form you engage in, hate is hate.

Thought For The New Year

While everyone seems to make resolutions at this time of year that they don't keep, maybe instead we could do something different.  Most resolutions don't last long enough for anyone to realize and most of the time they are just an extravagant desire, that they become a burden of failure.  So instead of a resolution, why not try to think differently about the days, months and years ahead.

Here's what I mean.  What if all those parts that aren't going good for you or you don't like, question it?   What if the struggles you are dealing with in this moment, instead you question it?  How about all those people, places, and things that you feel are vital to your every breath, that you question all of it?  How about questioning everything that you think is important in your life and what makes up your world?  How about questioning everything that you hold as your beliefs?