School kills creativity

A friend pointed this talk out to me. I watched, I laughed, I nodded in agreement.

I always believed that children should be allowed to express their creativity freely as long as it doesn't put anyone or themselves in danger.

I remember when my daughter was in kindergarten, the teacher pointing out to me that she was not using the "right" colours in her pictures. She showed me the picture and I didn't see anything wrong with it and said as much. She pointed to a beautiful sky filled with green clouds, a teal lake, blue trees with yellow trunks and orange grass. That all those were not "proper" colors. I asked her what she thought were proper colors and she responded in the expected manner, blue sky, green grass, blah blah.. so I asked her "what if this is the colours she sees?" are we supposed to retrain her brain to see only those colors in relation to the object? To me that is killing creativity at it's most fundamental. 

What are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving Canadian style!

Every year, I look back and see what has been good, what has been bad and what I've learned since the last Thanksgiving. This year is no different than other years except that I learned to appreciate a lot more than in previous years.

These are the things I'm thankful for:

My darling husband
A man who suffers daily from kidney stone pain. He does his best to remain cheerful and to be here for me despite the pain and exhaustion. I have only to look at my loving man when I think I can't stand another day of pain and know that I can carry on.

My loving daughter
Despite the stumbling blocks that life has handed my beautiful daughter, she always as a smile and a hug for everyone, to help everyone around her and make others feel better. She works hard every day, has some days that are tough to go through, but knows who to turn to for strength.

My son who moves to the beat of a different drummer.
He may have been born with severe developmental delays but with each passing day, he is maturing and seeing the world through his eyes makes me appreciate what I have.

My sistersoul
Who has a shoulder and a strong arm for me when I need it the most. For her understanding, her quiet strength, her wisdom. For the laughter that she brings into my life and brightens my day. For a second chance at having a sister to love and cherish. And I dearly hope she knows I am here for her as well.

The people in my life.
From each one I gather wisdom, experience, support and strength. They touch my life in small and big ways that I may not realise at the time but become part of me.

Gambit
For always knowing when I need a purring kitty cheer up on my lap or a bump on my leg asking to be picked up and loved. For those beautiful green eyes, full of love and trust.

My health, be such as it is.
I get reminded daily that life is to be appreciated, that family and friends do matter. That caring about each other should always be first on the list of things to do.

The ability to walk
You only realise how much it means to be able to walk when you find that you can't take another step because you're racked with pain.

The soft breezes, the warm autumn days that make me hurt less.

A good night's sleep.

A pain free day.

My hands
I use to knit and crochet and make someone else's day brighter with the things I create.

That I can share a smile irregardless...

On that note, I ask you my readers and friends, What are you thankful for this year?

Aristotle had it right

Define friend....

So many ways to explain what a friend is but I still think Aristotle had it right on the git go.

Aristotle's definition: A true friend is one soul in two bodies.

And in this case I struck gold! I am truly blessed.

 

Up until I read this quote, I always struggled with the definition of friend. So many people interpret the word friend in so many ways. 

My definition of a friend has always been someone who:

 

- answers the phone whatever the time may be and is prepared to listen.

- will laugh and cry with you. 
- will always believe in you, even when you don't believe in yourself.
- will always bring out the best in you.
- will always be honest, even if it hurts.
- will not need an explanation as he/she will always understand.
- is willing to share their time with you.
- accepts you as you are.
- is willing to reach out to you, instead of you always having to do the reaching out.
- will not judge you.

I like how Wikipedia defines friend.

Soulmate: the name given to someone who is considered the ultimate, true, and eternal half of the other's soul, in which the two are now and forever meant to be together.

Spiritual friendship: the Buddhist ideal of kalyana-mitra, that is a relationship between friends with a common interest, though one person may have more knowledge and experience than the other. The relationship is the responsibility of both friends and both bring something to it.

Some would say many more things quantify friendship, but I still say Aristotle had it right. 

To realise the value...

To realize
The value of a sister/brother
Ask someone
Who doesn't have one.

To realize
The value of ten years:
Ask a newly
Divorced couple.

To realize
The value of four years:
Ask a graduate.

To realize
The value of one year:
Ask a student who
Has failed a final exam.

To realize
The value of nine months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.

To realize
The value of one month:
Ask a mother
Who has given birth to a premature  baby..

To realize
The value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize
The value of one minute:
Ask a person
Who has missed  the train, bus or plane.

To realize
The value of one-second:
Ask a person
Who has survived an accident.

Time waits for no one.
Treasure every moment you have.

You will treasure it even more when
You can share it with someone special.

