I have many beliefs in life...

[matauri]

While rumaging thru old websites I found an old homepage where I put my many beliefs in life. A lot has happened in the world since I wrote them 5 yrs ago, but after reading thru them I noticed it didn't dent any of them.

What are your beliefs in life. Things that keep you sane & fundamently the person you are?



Here were mine from 1998 & still the same....


That what we give we get back 10 fold. It may not be now ..it may not even be in 'our' lifetime, but it will be in the next.

That lies can't be hidden. They have a way of rearing their ugly heads when you least want them to. So better to tell the truth.

That the world is made up of performers and an audience. Without the audience the performers would wither. Without the performers the audience could not be entertained.

To treat another species less than you demand to be treated makes you no better than that thug on the corner with a gun.

That we should protect our children and show them the right way, because they are tomorrow's future.

That women demanded the right to be treated equally, not brutally. Women have a hard enough battle, without having to live with a mans inadequacies. If there are problems, words leave less bruises than a hand, and achieve more than abuse (mental or physical).

That the punishment fits the crime. This is a time for ZERO tolerance. Society can no longer be left to degrade as it is.

That our planet supports so many people, that it's about time we started supporting it.

That being in a relationship with another person shouldn't be such hard work.

Things will happen whether we want them to or not, and just treasure the peace until you have to deal with them.

You should never take work home, or your home to work. One or the other is disadvantaged if you do.

That you should take a person at their word, if they are prepared to take you at yours.

That there are always alternatives. Not compromise...but alternatives. In compromise, one or the other loses out. If a viable alternative can be reached … both may gain.

Never to knock something you don't understand. At least take the time to learn about it, so at least you can make an informative choice.

That you can win me with romance, words of love & roses … but … you will keep me with friendship.

That we should embrace every day, because we never know if it will be our last.

We should live our lives as if we only had 3 weeks left to live. Because then we wouldn't worry about all the nonsense.

:-)


Cindy

[mikmik]

Matauri, I really respect you for these values. We've much in common in our outlooks, many of these I think I've always held but only recently come to understand, and some I've learned recently. I've only a bit to add:

- Every single thing in our life is a gift. It's not my fault that I'm here, have my talents, or the opportunity to use them. You may be the greatest 'whatever' in the world, as a result of talent and hard work, but we were born with our talents, had them taught to us, and mean nothing without the "audience" on which to show or use your skill.

- By respecting all people and all nature, we are respecting our own existence, because like above, they are inextricably linked.

- There are good and bad in every crowd, what you see says more about you than the observed.

- Don't take myself to seriously, for others will do the opposite.

[carju1]

Cindy

I especially like these 2:

To treat another species less than you demand to be treated makes you no better than that thug on the corner with a gun.

That our planet supports so many people, that it's about time we started supporting it.
and they are probably the 2 most importand ones and are part of what we have to do for the other vital one.


That we should protect our children and show them the right way, because they are tomorrow's future.

My parents generation started the rape of the planet, we continued it and have lately started to see the error of our ways, but it is only our children who can now really make the difference.

I don't disagree with your other statements but most deal with the individual. The planet can & will continue without any one person but NO ONE can continue without the planet.

Julian

[matauri]

awww.... a fellow Greenie :-)

Actually Julian...did you find that after you became a parent that it became even more important?

I know that we are now in a 2 income society, and many families have 2 working parents. But, I cant help but feel sorry for the kids that come home to an empty house each day. I have a herd of teens that practically live here, and everyone of them wishes their mum or dad would be at home or even socialize with them. (main reason I went into web design was so I could work from home) They are taught no respect for their planet, society, or each other at home (and many of these are from very well off families), and they learn by my example. (yeah..I know..I am corrupting the worlds youth!) The sad thing is, when they go home its back into the way the parents do things. But at least for a couple of horus in the afternoon....they're MINE! :-)



Cindy

[carju1]

awww.... a fellow Greenie :-)

Actually Julian...did you find that after you became a parent that it became even more important?

I know that we are now in a 2 income society, and many families have 2 working parents. But, I cant help but feel sorry for the kids that come home to an empty house each day.....They are taught no respect for their planet, society, or each other at home (and many of these are from very well off families), and they learn by my example.

Doesn't it just when you become a parent.

My daughter is lucky as I can earn enough that my wife only works when she wants too (piano teaching, a bit of web design and voluntary stuff) so she's always home for our daughter.

My daughter is also lucky as for the last 5 years she has gone to an international school (I think there are 14 nationalities in her class of 20) and because of the cultural differences probably the most imposrtant aspect of school life is respect for each other. At nine she has no idea of the concept of rascism or religeous differences. She has friends who are white, black, brown, yellow, from Israel, Japan, Germany, Nigeria. If she doesn't like someone it's because of their personality nothing else.

She is also lucky as we have taught her 'green values' and have been able to afford to take her to stay in places like the middle of the Borneo jungle and cloud forests of Costa Rica. She's been able to release turtles into the wild and swim with dolphins. Eco tourism has its problems but no matter how much you teach only by being there in undisturbed nature (OK as undisturbed as it can be with any humans around) can you truly understand both how insignificant man is and how fragile the planet can be. Even at nine she can appreciate this.

Julian

[matauri]

Yeah, my daughter was pretty lucky too. I started working with dolphins/whales from when she was about 1yr old, and for next decade. After that we lived in an outback town where the main population were aborigines. She was only one of 3 white kids that attended school there. So all through her life she has been pretty lucky, growing up knowing right from wrong.

But also when she travelled the world with me, she got to realize how lucky some cultures were over others. Not the industrialized ones, but the more grassroots ones.

I asked her a few months ago if she ever talked with her mates about the things she has done in her life, she told me no...because she didn't want anyone to think she was bragging. I told her she should be sharing experiences so that her friends know there is a big wide world out there, but she says no....because she thinks none of them think further than sex, alcohol & music. Which sadly is seeming truer each day.

Suppose we're pretty lucky our kids got a good start :-)


Cindy

[wenwilder]

The great thing about our 'beliefs', is that we pass them on faster by what we do ,then we ever will by what we say.

In my lifetime I've realized that sometimes it takes falling down to know that you were never standing. We're so caught up in our everyday lives that what we think we see isn't reality.

Your daughter being hesitant to share her experiences is a great example of something we all do. We see people as they think they should be, or what we think they should be. We listen to their words, not always hearing them as they are meant. We judge them by first impressions, their clothing, body language, and speech. The whole time wishing that people wouldn't judge us in the same way.

As morbid as it may sound, my philosophy is: Treat everyone and everything as if you were going to die at midnight and it would be your last chance to say I love you, to pass on a smile, to offer support or share a kindness. Don't pass up a chance to do today what you will hopefully get the chance to repeat tomorrow, knowing that tomorrow doesn't always come.

[matauri]

How very true Wen ! :-)


Cindy