Happy New Year!!!
Wishing all a World of peace and happiness.
Happy Hogmanany!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
A Vision of Students Today
Todays children are bewildered when they enter a 19th century environment that still
characterizes the educational establishment where information is scarce but ordered and
structured by fragmented, classified patterns, subjects and schedules.
......................................................Marshall McLuhan 1967
characterizes the educational establishment where information is scarce but ordered and
structured by fragmented, classified patterns, subjects and schedules.
......................................................Marshall McLuhan 1967
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Take The Red Pill
Do you believe in fate?
Or do you believe that you have some control over your destiny?
You know something...what it is you can't explain but you've known it
all your life.
The blue pill offers peace of mind...you can believe what you want.
The "red pill" offers the truth.
Can you handle the truth?
Or do you believe that you have some control over your destiny?
You know something...what it is you can't explain but you've known it
all your life.
The blue pill offers peace of mind...you can believe what you want.
The "red pill" offers the truth.
Can you handle the truth?
Friday, December 7, 2007
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Do schools kill creativity?
Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we're educating our children. He champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence.
"We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says.
...we've been educated to become good workers, rather than creative thinkers. Students with restless minds and bodies -- far from being cultivated for their energy and curiosity -- are ignored or even stigmatized, with terrible consequences.
In this video he makes an entertaining (and profoundly moving) case for creating an education system that nurtures creativity, rather than undermining it. With ample anecdotes and witty asides, Robinson points out the many ways our schools fail to recognize -- much less cultivate -- the talents of many brilliant people
"We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says.
...we've been educated to become good workers, rather than creative thinkers. Students with restless minds and bodies -- far from being cultivated for their energy and curiosity -- are ignored or even stigmatized, with terrible consequences.
In this video he makes an entertaining (and profoundly moving) case for creating an education system that nurtures creativity, rather than undermining it. With ample anecdotes and witty asides, Robinson points out the many ways our schools fail to recognize -- much less cultivate -- the talents of many brilliant people
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
The Venus Project
What is the Venus Project?
The Venus Project is an educational think tank operating out of a 25-acre Research Center located in Venus, Florida.
When one considers the enormity of the challenges facing society today, we can safely conclude that the time is long overdue for us to re-examine our values, and to reflect upon and evaluate some of the underlying issues and assumptions we have as a society. This self-analysis calls into question the very nature of what it means to be human, what it means to be a member of a "civilization," and what choices we can make today to ensure a prosperous future for all the world's people.
At present we are left with very few alternatives. The answers of yesterday are no longer relevant. Either we continue as we have been with our outmoded social customs and habits of thought, in which case our future will be threatened, or we can apply a more appropriate set of values that are relevant to an emergent society.
Experience tells us that human behavior can be modified, either toward constructive or destructive activity. This is what The Venus Project is all about - directing our technology and resources toward the positive, for the maximum benefit of people and planet and seeking out new ways of thinking and living that emphasize and celebrate the vast potential of the human spirit. We have the tools at hand to design - and build - a future that is worthy of the human potential. The Venus Project presents a bold, new direction for humanity that entails nothing less than the total redesign of our culture. What follows is not an attempt to predict what will be done - only what could be done. The responsibility for our future is in our hands, and depends on the decisions that we make today. The greatest resource that is available today is our own ingenuity.
While social reformers and think tanks formulate strategies that treat only superficial symptoms, without touching the basic social operation, The Venus Project approaches these problems somewhat differently. We feel we cannot eliminate these problems within the framework of the present political and monetary establishment. It would take too many years to accomplish any significant change. Most likely they would be watered down and thinned out to such an extent that the changes would be indistinguishable
The Venus Project advocates an alternative vision for a sustainable new world civilization unlike any social system that has gone before. Although this description is highly condensed, it is based upon years of study and experimental research by many, many people from many scientific disciplines.
The Venus Project proposes a fresh approach--one that is dedicated to human and environmental concerns. It is an attainable vision of a bright and better future, one that is appropriate to the times in which we live, and both practical and feasible for a positive future for all the world's people.
The Venus Project calls for a straightforward approach to the redesign of a culture, in which the age-old inadequacies of war, poverty, hunger, debt, environmental degradation and unnecessary human suffering are viewed not only as avoidable, but totally unacceptable.
