Sultry Sunday

 

"The world is so wide, so vast; why put on a formal vestment at the sound of a bell?" Yunmen

"We all desire freedom, but what distinguishes human beings is their intelligence. As free human beings we can use our unique intelligence to try to understand our world and ourselves." Dalai Lama

"Human beings are of such nature that they should have not only material facilities but spiritual sustenance as well. Without spiritual sustenance, it is difficult to get and maintain peace of mind." Dalai Lama

I have spent the last couple of days trying to get stuff done. Mom is a bit better but I am fighting something off. The heat and humidity have been terrible and it is hard to breathe. I need to iron my clothes for the week and will probably not do much else today except art work. I love the new computer and the art work looks so great on that flat screen monitor.

As you can tell from the picture I obviously watched Doctor Who on Friday. After all Friday night is geek night. I particularly liked this episode The Lazarus Experiment. For a show that many put down as a kid's show Doctor Who does tackle some pretty heavy concepts. This episode was about the eternal quest for youth. The protagonist doesn't care who he hurts in his quest for youth and if some people die then so what. He deserves to live. The fact that he has become a literal as well as philosophical monster doesn't deter him.

One thing I don't like about our culture is the quest to stay young. In the Far East the elders are revered. In our culture all we want to do is turn back the clock. We spend millions of dollars on beauty supplies and surgery in order to remain looking young. Our culture is geared towards the Brittany Spears, Lindsay Lohans, and Paris Hiltons of the world. Those are suppose to be role models? Is that what we really want our children to grow up to be? Where are the stories about Paul Newman and the millions he has given to charity?

I look at the medicine chest in the bathroom I share with my brother and the bottles upon bottles of stuff he buys to try and look young. He is a sucker for any ad campaign that promise him youth. Me I have a couple jars of cream to keep my skin from drying out. I earned these laugh lines one giggle at a time. I'm not a kid any more and quite frankly I'm glad I'm not. I have gained maturity through living and it is that which my niece calls to tap into. She calls to find out what I have experienced in life and for advice. If you don't live and mature you stagnate. There is still a kid inside of me that plays but the kid and the adult coexist very nicely.

I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows last night. Again the fantasy world is used to teach a valuable lesson about the nature of evil and discrimination against others. Harry was willing to die to keep the world from being dominated by evil. Again their are bible thumpers who raise a fuss about magic and fantasy being evil without ever reading or experiencing what it is really all about. Harry Potter and Doctor Who are just two of the forums that can teach the meaning of evil and point out the ills of the world that need to be solved. There is more morality in them then in the so called Christians who claim to be followers of Christ but at the same time express hatred and bigotry towards their fellow man because they aren't like them.

The real counter is 5832.