"A Solid Core of Character" by G.

We all want to be happy. We work hard to make enough money to live, and maybe a little extra. We pour our efforts into fufilling our dreams, and getting what we want. All this in the name of happiness. So why is it, though all this force and effort, that many of us still end up being unhappy? Divorces, breakups, depression, thearpists; dare I say Jerry Springer? Dysfunction seems to have penetrated society with it's twisted claws. Maybe the problem is that we try so hard to achieve these material and external things, when what we always wanted was already inside.

I guess it never occurred to me that finding happiness wasn't a matter of working hard to get it, but letting it out of the chains we've placed on it ourselves. It's about pouring effort into improving the intangible and to invest in what is untouchable; ourselves. No one can take away our good character and our kind deeds. Material things can come and go with the wind, that dead end job will keep you alive but chain your soul to the desk and trying to control things that aren't really in our power will always lead to frustration. What does one do?

The solution is to stop searching for something that's already dormant inside ourselves. It seems like the people who are less attached to the material and non-permanent are happier and experience a greater sense of well-being. A man with a kind and generous soul is worth more than ten selfish ones. Character cannot be bought or stolen; it is one of the few things you have complete and utter control over. A strong inner self is a treasure beyond value; an achievement you can never lose. Happiness will never come from the external; it can only emerge from within.

"Karma" by G.

I'm a big believer in Karma. Not because I think there's some supernatural force that rewards good and punishes evil. No, I think that the concept of Karma is accurate because bad actions tend to be unwise, and cause new problems to sprout. Bad actions seem to naturally reinforce themselves. Take a lie for instance; one lie leads to another to cover up the original, and the cycle continues. Eventually the whole matrix of lies is busted wide open, and that person pays for their actions. But this is too black and white.

Good and Evil are human concepts, but their lines are often blurred. What if the lie was for a good cause? To prevent hurt feelings or protect another? Is that bad? Could some supernatural karmic force tell the difference between evil and evil for a good cause? Doubt it. It's not so much as people get rewarded for doing good. They get rewarded for making intelligent decisions. Most of the time, a good decision is also an intelligent one. The reward? Not having to take two steps back because a bad decision made them pay big time. I'll use lying as an example again. Building lie after lie isn't very smart; eventually someone is going to pull out a block from that Jenga tower and the whole thing is going to collapse.

Would it be nice to be rewarded for our good actions? Of course. And many people do. But not because of Karma in the ideal sense. Someone could just as easily have done bad deeds their entire life and never have a single misfortune befall them. What is good or bad to us is different to other people; good and bad are constantly shifting. An intelligent decision stays constant, and has a more predictable outcome.

So what are your ideas on Karma?

"The Gift of Empathy" by G.

So let's take a brief journey into imagination land, and plop yourself into this scenario. BAM! Your king/queen of the world. You have an infinite amount of money, resources, and power. You've always had everything; nothing was ever out of your reach. You do have everything, right? Not necessarily. The love of others. Their respect. These cherished gifts are not material, and cannot be bought. Having raw wealth is only one of the means to the end. Empathy is a powerful tool, and in a world with millions of people interconnected so heavily, it's vital.

A few months into writing this blog, I wrote a post simply titled "Smart". The basic idea was that intelligence can't be measured by some cookie cutter test; it's a constantly evolving concept. Different people have different talents; some less appreciated than others. Remembering a bunch of terms doesn't make you a genius; it means you have a sharp memory. In that post, I equated being smart to being very creative. It isn't usually the people who have the most knowledge that go the farthest, but the ones who are more creative and continue to persist. Once again, having the knowledge and power without having the people skills to deal with those around you makes that information in your head pretty useless. This is where empathy comes into play.

Do you know who we love to hear about? Ourselves. Who do we appreciate more? Someone who understands our troubles and our needs. Even with all the money and fame in the world, you cannot win loyalty and respect without putting in the effort to understanding other people. People who put this idea to work realize that by working to understand and help others, good fortune will naturally come their way. Strong bonds of friendship have been created by people simply willing to listen to what another has to say for a few minutes. That scenario I was talking about at the beginning? If all that wealth and power was stripped from you in that moment, what would you really have left? The one who had empathized with others in their time of need will find that people will be willing to come to their aid. That is the true measure of self worth. When people are willing to risk their assets and time helping you, because out of a sea of apathy you chose to pay attention. A person's net worth cannot buy a heart and mind.

