tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79424512162869217662024-03-14T04:55:34.395+00:00My Thinkin' BlogGeri O'Harahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17291449078420767626noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942451216286921766.post-62932457953554213262012-03-02T13:34:00.001+00:002012-03-02T13:34:06.783+00:00Give Someone a Hug Today<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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For a long time I was dealing with a difficult and stressful situation. In itself I would say it was depressing although I would not have considered myself as being depressed. I was just trying to cope the best way I could given the circumstances of my life and there may have been times that I was a difficult person to deal with. Actually, I can hold my hand up and say I was probably a bit of a nightmare at times.<br />
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There are times when all you can deal with is what is in front of you. I know that I developed a sort of tunnel vision really only able to deal with the situation that was my life. People couldn't get my attention about anything else and if they happened to for a short while they just couldn't hold it. I was just too deeply entrenched in all the hurt and the difficulties that made up my life. Sometimes I used to think "All I need is a hug to dissolve into to get me through today."<br />
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Times have changed my life has changed the stress has eased up, many of the difficulties are not exactly resolved but now I have time to pay attention to other things in the world besides the problems that make up my daily life. Thinking about my life I consider that I lived my life like a clock that was wound up too tight, the coils stuck together the clock stopped and it was stuck in a moment that went on and on and on.<br />
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Now I have time to pay attention to the world outside my window but have a certain ambivalence towards it and I find myself wondering "Now when my life has changed so dramatically, am I depressed"?<br />
If you know someone who is stuck in a moment...Go on Give them a hug. <br />
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1370682757">Minding your head</a><br />
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</script></div>Geri O'Harahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17291449078420767626noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942451216286921766.post-18930297788974399652011-10-15T14:40:00.000+01:002011-10-15T14:40:13.564+01:00A Charmed Life<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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On the face of it you could say I live a charmed life. There are not many people who can spend the afternoon mucking about down at the shore with their wee dog. Walloping about the rock pools, looking at the different types of seaweed...feeling their texture ugh, wondering about some of the funny shaped pepples and rocks...Watching the birds ... while having an internal dialogue with yourself about the futility of human existence.<br />
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Mid week or any time I can't say as I know many people who would have the time or even the inclination to wallop about the shore. I think perhaps I have slipped back into my childhood. That time when life was charmed.<br />
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</script></div>Geri O'Harahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17291449078420767626noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942451216286921766.post-34808977547053969312011-09-13T00:16:00.000+01:002011-09-13T00:16:27.815+01:00Life Passed<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Life holds us in high esteem<br />
It <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD7">offers</span> us a chance <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD2">to dream</span><br />
When young and strong, when<br />
Boundless hopes are high<br />
We reach, we strive to touch the sky.<br />
Unstoppable, our youth is want<br />
To make us stupid and arrogant.<br />
But, then our time has passed<br />
And we look back in woe<br />
Did we live our <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD3">dreams</span>, hit the heights? Ohh no.<br />
Life passed as we ‘got on with it’ it seems<br />
Life passed, and so did pass our dreams.<div style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br />
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</script></div>Geri O'Harahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17291449078420767626noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942451216286921766.post-60556080616810103792011-09-11T10:46:00.000+01:002011-09-11T10:46:04.278+01:00Man Falling<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">In a few seconds<br />
You’d lost your name.<br />
In ten, your life.<br />
Ten seconds… slowed<br />
For eternity<br />
For all the world to see.<br />
We turned away.<br />
In shock and grief.<br />
We could not take<br />
The starkness of<br />
The sight<br />
Of you falling<br />
One among many (that day).<br />
Some turned to faith<br />
Some only saw<br />
Man’s naked cruelty<br />
To man.<br />
And in distress<br />
Turned right away.<br />
Turned right away.<br />
Tomorrow and the<br />
Next day and…<br />
No matter how<br />
