By M. Brandon DeGeorge
It's the symbol for life and fertility in ancient Egypt, and also something I've been a little obsessed with, lately. I think I might get a tatoo of it on my shoulder. Well...perhaps, that is. It is nice to dream....and it is also nice to do. You should never rule out anything just because someone *else* says it's no good. They're not you, and don't necessairly know what is good for you. Of course, we're talking about things like tatoos, and not large doses of radiation. Listen to science, not society.
Anyway, Ankh has had alot of meaning for me lately, because it is the symbol of the thing I am most happy to be celebrating; life...the joy of living. It really is fun to be living, or at least people should look at it that way. Why the heck do our bodies perform these chemical reactions to form what is called life? I'm not really sure, and neither our our scientists. This is exciting stuff, to be on the verge of discovery of an answer, which might just end up being what Rene Descartes said several centuries ago; I think, therefore, I am.
WHERE IS IT?
Remember, every new day that happens has never been done before. Yes, I know, the some of us that work everyday, 9 to 5, think that everyday is the same. Perhaps this is true, but did it ever occur to you that life is not about working 9 to 5? That life isn't about going to school, getting a job and getting married, then your life is over, until 65, when you can retire, and wait until you die? What happened to the part where you're supposed to be alive?
Maybe this is a little extreme, but society puts these restraints on us. We *must* work, we *must* get married, we *must* conform, because to be any other way is unacceptable to society at large. Now, I don't know about you, but for me...that's a scary thought.
GET UP, STAND UP
I don't want to get caught up in what society thinks I should do with my life. (Uh oh...now you're thinking...a non conformist). The world is such a wonderful place, everyone should experience as much of it as they can. Everyone should try, do, taste, smell, experience as much as possible with all the senses available to you. This should be a completely positive experience for everyone. Knlowledge is power, and everyone should feel so empowered.
I'm not saying drop everything you're doing, right now, and go live in agrass hut in the middle of the Serengeti. You can, of course, as a starting spot. Discovery doesn't have to start anywhere...is where you take it that matters. The most important thing to do, is to open your senses...wide...really wide. See everything, hear everything that's going on in the world around you. Ask questions of people you don't know. Learn about them, and who they are, why they are the way they are.
We are both blessed and cursed in America. There are many, many different cultures here, in America, so discovery comes easier, as long as you don't hide in your house. Or if you do...at least surf the net.
The more we learn, the more we understand, the better we become, the better our world becomes.