"Enemies" by G.

Enemies... they aren't very nice are they? And I'm sure many people supposedly have them. But you see, enemies are extremely useful. In fact, they can actually turn out to be more helpful than your friends sometimes. Enemies can reveal things about you that we sometimes choose to deny. But why wouldn't your friends do the same? Well...

I don't know what event or misunderstanding happened to make someone your enemy, or just someone you dislike. But enemies are always eager to point out your flaws, something that most friends wouldn't do. It was once said that we keep other people's flaws in a bag in front of us, and our own flaws in a bag behind us; where we can't see them. But because your enemies highlight your flaws, you now know what they are and you can attempt to fix them.

You can also learn much from your enemies, if you can learn to get past your own pride and accept the views of others. They can show your flaws and problems like no other. You can also see their own and know what traits to avoid. But one thing that many tend to think is that just because someone is a enemy, they are automatically "bad". People have their strengths and weaknesses, and you can learn just as much from their strengths as from their weaknesses. Learn to appreciate the good in everyone, including people you would consider an "enemy".

So like they say, the enemy is the greatest teacher, and it's true to the core. And who knows? Maybe one day you will reconcile with whoever this person is. And from a great enemy you could make a even greater friend. It happens. But regardless, there is much to learn from everyone, especially the ones you dislike.

Your comments are welcome!

The Best of Thoughts of G

Hey guys/girls. Sorry I haven't written much lately. I've been real busy so I haven't had much time to compose some real meaningful posts. I just wanted to show some of our best writings off to any new readers to our blog.

"Education" by G.
"Children" by G.
"Adam and/or Eve" by Shinji
"Water" by G.

And I WILL try to put up some good posts when I can. Remember to look in our archives for more interesting stuff to read. Thanks for taking the time to visit us! Hope you enjoy your stay.

"Stop the Hate" by Shinji

Hate is beginning to consume our society. Yes, many are beginning to see the light and love more, myself included, but due to recent events my opinion that more and more hate is filling the world is strengthening. Recently Osama Bin Laden has threatened Canadians directly, saying something along the lines that we are going to be in danger if we do not withdraw our forces from the middle east. As much as I don't like them there in the first place, this is not good. I honestly do not understand why everyone can't just stop the war and make peace. But here it is, the hatred of Osama striking fear into the hearts of Canadians as well as Americans, not to mention the rest of the world. I, for one, know that Osama doing this is just going to bring on more hate. Since he said that, I have heard more and more people declare more and more hatred for people of Arab descent. This mindless, unnecessary violence needs to stop. The hate in the world can not go on, for if it does, I fear World War 3 will begin, which could threaten the existence of our society as we know it. I'm speaking out as a Canadian who wishes for the violence to end. I am sure many of you are very patriotic and see the Arabs as our enemy. I am patriotic to my country, and by no means am I showing cowardice. I am just fed up with the hate and violence sweeping the world and corrupting the minds of children. How do you think Arab children see Americans and Canadians? I'm sure they're scared of them. What would you think of if you saw a lot of men in uniforms shooting guns at your people in your country? Maybe I am wrong, maybe they see Americans and Canadians as their saviors from the Taliban. Quite simply, I cannot answer that. All I can answer is that no child should have to grow up in a war-torn country. But what can we do about it? All we can do is watch as the war moves on. My outlook on it all is that it is unnecessary and that it should be stopped in a way that both sides can agree on. The hate and the violence is something nobody should have to experience, and I encourage you all to think this: don't hate. Encourage peace and negotiation. I believe some of my fellow Canadians and perhaps some Americans will be enlightened by this, as many of you faithful readers have been motivated by all of our writings here at Thoughts of G.

PS: I apologize for the long post, but since I haven't written in forever I thought I would make a post that's worth reading.

"Matters of the Mind and Heart" by G.

This Image is © JoshAbene
We have alot going on inside our heads, you know. Little everyday struggles. The decisions we have to make. Your little angel and your little devil bickering over what to do. Today I want to highlight one of these struggles. The battle between your emotions and your rationality.

So we have the heart, the symbol of emotion. And we have the mind, the embodiment of thought and reason. These things have a big influence on who you are and how you make decisions. Some people are more emotional; others more rational. But is one side more important than the other? The answer can be surprising.

