In my earlier entries I may have mentioned a time when I found faith that set my spirit free, an awakening of sorts that I experienced a few years ago that I don’t talk much about since it’s too often misunderstood or taken the wrong way. This is the closest I can come to expressing the way I feel right now; I had a great workout this morning and felt prepared to take on anything this day brings me, but I have a few things on my mind that are making me feel a whirlwind of emotions that I seem to not have much control over. I never can understand how it is humanly possible to feel so happy, so loved, and so whole, while at the exact same time feel so many unexpressable negative emotions too. Knowing myself, writing always helps, whether anyone reads it (or in this case, does not read it). In case you’re not able to tell by the end of this blog, I stand strong in standing up for what you believe in, even if it sets you apart from others. But I’m big on faith, freedom, love, life, and the Olympics. This blog is an ideal representation of these concepts and more.

I saw a post earlier online that said something along the lines of, “Go to School. Get a Job. Get Married. Have Kids. Vote. And you call this a free country”, obviously sarcastically implying that we have no freedom in the U.S. as many people so claim. You may or may not understand why this bothered me a little. Nobody says you have to do anything of these things, and none of these are specific to the U.S. Without school, we’d have nothing but uneducated and ignorant people like the ones who wrote this post, marriage and children are natural passages of life that most people around the would love to have to feel loved and pass on their knowledge, a job is not necessary but nothing is free so unless you know of another way to trade and survive through those means, then DON’T WORK. Posts like these seem to me to be at least somewhat judgemental and ignorant, created without intelligent thought or written to just try to be different and/or create conflicting debate online.
I have also lately been hearing a lot of bashing of famous artists such as Nikki Minaj and others I will choose not to name. These artists have been called trashy, untalented, and a menace and disgrace to mankind, having a negative or no benefit at all to society. Firstly, all music is not made to be life or world changing, and can be solely for entertainment. Secondly, how an artist chooses to dress and act is his or her own choice, and they should be given the freedom to decide these things on their own, like everyone else that is over 10 years old. Yes, sometimes these people become so famous that they are seen as role models by younger boys and girls, but if the artist chooses indescretion they should be given the freedom to do so, and those who do not want their children to be exposed to such music should perhaps be a little more strict on them. I personally beleive that even this, after a certain age, is unnecessary; there are plently of people including myself that have been exposed to such media their entire lives, and still have turned out fine. Live and let live!

This brings me to the next issue that’s been on my mind, and that is the whole Chik fil e ordeal. Apparently, the owner does not support gay marriage, and so people are extremely upset and have stopped eating there. I for one COMPLETELY support gay marriage, and COMPLETELY love eating chicken. If the owner doesn’t support this issue, let him have the freedom to express his opinion. If you don’t want to eat chicken, then don’t eat it. But please please please, understand that anyone can think or say or do whatever they want, as long as it does not hurt or impede on the rights of others. So again, live and let live, and if you like chicken then eat it.

Since this is a blog of random thoughts, my next point is quite different from those above. This is for the athiests or non-believers. If you do not believe in God or religion, then that is your own choice. If you choose to bash those who are religious, that is also your own choice. But please don’t be a hypocrite, and keep in mind that those who do have faith in religion also should have the same freedom to believe whatever they want to believe. And also try not to complain so much of feeling empty, if you are not open to feeling full through faith. As a former athiest or agnostic, I understand having questions about beleiving in something that cannot be proven scientifically, and I understand feeling neutral or perhaps a slight dislike for religion. But what I don’t understand is why you would spend so much of your life in anger, HATING religion and all those with faith. You may spend your whole life despising everything about religion, beleiving that all those with faith are strange, closed-minded, blind believers that are no good to this world, searching and searching your whole lives for something to give you satisfaction that can be proven scientifically. But it is a sad truth that one cannot understand another’s perspective on certain matters such as faith without having experienced it themselves. If you would only TRY to open your mind and heart and be okay with feeling more than you are comfortable with, maybe you would see why those with faith are so strong in thier beliefs but open minded enough to not impose those beliefs on others, you’d see what drives them to be so understanding and kind towards all living things, and maybe you’d see that struggle is an inevitable part of being alive that is meant to be embraced, and that faith can get you through anything with an inner peace that cannot be phazed by the material world. And maybe you’d be able to comprehend that some things exist that cannot be known through the five senses. But by all means, believe you want, as long as you let others do the same.