Much time will pass.<br />
I will never <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD2">forget</span><br />
The man falling.<br />
The world changing.<div style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><br />
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I believe that you rarely get what you want out of life, you rarely end up where you imagine that you should. I believe that your journey through life - often difficult and heartbreaking is never what you imagine. The path you take is often far from how you imagine your life should progress. It is at times surprising, possibly shocking sometimes distressing. You often grab the joy when you can - store the happy memories for darker times and as your story unfolds you have a notion that you never really had any control ... that is disconcerting because we are taught from an early age about things such as free will and choice..So surely we should have not just the appearance of control in our lives but some sort of control in how our lives turn out?<br />
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Some people cannot be happy - they can't let themselves be because they cannot - or did not get the things that they want in life.<br />
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I believe that it is no bad thing to recognise that life did not turn out as you wanted it to, but you should look at what you have...At what your life ammounts to - recognise the good things that you have in your life and give them the value that they deserve. Having little appreciation for what you already have in life and hankering after what you do not have will leave you very unhappy. It will also make the people who are significant in your real life - not your imagined life...extremely unhappy.<br />
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</div>Geri O'Harahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17291449078420767626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942451216286921766.post-86245186273812434032011-08-30T23:16:00.001+01:002011-08-30T23:22:12.989+01:00The 'F' Word<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><h1 class="single_quote"><span style="font-size: small;">"Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea until he has something to forgive."</span> <span style="font-size: small;"><b>C.S. Lewis</b></span></h1><h1 class="single_quote"> <span style="font-size: small;">The concept of forgiveness is bound up with the idea of healing and with one person asking for forgiveness, or expressing their sorrow for some wrong they committed against another and the other person forgiving them. </span></h1><h1 class="single_quote"><span style="font-size: small;">Some believe the purist form of forgiveness is the sort that is not asked for. Think of the story of the prodical son ...there is no mention of forgiveness - the father just rejoices that he has his son back and throws a party.</span></h1><h1 class="single_quote"><span class="body"><span style="font-size: small;"> The bible has an abundance of instructions on loving your enemies and forgiving your tresspassers. " </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you," Mathew 6:14 </span></h1><h1 class="single_quote"><span style="font-size: small;">Oscar Wilde's quote </span><span class="body"><span style="font-size: small;">"Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much." has a cynical and ironic twist with an element of truth in it. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></h1><h1 class="single_quote"><span class="body"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></h1><h1 class="single_quote"><span class="body"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></h1><h1 class="single_quote"><span style="font-size: small;">John F Kennedy's quote "Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names." is I believe probably a wise and a cautious approach especially if you are a politician although when you look at history this notion probably did not help JFK much. </span></h1><h1 class="single_quote"><span style="font-size: small;">Another theory of forgiveness is that we cannot say we have truly forgiven unless we can forget, totally... and start again with a clean slate, leaving the past in the past. This idea is a 'big ask' and some people would argue that only people who are either deeply spiritual or very naive would have the courage to be able to do this. The thing about the past is that it is there for us to learn from so it would be very naive to ignore any lessons that we may learn from it; lessons about ourselves and the people that we interact with - ignoring what happened in the past may not be the most sensible thing to do.</span></h1><h1 class="single_quote"><span style="font-size: small;">When you type 'forgiveness quotes' into the google search engine you will be rewarded with a myraid of quotes and countless ideas and advice about the need to find forgiveness in your heart when wronged. The importance of forgiveness, or the importance of finding the ability to forgive could not be lost on any of us. </span></h1><h1 class="single_quote"><span style="font-size: small;">The truth is that it is only by allowing ourselves to forgive that we will find peace of mind, that we will be able to put to rest wrongs (or perceived wrongs) against us. </span></h1><h1 style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">One other point to recognise is that often it is people who we love that we feel do us wrong - another reason why forgiveness is such an important concept.</span></h1><h1 style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></h1><h1 style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">“There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.” Bryant H Mc Gill.</span></h1><h1 class="single_quote"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></h1><h1 class="single_quote"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></h1><h1 class="single_quote"><br />