Sir's Random Dashes of Inspiration - Renascent ~ Chapter 2

I'll just leave this here.

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As I woke up, I felt an urge… a strong impulse. I desperately needed to cover my manhood. Unfortunately, the only trees around here were pine trees… As you can see, I still haven’t found anything suitable. Bah, I guess that’ll come with time and a bit of luck.

I decided to get up and start walking around… The area seemed pretty desolate. A little dirt path, some chunks of wood lying around, a bunch of rocks, some water and a whole lot of trees. Oh, how joyful.

Something felt weird about all this, though. I didn’t see the trees. I couldn’t gaze into the water. I felt it. Felt it all as if it was a part of me… For some reason, I felt as if I knew everything about every single tiny speck of dust littering the very soil I stepped upon. Everything was blurry, my brain was about to burst and I couldn’t walk for long before I fell over, dizzy. yet I felt as if I still had control over everything… Strange, as everything is up until now…

So I sat down and looked at the sky, for a while, trying to make things out.

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And another piece of crappily conceived artwork! Hope this one isn't too blurry or anything...



If you guys are lucky I might be able to post on next monday... However that's unlikely, as I'll be in Cuba for a week!

"An Ego and a Whole Lot of Hot Air" by G.

Nothing isolates, burns and hurts others like an Ego high on itself. When personalities run rampant, each vying for superiority over all they meet. From the minute we come out of the womb, we are judged, compared and shaped. Thus, a personality is born. Either they grow wings and take flight, or are dragged closer to the wet dirt by chains they don't deserve to have.

Sometimes I wonder how much of ourselves came from natural causes, and how much was synthesized by artificial ingredients. I think an overinflated Ego has a pretty good amount of High Fructose Corn Syrup. To have such an overblown sense of self-worth is to deny all the people and good tidings that brought a person to where they are. Society seems to revolve around competition, yet one won't get far without appealing for the help and support of other people.

But what is an ego? Are we simply a living and breathing personality? Or is a personality just part of our expressive toolkit we get from being human? Perhaps. But the moral here? Being egocentric is useless, and isolates that person from the love and support of his or her fellow man. We can sprout all this comparison, and judge someone by their looks, and think the person with excellent grades is a automatic success. Most of us come to realize that we look for the wrong things when judging people. That inner beauty trumps the outer several times over. That a person with dedication can fight back demons that one that has only talent never could. Sure, there's nothing wrong with healthy competition. But don't try to compete emotionally and physically with every soul you meet. Only Synergy can enable you to breach the walls that you cannot on your own.

Check out this Vid!

Hey guys, check out this great piece of original spoken word created by a close acquaintance of mine. It's a quick verbal and visual adventure that pretty much exemplifies the many injustices and hardships we witness everytime we turn in to the news. He appreciates any honest criticism and comments you could give him, so don't be shy.

The Late Night News

Thanks! Hope everyone has a good one.

"To Find Ourselves" by G.

There's a tendency to carve out our own little sphere in life. We give ourselves so fully to our own little world, it could be said we enclose ourselves in a self made bubble. But once in awhile we become aware of disturbances in that personal bubble. You see people take vacation days, breaks, a hiatus perhaps; all to try and "find themselves".

Why did they feel lost to begin with? What about themselves did they lose? An Identity? Sounds about right. But is it a matter of finding yourself, or remaking yourself? I don't think we come prepackaged with certain traits like some computer you brought off Ebay. We say that life is about discovering who you are, but I don't think it's some precious gem embedded in your brains someplace. I think the feeling of drifting, without any control over the direction you float; it's not about finding yourself, it's about transforming yourself into what you secretly want and need to be.

The root of all this? Discontent. The feeling that something doesn't fit; that the pieces of the puzzle seem forced together. In the Nature vs. Nuture argument, I guess you would have to plop me on the Nuture side. As we live, we slowly assemble ourselves with the parts we learn and gain from experience. So what are we trying to find? The pieces that fit. It's not about finding who we are, because we want "who we are" to be the ideal form of ourselves, and it probably dosen't exist yet. Want to discover yourself? Keep trying out different pieces to your puzzle; eventually some of them will fit smoothly.

What's your opinion on trying to find yourself? Is the self something innate we can actually find, or something we have to create for ourselves?

"The Will to Act" by G.

