“I want you cool and regal, earthy and impertinent, spoiling for a fight and abashed at your own temper. I want you flushed with exertion and rosy with sleep. I want you teasing and provocative, somber and thoughtful. I want every emotion, every mood, every year in a lifetime to come. I want you beside me, to encourage and argue with me, to help me and let me help you. I want to be your champion and lover, your mentor and student.”
Today, many of us seem to live our lives like honeybees collecting honey which, at the end, we will leave to others for their enjoyment! Our values are often twisted. Our success is largely measured by the size of our bank account, how beautiful or handsome we are, or how luxurious are our homes, cars or boats. Reality TV shows continue to appeal to millions of us who choose to live vicariously through others, rather than taking charge of our own lives and focusing on manifesting the hidden resources that are invested in our souls.Women are often encouraged to seek superficial and temporary beauty, at the risk of endangering their health, even killing themselves, while men are encouraged to appreciate and chase a life of pleasure. In contrast, those whose lives are centered on spirituality are frequently ridiculed as old-fashioned or at least looked down upon. We seek surgical procedures to fight the natural aging process and enjoy ‘borrowed youth’ a bit longer, even though we know, deep in our hearts, that it is ultimately a losing battle.
“The number of people who said that it made a difference to them that I'm out is the reason that I'm out. There are people who devote their lives to taking away the rights of gays and lesbians, and I think that visibility is very important. I'm trying to encourage more people to come out, and show everyone who they are, because it's harder to take away the rights of a human being. And this is a miracle state, because we can get married. And I think that these people working to take away our rights are going to lose, because of this generation.”
“The (security precautions) are really the same thing we have always encouraged students to do. If they are not in their room or asleep, leave the door dead bolted. Don't prop open the building doors or let people in who don't live here. If you are not sure if they live here, don't let them in. Those are the kind of security things that apply anytime. Anybody can walk in the building day or night. Everybody is being cautious and watching out for their own security. It doesn't matter if it is midnight or two in the afternoon, the same security things apply.”
A meritocracy is a system in which the people who are the luckiest in their health and genetic endowment; luckiest in terms of family support, encouragement, and, probably, income; luckiest in their educational and career opportunities; and luckiest in so many other ways difficult to enumerate — these are the folks who reap the largest rewards. The only way for even a putative meritocracy to hope to pass ethical muster, to be considered fair, is if those who are the luckiest in all of those respects also have the greatest responsibility to work hard, to contribute to the betterment of the world, and to share their luck with others.
I am encouraged as I look at some of those who have listened to their "different drum": Einstein was hopeless at school math and commented wryly on his inadequacy in human relations. Winston Churchill was an abysmal failure in his early school years. Byron, that revolutionary student, had to compensate for a club foot; Demosthenes for a stutter; and Homer was blind. Socrates couldn't manage his wife, and infuriated his countrymen. And what about Jesus, if we need an ultimate example of failure with one's peers? Or an ultimate example of love?
If I had had a daughter, I always knew what I would tell her. First of all, I would try to counter all outdated stereotypical claptrap that girls are commonly told about their sex--that women are valued far more for their sexual characteristics than their character and brains--and encourage her to be a truly independent person. Only knowing who she is herself will she be able to find find her own life's work and make good decisions in choosing a partner and having children.
[Robert] Jensen calls for an end to our current understanding of masculinity. He says, "We men can settle for being men, or we can strive to be human beings." What's funny is that that statement essentially echoes the same hope I have for women: that we can start to see ourselves, and encourage men to see us, as more than just the sum of our sexual parts: not as virgins or whores, as mothers or girlfriends, or as existing only in relation to men, but as people with independent desires, hopes and abilities.
“The system allows users to find potential technology and financial partners, suppliers and collaborators from each event and then connect with one another and explore collaborative business and technology opportunities. This is a totally new system and we're very encouraged with the pre-conference registration and use. The goal was to provide a tool for these communities to interact before the face-to-face meetings but also provide the online community platform that would allow them to continue throughout the year. The system enables a global, 365 day a year, protected collaborative community environment.”
Celebrate your achievements and victories without waiting for recognition from others; after all it’s your efforts which brought that accomplishment. A flower blooms in the desert with nary a person to appreciate its beauty, yet it blossoms, spreads its fragrance and enjoys its existence. A dew drop caught on the leaf in an unexplored forest sparkles like a diamond; it doesn’t need spectators to appreciate its beauty. You shouldn’t be dependent on others to encourage you instead be your own cheer leader… Love yourself to bits.