</h1></div><a href="http://www.copyscape.com/online-copyright-protection/"><img alt="Protected by Copyscape Online Copyright Protection" border="0" height="16" src="http://banners.copyscape.com/images/cs-wh-3d-234x16.gif" title="Protected by Copyscape Plagiarism Checker - Do not copy content from this page." width="234" /></a></div>Geri O'Harahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17291449078420767626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942451216286921766.post-73475632272348031072011-07-12T17:00:00.001+01:002011-07-13T00:06:11.112+01:00"Love Is Like A Kind Of Warfare."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Latin_Poet_Ovid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Latin_Poet_Ovid.jpg" width="170" /></a></div><br />
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.04065749173088651" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ovid said “Love is a kind of warfare” and maybe he was right. I do believe that love brings with it a kind of friction - it can be full of cares and fears. If your world is already knee deep with cares and fears you may not feel that you can ‘deal’ with the sort of friction that love will bring or the kind of pain that it leaves in its wake. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I see friction in some of the couples I know, with some of them it is that positive friction that comes with the passion they have for one another; with others it is a negative friction of trying to make themselves (and each other) believe that they still have that sort of love when they do not. Where love is concerned our hearts can be quite feeble and fickle. Something we tend to forget is that love rarely lasts forever. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Some people choose the comfort and contentment of their own solitude rather than the emotional turmoil of having to deal with the sort of friction that love brings. Most however will always want love to be in their lives and will actively look for it - and they will find it. Ovid also said “All love is vanquished by a succeeding love”. That, I definitely believe.</span><br />
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<div><a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" onclick="return addthis_sendto()" onmouseout="addthis_close()" onmouseover="return addthis_open(this, '', '[URL]', '[TITLE]')"><img alt="" border="0" height="16" src="http://s9.addthis.com/button1-addthis.gif" width="125" /></a><script src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/152/addthis_widget.js" type="text/javascript">
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</script>Geri O'Harahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17291449078420767626noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942451216286921766.post-82753610421321987852011-07-05T11:44:00.000+01:002011-07-05T11:44:10.415+01:00Rational And Irrational Thought - No Such Thing.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I read a report in The Inquisitr about Victoria Beckham going into hospital for a C Section. C. Sections are apparently fashionable among the rich and famous, they have a tummy tuck and some people claim there is no pain. Having had a C section I would take issue about this claim - it is a major operation!<br />
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Reading the responses to the article I believe that Victoria Beckham has chosen to have a C. Section which made me think how illogical people are. Choosing to have a major operation without any medical reason seems to me to be totally irrational. Which goes to show that there is no such thing as rational or irrational thought. There is just 'thought'. The craziest of thoughts can be argued as rational and reasonable - if that is what you truely want to believe. <br />
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</div>Geri O'Harahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17291449078420767626noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942451216286921766.post-39405486921119355642011-07-05T00:49:00.000+01:002011-07-05T00:54:08.434+01:00A little Trivia About The Declaration Of Independence<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
Some quite interesting trivia about the Declaration of Independence. Outside of America it was first published in the Belfast Newsletter on the 23rd of August, 1776. A copy of the document was being transported to London when bad weather forced the ship to port at Derry. The document was then carried on horseback to Belfast for the continuation of its voyage to England, where a copy was made for the Belfast newspaper.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Us_declaration_independence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Us_declaration_independence.jpg" width="269" /></a></div><br />
