The Observer of life

I am an observer of life.

Of many people and events.

I watch as the life of those around me unfolds.

As they go through the ups and downs that it throws at them.

It makes me ask myself,

Who am I?

Why isn’t my life more like theirs?

Why do I suffer to get something that they easily attain?

Is there something wrong with me?

That others seem perfect while I seem defective.

All these questions run through my mind,

As I observe the life of others

As I observe their relationships with one another

And how so many things come easily to them

Soon I’m overwhelmed by a feeling.

But no, it’s not jealousy

For why should I be angry over a blessing bestowed on a person?

It’s a feeling of unhappiness and loneliness

A feeling that doesn’t seem to disappear

No matter how hard I try

It seems isolation has become my habitat, my home

When I try to run from it by being with company

I’m always thrown back into the abyss of loneliness

Maybe I’m not meant for a life of company

And I’m doomed to remain in isolation

Watching the lives of people pass me by

For such is it for an observer of life

Photocredit: DextDee Photography (https://www.facebook.com/DextDeePhotography)

Looking Up to the Past and Down to the Future

            The title of this post may sound a bit strange to most people but I'm merely referring to an analogy of nature. Hence this post will be coming in two parts to better explain this analogy in detail.

Looking Up to the Past

       Ever looked up into the sky at night and wondered why the stars twinkle? Some might say it is because they are constantly going bright and dim but that is not the reason for this phenomenon. The truth is, as we look up into the sky we are gazing into the past. The stars we see are several million light years (distance used to measure stars on a galactic scale with reference to the speed of light) from our planet earth. It therefore takes a long time before it's light reaches us on this planet. Hence some of the stars we see at night may in reality not even exist anymore, but it's light continues to shine for all to see. And it may take several decades or even centuries before it won't be seen again.

       This phenomena of space can be taken as an analogy in our own lives. Everybody has a past with their own story to tell and our actions in the present is based on our past experiences. It is the lessons of our past that constantly guide us in our present decisions, which inevitably progress to shape out our future. So in actual fact we are all looking up to our past. Whether it is to not repeat our mistakes or to shape out a future that ultimately emulates the past success of someone. One thing is evident though, that for you to live peacefully in heart, mind and soul, you have to accept your past whether it's full of rights or wrongs, for your past will either make you or break you. 

      There is a common school of thought that you should forget your past mistakes and move on with your life. But as human beings, God gave us a brain where we can store memories. He didn't also give us a delete button to delete all the bad things that happen to us. He wants us to remember everything we go through. He also gave us the power of choice and reason to plan how to utilize and incorporate the lessons learnt from the past so that it can catapult you in fulfilling your life's purpose.

       You're not meant to forget your past whether good or bad, happy or sad. Though it doesn't determine who you are, it helps to define who you are due to the decisions you make from them. Accept your past with all its lessons. Don't just accept the good and leave the bad but accept it all and know that God lets everything happen for a reason. Things may not seem like it presently but as the years roll by, you begin to thank God for all that you go through because it becomes evident that they all prepare you for the next stage of your life.

        Life is a precious gift, though full of complexities and troubles they are what makes it worth living. For if we lived in constant bliss i'm certain as human as we are we would forget a God exists and thus would cease to depend on Him. This life is for but a moment, and to fully live it to the fullest you have to accept all the gifts it presents to you whether good or bad, and use it to move to the next stage.

       Memories never die and our past lives through them as guides to aid us and not destroy us. Those that attempt to use the past negatively against you only do so because they can see how successful it's made you. 

       As you continue to write the pages of your life, look up to your past in order to see the next stone for you to step on to raise you to higher heights.

Picture courtesy of Picassa Web albums

Fear of the unknown

The world is literally plagued with fear. People you see everyday are living in fear of something. Whether it's fear of heights, fear fear of the dark or even fear of specific animals. The fact is this fear limits them in living their life. It prevents them from doing certain things in life or from going to particular places. It creates an invisible cage for them that locks them in and sets particular boundaries for them in life. Though some of these fears are justified by medical reasons a majority of them are mostly a fabric of people's imagination, brought on by certain experiences or by the fear itself. The irony of this is, you cannot fully live life and fulfill your purpose by being in fear of something. Living life can in itself, be said to be a form of fear because you don't know the future, but yet you wake up every morning and are able to safely go through the day. If a person is able to face the biggest fear of all which is life, then they should be able to face the other minor fears of life. For life is an embodiment of fear. If your able to face the mother load, you can face the children.

