Digging in Your Heels

  

     Or picture a stubborn horse digging in its heels, not wanting to budge.  Or people so sure of themselves they don't want to hear or do anything different.

     Sometimes being stubborn is a good thing.  If you have thought a certain way or done things the same way for a long time, you have made up your mind, and perhaps your ideas are right.  However, you might want to think about the reasons you believe the way you do and be ready to explain your stance to others.   

     Allowing a new idea to be considered may involve realizing the old ideas could be improved.  Easier to keep thinking and doing the same old same old.  But trying to understand other opinions helps us understand other people.  We may or may not change our minds.

     If we simply dig in our heels, we may get stuck and never proceed forward.  

                                                                                                                                     

              

LEARN

   

     Throughout our lifetime, we learn first from our family and then from everyone else who influences our thinking.  As our brain develops, we gain the ability to think for ourselves.  As we mature, we can better analyze the facts and opinions instilled in us as children, sometimes holding fast to what we have been taught, sometimes questioning, altering, or even deleting past concepts.  Fortunate are those who have been encouraged to think for themselves.  Congratulations to those parents and teachers who have fostered this ability.
     We are constantly bombarded with ideas and opinions.  Some sources of information are not trustworthy.  Often, we are manipulated to accept the opinions of others, to even turn off our logic instead of trying to seek the truth.  Frequently, manipulators appeal to our emotions and basic instincts in order to align our thinking with theirs.   Perhaps they do this with our best interests at heart.  Sometimes, they have their own best interests at the forefront.
      All of us are manipulators at times.  When we feel we have knowledge and truth, we may wish others to accept our ideas without question.  Parents prefer their children to agree with their opinions.  Advertisers promote their products to make a profit.  Politicians solicit our support and our vote.  Religious organizations want to explain the supernatural and keep us in the fold.  Many of these influencers believe they are doing this for our own good.  Responsible parents want their children to learn right from wrong.  Many products and services are necessary and can improve our lives.  Good politicians are essential to uphold the law and our democracy.  Religious organizations desire to save our souls and insure our afterlife in heaven.
     Our responsibility then is to learn whatever we can to help our thinking mature, to distinguish between fact and opinion.  We also should be aware of how we present our own opinions to others.  We need to teach ourselves and others not just what to think, but how to learn.

    




   
   

The Chaperone

 

      In 1922 New York City, Cora was the chaperone of Louise, a teenager from Kansas determined to become a star.  Two different generations with two different outlooks on life concerning outward appearances, behavior, and ambition.  "Maybe the old rules were changing."  Maybe Cora "was falling behind the times, as provincial and outmoded in her thinking as in her dress."  But on the other hand, the young "can drag you, as you protest and scold and try to pull away, right up to the window of the future, and even push you through."  Later on Cora realized: "She'd lived too much of her life so stupidly, following nonsensical rules, as if she...as if anyone, had all the time in the world."  After that life-changing summer, Cora went back to Kansas and Louise was off to Hollywood.

     Author  Laura Moriarty shows us the 20th century, the many historical events that affected Cora, Louise, and those around them.  They both lived long lives. "Louise had just been more open about it, not bothering to hide or deceive."   Cora kept secrets mostly to protect those involved from harsh judgments.  She realized "how much her life's ease and happiness had been granted by chance." 

   

Celebrity

   

     Well-known, influential, admired: these qualities create a celebrity.  Physical appearance, talent, wealth, and power add to the star status.  Often we become aware of famous people from the media.  Seldom do we recognize those stars closest to us, those we know the best who are the greatest influence in our lives and deserve our admiration the most.

     Wishing we could be a star who has millions of fans or wanting to just have their perfectly shaped bodies, beautiful hair and clothes, this is a dream the media implants in our minds.  This image is often greatly exaggerated, even fake.  We need to appreciate how we are beautiful unique stars with talents to contribute to the world.

     We can be entertained by celebrities, watch their TV shows and movies, listen to their music, yet realize we must not idolize them.  Some politicians use their celebrity to gain our support and our vote.  We may be impressed by how celebrities promote themselves, their opinions and products, yet recognize what the celebrity really stands for and the limits that should be placed on their influence.

     Some celebrities gain more power than they deserve while many deserving individuals never receive the star treatment.  Appreciate all the stars around you and let your own star shine.      

         

     

Base(n.) Base(adj.)

     Base(n.) is the lowest level usually supporting an upper level.  Some leaders form, manipulate, and arouse their base to gain and maintain power.  Often this base remains loyal without logic or moral consideration.  They keep the leader on a pedestal, disallowing questions or criticism.
     Base(adj.) means low-minded, selfish, without moral principle.  If you are part of a base, make sure you are supporting someone who is deserving, who goes beyond serving just your interests.  The best leader welcomes constructive criticism and is considerate of the entire group.
     Beware.  Some bases are base.

Robicheaux

     James Lee Burke gives us Dave Robicheaux, a seasoned detective in southern Louisiana, who appreciates the beauty of the swamps and bayous, shows love and loyalty to his friends, family, and co-workers while dealing with his troubled past.  As he investigates crimes, he sees all sorts of characters, the good and the bad, the troubled and the criminal.  His best friend of many years Clete  Purcel assists in tracking down the evil criminals.

The Moment of Lift

     Melinda Gates has traveled the world focusing on the problems and solutions of poverty.  By talking to people in the poorest areas, contacting organizations already working on these problems, and supporting even more ways to help, she has become an expert on lifting people up and improving their situations.
     Her biggest discovery is how empowering women changes the world.  She states, "When you lift up women, you lift up humanity."  "Sometimes all that's needed to lift women up is to stop pulling them down."  Equal rights are "still often denied by cultural bias against women."
     She continues, "Being a feminist means believing that every woman should be able to use her voice and pursue her potential, and that women and men should all work together to take down the barriers and end the biases that still hold women back."
     By receiving vaccines, contraception, maternal and newborn care, and education, women, their children and their society can be lifted out of poverty.  "When the women were able to time and space their pregnancies, they were more likely to advance their education, earn an income, raise healthy children, and have the time and money to give each child the food, care, and education needed to thrive.  When children reach their potential, they don't end up poor.  This is how families and countries get out of poverty."
     All the countries around the world including the U.S. need to assure women have equal rights.  Melinda Gates states, "It's the mark of a backward society - or a society moving backward - when decisions are made for women by men.That's what's happening right now in the U.S." "If a girl can lift up her view of herself, she can start to change the culture that keeps her down."
     Look around your own country, state, and community, then realize the various ways the culture, some religions, and government need to change.  We all can have equal rights and be lifted up to a better life.