Eight of the fiftysix signatories on the document were of Ulster-Scots Presbyterian stock. They were John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress who had family ties in Co.Down; William Whipple, whose parents arrived in Maine from the North of Ireland in 1730; Robert Paine, his grandfather came from Dungannon; Thomas McKean (his father came from Ballymoney); Thomas Nelson, his grandfather came from Strabane; Matthew Thornton from Londonderry, he settled in New Hampshire in 1718; and George Taylor, son of an Ulster Presbyterian minister and Edward Rutledge, also a son of an Ulster Presbyterean family.<br />
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Well maybe it is not terribly interesting trivia ... unless you come from Ulster. <br />
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</div>Geri O'Harahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17291449078420767626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942451216286921766.post-87243604575047677092011-05-11T14:01:00.000+01:002011-05-11T14:01:45.469+01:00Do You Have A Soul Mate.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Do you have a soulmate? Is it the person you last see at night before you close your eyes to sleep - the person you see first thing that you wake up? Someone you have an affinity with, a connection so deep, and an understanding that is - simply spiritual...so simple and straightforward that sometimes words are unnecessary. You feel as though they know what you are thinking - sometimes before you are thinking it? When you met this person you felt as though you had known them forever - though you know nothing about them; and you cannot IMAGINE them not ever being in your life again. Do you have a person like that in your life?<br />
Plato's story of soulmates in 'The Symposium.' tells us that humans once had four arms and four legs and a single head made up with two faces. They could walk upright, both backwards and forwards and they could also go down on four arms and four feet tumbling along at a terrific pace when they wanted to run. "Terrible was their might and strength, and the thoughts of their heart were great" They attacked the Gods.<br />
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Rather than destroy them Zeus decided to separate them make each one two, doubling the population and making them weaker and humbling them. So that is why through life it is said that people are searching for their better half, their soul mate to make them whole once more. That is why people believe that out there somewhere there is someone who is right for them. Though I think when Zeus separated them he also scattered them. Some people never find their soul mates and maybe some don't even recognise each other.<br />
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The search made me think of the nature of individuality. Are my socks straining to lose each other to assert their own individuality? <br />
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I did not think "perhaps it is time for me to get more organised"<br />
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<div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div><a href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php" onclick="return addthis_sendto()" onmouseout="addthis_close()" onmouseover="return addthis_open(this, '', '[URL]', '[TITLE]')"><img alt="" border="0" height="16" src="http://s9.addthis.com/button1-addthis.gif" width="125" /></a><script src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/152/addthis_widget.js" type="text/javascript">
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<a href="http://www.copyscape.com/plagiarism-detection/"><img alt="Protected by Copyscape Plagiarism Detection" border="0" height="16" src="http://banners.copyscape.com/images/cs-wh-3d-234x16.gif" title="Protected by Copyscape Plagiarism Checker - Do not copy content from this page." width="234" /></a>Geri O'Harahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17291449078420767626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942451216286921766.post-87128433917982764462010-09-14T08:24:00.000+01:002010-09-14T08:24:08.149+01:00KnowledgeSome people believe that knowledge sets us free. Perhaps it gives us the means and the tools to better our situation in the world; but I do not believe that it frees us. Knowledge leaves us open to all sorts of foolishness and stupidity. There is a belief that progress (or scientific advancement) is our species driven destiny but for all the good that can come from scientific advancement; a better standard of living, a longer life span- there also comes the capacity to destroy and kill on a magnitude never before imagined. We only need to look at the modern world to see the evidence of this. If you think about how we have advanced as a species you could become fearful for the future.<br />
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Plato believed that the highest form of human activity was contemplation. There was once a time when being human was not so much about changing the world but seeing it. I mean by ’seeing it’ that there is a spiritual or metaphysical component to life that needs to be understood and explained. Plato believed that we learn in this life by remembering knowledge we acquired in a past life.<br />
