Early Propaganda

As most of you know, “Being Noble” comes from a comparison to the 'upper classes.' It seems that from Medieval to Victorian ages, the common masses were told that to behave 'nobly' was ethical and proper, but was it? With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, we can see that the kings & others of their ilk tended to act like they were on Dallas. They exploited, tortured, and in-bred more frequently than their matrimonial vows allowed (not to mention serving girls & peasants). Giving 'Nobility' a moral superiority is as much of a propaganda trick as the Pharaoh's calling themselves the sons of gods, or the Persian kings calling the,selves the sons of gods, or the Asian Emperors calling themselves the sons of the Dragon gods (coincidence?).

But like Richard Prior did with the other “N-Word,” we've taken it from those who originally used it to bend to out purposes. Question is, how do we apply Nobility to our lives? I'm fortunate to live in a smaller city where people aren't as jaded by traffic and overall crowding, so I get to see random acts of senseless kindness from time to time. Working in retail, I see no shortage of dinks, but there's plenty of people who will let someone ahead of them in line if they have a really small order (I see this about once a week). There was also one instance where a woman's bank card wouldn't work, but when she left to call her bank, the rest of the line-up passed the hat and paid for her order ($400+), on the condition that their names weren't shared with the woman – now THAT'S noble! (I pray that they remember that when they reap what they've sown)

That extreme act is east to remember, but it isn't every day. What is every day though is what's going to make the world a better place. If I make eye-contact with someone, I smile & say hello (then often complain about the weather; an Ontario tradition). Often, the small daily acts are what take someone's teetering mood, and tips it from tears to laughter. Sometimes it seems that the world is getting more cold & brutal, but a closer look will show people rebelling against this, and share encouragement and light – the Blogging community has shown this over and over! Give yourselves a pat on the back, people!

The Universal Language

So far, I've either been trying to write about things that I've long-wanted to write about, and took this Challenge as an excuse, or I've tried to write about what I was sure no one else would write about. Today, though I haven't checked yet, I'm confident that others will have written about Music.

It's one of the few topics that's truly universal. Years ago, I say a Discovery Channel special (Daily Planet, featuring Canadian band The Tea Party) that said that every culture, from Empires to isolated tribes had some form of music – no exceptions. I shouldn't have been surprised, but I hadn't thought of it.

This special also said that the only purpose that music served was community-building. I guess
While High School subcultures are often defined by their musical genres, you don't have to dig much deeper to see the effects music has on people.

While words spoken or written can speak to a persons spirit, they must pass through the mind first, and often don't get past the mental comprehension. Music will by-pass the mind, and go straight to the emotional and spiritual parts of a person. It will also impact your body in ways that words just can't – do you have a song that you can't help but move to? (I can't sit still if I hear Rag Doll by Aerosmith.)

I was fortunate to be in High School from '88 to '92. By then, MTV and it's Canadian version Much Music were well-established, and were, due to their random-ish play lists, cross-pollinating the musical genres. It wasn't a big deal for someone to listen to Guns N' Roses, Beastie Boys and Prince. (I still listen to all 3), so I don't feel limited, and rarely write-off an album out of hand based on the style.

So who's your favorite? (Since there's some Christians reading, is Rich Mullins still remembered?) What song keeps you from sitting still?

Little Banff

Again, I'm rushing to get something up for the Alphabet Challenge. The odd thing is, I wasn't at work yesterday, but I can hardly call it a 'Day Off.' We checked out a couple Daycare's, and believe we've found the one for us! The first one we visited seemed to be someone new to the game; when we asked about security latch's for drawers & cupboards, she said “I could get them...” First Aid? “I could renew it...” To be fair, the kids that were there seemed to be well-adjusted and in good spirits, so I'm sure she's doing a fine job. The second one has First Aid (as did her 14-year-old daughter), fourteen years experience (Coincidence? Not really) and had take-home sheets for every day stating what the child ate, their mood, how much play time they had, health issues & evacuations (a polite term for a poop-journal). We were duly impressed, and had agreed on her before we left her driveway. I said “if she'd offered me a coffee, I'd have wrote a check on the spot.” Then we had dinner with a friend & her parents, which dove-tails nicely into “L.”