             Fear is brought about by people being unsure about something. Someone is afraid of the dark because they are unsure if something hides in the darkness and so are unwilling to find out so they make sure they are never in the dark. A person is claustrophobic because they believe that not enough air can be stored in such a small space and then the air will soon run out so they begin to panic thus making the fear set in. All in all, fear is in the mind. It is medically proven that if your mind believes something your body will begin to react to the thoughts of your belief. Hence the saying "a healthy mind, a healthy body."                                                      One prominent fear of man seen throughout history, is fear of the unknown. Mankind usually responds to this fear by dominating it believing that by gaining control over it they will no longer fear it. But they were constantly proven wrong. For as they dominated and caged the fear, they only provoked it and the fear which was harmless and incapable of harming them, now provoked, caused more harm than they thought. They created the fear in their mind which didn't originally exist and that fear manifested itself to them. This fear of the unknown has mostly been the fear of other races. For though God created man to dominate the things of the earth, He didn't give man a commandment to dominate themselves. This fear is the cause of various conflicts and troubles throughout man's history.

           The main cause of the trans-atlantic slave trade was caused by this type of fear. When the Europeans saw how strong and built the West Africans were they felt threatened that though they were not as advanced as they were they believed that if they did become as advanced as them they'll colonize them instead. So they sought to colonize them and put the fear into them that they felt themselves. Thus bringing about the slave trade that went on for about 400 years and has caused mental, social and physical harm to the dark skinned race not only in the past but the present and the for some, the future.
          Fear is an invisible enemy but not an invincible one. The degree of its power depends on you the individual. Releasing the fear may seem difficult at first, but when it's finally released, you feel free. For it places a huge load on your shoulders that when released makes you be able to fully live your life and accomplish your purpose without any impediments.


Picture: Courtesy of Jojo Photography

The Integration of Human Society

            

Since our conception it seems we have an innate nature to belong. Whether it is to belong to a family, religion or group of friends. We are all prone to be amongst others in order to continue our survival on this planet. As the saying goes, "no man is an island". We are already classified into belonging to a particular group of people by virtue of our birth namely race, sex, religion or class. The various races of the world are primarily classified into three namely Caucasian, Mongolian and Negro. The various peoples of the world come from one of these classes or a mixture of them.
             From birth we learn how to belong to a family which is the first stage of socializing in the lives of everyone. As we grow older we are introduced to the school environment filled with people of different races, ethnicities and social backgrounds. But children don't take these factors into consideration when choosing their friends. However as they grow older and become aware of the world they live in they are influenced by these factors. Though some may prefare not to they are obligated to befriend particular types of people because they belong to the same class, race, etc or simply because they are rejected by other groups hence end up with those willing to accept them.
             It seems one thing people learn as they grow up is to blend into a crowd. To be just like everyone else and hence people fail to be their true selves thus hiding who they are and who God intended them to be.
            As you take a look at your society, you'll see that people seem to be alike. With the same behaviours and attitudes, that its not difficult to predict their next move in life. Some spend their entire lives trying to please others by pretending to be someone they are not that, when the time comes when they are free to be themselves, they face the dilemma of not knowing who they are anymore, because they've been consumed by the life of pretense they lived  for many years.
            This is the kind of world we live in now. People watch television and movies and adopt the characters and behaviours of those onscreen, believing that's the right way to behave in certain situations or life in general. And in a world where people are greatly influenced by the masses, individuality seems to have faded out.
            We should learn from children who live their lives just being themselves interacting with various people despite whatever abilities or disabilities they have. Children don't understand why someone should pretend to be anybody else, in their minds they just want to be themselves and with whatever they have, achieve something great.
            That is one secret to success to be yourself. You can always pretend to be someone you're not and be successful but you won't be as successful as when you tried to be yourself. Look at the great men in our history, those who made landmarks and as a result have had an enormous effect in our lives were all themselves. They didn't follow the trends as their counterparts but because they were themselves have been recognized as great people. An example of such a person is Albert Einstein, who could've followed the norm of giving up on his education when he failed the entrance exam to university, didn't give up but persevered in his education. Even as an acclaimed scientist, he didn't do the same things they did but did things his own way. Even though they ridiculed him, he ended up being better than them and many of the breakthroughs in science and technology today are all due to his discoveries.
            We need to stop fading ourselves into the crowd but begin standing out for though it's scary the rewards are great.

