Saturday, March 26, 2011

Blame the people

I don't know why, but lately it's been bugging me when I hear someone blame objects, things, for the bad things or results.

Like in court these days, we can prove that music, movies, and video games cause people to kill each other. Um, no. You couldn't PAY me to believe that. Guns do not kill people. People kill people. People create the weapons, which then are used to kill other people. Violence in movies, music, and video games do not make people do any thing. We always have a choice.

We have a choice to believe that orange is really blue, and blue is really green. We can call a pencil a frindle or a crayon. We are given freedom of choice from birth here in America. In some countries, your beliefs can easily get your whole family murdered. Here? Instead of worrying about how to feed a family on less than a dollar a day we blame our weight problems on McDonald's. Who chose to buy the 2 Big Mac's with large fries and a large soda? Oh, that would be you, not McDonald's.

Blame the real problem. We dig our own graves. We gain weight because we don't eat right. We have prejudice because we refuse to understand others. We get in fights because we don't try to listen and choose to hear what we want. We kill people because it's the easy way out of fixing problems.

Hate your life? Stop blaming others. Do something about it. Be who you want to be. Sounds silly, but I used to watch Westerns with my dad, and in the movie Silverado, there is a very small woman named Stella who said, "The world is what you make of it friend. If it doesn't fit, make alterations."

Imagine what the world would be if we all had the same positive outlook on our mishaps. Imagine what we could do. Now, go and be. Be the change you want to see in the world.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

What happened to real music?

I will start by admitting that I like listening to pop music.
With that, know that that doesn't mean I like ALL pop music or musicians.
I happen to enjoy a variety of music, and pop happens to be one of them.

That being said, I am deeply disappointed these days with the level of vocal performance/abilities, the problem also known as auto-tune.
I understand the practicality of it and it's usefulness, especially when the price of good recording studio time is to the max.
However, if the singer does not actually sound good with their natural voice, you cheat the audience when they hear a live performance.

There have been tons of examples in from both live concerts to awards ceremonies when you hear an artist you like sing a song that you love and realize it sounds NOTHING like the recording you have on the CD.

Some of it I can account to stage fright.
I'm a singer.
I am the queen of stage fright.
However, I don't sound like I'm singing a completely different tune when I perform.

If that IS a musician's problem, then maybe, JUST maybe, they should invest in some professional voice lessons, or never sing live. Yep. I just said that.

Musicians that use auto-tune when singing live are even more tacky.
Think to back in the days of records.
Sometimes these artists only had money to pay for ONE take of a song, and maybe not everything was in tune, but they sang/played their hearts out and that's what made it GOOD.

The problem comes when we find out artists are singing their hearts out and it sounds HORRIBLE.

How do we fix this in such a superficial and judgmental society?
Find the real musicians.
Find the ones who sound good without the auto-tune.
Find the ones who have soul rather than money to pay for cheesy song writers and choreographers.
Then maybe, just maybe, all music on the pop radio station would deserve to be there.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Broken Promises

Yeah, I know.
General title.
Really, if you think about it, it's such a huge horizon of possibilities.

I honestly believe that the worst thing we can ever do is make promises.
Seriously, we know that most of the time there aren't really horrible consequences.

When I don't work out like I promise myself I would, I'm actually usually a happy person.
Since I didn't work out, I'm not going to be sore tomorrow.
However, it doesn't help me get into shape or have a healthier lifestyle, like I want.
**side note: being slim does not equal being in shape. I would like to be able to run a few miles and not feel like puking.**

If you ever meet someone with an addiction, whether it's to drugs, alcohol, caffeine, or even just candy, they are kings/queens of breaking promises to themselves. So maybe they didn't quit smoking today; it's not like the smoke today will be what gives them cancer, right? No big deal.

When it comes to breaking promises to ourselves, it's usually something that hurts us in the long run, which is why we so easily write it off in the present.

The question really is: why do we even bother?

Let's come back to that.
Now, promises to other people?
That's a lot worse.
And a lot trickier.
Especially when kids are involved.

We teach kids that if you make a promise that you're a terrible, horrible person if you break it:
We make them promise to eat ALL their food.
Do their homework.
Brush their teeth.
Go to bed on time.

We promise them things like:
Going to the movies this weekend.
Getting ice cream.
Going to a friends house.
Going to the park.
Going to an amusement park.
Going on vacation.
Etc, etc, etc.

Kids are usually good at keeping their promises.
Adults are not.
And the kids take is PERSONALLY.

I know I did. I would remember every single time one of my parents broke a single promise.
Even if it was just postponed a day.

Then kids grow up. And realize just how easy it is to make promises and break them.
We forgive some people a little easier than others, especially when we understand circumstances as adults.

