The Human Impact

Some unfortunately saddening links:
World's smallest seahorse faces extinction after BP oil spill
Critically Endangered Whales Stop Feeding Thanks To Russian Oil & Gas Exploration

As humans, we take almost everything for granted. We are extremely wasteful, and instead of evolving and living in harmony with nature, we change nature and have a huge impact on the environment. Some steps can be taken to change the impact we have and we need to start looking at ourselves, not just as individuals but as a society. 

Humans have a huge impact on both fauna and flora. From simply using the seas to search for oil sites, we have had a dramatic effect on the feeding patterns of whales. Something more dramatic as the recent BP oil spill is threatening an entire species. Sit and think about the things we are doing and have done around the world from introducing species, clearing out natural habitats, greenhouse emissions and even every day things such as driving to and from work. Humans need to make some huge changes to the way we treat the world.

Humans can take simple steps to improve the state of the natural world. We simply do not need to cut down trees, drill for oil, build new roads while destroying forests or have such a high carbon emission level. We could easily cut down on these things, most of which are for material gain and are never out of necessity. We need to change the focus from ourselves and change it outwards to the rest of the world.

If we change our focus from ourselves, we can make a huge impact. What people do not realize, is that the effect we have one the rest of the world, in turn has a huge impact on us individually. If we stop creating consumer demand for self satisfaction, we will stop the impact on the environment, stop damaging ecosystems through collections of materials and so forth. Every animal and plant in the world has an impact on the functioning and harmony of the world, in turn having an impact on is, either instantly significant or progressive.

We really need to wake up, and smell the roses. We are having such a huge impact we don't realize it, and through simple steps and by changing the focus from ourselves to the rest of the world, we can make planet earth a better place to live. Somewhere that was once a lush beautiful natural world.

The Tragedy of the Cyclic Existence in the Material World

Today in modern society, we seem to be trapped in an unfortunately cyclic existence. We go to work everyday, make money, pay the bills and never really experience life. What is it we contribute to society?

We may be working in a retail store, or in IT fixing computers, but what contribution does this truly make? All we are really doing, is going to work, assisting a corporate entity so we ourselves can profit. We use this money to buy flash cars, big houses, and many other superficial things that we really don't need to find "true happiness". We need to assess what we are really achieving in our every day life.

What could we do to improve the world and our lives? Unfortunately if everyone quit their jobs, the world wouldn't function correctly, however there are some things we can change. We can start volunteering to a meaningful cause, we could donate within our means and of course, we could simply be better people by helping our fellow humans out. There are some other small changes we could make, some of these however, are extremely difficult to implement.

We need to start cutting down on self indulgence, money does NOT buy happiness. We can start by living within out means, not buying extravagant cars, houses and TVs, and simply start enjoying the simpler things in life. What is the most exciting thing you have done lately? It might pay to step outside of your boundaries, go bungee jumping, kayaking, rock climbing, sky diving or simply go out to the wilderness and take a hike through our beautiful, and natural world. Changing these things in our day to day lives can easily lead to true happiness.

True happiness is not attained by having the best of the best, being a millionaire, being popular or having all the latest gadgets, happiness is indeed and inside job. We could divide "levels" happiness into a scale, but in my own opinion, I think there is only one type of "true happiness". Happiness comes from within, accepting and appreciating things for what they are, being content with life, and most of all, having a kind and generous heart. Loving kindness is indeed the true method to achieve happiness, whether you simply be a better person to the people you know and encounter, start donating to charity out of the good of your heart, volunteering for a worthy cause such as rescuing animals or assisting people in need or changing our career all together, you will find more fulfillment, peace of mind, and happiness.

Get out there people, change the world!

Honesty, Love, and Other Variations of Definition In Modern Society

In modern society it seems a lot of words or concepts have had a change of definition. These vary from words/concepts such as: Honesty, Friendship, Love, Happiness and many others. Unfortunately for the few of us who still try to adhere to the "old" way of thinking it can cause conflicting signals within out minds and result in a irrational thinking.

Love is probably the broadest statement any one person can make, now aside from my previous discussions on the topic of Love lets try and find the modern day definition of "relationship love". Relationship love seems to be a very two way thing, when both parties are exchanging a said "love currency" (hugs, sex, money, cuddles, affection etc) it appears that both parties seem to be content for a certain period of time but of course this is a very materialistic viewpoint. Unfortunately the downside here is that one person eventually gets frustrated or tries to leave.