To realize the value of a friend or family member:
LOSE ONE.

Remember....

Hold on tight to the ones you love!

Talk about a different viewpoint

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia this past spring. At the time, I didn't realise just how much it would affect my life. I had put on blinders so to speak and just did my best to forget and ignore it. 

A few weeks ago, it decided to remind me in a rather painful way that it was there . As the days went by, the pain grew and I could do less and less until I couldn't even walk a block without being rooted to the ground by pain and spasms. As it worsened, I turned to forums and websites on fibromyalgia and found so much information, some good, some bad, some downright frightening, that only made things worse. I finally booked an appointment with my neurologist who actually could fit me in the very next day as another patient had cancelled. After going over the symptoms, pain, cotton ball head, spasms, etc... we had a long chat and he answered my questions truthfully and with no added sugar coating. At the end of a 2 hour appointment I felt better, understood a lot more the process of fibromyalgia and what outside influences will make it worse. He also adjusted my medication and told me that I should begin to feel better shortly and he was right.

Today, I'm going through the mail at work (replacing receptionist for just this week) and came across a magazine called Abilities On the cover was a photo of Stephen Hawking. For those of you who do not know him, he has done mountains of research in the fields of cosmology, quantum gravity and especially black holes. You would think that it sounds pretty normal but now add the fact that this man has not spoken a word since 1985, is paralysed and depends on others to feed him, etc... and now you get a much different picture. Mr Hawking suffers from ALS but much to his credit he has not let this fact slow him down in the least. 

In the following article from which I've excerpted a rather significant viewpoint, it really puts my fibro in a different light and made me realise that despite ALS;  he can work, play, enjoy life, etc... why should I let fibro stop me from enjoying the things I like to do. Certainly it will take adjustments, but it doesn't mean that life as I know it is over for me. It's all in the perspective, the viewpoint and not the point of view.

"I have had motor neurone disease for practically all my adult life. Yet it has not prevented me from having a very attractive family and being successful in my work. This is thanks to the help I have received from Jane, my children, and a large number of other people and organizations. I have been lucky, that my condition has progressed more slowly than is often the case. But it shows that one need not lose hope." Excerpt from Stephen Hawking: In His Own Words, 
On Disability.

And to show just how much freedom he has, in 2007 on one of his trips to North America,  he flew in the zero-G aircraft and experienced weightlessness for the first time in his life.

Dr. Hawking enjoying weightlessness for the first time

On a side note, go to his website and take a look around. I didn't realise until today that he has written children's books with the help of his daughter. I wish my children were still young enough to enjoy being read to from these books. They explain space and what's up there in a way that children will understand quite clearly. It's an amazing way to develop a love of science in children.

He has also been a presenter on Ted.tv. His viewpoint on the universe is fascinating and brings up many questions. Well worth watching.

Goofy and funny, that's what I needed today!

 This one I keep in reserve when I need a laugh. First time I saw this video I sat there and just stared, slack jawed watching someone dance that I never thought I'd see.  Who would have thought that Christopher Walken used to dance professionally before he turned to acting! The man is so darn serious I never thought he could actually do something fun....  heck funny!

Enjoy!

Lest we forget, 9/11 - Two minutes of silence

Where were you September 11, 2001?

I was getting ready to go to work when my husband told me to turn on the news. It was 8:30 and the scenes unfolding in front of my eyes sent a chill down my back and raised goosebumps on my arms. These were the scenes of a horror movie. Couldn't be real, couldn't be happening in North America, New York, no way this was real. But the longer I watched, the more horrifying the morning became as I watched a 2nd plane crash into the WTC and finally both towers crashing to the ground. I didn't want to think what those specs raining down from the towers were as things got worse. I wanted to walk away but I was glued in place. Hands clutching a cup of coffee long gone cold. A pile of used tissues piling up next to me as I couldn't stop crying and yet, my eyes could not leave the unfolding events before me.

That day, I lost my job since the clients we dealt with had offices in the WTC but that is small potatoes compared to the loss of so many lives, so many families broken up, so many who will never see their Mom, Dad, sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts, cousins, friends and the list goes on and on.

I will never forget September 11, 2001 as I've never forgotten other major events in our recent history. Events that have marked us, reminded us that we are as frail, as fleeting as catkins in the wind. 

The video's audio track has been disabled. It doesn't need one. I can hear the voices of the commentators on CNN as clear today as I did back then. There is no song, music, commentary that can accompany this, so in silence, let's remember and hope this insanity never repeats itself.

Fair warning to all, this video has scenes that are disturbing, but then again, maybe we need to see disturbing to remind us this is real.