Keeping Up

     No matter what the pace of our lives, we all try in many ways to keep up.  On the job, at home, and with friends and family, we face the challenges of  keeping up with our responsibilities.
     By keeping up with housekeeping, organizing our finances, and completing other chores, we can actually simplify our lives and enjoy more free time.
     By keeping up with our health, nutrition, and exercise, we can use it instead of lose it.  Listening to our body and having annual check ups keep us up to date on our physical condition.
     By keeping up with friends and family, we get to know each other better and are able to help and support one another.  We discover things we have in common with every generation.
     By keeping up with current events and technology, we expand our place in the world.  We can increase our knowledge and perspectives.
     By keeping up with fresh ideas, we can avoid becoming stale.  Holding on to traditions without occasional evaluation can cause us to live in the past instead of finding our place in the present and future.
     As we try keeping up with the many aspects of life, we also need to keep our spirits up, keep our emotions and attitudes on the sunny side instead of living under a cloud.  Keeping up does take a lot of energy and effort, but the payoff will be having a fuller and more satisfying life.
      Could you share some helpful hints about keeping up?
   
   
       

Diverse

     Being of a different kind or dissimilar to the standard puts many into the diverse group.  Today we often think these diverse groups are different than the standard white male, be it female, homosexual, or dark skinned.  And in the US it also includes those who don't have English as their native tongue.  We may wonder why the white male is considered the standard.
     The average male is physically stronger than the female and was better equipped to hunt tiger.  He was never encumbered with pregnancy.  He could easily dominate the female, but he needed her for reproduction, suckling the progeny, plus any other duties he wanted to relegate to her.  At times, he also needed to show dominance to other males to protect what was his.  Thus began his feeling of superiority which may remain in the male DNA today.
     As families began to move from home to other areas of the world, they ran across other races.  Often feeling that their race was still superior, the relationship with the "other" began which caused everything between war and assimilation.  In the US, the white race seems to have more power, authority, and wealth than other races. Perhaps subconsciously or from prejudice, many feel the white race is superior.
     Many religions often identify God as a father who created the male first with the female added as number two in many respects.  In the Bible and in history books, male accomplishments have been recorded.  In a few instances, a female story is mentioned.  The new testament continues to relate the lifetime of the Son.  Also in many religions, the male figure is the leader and the priest or pastor.  Here again the male has increased status.
      Many influences have  promoted the white male as the standard and that those who are different are considered the diverse element.  Many men have difficulty giving up this status.  The Republican party is beginning to realize that their survival depends on at least having a more diverse image.  The good old boys' clubs are in decline.  We no longer need to believe that the white male is the standard and the rest of us are diverse elements.   

Should the Bible have the final say?

   

      Many people believe the Bible is the word of God, holds the absolute truth, and is the utmost guide of human behavior.  Many also claim that their particular religion has the best interpretation.  Some believe in creationism, that everything was created 5000 years ago and took seven days to complete.  They claim the Bible disproves evolution  and considers homosexuality and abortion as sin.

     Each citizen has the right to use the Bible as their own source of truth.  They also have the right to raise their children with this faith.  When the children become adults, they have the right to agree or disagree.  Citizens do not , however, have the right to expect public schools or local and federal governme
nt to base laws on any one religion.  Each religion can persuade lawmakers to see their point of view,  but they can't demand that their religion have preferential influence.
     Is the Bible the final authority in your life?
     Should it be the final authority in making policy and law?

       

Expectations

     You don't always get what you expect.  When future events don't go as planned, some aspects are beyond every one's control.  Rain may fall on any one's parade.  We have to be flexible and enjoy the way things are instead of the way we had wanted them to be.
     When other people don't behave the way we expect, we need to realize that we may have unfairly expected them to satisfy our wants.  We can't expect everyone around us to do what we want them to.
     We may need to distinguish between our needs and our wants.  We all have certain basic needs that need to be satisfied, but not all of our wants are essential.  If our list of wants is unrealistic, we may be creating a situation that can't live up to our expectations.
     In some cases, we need to make our expectations known beforehand so others can better understand us, but we need to be fair and realistic.  Afterwards, messages of appreciation will benefit everyone.  When we feel the need to send messages of disappointment, we need to be sure they don't seem petty and become counterproductive.  Appreciate the half-full glass instead of demanding an overflow.

Coming of Age

     As young people go through the transition from childhood to adulthood, they develop the ability to understand the laws and traditions of their religion and society.  They are then granted the rights, responsibilities, and privileges of church and state.  Another coming of age can occur when adults increase their ability to evaluate the established laws and traditions.  They may decide to agree or disagree with, change, or eliminate some of the rules and customs from their own lives as long as the rights of others are not infringed upon.
     Just as adolescents have to struggle sometimes to finally come of age, adults also may struggle to form their own way.  Difficulties may arise with family and friends when a person begins to break away from what they have done in the past.  Some loved ones will not understand what is going on and become uncomfortable with the changes.
      Our ancestors were people just like us who tried to improve civilization by setting certain standards of behavior that would benefit everyone.  They also made mistakes just as we do.  Every generation keeps some of the laws and traditions while altering or eliminating others.  Every individual has the freedom, responsibility, and privilege of  deciding what is best for themselves.
     Transitions from childhood to adulthood, from parenthood to the empty nest, from careers to retirement, all require us to evolve to the next stage of life.  We experience a coming of age all throughout our lives.
   
       

 

Why fb?

     Experts seem to believe that people use facebook for two main reasons: 1) the need to belong, and 2) the need for self-presentation.  Belonging to a group can help reduce loneliness and isolation.  We can get to know each other through pictures and words.
     We can observe how we are alike and how we are different, how we agree and disagree, what we value and what we believe.  We can share the serious and the humorous, our pride and joys, plus ask for and give advice.  As a group, we can help each other.
     Facebook is a place to describe ourselves, our history, our current events, and our hopes for the future.  Through frequent up-dates, we enable our fb friends to become part of our daily lives.  Some of  our friends and relatives seldom are with us in person, but fb can provide a fast and stamp-free method of communicating.
     This may sound like a commercial for the social media, but I am a true fan.  Keeping in touch with classmates, friends both near and far, and extended family is as easy as going to facebook and view the latest pictures and read the posts. 

Prevention and Cure

     Immunizations, vaccinations, flu shots, vitamin pills, a clean environment, good nutrition and exercise, all can help prevent a certain amount of physical problems.  Even with all these methods of prevention,  we can still come down with disease.  Then, we have to discover methods to improve or cure the problem through meds that control bodily functions like blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes, plus antibiotics, surgery, rehab, and special diet.
     This process can also be used with other challenges.  If we can develop positive behavior patterns that are beneficial to ourselves and others, we may prevent many negative situations.  Once problems occur, we have to discover a way to improve or cure the situation.  We can work out a plan ourselves or get professional counseling when necessary.

     Within our body, our mind, and our behavior patterns, prevention is much easier than trying to find a cure later on.