One of the basic premises of The Venus Project is that we work towards having all of the Earth's resources as the common heritage of all the world's people. Anything less will simply result in a continuation of the same catalog of problems inherent in the present system.
Read more here........The Venus Project
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Synchronicity
Synchronicity is one of my favorite words...it is what occurs when you focus on something and the universe seems to respond with related messages and surprises.
I think those messages are always there but go un-noticed until you have the focus or intent. This is especially so if the intent is a positive one.
Wow! This wonderful painting was found abandoned on a street by a friend of mine. Of course, she took it home and gave it the love it deserves.
It fit so well with what she is all about that it is hard to believe anything other than this painting was meant to be with her.
It is as though God or the universe saw this beautiful creation abandoned and sought
to find the perfect home for it.
This is not unlike the story of my now beloved cat. I found him in my shed one day in a very emaciated state after he had wondered the neighborhood for weeks.
Synchronicity?
I think it so.
Hear the story from Oza herself by clicking here. Good Vibrations
Friday, November 16, 2007
Children Of Bipolar Parents Score Higher On Creativity Test
Children Of Bipolar Parents Score Higher On Creativity Test, Stanford Study Finds
ScienceDaily (Nov. 9, 2005) — Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have shown for the first time that a sample of children who either have or are at high risk for bipolar disorder score higher on a creativity index than healthy children. The findings add to existing evidence that a link exists between mood disorders and creativity.
See also:
Health & Medicine
* Attention Deficit Disorder
* Children's Health
* Mental Health Research
Mind & Brain
* Psychiatry
* Bipolar Disorder
* Depression
Reference
* Psychosis
* Adult attention-deficit disorder
* Bipolar disorder
* Pyromania
The small study, published in the November issue of the Journal of Psychiatric Research, compared creativity test scores of children of healthy parents with the scores of children of bipolar parents. Children with the bipolar parents - even those who were not bipolar themselves - scored higher than the healthy children.
"I think it's fascinating," said Kiki Chang, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and co-author of the paper. "There is a reason that many people who have bipolar disorder become very successful, and these findings address the positive aspects of having this illness."
Many scientists believe that a relationship exists between creativity and bipolar disorder, which was formerly called manic-depressive illness and is marked by dramatic shifts in a person's mood, energy and ability to function. Numerous studies have examined this link; several have shown that artists and writers may have two to three times more incidences of psychosis, mood disorders or suicide when compared with people in less creative professions.
Terence Ketter, MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and a study co-author, said he became interested in the link between mental illness and creativity after noticing that patients who came through the bipolar clinic, despite having problems, were extraordinarily bright, motivated people who "tended to lead interesting lives." He began a scholarly pursuit of this link and in 2002 published a study that showed healthy artists were more similar in personality to individuals with bipolar disorder (the majority of whom were on medication) than to healthy people in the general population.
Some researchers believe that bipolar disorder or mania, a defining symptom of the disease, causes creative activity. Ketter said he believes that bipolar patients' creativity stems from their mobilizing energy that results from negative emotion to initiate some sort of solution to their problems. "In this case, discontent is the mother of invention," he said.
The researchers point out that creativity and bipolar may have important genetic components that are transmitted together inter-generationally. There have only been limited studies investigating this; the Stanford study is the first to specifically examine creativity in the offspring of bipolar parents.
During the study, the researchers looked at creative characteristics in 40 bipolar patients and 40 offspring, comparing them with 18 healthy adults and 18 healthy offspring. The children in the study ranged in age from 10 to 18. Half of the children of bipolar patients also had bipolar disorder; the other half had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD, which appears to be an early sign of bipolar disorder in offspring of parents with the condition. The majority of participants with bipolar or ADHD were on medication.
The researchers included children with ADHD so they could study creativity before the onset of full bipolar disorder. "We wanted to see whether having a manic episode is necessary for this sort of creativity," said Chang, who also directs the Pediatric Bipolar Disorders Program at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.
Study participants were given psychiatric evaluations and then completed the Barron-Welsh Art Scale, or BWAS, a test that seeks to provide an objective measure of creativity. The scoring is based on "like" and "dislike" responses to figures of varying complexity and symmetry; past studies suggest that creative people tend to dislike the simple and symmetric symbols.
The researchers found that the bipolar parents had 120 percent higher BWAS "dislike" scores than the healthy parents. The children with bipolar and the children with ADHD had, respectively, 107 and 91 percent higher BWAS dislike scores than the healthy children.