These friends own & operate an RV park called Little Banff. It's such a charming place with about 50 trailers, one functioning cabin, and water-front to a shallow lake that warms-up easily! When Andrea & I take time off for our anniversary in July, we always spend a few nights in one of their rental trailers, and it's always a good time. The owners were both in our wedding party, and are some of our dearest friends.

Last night, we had dinner with them, and it was the first time since early March that we were able to sit & visit. The park's still closed for the season, so it was pretty quiet, but when it's in full-swing, it's a very social atmosphere. There are plenty of long-term renters, but they always make new-comers feel welcome. We've always felt welcome to join a conversation, or take a seat by someone's fire. Of course, we usually bring the dog, so he's a natural conversation-starter! And he's really sociable with anybody.

Also note-worthy, Calli didn't get too stormy last night! The last few times we went to visit family, she'd get cranky, and made-strange with the men present. Last night, she was fine with the other 2 men present, and made it to almost 9 before her fatigue caught-up with her. YAY, PROGRESS!!

Before I sign-off, I want to give a heart-felt thanks to all of you who have been by to read & comment! Without your input, I doubt I'd have the motivation to keep this up! You ROCK!

Just Kidding

Again, I have the chance to write about something that I'd have a hard time fitting into another context.“Just Kidding.”

I don't think that those two words should ever be coupled. Perhaps, because I like my humor on the drier side, and this sounds like the equivalent of a laugh track. If you need to tell someone that you just made a joke, you probably didn't do it right. Of course, I've had to do that when I've either been too dry, or too obscure. I hadn't done it right.

The use of this phrase that really bugs me is when someone's dodging responsibility. For example, say someone says something really racist, then when you call them on their bullshit; “Oh, I was just kidding!” Grow up! Are you nine?

It seems that I've said all I've got to say on the topic pretty quickly. Well, off to the dictionary then. It seems that my dictionary is upstairs. Thesaurus will do the trick.

Knob? Known a few of those.
Kook? Known some of those too, and they're a lot more fun.
Kismet: chance, destiny, providence. Didn't know that.
Kinky? Haven't known much of that, so I'm far-from-qualified to discuss that. Besides, it's not that kind of Blog

Alright, enough wanking, Have a great day, and I'll try to have tomorrow's post planned better!

Jealousy

For “J,” I had an idea that I wasn't entirely comfortable with, but once it lodged it self in my mind, it just wouldn't allow another idea to take hold. So, I'll write of my old nemesis, Jealousy.

As most people know, jealousy is the fruit of insecurity, which we all have to varying degrees. Mine also came from childhood conditioning, and an unfaithful girlfriend when I was 16. (the guy was actually pleasuring her while I was on the phone with her. I don't have the words...) It showed itself several times when Andrea & I were early in our relationship, and when we were planning our wedding, she said that some of her friends may want to see strippers. I lost my cool, and said some pretty ugly things.

It was all but purged two summers ago. There was something I was uncomfortable with, and after about three days of stewing on it, I asked her about it. Her response was so sincere, I instantly saw how silly I had been. She offered to close her Facebook account (to avoid contact with the subject of my bilious feelings), and give me her email password. That put the whole thing in context, and since, my jealousy has been held pretty firmly in check. It has been invaluable to be with a woman who I can be totally honest and open with. It also helps that we're good at laughing at each other, so neither of us are taking ourselves too seriously.

Part of my problem came from my misunderstanding of the Club Scene. I've always been more of a metal/rock fan, so from the outside looking in, clubs look like a pheromone cult/meat market. (Thanks to Slipknot for the term “Pheromone Cult”) I didn't understand that people often go there to just dance and have a good time.