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Kant believed we have ‘a priori’ intuition, this is a subjective form of knowledge something we are born with and ‘a posteriori’ knowledge of sense perceptions, what we learn through experience. There is a belief that the world could not exist without our minds to make sense and order of it. If you consider a person who has severe learning difficulties, whose minds cannot develop in the natural course of human existence. You can see that there may be something to this argument. – If you are looking at the world from a purely human centric point of view. The world to someone so profoundly disabled can never make sense –Depending on the disability, concepts such as love and empathy or even objective realities such as 2+2=4 can be meaningless. At most these people live in worlds that are dictated by intuitive emotions such as anxiety and fear. Does that mean then that the world does not exist because they lack understanding? Seasons still change, leaves change colour. Life is about more than the human species and there are more aspects to the human species than the average 5/8 or the odd extraordinary thinker. To say that “people come in all shapes and sizes” is a understatement. There is a broad spectrum that envelopes the reality of what it is to be human and if humanity were to be removed from this planet seasons would still change, leaves would change colour.Geri O'Harahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17291449078420767626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942451216286921766.post-59533619314879579532010-07-20T00:03:00.000+01:002010-07-21T15:46:49.359+01:00Apparition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1ghyTBIG-C4/TERYlU7LBFI/AAAAAAAAAnY/_9MJCqUUA3Q/s1600/Rainbow_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1ghyTBIG-C4/TERYlU7LBFI/AAAAAAAAAnY/_9MJCqUUA3Q/s320/Rainbow_02.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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What of people who appear briefly in a life; lives that clash and meld- (in the grand scheme of things)-momentarily. They are as falling stars or arcing rainbows trailing across the sky tapering off in wisps ending in no particular place.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1ghyTBIG-C4/TETY__9fD3I/AAAAAAAAAng/mrODUGf3T8E/s1600/600px-Meteor_burst.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1ghyTBIG-C4/TETY__9fD3I/AAAAAAAAAng/mrODUGf3T8E/s320/600px-Meteor_burst.jpg" /></a></div><br />
They are the bitter after taste of dark chocolate. Time passes and they become vague mixed up memories. If they had a lesson to teach, a story to tell or a role to play in that life, that moment has passed. They have slipped into the ether of another reality.<br />
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BUT WHAT, IF ANYTHING, IS LEFT?<br />
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<a href="http://www.copyscape.com/plagiarism-detection/"><img alt="Protected by Copyscape Web Plagiarism Detection" border="0" height="16" src="http://banners.copyscape.com/images/cs-wh-3d-234x16.gif" title="Protected by Copyscape Plagiarism Checker - Do not copy content from this page." width="234" /></a>Geri O'Harahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17291449078420767626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942451216286921766.post-27306007737877987492010-05-11T14:17:00.000+01:002012-03-01T00:07:25.724+00:00Love is :)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Love is like a stranger who comes Knocking at your door. Some people throw their door open wide; their light shines out like the energy of a sun, bright, blinding - they are the embodiment of optimism and enthusiasm. They are not fettered by inhibitions or fears but are awe inspiring by their brightness and their boldness.<br />
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Other people open their door, but not so wide. Their light is strong - it holds a promise. They are imbued with a sense of expectation and anticipation. Their light may not be blinding but it is still awe inspiring all the same.<br />
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And then there are the people who hear the knock at the door. Sitting at the kitchen table they dim their light as low as it will go - so as it won't be noticed. They do not want to be noticed, they have had their fill of strangers knocking at their door. Perhaps they have been consumed by fear, or disappointments. No matter what the reason their light does not shine forth either blindingly or strong with possibilities. It does however shine brightly for the people who they already know and allow in.<br />
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They have forgotten the wise words "<span style="font-family: georgia,bookman old style,palatino linotype,book antiqua,palatino,trebuchet ms,helvetica,garamond,sans-serif,arial,verdana,avante garde,century gothic,comic sans ms,times,times new roman,serif;">Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day." ~Quoted in <i>P.S. I Love You</i>, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.<br />
</span></div>Geri O'Harahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17291449078420767626noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942451216286921766.post-9627948944881196732010-03-04T16:14:00.000+00:002010-03-04T16:14:54.981+00:00The Aging PopulationDo you remember the first time some kid came up to you and said “Hey Missus do ya have the right time?” You almost looked around to see who they were talking to because you weren’t a ‘Missus’! You weren’t much older than them – and then you realised that they thought you looked old enough to be a ‘Missus’. Disconcerting does not even begin to describe that moment, suddenly and irreversibly you had joined the ranks of adulthood in someone else’s eyes and you felt a bit of a fraud because in your heart you still felt yourself a kid.<br />
