i, human
This blog is about me, what I think, and how I see things. I make no apologies and have no regrets for anything I say here because it is actually pretty uplifting stuff. More times than not, I talk about love and peace and harmony and how important are those things to the evolution of our species. I will always prefer to remind people about the innate goodness within themselves because that is always what is overlooked or forgotten yet what is most extraordinary and powerful.
Self-esteem can be terribly inspiring, and when one is inspired to believe that one is capable of greatness above and beyond that which was initially believed, then one is likely to feel pretty good about one’s self and more capable of doing the same for others. That has been this one’s experience every time and it never stops feeling good to help another person feel good about themselves.
Try it sometime. When you are feeling truly confident about it, identify and communicate to someone how helpful they have been. Discover and tell an overworked professional that they may be undervalued but are secretly supported by you and many others. Realize and say to the colleague who least expects it that their work is often overlooked but nonetheless appreciated by many and that it’s important for them to know that.
Be sincere. Be honest. Just about everyone has felt that they have worked harder than was recognized at one time or another, so let that someone know that you understand that and that now is a good time to remember that. That doesn’t mean you go bouncing around like some rose colored contact-wearing college student. You must first realize that your appreciation is genuine; so you must empathize with intelligent deliberation. Only then will your words carry the water that quenches the thirsty soul.
Don’t assume that everyone is strong enough to carry the weight of the world all the time. Speak and be heard. Let your message be the voice that lifts the hearts and minds of others. Many carry the weight of the world so return to them their strength to do that. Remind people of their credible worth, dignity and value. You may start something that reverberates back to you. You may also experience your overlooked and underappreciated humanity.
theory of relativity
I was reading a June 5, 2006 New York Times article by John F. Burns about a horrible archaeological find in Iraq. The find was a mass grave from the days of Saddam Hussein. The report gave a rather vivid description of how the victims were filed into the grave to be shot so please do not read further if this kind of thing offends you in any way. Here is an excerpt of particular interest:
The end would have come quickly, the forensic experts said, victims stumbling out of the vehicle, herded into the pit, then pushed forward into a shallow cut not much wider or longer than a stretch limousine. At the last moment, judging by the pile of bodies, the victims surged backward, perhaps in terror at the sound of rifles being readied for fire.
Apart from my cynical opinion that this article is printed at a time when stories of Saddam’s atrocities would help raise public support for the war back in the States, I find the article uniquely American for 2 reasons. The first reason is that it is especially descriptive. The violence is described with the horrific detail that only Americans can enthusiastically provide. The second reason pertains to the excerpt above, particularly in the comparison made to the size of the pit in which the victims were sent into to be executed. The people were moved into an area “not much wider or longer than a stretch limousine.” As an American I can understand this but I wonder how many people outside of New York and the U.S. understand that comparison.
Maybe it’s best that the New York Times isn’t read here in China. A subscription would cost most people a month’s salary.
the sound of music
I recently emailed my sister saying that I could understand why music really means a lot to her. Like many people, she was listening to an old favorite of hers and the music triggered memories of here life. She said that those songs pulled her through some difficult times in her life and I agreed to having the same experience. Music can inspire and motivate, but how and why? Music triggers strong emotional responses in my sister, me and many other people, and I find that intriguing.
So I told my sister that’s the beautiful thing about others, their gifts can help us when we don’t even know it, in ways we may not understand. Sometimes in ways that are physically stimulating. Consider the way we hear:
1 Sound waves are collected by the outer ear and are funneled through the ear canal to the eardrum.
2 Sound waves cause the eardrum to vibrate. The tiny bones of the middle ear transmit and amplify the vibrations to the oval window of the inner ear.
3 Fluid in the inner ear stimulates nerve endings called hair cells.
4 Electrical impulses are sent from the hair cells along the auditory nerve to the brain.
Sound waves are actually transferred into nerve impulses! I would say that music is popular for that reason alone but the other senses also rely on the nervous system for transmitting information to the brain. The visual arts stimulate the eye and other things stimulate our sense of smell, touch and taste and that affects people emotionally too. For example, what does the smell of traditional Polish food do for someone raised in a home with a loving Polish mother, or why are road signs with important messages painted in reflective orange or yellow? Can you think of sensations that also elicit a response as powerful as the tearful response one may have from Chopin or Mozart? Have you ever seen or smelled something so repulsive that you feel nauseous? Would the gooey sensation of raw eggs make you vomit if you tried to eat them?
But sound and the sense of hearing are probably more strongly connected to the brain as a means of communication, so maybe it relates to a larger area of brain real estate than other senses and therefore music “means so much to us”. How much of the brain is used for language, which relies heavily on audible sensation? Add to that the meaning we place on words and the areas of the brain used for memory and interpretation of that language. When I first saw Chinese singers singing passionately I felt embarrassed for them because it didn’t make any sense to me, yet here were these people singing passionately and with great emotion because of the meaning placed on the arbitrary sounds of their native language. Those arbitrary sounds and their meanings can come from anywhere in the world and be as profound and moving. Undoubtedly those sounds and that music will inspire many, as Prince inspired my sister or Bowie inspired me or (musician’s name here) inspires (person’s name here).