Picture: Courtesy of Dextdee Photography

Technology in our lives

            Over the years through the course of human history, human lifestyle has gradually evolved. From living in mud houses, to the building of brick houses, construction of steel bridges, to skyscrapers. The evolution of man lies primarily in his constant need to change his way of life. As new discoveries are made certain aspects of our lives are made to change such as food, clothing, means of transport and even form of entertainment.
            Those of the past are commonly said to have been healthy and intelligent. This is mostly attributed to the fact that the only form of entertainment in those days involved some form of physical or intellectual activity such as playing sports or reading during leisure times. This was one attribute of people who lived in the early 1700s, no wonder that era is known as the industrial revolution. This was due to the invention of machinery to be used in industries.
            The question is have these inventions been helpful or harmful to us. In an age where technology controls almost every aspect of our lives it seems we have rather become the slaves and the technology our masters. Man has become consumed by his own inventions that he cannot live without them.
            Since the invention of the television, our leisure time has been reduced to endless hours spent in front of it. Children spend endless hours in front of the box instead of participating in activities that will develop them physically, emotionally and intellectually. It was originally invented to send information across the world, taking one step ahead of radio to allow a person to visualize what he hears. That idea has now been a bit distorted. There are now more shows on entertainment than there are on educational and social programmes. Thus it's had a growing effect on people to serve as their form of entertainment. Thereby making us slaves to the television. Though it does have its perks it's use is being abused by people.
            The new and upcoming generation have been consumed by this age of technology. Their idea of a leisure time is playing video games, watching endless hours of movies or spending time browsing on the net.
             In the past, leisure times were spent either being involved in active play such as sports or passive activities like reading and listening to the radio.
              Reading is more beneficial than watching a movie because when you read your mind gets to visualize what is being read. You get to exercise your brain since as you imagine what is being read. Certain brain cells are stimulated to function which would've otherwise been dormant. A wide variety of ideas then continuously begin popping into your mind. This makes it important for people, especially children to read because it helps them to develop intellectually. Unfortunately these days people hate to pick up a book to read. Kids will prefare to watch cartoons than to read a book involving a story of the same cartoon.
               Moving pictures are the result of someone's imagination which they've displayed for all to see. This person's imagination is then taken to represent the book. The whole world then adopts this person's idea into their mind as the only way the book can be done or made without trying to read and visualize it for themselves. They'll rather watch someone's depiction of it. This is detrimental on people's minds, making them become conformists and narrow minded.
                All in all, technology has helped us in a number of ways helping us to improve upon our way of life. However as the saying goes too much of everything is bad. Thus a balance should be created in our lives in order not to deprave our humanity and not make us slaves to the technology we create.

Movies through the years

Movies since they were generated have become huge part of our lives. From the beginning of the 20th century, stage plays and productions were developed into full length movies. Originally known as 'silent movies', due to the lack of sound equipment. The message was translated through music which depicted the various emotions of the characters. They were also originally displayed in black and white hence the term 'black and white movies' or 'film noir' for such movies. The era of silent movies lasted between 1880 to late 1920's.
        As time progressed, sound was developed for the screen hence the characters could communicate to themselves and the viewers through dialogue. This began with the movie 'The Jazz Singer" in 1927 and about a decade later silent movies died out. The 1930's also saw a development of film genres such as musicals, gangster movies, westerns, horror, historical biopics, amongst others. It's due to these new storylines and transition to sound and better evolution of color that the age of film in that decade is termed "The Golden Age of Hollywood". Cartoons were also developed for the screen and people became more interested and immersed in movies. Hollywood actors became celebrities idolized by people everywhere.
        The 1940s and 1950s are known as the 'classic period' of American movies. These movies were either low and moderately budgeted without major actors thus termed B movies.
         Colored movies were originally expensive and difficult to produce hence were displaced by black and white movies. It is believed that the first colored movie was in 1908 called A Visit to the Seaside, it was 8 minutes long. The first full length colored movie was in 1914, called The World, The Flesh and The Devil. However its not really known when the first colored movie was made, since they were all produced using different colored methods since 1890. It was then a bit more prominent in the 30s with movies such as The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind both released in 1939. By 1957, about half of the movies in Hollywood were in color.
 However color became more prominent with the invention of color television in 1960. Black and white movies then gradually started to fade out and were virtually non-existent in the end of the decade.
         From then onwards the movie industry has been improving in its srorylines, cinematography, scores and many others. As we enter a new decade movies are now being introduced in 3D offering  better picture and sound quality. People are now more interested in movies with thousands of them being downloaded daily.
          It is evident that as humans evolve, so do our inventions. They are continually made to be better for their clients. That is the aim of directors and producers, to constantly go where no man has gone before to bring a new element of film to viewers. With such a competitive industry we can be assured that as we move on through the years, the film industry will continue to bring us something new.

Credit: Wikipedia, www.answerbag.com