Folded Thought of the Day:


(Look, over there, is that the Daily Editor climbing on his 
high horse?...)

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This world seems to have an endless supply of stimuli 
that serves to heighten life's already challenging struggle.  
I'm finding that it is extremely easy for one to feel 
completely overwhelmed.  I see it in the eyes of my 
friends and in the defeated gait of passersby, in the 
sunken faces of fellow commuters and in the defiance 
of the aged.  I hear its horrible echo in the playground 
laughter and witness its daunting shadow in the face of 
the newborn being wheeled through the park.

School violence, indifference, intolerance, an environment 
that is being decimated, deliberate and petty cruelty, 
election ads, shoe commercials with athletes and pretty 
people who have turned themselves into walking billboards...
hunger, violence, homelessness, etc., etc., blah blah blah.

All of these terms and conditions have become so commonplace 
to the point where we are desensitized to the meaning of 
their existence.  And this causes a worldwide inertia, a 
fact which only serves to heighten our feelings of 
hopelessness and frustration.  We feel their effects and 
the desire for a different way but see no avenue of recourse 
to affect any change.  And the inertia grows stronger.  

I believe the key to change is only found in the self -- 
not by joining reactionary movements or by buying into 
and perpetrating idealistic rhetoric.  We must challenge 
ourselves to not believe the paradigm that is being flaunted 
in front of our faces every day.  Because we do carry a 
burden once we have recognized a problem -- you either 
address it or you add to it.  

The goal of being "aware" and "informed" should not be 
that you have a good supply of dinner conversation.  I 
am always hearing how "intelligent" and "good" certain 
people are.  And then I look at the person in question 
and all I witness them contributing to the world is their 
ego (a dangerous, man-eating beast that is far removed 
from ever being listed on the endangered-species list).  

One huge problem is that we often want to give in order 
to be recognized for our gift, instead of simply giving 
of oneself for the sake of making a difference.  

Being a person on this earth carries certain responsibilities.  
We are not here to get what we can and look a certain way 
and follow whatever list of procedures allows us to heighten 
our own comfort (often at the expense of raising others' 
misery).  

We live in a society that rewards self-serving behavior 
and values mediocrity (think about the last Hollywood 
movie or TV show you saw or the last Top 40 song you 
heard).  And we can either buy in to it or choose to 
find it personally unacceptable.  It's when we do the 
latter that the opportunity to make a real difference 
becomes evident.


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