"The results of this study support an association between bipolar disease and creativity and contribute to a better understanding of possible mechanisms of transmission of creativity in families with genetic susceptibility for bipolar disease," the researchers wrote in their paper.
The researchers had hypothesized that the scores of children with ADHD would differ significantly from the scores of bipolar children so they were surprised when the scores did not. Chang said this indicates that mania is not what is fueling the creativity. "The kids with ADHD who hadn't been manic yet still had very high levels of creativity," he said.
The researchers also found a link between the length of a bipolar child's illness and creativity: the longer a child was sick or manic, the lower the BWAS dislike score. It makes sense, Chang said, that this illness could, over time, erode one's creativity. "After awhile you aren't able to function and you can't access your creativity," he explained.
BWAS dislike scores tend to decrease with age even in healthy individuals, so more research is needed, Ketter said. Further studies are also needed to assess the role of genetic and environmental factors in creativity and bipolar, he added. The team plans to next examine whether the degree of creativity in parents correlates with the degree of creativity in their children.
###
This study was funded by the Heinz C. Prechter Fund for Manic Depression, a NAR-SAD Young Investigators Award, a Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation Fellowship and the National Institutes of Health.
Adapted from materials provided by Stanford University Medical Center.
ScienceDaily (Nov. 9, 2005) — Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have shown for the first time that a sample of children who either have or are at high risk for bipolar disorder score higher on a creativity index than healthy children. The findings add to existing evidence that a link exists between mood disorders and creativity.
See also:
Health & Medicine
* Attention Deficit Disorder
* Children's Health
* Mental Health Research
Mind & Brain
* Psychiatry
* Bipolar Disorder
* Depression
Reference
* Psychosis
* Adult attention-deficit disorder
* Bipolar disorder
* Pyromania
The small study, published in the November issue of the Journal of Psychiatric Research, compared creativity test scores of children of healthy parents with the scores of children of bipolar parents. Children with the bipolar parents - even those who were not bipolar themselves - scored higher than the healthy children.
"I think it's fascinating," said Kiki Chang, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and co-author of the paper. "There is a reason that many people who have bipolar disorder become very successful, and these findings address the positive aspects of having this illness."
Many scientists believe that a relationship exists between creativity and bipolar disorder, which was formerly called manic-depressive illness and is marked by dramatic shifts in a person's mood, energy and ability to function. Numerous studies have examined this link; several have shown that artists and writers may have two to three times more incidences of psychosis, mood disorders or suicide when compared with people in less creative professions.
Terence Ketter, MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and a study co-author, said he became interested in the link between mental illness and creativity after noticing that patients who came through the bipolar clinic, despite having problems, were extraordinarily bright, motivated people who "tended to lead interesting lives." He began a scholarly pursuit of this link and in 2002 published a study that showed healthy artists were more similar in personality to individuals with bipolar disorder (the majority of whom were on medication) than to healthy people in the general population.
Some researchers believe that bipolar disorder or mania, a defining symptom of the disease, causes creative activity. Ketter said he believes that bipolar patients' creativity stems from their mobilizing energy that results from negative emotion to initiate some sort of solution to their problems. "In this case, discontent is the mother of invention," he said.
The researchers point out that creativity and bipolar may have important genetic components that are transmitted together inter-generationally. There have only been limited studies investigating this; the Stanford study is the first to specifically examine creativity in the offspring of bipolar parents.
During the study, the researchers looked at creative characteristics in 40 bipolar patients and 40 offspring, comparing them with 18 healthy adults and 18 healthy offspring. The children in the study ranged in age from 10 to 18. Half of the children of bipolar patients also had bipolar disorder; the other half had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD, which appears to be an early sign of bipolar disorder in offspring of parents with the condition. The majority of participants with bipolar or ADHD were on medication.
The researchers included children with ADHD so they could study creativity before the onset of full bipolar disorder. "We wanted to see whether having a manic episode is necessary for this sort of creativity," said Chang, who also directs the Pediatric Bipolar Disorders Program at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.
Study participants were given psychiatric evaluations and then completed the Barron-Welsh Art Scale, or BWAS, a test that seeks to provide an objective measure of creativity. The scoring is based on "like" and "dislike" responses to figures of varying complexity and symmetry; past studies suggest that creative people tend to dislike the simple and symmetric symbols.