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Back then, I was studying sociology. I was being taught about the demographics of population and the ageing population to be specific. The forecast for the future was that in twenty or thirty years there would be more old people in the United Kingdom than young people.<br />
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Blow me down if that time isn’t here already, and I still feel a bit of a fraud thinking I am going to grow up any day now. – Ageing is not just a physical thing it is a state of mind and and worth a look at the perceptions and the facts around the concept of ageing.<br />
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<a href="http://aworldofprogress.com/the-ageing-population/">Click Here To Read More</a>Geri O'Harahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17291449078420767626noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942451216286921766.post-66443821098842447492010-02-03T09:59:00.000+00:002010-02-03T13:49:55.651+00:00If Life Is All Bewildering - What is Love?If life is all bewildering what is love? The thing that grinds us down and brings us to our knees; a metaphysical notion with all the power that an idea can wield or a concrete reality. - Perhaps all those things?<br /><br />A part of life that is our weakness and our strength. They say with love you will find reserves of strength, compassion, hope and faith you never knew you had and because of love you will feel your heart crack and break many times over in the course of your life time.<br /><br /><br />"To love is to suffer. To avoid suffering one must not love. But then one suffers from not loving. Therefore to love is to suffer, not to love is to suffer. To suffer is to suffer. To be happy is to love. To be happy then is to suffer. But suffering makes one unhappy. Therefore, to be unhappy one must love, or love to suffer, or suffer from too much happiness. I hope you're getting this down." - Woody Allen, <br /><br />Are we grist to its mill or could we live a life in the absence of love?<br /><br />Since life is so bewildering, random and confounding I don't think so. The ineffable quality of love defies the possibility of giving it a full and proper definition but love makes us braver and better people than we believe ourselves capable of being. When our actions surprise even us they are often actions inspired by our individual understanding of what love is. <br /><br />"Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence." - Erich Fromm <br /><br />Perhaps love is the glue that holds this mess that we call life together.Geri O'Harahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17291449078420767626noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942451216286921766.post-14649479664643348312009-12-11T23:44:00.000+00:002009-12-11T23:45:28.565+00:00I am Going To DieI am going to die<br />Climbing up a mountain<br />Swimming in the sea.<br />Doing Something dangerous<br />Will be the end of me.<br /><br />I won't stay -- won't linger<br />Surrender breath by breath.<br />I would rather rush<br />Toward my impending death.<br /><br />To depend on others' mercy<br />To be a burden or a curse<br />S'not my idea of of living.<br />I can think of nothing worse<br /><br />So I am going to die<br />Climbing up a mountain<br />Or swimming in the sea.<br />Doing something dangerous<br />Will be the death of me.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a onmouseover="return addthis_open(this, '', '[URL]', '[TITLE]')" onclick="return addthis_sendto()" onmouseout="addthis_close()" href="http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php"><img alt="" src="http://s9.addthis.com/button1-addthis.gif" width="125" border="0" height="16" /></a><script src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/152/addthis_widget.js" type="text/javascript"></script><script type="text/javascript"><br />tweetmeme_style = 'compact';<br />tweetmeme_url = '<data:post.url/>';<br /></script><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script><br /><!-- AddThis Button END --></div><br /><a href="http://www.copyscape.com/"><img src="http://banners.copyscape.com/images/cs-wh-3d-234x16.gif" alt="Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape" title="Do not copy content from the page. Plagiarism will be detected by Copyscape." width="234" border="0" height="16" /></a>Geri O'Harahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17291449078420767626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942451216286921766.post-4396139304261756322009-08-21T11:57:00.000+01:002009-08-21T12:21:51.794+01:00What is Happiness?I believe that happiness is that joyful lighthearted abandonment that comes when you can partake of the pleasures or activities in life that enhance your self esteem, self awareness and world awareness. When you look around you and are heartened by the view should it be a beautiful pastoral scene or a gritty dark backstreet view.<br />I think it feels transcient because perhaps that light headedness gradually starts to dissipate but if what we are left with is a sense of contentment, a tranquility of mind and a sense of inner peace and well being then we have true happiness.<br /><br />So I agree with Epicurus that Pleasure is the goal in achieving happiness. Life is brimful of pleasure from sharing a meal and a drink with friends to going for a walk in the park, or even just sitting reading a book. If you sit and think "You know Love, or feel loved and love in return" think how happy that makes you feel? Think how lucky you are.