Rational decisions are ones that we make everyday, and very often. What to eat, what to wear, where to go, what to do. Should you go buy that new T.V or save for a rainy day? Should you go for a jog or sleep on the couch? Stuff like that. They can also get more complex, when you have to learn and work. Things like handling finances need a good dose of rationality... that certain people seem to lack :P But rational decisions are constant, and are made all the time.

Emotional decisions are a whole other story. These seem to carry alot more weight. Emotions can be a extremely powerful influence, and can intertwine with Rational decisions; these are the hardest decisions to make. They tug at your heartstrings in some way. Maybe a tragic event has happened in your life. Or you see injustice that isn't being dealt with. Or maybe it is a matter of love. Either way, there is something that triggers an emotion in you.

And its these hybrid decisions; ones that are infulenced by rational AND emotional reasons, that can dictate many things in your life. You need a healthy dose of both sides if you want to keep a healthy balance. Being too rational or too emotional can lead to many problems that really aren't neccesary.

So the struggle between the mind and heart goes on. They are both equally important, and you should try to cater to both sides when possible. Just remember, don't let yourself be overwhelmed. Let your thoughts & emotions work in harmony as much as possible.

As usual if you have something to say just leave a comment :D

"Perspective is Everything" by Scythe

So let us take a minute to narrow things down to a broader scope. Why does anything matter if we will ultimately be forgotten? This question has plagued philosophy since its dawn and surely will not fade before dusk. In our life, perspective is everything. It is the difference between having nothing and having everything when given the same scenario a view through different lenses. It is the difference between hope and despair, the difference between success and failure, the difference between right and wrong, and even the difference between life and death - all can potentially be derived from the same situation, and at the same time I am not going to say that blind optimism is always the way out, cause that simply is not the case unfortunately. There is that saying that we always hear being thrown around- "Ignorance is bliss". While this statement does hold some truth, it can't be used as a scapegoat as often as it has been in our society. Another key to happiness is balance. You can't have a positive outlook on everything. Even though living with such an attitude looks good on paper, it does not translate too well to real life, but what does it matter - everything we do will ultimately be forgotten, so stop wasting your time looking at your life through the wrong lens, and live it to the best of your ability while you still can.

Open Ears: Comment here.

Hey guys and girls, this is G. And I want your opinions. Like, what do you want to see from us in the future? Any changes we should make to the site? Any specific topics you want discussed? Want us to take your questions and make posts out of them? Whatever opinions you got, just put them in a comment by clicking the link under this post that says "# Comments". I wanna hear what you guys have to say, so shoot. And thanks for visiting Thoughts of G!

If you rather send us a e-mail just look at the Contact Us thing.

"Nothing" by Scythe

Perhaps you could say that I am greedy to an extent - I take away what I can from things. We can fade away to become nothing if we don't learn what we can from our mistakes as we move forward with our lives. In this dimension, nothing is created nor destroyed, only transferred. Luckily for us, when we start walking down the paths of our lives, we don't have much to lose and everything to gain. However, many people allow themselves to decimate their potential by making the same mistakes consistently and taking nothing away from them. Some will argue that they are content with their current situation in life and if they try to realize their dreams and fail that they will have another regret. One who never makes mistakes is either extremely fortunate or too lazy to try. Also, it is always heartbreaking to see someone come close to achieving their dreams only to let the fear of failure set them back. Just remember - if you want to make something, you can't make it out of nothing. Everything in this world has a foundation in something else.

"Denial" by G.

What is with people and denying every bad thing that happens in life? Oh I'm in major debt....LET'S BUY A YACHT! I saw my wife kissing that dude down the street... BUT SHE LOVES ME. Ladies and Gentlemen, it is high time to get a grip on yourselves. Now I hear some people say that some denial is healthy. And they are right. "Some" being the key word. If we had to face every single itty bitty problem in our lives at once, your brain's CPU might overheat. But it would be wise not to take that over the deep end. I know that some of our problems may seem like giant hairy monsters that cannot be overcome. But you know what... sometimes we need to grab our clippers and shave that sucker. Denial is something like a temporary Band-Aid. But it delays the inevitable. We can't always do what is convenient for our oh so delicate feelings. Burn that cloak of denial when neccesary. And take down your problems head on.

"Age is Relative" by G.