The researchers found that the bipolar parents had 120 percent higher BWAS "dislike" scores than the healthy parents. The children with bipolar and the children with ADHD had, respectively, 107 and 91 percent higher BWAS dislike scores than the healthy children.
"The results of this study support an association between bipolar disease and creativity and contribute to a better understanding of possible mechanisms of transmission of creativity in families with genetic susceptibility for bipolar disease," the researchers wrote in their paper.
The researchers had hypothesized that the scores of children with ADHD would differ significantly from the scores of bipolar children so they were surprised when the scores did not. Chang said this indicates that mania is not what is fueling the creativity. "The kids with ADHD who hadn't been manic yet still had very high levels of creativity," he said.
The researchers also found a link between the length of a bipolar child's illness and creativity: the longer a child was sick or manic, the lower the BWAS dislike score. It makes sense, Chang said, that this illness could, over time, erode one's creativity. "After awhile you aren't able to function and you can't access your creativity," he explained.
BWAS dislike scores tend to decrease with age even in healthy individuals, so more research is needed, Ketter said. Further studies are also needed to assess the role of genetic and environmental factors in creativity and bipolar, he added. The team plans to next examine whether the degree of creativity in parents correlates with the degree of creativity in their children.
###
This study was funded by the Heinz C. Prechter Fund for Manic Depression, a NAR-SAD Young Investigators Award, a Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation Fellowship and the National Institutes of Health.
Adapted from materials provided by Stanford University Medical Center.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
A Child of Enthusiasm
Bindi Irwin is the daughter of Steve Irwin
Steve Irwin lived a life of passion and the enthusiasm for what he did was genuine and fueled by his love of wildlife.
He was a man that had found what really moved him.
Bindi has inherited this enthusiasm for life and animals and will no doubt carry on with the great work that her father began.
It is important to note that Bindi wrote every word herself and in large print as she did not want to make a mistake.
You can see her little finger following the lines of print as she reads...
To date there is about 40 million dollars into the zoo from the proceeds of the filming of "The Crocadile Hunter"
The Irwins vowed to put 100% of the proceeds back into the zoo and wildlife conservation and for the first 4 years of filming that was easy as there was no profit.
Steve Irwin lived a life of passion and the enthusiasm for what he did was genuine and fueled by his love of wildlife.
He was a man that had found what really moved him.
Bindi has inherited this enthusiasm for life and animals and will no doubt carry on with the great work that her father began.
It is important to note that Bindi wrote every word herself and in large print as she did not want to make a mistake.
You can see her little finger following the lines of print as she reads...
To date there is about 40 million dollars into the zoo from the proceeds of the filming of "The Crocadile Hunter"
The Irwins vowed to put 100% of the proceeds back into the zoo and wildlife conservation and for the first 4 years of filming that was easy as there was no profit.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Childlike Enthusiasm
I hope I won't get in trouble here but the following is a copy and paste of a web page that I found by doing a "Google Search" for "childlike enthusiasm"
I did not seek permission to copy it here but suspect that the author will not mind me sharing with the world, her very inspirational poem.
Upon reading her poem, I felt as though I knew her and connected with what it is she feels. I am now inspired to learn more about this woman and will share more in future posts.
This search was inspired by my Friend Oza (aka Mudd)....she is my happiness mentor and the person who helps me remember to enjoy life and never lose that "childlike enthusiasm" (More about her in another post)
This post is about the Number one result from Google for "childlike enthusiasm"
Don'tcha just love this stuff? (Web 2.0)
The following is a beautiful poem that requires no explantion but led me to want to learn much more about the creative soul that wrote it.
Her name is Nora Naranjo-Morse
Childlike Enthusiasm
Nora Naranjo-Morse
It is not sophisticated technique or exact skill
but childlike enthusiasm,
timeless concentration
and pure devotion that feed this clay to life for me.
Knowing this as my hands work slower than my desire to create,
feeling this on frigid winter mornings when clay spirits are
cold and so am I.
Laughing in J. C. Penney's when I notice there is still clay
stubbornly stuck under my fingernails,
as I pass a free manicure display.
Dreaming up new shapes and stories for brown
earth and me, as I secretly call myself
Mud Woman.
Indulging in limitless, creative possibilities.