<br /><br />Sometimes I think the people who are the most unhappy are the people who do not appreciate many of the simple things in life and are constantly searching or wanting to acquire more and more things to boost their self esteem. It is the people we love and who love us back that matter in the long run. A meal and a drink with friends is of much more value than the procurement of 'stuff'Geri O'Harahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17291449078420767626noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942451216286921766.post-51969983858090496572009-08-09T00:46:00.000+01:002009-08-09T00:55:32.196+01:00Returning To An Ex Repeatedly: Karma or Weakness?<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CGERALD%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CGERALD%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"><link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CGERALD%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> 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</style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";" lang="EN-GB">On the face of it returning to an ex repeatedly would be viewed as stupidity by some, as weakness by others and then again some others would view it as a mixture of both stupidity and weakness. The stupidity, having an almost impossibly optimistic outlook; that “this time things will be better” or that “this time we will get it right”. I believe that life is just not that simple or straight forward. People are by nature complex and so are relationships. There are many reasons people return to ex's from economic to feelings of insecurity. Some people fear being alone and some are manipulative and find ways of persuading their ex to return. Others believe that they are in love and feel it is worth giving it another try. I think these are all valid reasons and should not be dismissed as weakness or stupidity. Nor should we use the concept of Karma to blame.
<br /> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-->
<br /> <!--[endif]--></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";" lang="EN-GB">If people say it is “Their Karma” meaning that it is their fate and they cannot escape it, they are mistaken in their understanding of Karma. I think we all have a lot of misconceptions and misunderstandings about the concept of Karma. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";" lang="EN-GB">In my understanding Karma is bound up with concepts such as causality and good and evil. Some people view it as a sort of spiritual balance sheet were they store up rewards in this life for their next life. Again I believe this to be a simplified (and popular) view of Karma. Karma is not about rewards or punishments in this life or any other life. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";" lang="EN-GB">My understanding of Karma is that it is intentionality, It is of the mind and is all about our thoughts our words and our deeds.(What we are going to do). It means ‘to act’; it is about ‘doing’ therefore we should not think of our Karma as our fate or destiny. The words destiny and fate imply a fore gone conclusion were no action is necessary. It is true that our existence or changes in our lives is dictated by our karma and that in Buddhist teachings we carry over our Karma from past lives but we should not look on our lives then as predetermined or have a fatalistic worldview. Although Buddhists believe that the situation that we are born into is a reflection on Karma from past lives; for example if you are born rich you were probably good in a past life, poor you were probably bad (another simplistic explanation). It does not mean that we are trapped in a cycle of being that sort of soul eternally. We all have free will, and are able to make choices that can redirect our own Karma. So we are not compelled by fate or predestination. So it would seem that karma cannot be held accountable for someone repeatedly returning to their ex but Karma can break that cycle because Karma is about action.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal;">
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"><a href="http://www.helium.com/items/1515931-can-psychics-help-with-relationships">Read More</a>
<br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";" lang="EN-GB"></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> Geri O'Harahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17291449078420767626noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942451216286921766.post-9212638895516880802009-07-27T13:26:00.000+01:002009-07-27T13:35:26.697+01:00The Wizard Of Oz<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d5/Wizard_oz_movieposter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 381px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d5/Wizard_oz_movieposter.