Unfortunately when a person tries to disconnect themselves there doesn't seem to be any slack given to the "mistake maker", it seems to be a simple case of move on and forget the other person even existed. This is somewhat unfortunate as "real Love" is a currency that seems to be lost in a world where everything but materialism is futile.

A lot of people have their own personal demons, these can affect their Friendships, Loves, Happiness and a lot of other things in their life. I think it really is time for the world to wake up and say "you matter as well and I understand your not perfect" remember we all have our own flaws too, forgiveness is a great gift.

-Ant

Now Is a Good Time

Now is a great moment to live in. When we see the past as an important aspect of our being we fail to see the beauty of this moment. It deminishes our ability to appreciate the beauty in life and the positive aspects of those around us. This is also relevant to thoughts pertaining to the future.

Many people, myself included strive to be something tomorrow or remember how we blundered yesterday and let it affect our mind and mental wellbeing. Unfortunately the mind is like a child, it needs to be taught how to sit still.

With the childlike mind we find ourselves competing with our own thoughts or character. You may have trouble admitting your wrong, finding yourself in an argument and getting frustrated, getting irritated with someone and dwelling it for minutes hours days or even years. We need to let go of our ego, we need to appreciate on the things now and find joy in our everday being.

Try to let go of the past, its not something that you have control over, you can't change it but simply look for the good or the lessons that can be learned from it, allowing concious decions to be made. Try not to think too far ahead for it will leaving you wishing you were already there. Drift to far back or forward and you may find yourself stuck in the sand of samsara.

Remember:

"There is never nothing happening" - The Peaceful Warrior

The Future of Mankind

With the interest in TU24 which is scheduled to make a close pass or an impact on earth on the 29th I would like to take the chance to discuss the future of mankind. In the case that some catastrophic incident occurred here on earth what would the consequences be?

A mass decrease in the population could ultimately result in unity of mankind, death could be turned into a positive. Without government to control the world would we strive towards a better future?

Religion holds many of the answers about life buried within its cryptic or philosophical texts, the point of existence is in my opinion to be able to release animalistic instincts and to Love fully without limitations, to get along with each other. With a society so driven by greed and need we seem to forget that we are all the same, that we all have the same root cause, either you perceive that root cause as nothing, the mind or something else, it ultimately still comes about from the same root element.

Why do we find it so necessary to compete with others, to fall into this matrix of cyclic existence, what do we actually do with our lives if anything at all? Why do we aspire to be more when we have everything and nothing just in the same?

In it's current state the human race is headed for disaster whether it be natural or man made, unless the greater populations steps up and realizes its potential as a race able to release its primal instincts a horrible future awaits us. Moving towards a greater future where we do not let governments and corporations control our free will, where we can work towards betterment of ourselves instead of our wallets, when will we instigate this simple foundation for life?

Expectation and Let Down

Sometimes in life we feel let down and get quite emotional about it. Someone may have promised or said they will do something but they let you down. I'm sure everyone has experienced this and been upset by this, the emotional response need not be negative.

There are a few ways to approach let down. The key element to the emotional response of being let down is expectation, when we place an expectation on an object external to our mind we will always put ourselves in a venerable position, a position to be let down. How many times do we let ourselves down? Recall ever having said you will do something for yourself and then ended up procrastinating?

How can we trust an external source to bring us happiness or content? The point is we can't. This doesn't mean we don't live life without trusting people, it simply means instead of creating expectation we just try to understand that people are not perfect, they make mistakes, get caught up in material possessions, become distracted, are sometimes forgetful and sometimes self centred.... Agreed? People are generally not like this all the time but are you perfect? How many times have you let someone down?

We project our ideals, expectations and ideas onto other people, it is likely we will eventually be "let down", be understanding however, for we ourselves are also the culprits of this "crime".

Remeber, nobody is perfect, just be happy withing yourself.

-Luzzle Pure.

Helping Others Makes Everything Better

Helping others makes things so much better. When your down you can do many things to make yourself feel better, channeling your energy into a hobby or something creative is always good, reading, relaxing, all these things can put your mind at ease however, helping someone else can make a world of difference.