How lucky I am to know this clay.
I did not seek permission to copy it here but suspect that the author will not mind me sharing with the world, her very inspirational poem.
Upon reading her poem, I felt as though I knew her and connected with what it is she feels. I am now inspired to learn more about this woman and will share more in future posts.
This search was inspired by my Friend Oza (aka Mudd)....she is my happiness mentor and the person who helps me remember to enjoy life and never lose that "childlike enthusiasm" (More about her in another post)
This post is about the Number one result from Google for "childlike enthusiasm"
Don'tcha just love this stuff? (Web 2.0)
The following is a beautiful poem that requires no explantion but led me to want to learn much more about the creative soul that wrote it.
Her name is Nora Naranjo-Morse
Childlike Enthusiasm
Nora Naranjo-Morse
It is not sophisticated technique or exact skill
but childlike enthusiasm,
timeless concentration
and pure devotion that feed this clay to life for me.
Knowing this as my hands work slower than my desire to create,
feeling this on frigid winter mornings when clay spirits are
cold and so am I.
Laughing in J. C. Penney's when I notice there is still clay
stubbornly stuck under my fingernails,
as I pass a free manicure display.
Dreaming up new shapes and stories for brown
earth and me, as I secretly call myself
Mud Woman.
Indulging in limitless, creative possibilities.
How lucky I am to know this clay.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Put Creative Enthusiasm In What You Do
“We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about.”
~~Albert Einstein
Don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. ~~ Harold Whitman
Now here is a fellow (a soccer referee) who is very enthusiastic about his work and has found what makes him come alive.
~~Albert Einstein
Don't ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. ~~ Harold Whitman
Now here is a fellow (a soccer referee) who is very enthusiastic about his work and has found what makes him come alive.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Creative People Do It "All Night Long"
Once you get started, you can't sit down.
Come join the fun it's a merry-go-round.
Everyone dancing their troubles away.
Come join our party and see how we play...
These are some lines from one of my all time favorite songs. People scoff when I tell them I love this Lionel Ritchie song but I was somewhat gratified when they chose this song for the opening ceremonies at the Olympic Games in L.A.
Peace, love and fun folks.
Betcha can't keep your toes from tappin' at least.
Come join the fun it's a merry-go-round.
Everyone dancing their troubles away.
Come join our party and see how we play...
These are some lines from one of my all time favorite songs. People scoff when I tell them I love this Lionel Ritchie song but I was somewhat gratified when they chose this song for the opening ceremonies at the Olympic Games in L.A.
Peace, love and fun folks.
Betcha can't keep your toes from tappin' at least.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Timothy Ferris is Back and the World's Still Turnin'
Experiments in Lifestyle By Design
Tim's back from his "mini retirement" through London, Scotland, Sardinia, Slovak Republic, Austria, Amsterdam, and Japan.
Some unpleasant surprises awaited him when he checked in on the evil e-mail inbox.~~ Why?~~~ He let them happen.
He always does.(and so do I)
He met with his Japanese publisher, Seishisha (Tel: 03-5574-8511) and had media interviews in Tokyo, where the 4HWW is now #1 in several of the largest chains.
He took a complete 10-day media fast and felt like he’d had a two-year vacation from computers.
-He attended the Tokyo International Film Festival and hung out with one of his heroes, the producer of the Planet Earth television series.
Tim says;
"Once you realize that you can turn off the noise without the world ending, you’re liberated in a way that few people ever know."
"Just remember: if you don’t have attention, you don’t have time. Did I have time to check e-mail and voicemail? Sure. It might take 10 minutes. Did I have the attention to risk fishing for crises in those 10 minutes? Not at all."
"As tempting as it is to “just check e-mail for one minute,” I didn’t do it. I know from experience that any problem found in the inbox will linger on the brain for hours or days after you shut-down the computer, rendering “free time” useless with preoccupation. It’s the worst of states, where you experience neither relaxation nor productivity. Be focused on work or focused on something else, never in-between."
"Time without attention is worthless, so value attention over time."
Timothy Ferris is a genius and the inspiration for this blog.
You must read the rest of this article here!
...The Art of Letting Bad Things Happen
Tim's back from his "mini retirement" through London, Scotland, Sardinia, Slovak Republic, Austria, Amsterdam, and Japan.
