I Like Karen's Blog!

Hi Karen,
Did you read my blog about "Reading..." ?  If you did, you'd know why I LIKE YOUR BLOG!!  Your self title says that you a 

Care Bear Karen!

This title alone tells me a lot about you.  It makes me want to read your blogs.  That you are caring person, right? What does a bear do best?  (besides sleeping all winter and eat honey)...They give really, really big hugs! ;)  Right off the bat, I can sort of imagine the tone of voice that you'd have when writing your blog.  I was right, when I read your blog, you sounded like a very calm, loving and caring person, just as the title says you are.  ;) 

 

RELIGION HAS NO NAME

I DONT MEAN TO TEASE/MAKE FUN OF THOSE WHOSE RELIGIOUS BELIEF SHAPE THEIR LIFE.  THIS ONLY PERTAINS TO A FEW INDIVIDUALS (THAT I'VE ENCOUNTERED) WHOSE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS HINDERS THEIR ABILITIES TO BE OPEN MINDED....

I was taught that if I didn't go to church every Sunday, I'd go to hell, so I went ... Turning point was when I went to college.......
.........Living on my own, with my friends, away from my parents, I started to see and  recognized diversity.  I stopped practicing Catholicism blindedly...that is...going to church on Sundays to avoid hell, believing that GOD's only name is JESUS; convinced that people who practice other religions are wrong....I left all of that behind me.  I started to get to know other religions, such as Budhism, Hoa Hao, etc...I discovered that the common theme among ALL RELIGION is  TO LOVE OTHERS AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF.  From this, I take a little bit from each religion that I learn and incorporate them into my life.  I went to Budhist temples and pay respect to Budhist, I also continued to go to Church to worship and and attend mass.  This time around, I went to church because I wanted to be there, not because I was scared to go to hell.  My parents thought that I was "lost" and needed to be "saved".   I DIDN'T MIND BEING "LOST".  Only when I am lost that I will be found.  If I acted as if I was saved already and not lost,  NO ONE WILL FIND ME AND TRY TO SAVE ME.


It amuses me when someone claim that his/her life is COMPLETE because he/she FOUND GOD.  As if he/she can sit back, relax, enjoy the company of God and watch others rot in hell because they didn't find GOD.  Trust me, if GOD ever made HIS/HER presence (God is not necessarily a male, remember?), you woudn't know!!! It's only the beginning my dear, keep working at it.   GOD can be quiet and sneaky like a thief, or loud and scary like a storm,  and takes many form, he is buddhist, Jesus, Alah.  He is also that punk who stole your bike when you were a kid, the bully at school who called you fat, the teacher who didn't like you that much, the homeless around the corner, the ex-boyfriend that dumped you, the police who  gave you a ticket for speeding....GOD IS EVERYWHERE, EVERYONE, EVERYTHING, AND NOTHING AT ALL.  So when you put down others simply because they don't believe the same God as you do, or they don't believe in God at all, you are putting down the very own God that you claim to worship.

"MY religion, YOUR religion"....There is no such thing! Religion is not owned, mortgaged, or brought.  It's not physical!  Have you seen your religion with your own eyes?  Is it pink? red? blue? fat? skinny? shiny? stink? long? short? does it make a great pet? Is it on sale?  How is it compared to your neighbor's religion.  "My religion makes me a better person, it teaches me...yadiyadiya...." It doesn't it teach you anything, if anything, it scares you more than it teaches.  Are you being a good person because you want to be good? Or are you scared of being punished by your religion, by your God? 

GOD, whatever HIS/HER name may be, do not need mortals like us to advertise HIS/HER name.  HE/SHE will not decline in value due to lack of marketability.  That is why I am not too happy with those who advertise their God's name for the sake of bring others into their "Religion".  Religion is not what teaches us right from wrong.  Pure life experiences teach us right from wrong.  Religion is kind of like an immune system, it produces antibodies against other antigens by causing fever and other inflammatory effects when they come in contact with other antigens.  The only ways that antibodies will not cause fever and inflammatory effects is if you expose yourself to other religions (antigens) so that your body will be neutral, respectful, indifference, when other religions (antigens) are around.

Given the chance to give my child only one quality....

....I'd choose WISDOM so that he can handle the his life circumstances, treat people, and consider the things and events that takes place around him with a deep understanding how people nature interacts.  I would like for my child to use his wisdom, or insights to create, maintain, and promote balance and happiness in his relationships.  This way, he doesn't act or react to things/people prematurely.  Wisdom will enable my child to not be shallow and judge others with.  Wisdom will ensure that my child will develop respectful manners and have regards for others BECAUSE he acknowledges the different characteristics of others.  He will be able to use reasons based on his knowledge to determine his actions.  If he is full of wisdom, he will live his life with hopes, happiness, and appreciate people and things for the way they are.

Three people whose life has improved ( a little bit) since they've met me...

