The Hippy in Me

I was born in a conservative town to a conservative family. I love meat and I love Rambo and I loved that I love those things. Lately though I've been starting to see things a little differently.

I love burgers, steak, chicken, fish, pork (mmmm bacon). Always have, probably always will. However, I'm considering giving up meat, based on economic, environmental, and health issues that surround it. I'm not so much worried about the life of the animal (call me cruel) but the industrialization of things (anything, not just meat) while convenient and helpful in some situations, seems to be taking a toll on people's health, the environment those people share and the economy they are a part of. So, even if I love it, should I support it?

As a child, I would run around the yard shooting "bad guys" by the thousands and winning wars to get the girl. My friends and I destroyed hundreds upon thousands of "bad guys" to protect ourselves and our homes. Now, suddenly I am cherishing human life, even if it's an enemy's and I would hate to imagine myself in a position of choosing between ending someone's life and submitting my own. Supporting a war? I just don't see how I can...

I'm starting to lose sight of the important stuff like career, money, status... and I'm finding my interests turning towards relationships, ideals and philosophy. I don't know exactly what's happening to me. Is this just the natural mellowing that comes with age? Am I being cowardly, turning away from my duty, responsibility, and way of life that I was brought up in?

I don't think it's cowardice, because I think it takes a lot of courage to be a vegetarian, when everyone around you eats meat. It would take a LOT of courage to look someone in the eye and say "You can kill me, but I refuse to hurt you back".

Well, I haven't yet given up meat...yet. I still love Rambo... though maybe not what he stands for anymore. So what is happening to me?

I guess that's just the hippy in me.

Did it again...

I am certainly not rising to the occasion on this challenge I've challenged myself to. Here's another double post for missing yesterday.

A friend of mine is traveling/living in Kenya and her story is sweet, honest and wonderful.

I love reading it and I hope to have my own stories like hers someday.

Here she is ANNA.

Day 8

Ernest Hemingway

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk.

That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."

Dude was a bad ass. What else is there to say? Ernest Hemingway was a Man's Man.

I Forgot to Post!

I have failed my challenge, I forgot to post yesterday. But, I guess I can amend the rules for myself, I mean hey, I'm a nice guy... Okay, forgot to post yesterday, double time today.

"Better a witty fool than a foolish wit." - Shakespeare

Is it possible to be both?

Day 6

Do you believe in God? If you believe in God, then you most likely believe in the type of God that is eternal, outside of time, beyond the scope of our everyday understanding. If you believe in this type of God, then you most likely believe that he/she/it created the universe, created earth.

If you don't believe in God, then you believe that the universe itself is eternal, because molecules and gravity and space all had to be around in order for circumstances to occur that allowed for the creation of the earth.

But either way you slice it, you have t0 believe in something that is around forever. Something is eternal. Something is beyond us.

I think that's wild!

A simple Truth

Putting things off only means

you have to do them LATER!

I need to be more responsible with my time.

Why am I posting this on my blog?

Oh, yeah, because I'm trying to find truth in everyday...

and I challenged myself to write it down.

So, there's some truth about me. I hope I learn from this.

Amazingly Tragic

The truth I found today is in the form of an article from Foreign Policy.

Here is the article .

What are we doing to ourselves?

Day 3

What do you see? Faces or vase?

Obviously both are present in this "illusion".

My question: why can't "both" be the answer more often. Why do we feel the desire to label things with either/or, black/white, good/bad, right/wrong? I think there are times when these labels are appropriate, but I think a lot more often the correct view is both.

Truth 2

The good guys don't always win.

But they do win sometimes.

So that's nice.

Found this picture on several blogs, but could not find the original. If you know who I should credit, let me know!

Truth of the Day, 39 Days Left

Unsustainable development is cancer.

-graffiti on the streets of Baltimore

Challenge Myself

Well, I started this blog thinking I would post weekly, if not more... Obviously that didn't happen. I got busy and I got lazy (mostly lazy) and now I'm back, and determined to make this a "back with a vengeance" thing. I think one of the things that kept me from writing is that I kept asking myself if things were "blog worthy". I even wrote a few posts, and never posted them because I never quite finished or decided they were lame. Also, blogging is weird. Who am I even talking to right now? I'm essentially writing/talking to myself... the thing I came to realize is, that's fine. That's why I decided to start a blog, to "think out loud" and then after two silly posts I started trying to get all grand and philosophical and profound, when really, that's not how I think at all.

So, onto the challenge part! I have challenged myself to write SOMETHING everyday for the next forty days (it is Lent after all). My goal is to find some kind of "truth" whether my own thought or from an author or friend. Whether profound or simple I am looking for truth in everyday, and I'm posting it RIGHT HERE for the next forty days.