While I’m on a roll disagreeing with so many ideas, I’d like to bring up the whole “what goes around, comes around” thing. I don’t know why people believe that, but I do not believe in Karma. Life is not fair, unless you consider the fact that it can be seen as fair when taken into account that life is unfair to everyone. Sometimes people do bad things, and they still live great lives. Sometimes people do nothing but good, but still experience lives of pain, misery and despair. In my experience, I do admit that I have learned that you get out of life what you put into it, in the sense that if you try to be a good person overall, you will have a more positive life experience than those who maliciously do bad things, hurt others, and are negative about everything in life. But What goes around does not always come around; this thought, however comforting it may be, seems irrational to me, especially when taken in the almost literal sense that many people do. Feel free to express yourselves otherwise because perhaps I don’t understand the reasoning or greater meaning behind it, but to me it makes absolutely no sense.

On the other hand, I do agree with another well-known saying that I’ve spent much of my life disagreeing with. I finally truly believe that everything happens for a reason. Sometimes you’ll succeed & sometimes you won’t, b/c some things just aren’t meant to be. But that doesn’t mean you should lose faith or stop believing in yourself. Not trying, or not rising after falling, that’s when you’ve really lost. Anyone can be happy when life is perfect, but your true character is revealed by how you act in the face of adversity. So work hard, and be patient, and remember that anything is possible.

Do not judge anyone without getting to know them first. Everyone is on their own journey, trying to find material success and spiritual peace, wanting to feel loved and secure and happy. If someone is optimistic, do not confuse this for naivete. If someone is religous, do not mistaken this for extremist or closed mindedness or ignorance. If someone is kind to you, do not assume it is weakness. Whatever you think or say or do or feel in this life, nobody will be able to truly understand it without having experienced it through your eyes themselves. It is nobody’s place to judge, and if you try to please everyone, you will not succeed. Being a good person does not mean liking everyone and agreeing with everything they do; it is just enough to love everyone without making judgments, and to agree to disagree with those for whom you feel dislike towards. Forgive those who have hurt you, let go of the past, and understand that people will you hurt you, they’ll hurt eachother, they’ll judge and be ignorant and do things with which you disagree. But remember how alike we are deep down, and strive for the best in every aspect of you life without judging others or caring too much about what they think of you.

These ideas often set me apart from most of the people around me, which brings me to my last point. This is for those who try to be different. If you go out of your way to be different from others, or if you imitate those who are “unique”, it is unfathomable that you do not see the irony in your actions. I’m not sure why this even needs to be said, but trying so hard just to be yourself clearly defeats the purpose. I hope we all know that if you strongly dislike something, you shouldn’t conform to the ways of others and pretend you agree with something you do not. Similarly, if you like something, even something simple such as a band, you should not stop liking it just because other people like it too. Above all of this, you should not judge others as being judgemental, because there is no greater form of hypocrisy than that that is unnoticed by the hypocrite. To prevent heated debate, let’s take a simple example such as a college fraternity or sorority. You may assume someone in a fraternity is trying hard to fit in, that they just party together, pay for their friends, or any other negative sterotypes. You may also assume they are not unique individuals that are open-minded, and that they judge others that are unlike them. This is untrue. By judging them as being judgmental, you are being a hypocrite without even realizing it. This is not geared towards anyone in particular, but it just bothers me when people do things like this and then accuse others of being judgmental hypocrites. Be yourself, your REAL self, whoever you want that to be. Sometimes it will be exactly what the majority is (there is a reason that most people are that way). Other times, people will think it is different. And that is something to be proud of.

Ending on a slightly random yet a more positive note, I love the Olympics. Like music, it brings everyone together despite whatever issues their countries may be facing towards eachother, it promotes health and positive activity, inspires people to dream big, work hard, and then follow these dreams. It is a rare symbol of peace, freedom, and unity that, in a certain way, exposes people to new ideas and ignites an inner spark as it brings people closer together often without their even realizing it.