People love to say, "Its none of your business!" Also known as "nunya".
Well I got news for you...if you live close to me, if you are in my community, IT IS MY BUSINESS! And I am getting ready to tell you why.
If you make bad financial choices in your life, if you buy big screen TVs and new cars, and fancy cell phones, but you cant afford to pay your bills. Your money becomes my business. You don't like to hear that, but its true.
When you don't pay the community fees, it causes my fees to go up. When you are reckless with money and you have to go on welfare or food stamps, my taxes pay for that. When you foreclose on your home because you didn't have the good sense to buy a cheaper house, its my house value that suffers. If you do stupid stuff at your job and get fired, or default on your home then you are affecting the economy which makes the stocks I invest in go down. If you are abusive or breaking the law...you go to jail, where my taxes pay for your food and shelter, and you are unable to pay your bills and house payments, and you become a negative statistic for my area and the community as a whole. If you are fighting and yelling and screaming or playing loud music and disturbing my home and my children can hear...it becomes my business.
So yes, all your actions have effect on the community around you. Your actions effect my life, so I am making it my business. And if you tell me other wise...then prepare for some ugliness. Don't be blind to the consequences of your actions, you do not live on an island. When we can make our lives transparent to each other and work as a community and be proud of our choices, then we will all be in a better place.
Still on the topic of making things, I finished my spice rack (pictured below) and I made a ring light for camera. It doesnt work very well, so I plan on making another one keeping in mind lessons learned. But I have learned quite a bit from this project and have enjoyed all of them.
If you and a friend are having a dispute....or if you are having a arguement with anyone, friend or not, it is always best to assume that you are wrong. It is easier to listen to the other person when you are not defending your pride.
The truth or the right answer will usually reveal itself in time. If you made the assumption that you were wrong and you end up being right, that is a sweet elixer to have. However, it is a bitter and difficult pill to swallow if you assumed the contrary.
From food to art work to bubble wands, it is greatly rewarding to fire up your creative side and your ingenuity and create something special. Here are a few items that I have successfully made and want to share. (no need to show the failures!)
I love bamboo and I wanted a simple instrument to make and play with. Most bamboo flutes are made in traditional flute fashion with the hole you blow across, but I did not have huge success with that. It wasnt until I tried making the recorder style woodwind that I tasted victory. This was much more labor intensive but works very well and my son enjoys making noise with it every night
Commercial bubbles are terrible! The wands are cheap and dont blow good bubbles and the solution is weak and lifeless. My son loves bubbles and I dont know many people who dont! So I wanted to make my own set; my own wand and bubble solution. The solution is still waiting to be made and tested but the wands are finished.
I got some heavy gauge wire and some pipe cleaners from the craft store. I colied the pipe cleaner tightly around the wire and then bent the wire around a golf ball sized tube. The area where I tied the wire off is a but messy looking but it is study and gets the job done. Then I twisted the wire down to make a stem. I found a cedar branch outside, carved it into a handle that was nice and smooth and drilled a small hole in the top. I then glued the stem of the wand into the handle and violla! An awesome home made bubble wand.
I have dabbled in bead jewelry for a few years, but this year I got more serious and used some nice crystals and followed a few tips for making earrings. Not only is it more economical to make things yourself, but they are more meaningful to others to give as presents. And who knows, I might sell a few pair for a small profit!
In closing, it feels good to be creative and productive. You save money and improve yourself by getting into making things. Its a win - win situation! Let me know what you can make!
Lao Tzu was the father of Taoism. I am not a Taoist. . . I am not even sure what it means to follow Taoism. However, he has some fun quotes and words of wisdom for us all.
"Be Content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you."
"Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."
"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."
"I do not concern myself with gods and spirits either good or evil nor do I serve any."
"If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich."
"Care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner."
Sometimes people learn new things in life by means of neccesity. Maybe this is a poor example, but you may feel like you would just die if you had your internet, cable TV, and cell phone taken away from you. Yet, many people that span the globe dont think it would be difficult to live without those things, because they have never had to live with them.
Due to my circumstances and the need to save money, I am working on turning over a new leaf and placing less value on material things or entertainment indulgances.
Other philosophies, Buddhism, Zen, Samurai, Jedi, or what have you . . . preach that it is OK to have "things" but attachment to those things is negative. When I stop to think about it, they couldnt be more right. So much negativity comes from attachment to material items. Emotions and concepts like:
Greed - Stealing from others, hoarding money, being unethical in the hopes of easily acquiring things you dont need and cant take with you when you die.
Fear - Fear of losing what you have leads to increasing your own anxiety levels as well as taking precautions that limit your ability to live life with freedom and focus on your relationships.
Envy - The desire to have what belongs to others. Jealousy is a poison that affects your own levels of stress and your ability to have content relationships with others.
When you can seperate your attachment to meaningless stuff, you will find a freedom and a levity that will increase your ability to enjoy life.
When I look back and evaluate my life and how I lived, will I be full of regret because I didnt have the Cartoon Network being pumped into my house, will I feel sadness because I didnt have a smart phone, or will I be proud that I gave up such trivial things so that I could spend more quality time and support the important people in my life?
Here are some statistics to ponder and some thoughts to meditate on.
No matter what religion you choose, no matter how devout your are, not matter how strongly you feel and how much you think you know, the fact is that you are in the minority and the rest of the worlds thinks something differently.
WORLD RELIGIOUS AFFILIATIONS:
Christians - 32% (but that also includes catholics protestants, Jehovah's, etc, most of which still cant agree with eath other)
Islam - 20%
Agnostic/Aetheist - a staggering 16%
Hinduism - 14%
Buddhism/Traditional Chinese - 12%
Tribal - 5%
Judaism - .22% (I expected more)
So keep in mind that most followers of each of these religions are extremely disciplined in their customs, and some of them kill or would die for thier faith.
Most ancient religions arent even practiced anymore. The oldest religion that is still alive today is Hinduism. Christianity and Islam are relative newcomers on the spiritual scene.
The only reason humans even know religion is because it is passed on by generations and by parents to young impressionable kids. It is used as a method of control and to provide answers to questions that dont have answers. For some people it is used for inspiration or an ethical barometer. It is also a business just like any other business that has to provide a service and pay the bills.
Despite volumes of evidence against organized religion, people are self righteous and will even become violent when defending a faith that advocates peace.
If you choose to think on these matters, please recognize that I encourage spirituality and finding positivity in your life. Just dont be so firm with an "I'm right, their wrong!" mentality.
"Sex is like air, it only matters if you are not getting any."
"Pizza is like sex, even when its bad, its still pretty good."
"When left with nothing to say, rest content in the knowledge that there is really nothing to say."
Zen Master: "Who binds you?"
Seeker of Liberty: "No one binds me!"
Zen Master: "Then why seek liberation?"
"While on the shore during sunrise, be in awe of such enormous power that rises and falls in great peace."
"When I awake in the morning, I listen to the people around me, especially the things they dont say."
"Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think."
"I long to accomplish a great and noble task; but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble."