Some unpleasant surprises awaited him when he checked in on the evil e-mail inbox.~~ Why?~~~ He let them happen.
He always does.(and so do I)
He met with his Japanese publisher, Seishisha (Tel: 03-5574-8511) and had media interviews in Tokyo, where the 4HWW is now #1 in several of the largest chains.
He took a complete 10-day media fast and felt like he’d had a two-year vacation from computers.
-He attended the Tokyo International Film Festival and hung out with one of his heroes, the producer of the Planet Earth television series.
Tim says;
"Once you realize that you can turn off the noise without the world ending, you’re liberated in a way that few people ever know."
"Just remember: if you don’t have attention, you don’t have time. Did I have time to check e-mail and voicemail? Sure. It might take 10 minutes. Did I have the attention to risk fishing for crises in those 10 minutes? Not at all."
"As tempting as it is to “just check e-mail for one minute,” I didn’t do it. I know from experience that any problem found in the inbox will linger on the brain for hours or days after you shut-down the computer, rendering “free time” useless with preoccupation. It’s the worst of states, where you experience neither relaxation nor productivity. Be focused on work or focused on something else, never in-between."
"Time without attention is worthless, so value attention over time."
Timothy Ferris is a genius and the inspiration for this blog.
You must read the rest of this article here!
...The Art of Letting Bad Things Happen
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Quit Flapping and Ride Your Thermals
This is an excerpt from a great article by...Dewitt Jones
.....Wait, it’s not an apparition, it’s real. A Frigate bird, huge with black wings motionless, rising like a Harrier jet straight up from below the cliff edge, levitating into my vision and consciousness. For one breathless moment his gaze meets my own. Then the wind sweeps him higher. Another takes his place, then another, and another until eleven have soared past me. All in silence. All without a beat of their wings. All without effort, rising on the invisible turbulence beneath them.
Higher and higher they soar on that indiscernible funnel of air. Did I say indiscernible? Not for them. I watch the subtle movements of their wings. Never a full stroke, simply tiny adjustments to bring them back to the place of maximum lift. Higher and higher… without struggle.
Finally they are just sable specks among the clouds. Then as if to some inaudible command, they trim their wings, break their upward spiral, and set a course for the island of Oahu some 40 miles distant. It’s clear they’ll make it without a single wing beat.
I am thunderstruck. I fall into the grass with a force that reminds me only too clearly that I do not have wings. I sit staring into the sky where the birds have been. It was much too powerful not to have meaning. Slowly words coalesce in my head, words that make me smile, “Quit your flapping and ride your thermals!”
Oh, how true!
Read the full article here.......Dewitt Jones
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Jonathan Seagull was not a follower of the flock.
He was a "one in a million gull."
Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a fable about a gull who
is bored with the daily squabbles over food and
seized by a passion to explore his ability for flight.
"I want to fly where no seagull has flown before ~
I want to know what there is to know about life!"
Caring little about eating and consumed with his passion,
he pushes himself, learning everything he can about flying,
until finally his unwillingness to conform results in his
expulsion from his flock.
An outcast, he continues to learn, becoming increasingly
pleased with his abilities as he leads his idyllic life.
"You have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now -
and nothing can stand in your way!" ____________Jonathan L. Seagull
...and remember...never lose your Childlike Creativity!
He was a "one in a million gull."
Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a fable about a gull who
is bored with the daily squabbles over food and
seized by a passion to explore his ability for flight.
"I want to fly where no seagull has flown before ~
I want to know what there is to know about life!"
Caring little about eating and consumed with his passion,
he pushes himself, learning everything he can about flying,
until finally his unwillingness to conform results in his
expulsion from his flock.
An outcast, he continues to learn, becoming increasingly
pleased with his abilities as he leads his idyllic life.
"You have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now -
and nothing can stand in your way!" ____________Jonathan L. Seagull
...and remember...never lose your Childlike Creativity!
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Speaking of Lemmings, Sheep and Lynch Mobs...
In a bizarre mishap that conservationists describe as "heartbreaking," an estimated 10,000 wildebeest have drowned while attempting to cross Kenya's Mara River during an annual migration.
Following the herd mentality.
Get the rest of this sad story here...National Geographic
Gord Young
Nonconformists
"There's a whiff of the lynch mob or the lemming migration about any overlarge concentration of like-thinking individuals, no matter how virtuous their cause." - PJ O'Rourke
I liked this quote because of the implied message that people tend to "join up"
or follow the flow because it is the current and most conspicuous issue of the day.
