A Beginning..... the End

As we turn our thoughts to a new beginning, I can't help but think of the end. Death is inevitable. After each death, the question that follows is what is next? Do we have a wake, have a funeral, have a burial, cremate, donate the body, etc. The options are numerous.

The one that I do not understand is the burial. There is the thought that you are laying the body to rest for eternity. If you believe that the person has a spirit and a soul that lives on for eternity, then the body is just a shell that personifies the soul and spirit. If the soul and spirit do indeed exsist, I doubt that they would stay in the casket for the rest of eternity. The spirit would do things such as watch over it's loved ones or live peacefully with god. Once again, not in the casket.

Some would argue that the burial ground and tombstone create a memorial where the deceased can be remembered. I contend that family and friends would be much better served by creating a memorial at a place that actually meant something to the deceased. Chances are, the deceased never went to the burial site and has no attachment to it. Remember those passed where memories were created.

If I wish to remember and pay tribute to someone passed, I need only to consult my mind. A place where memories live vividly, and I can visit anytime. Some recognize cemetaries as hallowed ground. I recognize the memories as hallowed. The cemetary is just a place that consumes money and is a waste of good land.

Its Yours..... Own It

Many of the ills that affect us as a nation we consider societal problems. We approach these ills as such. These ills include smoking, obesity, drugs, teen pregnancy, crime, etc. This is the wrong way to look at these ills. These behaviors need to be recognized as self-inflicted. Portraying these behaviors as societal allows the participants to deflect blame. Blame is put onto the product of society excuse and others. Fortunately for us, behavior is a product of free will. We choose to make decisions and we live with the consequences. If participants of these behaviors own there actions and keep the consequences to themselves, then people would be more prone to accept the behavior. So often people don't own the behavior and make excuses pawning off the blame on society, genetics, and so on. If you want to smoke in the privacy of your own home or car, fantastic. If you want to earn money by legitimate means, lock yourself in the house, and do drugs, fine. If you want to get pregnant as a teen, raise your child, and not use government assistance, great. There are very few ways to keep crime's effects to yourself. You get the idea. If you accept the responsibility of your actions and the actions don't adversely effect others, then most people won't care what you do. Choose your behavior, own it, and leave me out of it.

Get Uncomfortable

Those who live in poverty often participate in more self destructive behaviors than other populations. These behaviors include drinking, smoking, drugs, gang involvement, teenage pregnancy, unplanned pregnancy, crime, and so on. People who grow up in this type of environment learn to find comfort in these behaviors, despite the destructive nature. To maintain comfort, many self sabotage by making these behavioral choices. This may be done consciously or not. They remain in their comfort zone and the cycle continues.

To combat this behavior in the youth, efforts are being made to promote the value of an education. That education can take you anywhere you want to go. The problem with this goal is that it is a long term goal. Teens don't look that far into the future. They go to school year after year with the promise that one day it will pay off. It will pay off, but many get lost on the way to the finish line.

Maybe we should take a more simplified, short-sighted goal. Simply encourage teens to step out of their comfort zone. Talk to somebody new, go somewhere new, read something new, learn something new, do something new, experience anything new. New experiences spark curiosity, creativity, thought, and emotion. If we can achieve these things in the minds of youth, then we have achieved something special.

This shouldn't be a goal just for youths, but for everyone. Everyone needs to have new experiences. Everyone needs to be curious, creative, thoughtful, and emotional. Everyone can benefit. New experiences can go good or they can go bad. You might get burned. You might find freedom. But you won't find out until you step out of the comfort zone.

I think its time

As time goes on, there is a natural evolution to our society. Some things that were outlandish 50 years ago are now commonplace. An issue that comes up every election year is the subject of gay marriage. It is time to fully accept and legally recognize gay marriage.

The arguments against gay marriage are plentiful. These arguments include: marriage is between a man and woman, marriage is sacred, marriage involves raising children, gay marriage will undermine the institution of marriage, gay marriage is unnatural, etc. The real reason against gay marriage is religion.

There has been a connection between marriage and religion in the past. Currently, however, one does not need religion to get married. If one doesn't need religion to get married, why should religion impact one's ability to get married? It shouldn't.

Religious holy writings commonly speak out against homosexuality and therefore gay marriage. Many religious followers are against gay marriage because they believe in the literal translations of holy writings. However, these same people choose to manipulate or ignore many other literal translations in these very same holy writings to fit their modern lifestyle. Why not manipulate and ignore writings to fit others modern lifestyle?

Religious?

As we get deeper into the holiday season, the minds of many people turns to religion. Christians prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Jews celebrate Hanukkah, the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem in 165 BCE. This is an important month in many religions.

This is also a time of year for the annual ritual of countless people attending church on Christmas Eve....attending church for the second time this year. The first time being Easter. This practice brings many questions to mind. Are these people religious? Are they not religious? That's not to say that a Christian is not a Christian if they do not attend church. If you believe in going to church than do so and if you don't, then don't. I won't judge your religious dedication either way. But why would anyone go twice? It doesn't make sense to me. If you are one of these people and would care to explain I would find it helpful. Thanks.

P.S.

BCE stands for Before Common Era. This replaces BC (Before Christ) in order to take the religious meaning out of the dating system. CE (Common Era) replaces AD (Anno Domini - in the Year of the Lord)

Dying Young

Life expectancy has steadily increased throughout the years, especially since the 1950's. This can be attributed to many factors including medical technology, improved food production, etc. The few countries that have seen a decrease are almost all in a state of turmoil and some in civil war.

The United States will almost certainly see that upward trend end during this century, maybe even in the next decade. It will be no other's doing but our own. 65% of our adults are overweight. 31% of our adults are obese. Obesity can lower a person's life expectancy by as much as 10 years.

That's not to say that medicine will not advance at a similar rate. It very well may, but I doubt it. Throughout history, there have been factors that have lowered life expectancy that have been largely uncontrollable. These include war, disease, etc. This is not one of those cases.

Everyday people choose to die younger. Everyday people choose to make excuses instead of making changes. Everyday I become more unsympathetic.