(Not only to Akari, but to everyone who follows this blog, okay?)
I know that you're having a really tough time with everything right now, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm here for you. It's a terrible feeling when you feel like you can't really talk anyone when you're drowning in a jar full of pickles.
When everything is unstable, it's nice to know you have something stable in your life, right?
My feet are planted. It sort of comes with the job description.
The second definition for the word "friend" on dictionary.com is "a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter".
Just so there's no confusion.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Philisophical rantings...
Sinus pressure is not fun. Major Change: Linguistics and Psychology. Definitely aiming towards getting a Ph.D. in Psychology.
Akari retitled her blog, "right here, right now," which is a really great philosophy..."Live in the moment," eh? I think that is the unconscious goal of everyone, for some the conscious. "The present moment is the truth," as they say, is a very important idea in Buddhism. The idea is extremely logical, being that we cannot control what is going to happen tomorrow and we cannot change what happened yesterday. Technically speaking, though our actions in the present change the course of our lives, we cannot do anything at any time but the present. Hence, "the present moment is the truth". Now, as great as that philosophy sounds, I don't think anyone is capable or should try to live it out in the most literal interpretation. Imagine if everyone lived in the present....without any worry at all about what happened yesterday or what might happen tomorrow...yeah, those people exist. They're called serial killers.
Of course, Buddhism is not encouraging people to become remorseless or sociopaths. It's not our fault that we live in our minds sometimes.
Sometimes we can't help but live in the future or the past if the present is unappealing. Sometimes we don't want to live in the present.
The idea is that as humans, we're envious. "We always want what we had....what someone else has..." (Lucky Number Slevin). "The grass is always greener when you're lookin' at someone else's yard" (Janis Joplin - Cry Baby) As cliché as those things sound, they couldn't be more true.
Which brings up the whole idea of Karma (actions bring about a result, i.e. Karma). People label Karma as either being "bad" or "good" Karma, when in fact, it is relative. No one can tell you that what is happening to you is bad or good Karma because it may change depending on the perspective and/or circumstance. For example, if you drop coffee all over yourself in a coffee shop and think, "this is such bad karma...worst day ever..." and then some guy comes over and helps you clean up and he ends up becoming your husband, that's not such bad karma, is it? It brought about something good. If you hadn't spilt coffee on yourself, he wouldn't have come up to you (for the purpose of this example). Life can change depending on the color of your lenses.
The point is, people are always comparing themselves with each other without any really logical reason for doing so.
Luckily, the media has provided paradigms for everything so that we don't have to come up with anything on our own: love, beauty, happiness, etc. Let's hear it for the media for warping our perception of key ideas!
Our experiences with things in life are all different. Having said that, how can we compare ourselves with each other? Do people need a reference to make sure they're doing things right? What is right? Why do I talk to myself on the internet? 笑
(That's my Buddhist lesson of the day, I guess...)
There may be a ton of religions out there, but the core, fundamental, underlying idea for most religions is to love each other, treat others as you would like to be treated.
Whether Heaven exists or not, this world is the only thing we know for sure is real. Why run towards something that may or may not exist, when we have this reality here and now? Enjoy it! Earth is beautiful (let's keep it beautiful, yeah? lol).
...
All we can do is live the absolute best way we're capable, and no one can tell you any differently.
...
This blog was all over the place.
思い通じたかな～。
Akari retitled her blog, "right here, right now," which is a really great philosophy..."Live in the moment," eh? I think that is the unconscious goal of everyone, for some the conscious. "The present moment is the truth," as they say, is a very important idea in Buddhism. The idea is extremely logical, being that we cannot control what is going to happen tomorrow and we cannot change what happened yesterday. Technically speaking, though our actions in the present change the course of our lives, we cannot do anything at any time but the present. Hence, "the present moment is the truth". Now, as great as that philosophy sounds, I don't think anyone is capable or should try to live it out in the most literal interpretation. Imagine if everyone lived in the present....without any worry at all about what happened yesterday or what might happen tomorrow...yeah, those people exist. They're called serial killers.
Of course, Buddhism is not encouraging people to become remorseless or sociopaths. It's not our fault that we live in our minds sometimes.
Sometimes we can't help but live in the future or the past if the present is unappealing. Sometimes we don't want to live in the present.
The idea is that as humans, we're envious. "We always want what we had....what someone else has..." (Lucky Number Slevin). "The grass is always greener when you're lookin' at someone else's yard" (Janis Joplin - Cry Baby) As cliché as those things sound, they couldn't be more true.
Which brings up the whole idea of Karma (actions bring about a result, i.e. Karma). People label Karma as either being "bad" or "good" Karma, when in fact, it is relative. No one can tell you that what is happening to you is bad or good Karma because it may change depending on the perspective and/or circumstance. For example, if you drop coffee all over yourself in a coffee shop and think, "this is such bad karma...worst day ever..." and then some guy comes over and helps you clean up and he ends up becoming your husband, that's not such bad karma, is it? It brought about something good. If you hadn't spilt coffee on yourself, he wouldn't have come up to you (for the purpose of this example). Life can change depending on the color of your lenses.
The point is, people are always comparing themselves with each other without any really logical reason for doing so.