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />The film The Wizard of Oz was released in 1939. Even though Judy Garland and Edgar Yip Harburg won Oscars it was not a commercial or a critical success, the New Yorker said of it that it had "No trace of imagination, good taste or integrity" and the New Republic said it was full of "Freak characters". The success and the cult of the Wizard of Oz was to come later when in 1956 CBS leased the film from MGM for television. They had been after Gone With The Wind but settled for The Wizard Of Oz. The films popularity grew with television<br /><br /><a href="http://cinemaroll.com/cinemarolling/the-wizard-of-oz/">read more<br /></a>Geri O'Harahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17291449078420767626noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942451216286921766.post-91326095342820590582009-07-14T22:15:00.000+01:002009-07-14T22:39:42.396+01:00<p><br /></p><p>The news that eight servicemen have been killed in Afghanistan within a 24 hour period has given the opposition something else to batter the Government with. The charge.. that they are not sending the troops out with proper equipment (but I wonder would they have done any better)? If any Government is going to send its troops out to war the least they can do is provide them with proper equipment. One of the problems is apparently that soldiers are apparently using land rovers that where designed to be used in the Northern Ireland troubles. (a totally different sort of military campaign). I believe in Afghanistan troops on the ground say they need more tanks and helicopters.</p> <p><span class="mceItemHidden">However if you look at this from a historical perspective, roughly 20,000 men died on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in the 1st World war. So from an numerical point of view eight people does not seem to be an awful lot. In fact, you could say that we are getting much better at protecting the people who we send out with an expectation that some of them may die a sudden and violent death. When I say <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">'we'</span> I mean our Government. There is also the argument that were soldiers are concerned there is a percentage expected to die in conflict, after all part of their job description is to go to places where there is conflict to protect the interests of their country. So taking the law of averages into consideration it makes sense that some of our soldiers will die. This is something in reality that we cannot get away from. In any war lives will be lost and any Government prepared to go to war accepts that <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">soldiers'</span> lives are expendable</span></p> <p><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Graves3.jpg" mce_href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Graves3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fd/Graves3.jpg" mce_src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fd/Graves3.jpg" alt="" border="0" width="540" height="405" /></a></p> <p>Image via <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Graves3.jpg" mce_href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Graves3.jpg" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a></p><p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Graves3.jpg" mce_href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Graves3.jpg" target="_blank"><br /></a></p> <p>It is however, when you see their photographs on the television news and you realise that some of them are barely more than boys of eighteen. Young men who haven't even begun to live their lives that you wonder why those people in Government justify sending such young people out to fight, to kill and to die. Last week eight soldiers died. Now there is a debate on whether people would be willing to pay extra income tax towards giving the armed services the extra equipment that they need. Most people understandably want their troops brought home.</p>Geri O'Harahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17291449078420767626noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942451216286921766.post-28989610758887260062009-07-09T16:13:00.000+01:002009-07-09T16:16:33.214+01:00Freedom to Smoke<p><span class="mceItemHidden">In <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">'Two</span> Concepts of <span class="mceItemHiddenSpellWord">Liberty'</span> Isaiah Berlin states "To coerce a man is to deprive him of freedom".</span></p> <p>A week or two ago the European parliament was voting on taking the anti smoking ban a step further by banning smoking outside the workplace, pubs, beer gardens and such places. The fact is that they are doing everything possible to penalise the smoker short of outlawing it altogether. it is understandable enough that it has not been outlawed after-all it is still a lucrative source of income for Government and what Government wants to be responsible for criminalising a sizable proportion of its citizens.</p><p><a href="http://newsflavor.com/opinions/freedom-to-smoke/">Read More</a><br /></p>Geri O'Harahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17291449078420767626noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942451216286921766.post-37947218964230871822009-06-27T23:25:00.000+01:002010-05-16T14:19:31.812+01:00Heraclitus<tt><span style="font-size: large;">"Of this Word's being forever do men prove to be uncomprehending, both before they hear and once they have heard it. For although all things happen according to this Word they are like the unexperienced experiencing words and deeds such as I explain when I distinguish each thing according to its nature and declare how it is. Other men are unaware of what they do when they are awake just as they are forgetful of what they do when they are asleep"</span> <br />
(Most of us sleepwalk through life)<br />
</tt>Geri O'Harahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17291449078420767626noreply@blogger.com0