I've recently joined a cause to support the Monks and the people of Burma in their fight for democracy and opposition to the oppressive government there. Their cause is getting much support in the "free world" at this time because of the media attention.
However, there are many injustices in the world that do not get such publicity and thus continue on without the outside world taking any notice.
This post is not about political issues, nor causes.
It is my hope that anyone reading this blog is an individual thinking, nonconformist
who will make up his or her own mind about what they stand for and not just be a follower.
Gord Young
Here is another related quote.
"The health of society thus depends quite as much on the independence of the individuals composing it as on their close political cohesion." Albert Einstein
I liked this quote because of the implied message that people tend to "join up"
or follow the flow because it is the current and most conspicuous issue of the day.
I've recently joined a cause to support the Monks and the people of Burma in their fight for democracy and opposition to the oppressive government there. Their cause is getting much support in the "free world" at this time because of the media attention.
However, there are many injustices in the world that do not get such publicity and thus continue on without the outside world taking any notice.
This post is not about political issues, nor causes.
It is my hope that anyone reading this blog is an individual thinking, nonconformist
who will make up his or her own mind about what they stand for and not just be a follower.
Gord Young
Here is another related quote.
"The health of society thus depends quite as much on the independence of the individuals composing it as on their close political cohesion." Albert Einstein
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Philip Straub
Have you heard of Philip Straub or seen his work?
I just stumbled on his site and loved the vibrant colors and dramatic lighting of his paintings.
Here is his website...enjoy it for yourself.
http://www.philipstraub.com/Bio.htm
Monday, October 1, 2007
Picasso
"I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Simon Says; He Can't Stay Angry
From: "Britains Got Talent * 6 Year Old Connie WOWs Simon Cowell !!!"
This little girl really nails it with "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" and
if you are at all sentimental (like me), watching this might bring a little
tear to your eye.
This little girl really nails it with "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" and
if you are at all sentimental (like me), watching this might bring a little
tear to your eye.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Now That's Creative!
I stumbled on this in "Trendhunter" magazine. Fashion designer Hussein Chalayan transforms dresses again. Last October, Trend Hunter featured designer Hussein Chalayan’s transformer dresses. The dresses, which literally transform on the catwalk, are quite miraculous to watch. They even change colour! Check out the video, and be sure to take a look at how his line has evolved from last year’s collection.
Transformer Dress
Mild warning. There is a bit of nudity at the end but it's not distasteful.
Transformer Dress
Mild warning. There is a bit of nudity at the end but it's not distasteful.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
The World is Your Playground
The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives..........................Albert Einstein
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Childlike Creativity...Never Lose It
It is my observation that we are all inherently creative souls but that we tend to become less creative as we get older.
If we observe children they are very creative and have a youthful and unrestrained creativity that is free from concern about what others might think.
They allow their imaginations free rein in their play and their drawing, coloring and singing and dancing.
They set no limitations on their imaginations.
They plan exciting futures full of fun, excitement and thrills without a second thought about why they might not be able to achieve these things.
It is only as we get older and are told that it is not practical to think this way that we begin to lose our enthusiasm and thus, we use our creativity less and less.
I have always tried to encourage my two children to remain creative and never lose that childlike enthusiasm.
So far it seems to be working.
If you have found that you have lost the passion you once had for drawing or singing or playing or dancing or whatever is fun...then I suggest you schedule some time (perhaps today) and just enjoy yourself.
Let us never lose our childlike creativity.
If we observe children they are very creative and have a youthful and unrestrained creativity that is free from concern about what others might think.
They allow their imaginations free rein in their play and their drawing, coloring and singing and dancing.
They set no limitations on their imaginations.
They plan exciting futures full of fun, excitement and thrills without a second thought about why they might not be able to achieve these things.
It is only as we get older and are told that it is not practical to think this way that we begin to lose our enthusiasm and thus, we use our creativity less and less.
I have always tried to encourage my two children to remain creative and never lose that childlike enthusiasm.
So far it seems to be working.
If you have found that you have lost the passion you once had for drawing or singing or playing or dancing or whatever is fun...then I suggest you schedule some time (perhaps today) and just enjoy yourself.
Let us never lose our childlike creativity.
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