That was a difficult thing to learn, and I'm very grateful to have a woman who was so patient with me – Thanks Baby!

Initiation

I'm a little late getting this up today, which may seem odd since I have today off, but when I up until now, most of my posts were written before their post-date. “F” could have been for Foresight, but ya'll seemed to enjoy the baby pictures, with a record-breaking 11 comments – thank you all so much!

“I” gives me an excuse to write about something I had a hard time fitting into another context; Initiation. I have a keen interest in the Mystery School traditions, though I belong to none. All of these are marked by degrees of initiation, whereby a candidate studies up to a point, then moves on to the next 'level.' The best illustration has long-outgrown it's mystery; martial arts. As many of you know, a student begins with a white belt, and learns a first how to stand. If someone doesn't know how to be stable, and not easily knocked-down, nothing else matters. You can be precise enough to kick the screws out of someone's glasses, but if you're easily shoved onto your glutinous maximus, you've missed the point. Then you learn your punches & blocks, and graduate to more complex moves. Incidentally, did you know that historically, martial artists weren't awarded colored belts? They just kept the same belt throughout their careers, so an experienced warrior would have a very worn & stained belt. The more seasoned the Master, the blacker the belt. There, you've learned your New Thing for the day, and now you can coast. Your welcome.

This is how I view children. First, Calli had to be Initiated from the womb, and had to promptly learn to breath air. Slightly less urgent was the need to be initiated to bottle feeding, no more free rides through the umbilical cord! The journey is to independence, and their first day on earth, people get rapidly thrust in that direction!

And so it goes to solid foods, walking to cycling to driving (opening up a much larger world to them, as initiation is meant to!), from mom, to Mom & Dad, then Grandma's & Grandpa's, and Aunts & Uncles, then family friends and their children. By degrees, the world opens up to them, and if we, as parents, do our jobs right, she'll be as equipped as possible to face each new level of her time here. So easy to still be idealistic when she' barely 7 months old ;p

As parents, we've been gradually broken-in as well – for weeks, all she did was sleep, eat & poop, but initiations are often trials; we had to get through a lot of sleepless nights to keep our little miracle alive! And initially, she'll pretty much stay where we put her. Now we have to worry about her rolling off the change-table. Soon, we'll have to look from room to room to see where she's wandered off to. Then it'll seem like mere months before she's broken curfew, and we need to comb the streets and call her friend's parents to find her. eep. I think I'll go and make some silly sounds at her, and appreciate that she's still looking at my like I'm the only man in Creation.

Harmony on Inner and Outer

“H” is another letter I've had to struggle with. I's called a “Challenge” for a reason....
The first thing that comes to mind is from the book my wife is reading: “The Law of Attraction” by Jerry and Ester HICKS. If you're so inclined to read their books, space them out. They can be pretty redundant if you read more than one in a row. Here's the gist of it: as I wrote on my “E” post, everything is made of really slow energy. Our thoughts determine the frequency of the energy we consist of, and therefore, transmit & attract.

The people and incidents we encounter throughout the day are in HARMONY with the thoughts and, perhaps more importantly, the mood we experience. Is it true? That's really too big a question for this lad, but it would answer a lot of nagging question, not the least of which being Karma/Reaping what you Sow. As with any soft science (a discipline with more theories than laws), there are a plethora of counter-explanations for every theory proposed. What I do know is that believing this can make one more aware of their thoughts, and more deliberate with their mental focus, and days after speaking to my wife about focusing on content for my Blog, I was approached with this alphabet challenge.

Something else we've been doing with this theory is to focus on what kind of HOUSE and HOME we want. We want a home where can entertain regularly, because friends are important. We also want a space for four children, and a personal library (we're off to a good start on both counts;) ). I'd also like a home recording studio, 'cause sonic creations are just fun! And horses, several horses.

Give it a try, seeing your life as you'd like to live it, doing the work you love, and coming home to a place that makes you go “Oh, Yeah!”