               Yesterday, after lunch with my son, I bought a meal to go so that we could eat it for dinner.  As I stepped out of the restaurant, a homeless man approached us and said "anything will help".  Instead of reaching into my wallet for change, I told my son to give him our dinner.  My son "E" hesitated a little bit, but I told him that the old man is hungry and that he needs food.  He then happily handed the homeless man with our dinner.  The old man's eyes lit up.  He was happy, I felt content, and my son couldn't stop talking about it on the way home.  So yeah, that's one life I've touched, and possibly "improved" a little.
                    This morning, I went to Ross to buy some boots for the winter.  A pair of black boots caught my eyes.  As I reached my hand out to grab the boots, a little girl also went for the same pair.  I was taller than she was, so I grabbed them first.  She went running to her mom saying something in Spanish.  She was probably telling on me.  Hahaha...I started to feel a little competitive.  It kinda felt like Black Friday's shopping where everyone's fighting for the same discounted item.  I admit it:  I could care less if that little girl cried 'cause she didn't get her boots.  As I was trying on my boots, she did cry!!!  I thought "$$$%%^$%$ little girl, get over it...look for another pair, they wouldn't fit you anyways.  Spoiled little brat...$%$$%$%".   Yeah..you guessed it, in the end, I put boots back pretending as if I didn't want them so she could get them instead.  Only because she was crying a river.  By giving up the boots for the girl, I think I helped improved the little girl's mom's day because her mom felt relieved when she got the shoes.  You welcome!!
                       I'm not a picky eater.  My husband is a picky eater.  When we first met, he'd rather stay hungry instead of eating anything random.  As for me, if it's edible, I'd eat it and call it a meal.  Whenever we attended a party, if he doesn't like the food, he'd stay hungry.  After living with me for a while, he started to explore different foods and appreciated the different cooking styles.  Now, he's much easier to cater to.  I KNOW his life has improved because of this.  He DOESN'T think that I should take all the credit for it, but he will one day ;)  Thanks to me he doesn't have to stay hungry at parties! ;)

What does death teach us about life?

Death reminds us that life is precious, but temporary.  Death also teaches us that life is an unending cycle of beginnings and ends intertwining with one another.  At the very point of life right before it is terminated, death has already taken over.  While before life starts, death has already begun. 
Death is a gift to man that the Gods are not fortunate enough to take part in.  I think that it is boring and pointless to live one's life knowing that death will never come.  I think that if the Gods can wish for one, they'd wish for mortality, so that at the end of their life, they can experience death, and possibly become something new again.  The reason why death is "scary" and hard to accept is because it is the only thing in our life that we cannot control, postpone, or predict.  What we are not certain of, we are afraid of because we cannot control it.  Again, because death is certain, yet uncertain at the same time is what makes life worth living, worth striving, and worth experiencing more than ever.  Many of us find it difficult to accept that fact that EACH and EVERYONE of us WILL DIE one day, some before others.  But how many of us really want to LIVE FOREVER?  How boring is life if there is no ending to it?  It's like studying for an exam that will never come, or reading a book that never ends...Sooner or later, we will find such tasks meaningless because there is no end point.  Will we still have the same motivations to go about our days, sustain our strengths and boost our weaknesses if we know that our life will never end?  Probably not.

If I could take home an animal from the zoo.......

I'd probably take home a baby monkey.  I think that they are hilarious.  Monkeys are the most clever and fun animals to be around.  I'd teach him tricks all day.  I'd mimic his behaviors and study his reactions to see if he find himself entertained that someone mimics him.  The reason why I'd pick a monkey to bring home with me is because when I was younger, I used to walk home from school with some other children in the neighborhood.  We'd usually stopped by this one lady's house to feed her monkey before heading home.  As children, we didn't know how to properly handle monkey, so we teased the monkey a lot before actually feeding him the bananas.  One day, when we stopped by after school to visit the monkey, the owner said that they monkey died because of some viral infection.  I cried so much on the way home.  I was so sad because I didn't get to see him again.  From that time on, I've always been fascinated with monkey.  I'd love to watch the animals featured on the Discovery Channel, especially when they show monkeys.  Until this day, I still miss that monkey and if I could, I'd own one.  Oh yeah, I have a monkey stuff animal that I love because he looks soooooo cute ;) I even have a name for him....Sorry, can't release his name ;) (smile)

Can Money Buy Happiness?

Nope!  That's why my goals and achievements are not tied to the amount of money that I have, or that I desire to have.  Not only that money cannot buy happiness, it can take away someone's happiness and leave that person with nothing, except money, but what is that money worth if it's simply just a whole bunch of bills. 
Yes, there are times when I see celebrities living in their big mansion, wear designer clothes, and living their lavish life because they have a lot of money, but it does not mean that they are happy.   I'd rather live a modest life with a companion who I can share meager and simple meals with, rather than having a lot of money and live in a big mansion all by myself.  I often sorry for materialistic people who mask their loneliness with sparkling jewelry and expensive cars.  As a child growing up, I lived in a thatched house, eat only two times a day with no snacks in between.  I played in the sand, climbed trees, chased the goose, and fish by the river as a way to entertain ourselves because we didn't have any toys.  Looking back, those were the happiest times of my life.  And money didn't even play a part in creating beautiful, happy memories...So again, no, money cannot buy happiness ;)