Why do we always seem to wait until it's too late? To let opportunities slip through our fingers like sand? We usually know what the stakes are. We know the consequences. But when the time comes to actually do something, it's like a spider just bit you with paralyzing venom. What is needed to drive people to Act? Is it something rare, as there are an unlimited number of average people, but a smaller number of people who took themselves farther? Well...

I've always thought of the Will to Act as a reason that has very strong emotional ties. Logic provides the reasons, but it seems like only emotions bring the drive to follow through. If the reason to do something doesn't have a strong enough emotional tie, it's harder to act. Note that even with strong emotional ties, it's still a hell of a fight. Imagine some guy trying to ask a girl he's known for awhile out. The hesitation probably came from a fear of rejection; of that little hope being crushed. But the greater promise of happiness; that in itself might be worth taking the plunge for. They say that logic and emotions clash often, but emotions can also clash with each other. It's this emotional clash that probably makes it more likely for a person to act.

The other factor that can be the make or break idea when deciding to take action is how far the consequences are from you. That right there is the heart of procrastination. If we convince ourselves that the due date is far away, or that we have plenty of time to do something, then we justify not acting. There is nothing easier in the world than not acting; naturally we bend towards the easier option. But if the consequences of not acting are prolonged, and effect your everyday life, then we will be more prone to act. Was Global Warming taken very seriously back then? Once the consequences started to show, people finally decided to give it a chance. Wasn't it said that Global Warming could be a potential threat? Logically, a person might have tried to check it out. We didn't pay much attention until evidence started to rack up; another example of waiting until it was "too late".

So is that it? Can we really not act purely off logic; does an emotional fire always need to burn in our hearts to achieve what is necessary? We all act using logic... until the stakes start to get higher. Then it's a wrestling match between emotions. Between resisting change and the promise of a better future. Taking a chance, or living without ever knowing what could have happened. The Will to Act is not a big mystery, but it's one that I wish I had better control of. If we used more of our potential, all of our lives would probably be vastly improved. It's those mental blocks; fears and emotions, that fuel our indecision. The one who can learn to control their thoughts and emotions is more powerful than they could ever know.

Well hey, thanks for reading this far! What do you think of the Will to Act? Are there different reasons? Different causes? Feel free to leave your comments.

Sir's Random Dashes of Inspiration - Renascent ~ Chapter 1

Sorry for being late again, it won't (obvious lie is obvious) happen again!

Anyways, on to the show... I know you guys don't like to read all the interesting stuff I have to tell you, so let's jump to the hopefully not horrible story!

Here goes nothing...

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~- What is this?
O- It appears to be some sort of … key.
~- Well, what do I do with it?
O- You should consider inserting it in that keyhole, there, on the wall.
~- Here goes nothing…

A breeze rushed in and everything went black…

I awoke in a dark chamber; my arm was tightly chained to the cold stone wall. There was something definitely… different about the experience. I’m quite… intimate with chains and cells, but I felt like something was out of place. I think it was the chain… yes. It was that bright blue, glowing chain... What a glow! It felt like happiness was directly emanating from that chain… a pure feeling of bliss. I never wanted to leave this cell again. Ever. But that bliss came to an end… the day I died.

They took my corpse out and threw it in a river, bordered by trees but close to no current… They thought the depth of the river would be enough to erase my existence. People never do get the job done right.

They had overestimated their own precious little river… and so my body was found by a bunch of kids hiking through the woods some years later. For some reason, they felt no fear while approaching my decaying carcass… Even though I was dead, I could still feel their presence, kind of like a pulse… And there was also a darker pulse, of another nature… Although I couldn’t really tell what that was about. To see all this life pass by and be unable to do anything! It was wonderful and yet oh so scary. After they pulled me out, my body reanimated itself with a jolt that scared those kids out of their skins. Well, at the very least, I didn’t see them when I opened my eyes. I have no idea of what’s been done to me, but I came back to – No. I didn’t come back to life… It wasn’t the same. Although I don’t have any decent memory of my life before my… death, I do know it was nothing like this. This… Power! I felt so free, so strong! My mind was clearer than crystal and my muscles, harder than the very rock I sat upon.

I still have no idea what has happened to me, but it felt like a new beginning.

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Wow, lucky you, I even made you some original artwork for you to enjoy!



Alrighty then! Tune in sometime between next monday and 2010 for chapter 2!