What I REALLY hate is when a guy or girl promises not to break someone's heart.
Um. Excuse me? What if you 'fall out of love' with this person while they're still in love with you?
How do you get out of that promise, I'd like to know?
The only people who make those promises early on in the relationship are actually the notorious heart breakers.
Note that I said 'early on.' I'm sure there are exceptions to every rule, so don't get all tied up in knots.

Continuing, we most easily break promises to those that we love, ourselves, and the people we don't really like.
Basically, everyone. How do we stop the never ending cycle?

To quote an old song by Savage Garden,
"Don't go making all these promises you know you cannot keep.
There's a time to be a king and a time to be a thief.
'Cause if you're making all these promises you know know you cannot keep,
You know time will be the thief and your fallen king will end up alone."

So, don't make promises.
I'm not saying don't make any whatsoever.
If you promise to stay sober while your license is on suspension, I definitely say keep sober.
And I definitely believe people should keep those wedding vows (which are PROMISES).

However, if you're riding in the car with your son/daughter/niece/nephew/cousin/next-door-neighbor/whatever, maybe don't promise that you'll get ice cream after the movies. Maybe, if you find the ice cream shop still open, surprise them.

Maybe don't promise to call your significant other on your break at work. You might not get that break you deserve, or you might find something you really need to use that time for instead. You could say that if you get a chance you'll try to call them on a break.

If you're in (an) organization(s), seriously be wary of making promises to meetings or extra bake sales. You aren't a super hero. The best you can do is try to be at as many things as you can.

That being said, this does not give you permission to be a flake. If you say you're going to try, at least make the effort.
If you don't mean it, maybe you should just be honest with that person and tell them you can't/don't want to.
Honesty goes a long way with most people because they're used to the fake lies and broken promises.

I will try to be a real person with every person I meet. How about you?

Sunday, March 6, 2011

The Lenten season

If you go into Wikipedia, Lent is generally described as the following:

"Lent in the Christian tradition, is the period of the liturgical year leading up to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer — through prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial — for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events linked to the Passion of Christ and culminates in Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Conventionally, it is described as being forty days long, though different denominations calculate the forty days differently. The forty days represent the time that, according to the Bible, Jesus spent in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry, where he endured temptation by Satan.

This practice was virtually universal in Christendom until the Protestant Reformation. Some Protestant churches do not observe Lent, but many, such as Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists and Anglicans, do."

"There are traditionally forty days in Lent which are marked by fasting, both from foods and festivities, and by other acts of penance. The three traditional practices to be taken up with renewed vigour during Lent are prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and almsgiving (justice towards neighbour). Today, some people give up a vice of theirs, add something that will bring them closer to God, and often give the time or money spent doing that to charitable purposes or organizations."

How it was explained to me was that during Lent you give up something that you don't really need, and during the time you would normally be spending doing whatever it was you gave up, you used that time to dedicate yourself in prayer, studying the Word, and just becoming closer to God. I didn't really practice it much as a child because I didn't understand it.

What I don't understand as an adult is how Lent became a diet regiment. I do not want to label any group of people, and more than anything, I blame tradition and lack of understanding. Growing up, I saw where people were giving up soda, giving up junk food, giving up beef, or meat in general for forty days. Maybe giving these up brought them closer to God, and if so, I am not going to judge them. What I don't understand is the lack of God in Lent.

Yes, Lent is a tradition through the church. We do not need tradition to be closer to God. Got it. I'm just saying that if you're going to give something up, why is it for your benefit and not for His?

If you read this and practice Lent through your church, I challenge you to try making a real sacrifice this year:

**Like to gossip? Don't participate for 40 days. Tell your friends you aren't interested, and don't repeat to anyone hearsay that is hurtful to another human being.
**Like to buy coffee every morning? Make it at home, and give the money you would've used to your church or a charity of your choice.
**Like to read novels for leisure? Try reading a devotional or Bible guide during your reading hours. There are so many out there, Google or ask friends for recommendations.
**A lot of extra free time? Volunteer it away with your church or a charity.
**Honestly need to lose weight? Join a program or start a work out regiment with a friend, and make time to pray for each other's health every day.
**Struggling with time, finances, and friendship? Wake up ten minutes earlier every day and just spend it in prayer. Pray for your family, time, finances, and friendship. Pray as if He's real and as if He's listening.

A sacrifice, by definition, is an act of an offering; destruction or surrendering something for the sake of something else. It's not supposed to be comfortable. It's not supposed to feel good at first. It's about learning what we can live without, and giving the glory to God.

You don't have to be religious to practice meanings of Lent. If you don't believe, I would still challenge you to give up something for the better of the world and the people who live in it.