Age. And the stereotypes associated with it. Almost amusing when you think about it. Because I'm here to tell you that your physical age is irrevelant. Ooh so I won't go bald then? You might be out of luck there. No, what I mean is how old your are in your mind. Time for a little explanation eh?

I've always believed that a person is without a doubt shaped by their experiences in life. What they were and weren't allowed to do. What freedoms they had. And what knowledge they knew. Maturity is a trait that should not be blindly assigned to a certain age group. Because I think you and I both know, who you are really does depend on what has happened to you. I'm sure you've known people that either don't act their age, or act above and beyond. There really isin't anything that shocking about that. We place too much pre-meditated thought on how a person should act according to their age. So when you see people, younger or older, don't be so quick to judge.

Moving along, how do people get their widely varying levels of wisdom and maturity? I say this assuming that Wisdom and Maturity are traits we would associate with a higher age. It really is all about experiences. A person born into a rich family, who has it all and never has to take responsibility for many things, will simply not be the same as a person who had to overcome more struggles in his or her life. I think its unfair to assign teenagers or anyone else for that matter with idiotic stereotypes. You want to know something about a person, look at their character and not their age. Appearances can be deceiving, and unfortunately it is easy to just slap a label on someone. Just don't try to judge a person based on their age; it won't be a very accurate analysis most of the time.

So yes, I have seen kids that act better then college students. Its not a anomaly; the kids are just more mature. Simply put, just don't assume things about people just because of their age. Because the most important age is how old they are inside their minds, and that's one thing you won't be able to see right away. Well there you have it; another bit of loveliness pulled from some crevice in my head. Hope you come back for more sometime; and please, I love to hear your comments.

"Emotion: A Hell of a Balancing Act" by G.

It's one of those crazy things we got that distinguishes us humans from the rest of the pack. Emotions. Raising one's fist in anger. Tears falling down one's face in sadness. Jumping up in surprise, or just randomly dancing in some cornfield. Sounds all fine and dandy, but unfortunately emotions can be a pretty annoying source of trouble if not properly controlled and managed. Let's explore this a little bit.

I said in the title that emotions can be a tough balancing act. This is because if you aren't close to being in a state of emotional equilibrium, your actions and thoughts will be affected by your feelings. An angry person won't think very clearly, while a surprised person will be on high alert for a few seconds trying to find out what the heck is going on. Emotions can be a tough thing to put a handle on for some people. But if you can manage those feelings, then you have just defeated one of the major weaknesses we humans have.

I'm definitely not saying for people to get a heart of stone or become cold or anything of the sort. Being a cold person and having a rein on your feelings are two very different things. But having that kind of self control demonstrates maturity and wisdom, and will be a very big advantage to you in life.

So life is kinda like being that guy walking on the tightrope at the circus. He has to stay balanced to get to the other side. If he doesn't focus, he will have trouble reaching the end. Emotion is another thing that should be kept as balanced as possible. There is no shame in emotion, for females and males. Just don't give it a control over you that won't be very beneficial. That's my two cents for today.

"Listen" by G.

People tend to run their mouths into overdrive without much thought. But you only have one mouth. You have two ears for a reason. We miss so many things because sometimes we just don't listen. Listening can just mean hearing another person out, or "hearing" a hidden message in what people say to you. But you always learn more by using those ears you got.

Why is it that some people just never listen to other people? There are plenty of things that get in the way. A huge one is the ego. They think that they always have the answers, and don't respect the opinions of others. Usually a person you could quickly get into a argument with. Talking over people isn't the most productive thing you can do. Another one could be insecurity. Some people don't want to hear the ideas of others because they might be better than their own. Whatever the reason is, it's safe to say that listening more than you talk is the better choice.

When you listen to someone, you are automatically showing them some respect. And sometimes, people just need to vent. Simply being there and being all ears can help a person out. Usually if you are there for someone they will return the favor.

Listening can be more than just having open ears. Some people are Active Listeners, and can pick up other vibes based of what people say. Most people can "take a hint". But its definitely possible to pick up emotions and feelings when listening to people. These can help you to say the appropriate thing at the appropriate time. So listening actually helps you talk "better" in a way.

So I know you've heard this time and time again. Just a friendly reminder eh? Listen before you speak, and you will learn more; not to mention your own words will have more wisdom behind them.