Luckily, the media has provided paradigms for everything so that we don't have to come up with anything on our own: love, beauty, happiness, etc. Let's hear it for the media for warping our perception of key ideas!
Our experiences with things in life are all different. Having said that, how can we compare ourselves with each other? Do people need a reference to make sure they're doing things right? What is right? Why do I talk to myself on the internet? 笑
(That's my Buddhist lesson of the day, I guess...)
There may be a ton of religions out there, but the core, fundamental, underlying idea for most religions is to love each other, treat others as you would like to be treated.
Whether Heaven exists or not, this world is the only thing we know for sure is real. Why run towards something that may or may not exist, when we have this reality here and now? Enjoy it! Earth is beautiful (let's keep it beautiful, yeah? lol).
...
All we can do is live the absolute best way we're capable, and no one can tell you any differently.
...
This blog was all over the place.
思い通じたかな～。
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Coachella and other wonderful things
I'm so fucking indecisive it's annoying. I wish I could just pick something and stick with it....
So I changed my major again. I didn't like the job options linguistics gave me so I decided to change back to Global Studies/Global Cultures, but minor in something that has to do with sustainability (Global Sustainability, Conservation Biology, etc.). I think I'm also going to change my language from Italian to Spanish (yes, I know) because the latter is more globally spoken. So, there you have it.
I was also thinking about making UCI my goal because UCLA admits you as Pre-Global Studies major. You have to apply for the actual major during Junior year and, of course, there is no guaranteed acceptance. I don't want to make it into the school and then have to major in something I didn't want...especially after all the hours of my life spent on trying to make a good decision for myself. I also like the program better at UCI...
Decisions, decisions.
All these really wonderful things going on in my life right now are sort of being overshadowed by my dad's injury. He fell about a week ago and hurt himself really badly (broke a bone in his leg), had surgery, and is now recovering at a rehabilitation center. Everything is fine and the surgery went well, but I feel like an asshole moving forward and having fun while he's slowing down.
What can I do though? What can I do.
It feels really surreal knowing that I'm going to Japan in two months after wanting to go for the past 7 years...And to study Japanese of all things! My dreams are really becoming a reality. It's a strange thing having plans and aspirations and then watching them come true.
Coachella was beyond awesome. Each day was better than the previous. The highlight was definitely seeing Julian so close and clear. He was great, of course. He performed really well and got the crowd hyped up to see him and we all chanted his name before he came out. He pleased all the Strokes fans by singing Hard to Explain, then followed with (not in order) I'll Try Anything Once (also a crowd pleaser and one of my favorites), I Wish it was Christmas Today, Out of the Blue, Left and Right in the Dark, 11th Dimension, River of Brakelights, and Glass. I sang obnoxiously with the hopes of him noticing me, which he did. We had a bit of a moment singing together. <3
Some fans of the bands were really terrible and pushy...I got bruises from some shows...
I had a great time watching the bands that were also good "performers". I use the word not meaning they were good musicians, but they were fun to watch and put on a really fun show. The music was so loud I couldn't even tell if the bands were any good, to be honest. I had loads of fun though and am definitely going next year if the lineup is good.
I'll post the pictures and videos someday on Facebook. :)
So I changed my major again. I didn't like the job options linguistics gave me so I decided to change back to Global Studies/Global Cultures, but minor in something that has to do with sustainability (Global Sustainability, Conservation Biology, etc.). I think I'm also going to change my language from Italian to Spanish (yes, I know) because the latter is more globally spoken. So, there you have it.
I was also thinking about making UCI my goal because UCLA admits you as Pre-Global Studies major. You have to apply for the actual major during Junior year and, of course, there is no guaranteed acceptance. I don't want to make it into the school and then have to major in something I didn't want...especially after all the hours of my life spent on trying to make a good decision for myself. I also like the program better at UCI...
Decisions, decisions.
All these really wonderful things going on in my life right now are sort of being overshadowed by my dad's injury. He fell about a week ago and hurt himself really badly (broke a bone in his leg), had surgery, and is now recovering at a rehabilitation center. Everything is fine and the surgery went well, but I feel like an asshole moving forward and having fun while he's slowing down.
What can I do though? What can I do.
It feels really surreal knowing that I'm going to Japan in two months after wanting to go for the past 7 years...And to study Japanese of all things! My dreams are really becoming a reality. It's a strange thing having plans and aspirations and then watching them come true.
Coachella was beyond awesome. Each day was better than the previous. The highlight was definitely seeing Julian so close and clear. He was great, of course. He performed really well and got the crowd hyped up to see him and we all chanted his name before he came out. He pleased all the Strokes fans by singing Hard to Explain, then followed with (not in order) I'll Try Anything Once (also a crowd pleaser and one of my favorites), I Wish it was Christmas Today, Out of the Blue, Left and Right in the Dark, 11th Dimension, River of Brakelights, and Glass. I sang obnoxiously with the hopes of him noticing me, which he did. We had a bit of a moment singing together. <3
Some fans of the bands were really terrible and pushy...I got bruises from some shows...
I had a great time watching the bands that were also good "performers". I use the word not meaning they were good musicians, but they were fun to watch and put on a really fun show. The music was so loud I couldn't even tell if the bands were any good, to be honest. I had loads of fun though and am definitely going next year if the lineup is good.
I'll post the pictures and videos someday on Facebook. :)
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