When you have compassion for others and care about them you have the ability to help them, having compassion and love for everyone is important. When you help someone else with a problem it gives you a sense of true reward. Helping others can also help solve your own problems, when the world gets you down and you channel your strength into helping someone else, the solutions you provide can help you find answers to your own problems and in most cases see that your problems can have solutions.

Offer your hand to someone in need, it will give you more benefit than you think.

What can I do for you?

What can I do for you? It's a question and a way of thinking that I have neglected so very readily these past months or years even. People tend to focus on themselves a lot or focus on making an impression, being the centre of attention. This isn't something we generally do without realizing it, and if we do realize it, its generally too late. The good news with realizing anything is that you can at least do something.

Moving forward and realizing our mistakes is a positive step towards self improvement. I'm definitely no expert and probably could be dubbed a "slow learner" in many areas of my life. Certain events aren't worth beating yourself up and if you are going to think over and over about them, make it constructive.

In your thoughts think about where you went wrong, now ask yourself, was the focus too much on you? If yes then figure out ways of channelling your energy back out in positive ways.

Of course you can't drain your energy, you need to look after you sometimes. One cannot channel their energy outwards unless they have some inner energy to power their efforts.

The key points here are: Focus on giving, Look after yourself, Be positive.

Anyways thats enough from me. Be positive and SMILE!

Escapism

We run away everyday, we try to hide from our problems. I have spoken about this before but people have the tendency of cover up their problems in some even more dangerous ways. Pain can be hard to handle but it is definitely not something you want to cover up with an altered state of mind.

Drugs can be a good "party-goers recreational tool" but they should not be used with an extreme frequency and should not be used when you are feeling low. People who use drugs of any form are using them as some form of escapism but people who use them to cover up feelings could be forming a dangerous psychological addiction.

Face your problems in the real world because when you make them go away by the use of drugs, life just gets harder and harder and so does the addiction.

You Can Have Success and Find Love

In life we get to down on ourselves, we always say "I wish" but never look to what we can actually do to get to a destination. Success isn't that unachievable like I mentioned in an earlier post. All one has to do in life is find what it is one can have and find out what one needs to do to get to their destination.

You must not let negative thoughts ever get in your way, this is critical. The path to a destination usually never goes without problems but if you truly aim towards your goal and hurdle or roadblock is passable.

Certain journeys however may require one to just be patient and use the focus of your mind to achieve them. The mind is a powerful thing. Finding love is one of those things you need to be patient with but it will come, just keep wanting it but maybe stop looking for it, ignore it for a while and it should come to your door looking to be let in with loving arms.

I again implore everyone out there to never give up on their dreams and never stop pushing through live aiming towards their goals. Start waiting for love and stop looking, keep being positive and keep wanting it but don't put your focus on one thing.

Aim For the Skies

If you have a dream I emplore you to follow it. So many people today are unhappy in situations they wish they weren't in, they may have a job but not a career. If you find something that you are enjoy or think you would enjoy do it. Finding something in life that has purpose is important for a happy life.

I have found in life that some things are worth going for, life can be a tough one. Studying is one of those things that one needs to learn to do for example. If you have found it hard to focus on things in life or have had to many distractions to study towards a dream career throw away all the frustration and do it anyway, set time aside for yourself and put your mind to it, anyone is capable of success.

For those out there who need that little bit of extra motivation I will tell you: YOU CAN DO IT. Throw away those things in your life that are a little bit depressing and a little bit unhealthy and make your life so much better!

Life is great and you can be too! Look to the skies and rise high, you can keep flying and not have to come down.

Respect and Understanding

There are some people in the world who apply labels to others and judge people for doing things. They associate people with certain groups and think themselves in a place that is right to judge. I have been judged and judged again but do people understand others? Do they really know themselves?

I have come across people who aren't really their own person, they go through life thinking they are in control, stating what they believe in but they themselves are being controlled by others. They can't make their own decisions they listen to others and some of those others do things they state they themselves would never do. They are oblivious to the fact that they should be accepting these people as friends but not as advisors.

People should have respect and understanding for others but they should try and understand the person they are dealing with, instead of taking advice from them when they are incapable of providing well formed advice on what you are asking.

People ared strange beings, avoid forming strong relationships with those who cannot get through life on their own.