Picking on Myself...

Why do we pick on ourselves so much ? It's a simple question, with many answers.
Some say it's the media that makes us feel un-easy about the way we look, act, and feel.
While there are whole groups of phychologist's, with piles of research, pointing towards bad parenting.
But, even with all of these answers, the in-ability to accept ourselves for who we are mentally, physically, and emotionally is a tough concept to grasp for the majority of us. It's that fine line between a big, nasty, overbearing ego and an overly sensitive, put yourself down every chance you get, I hate the way I am way of living.
The hard thing is knowing where to draw that line, when jobs, family, friends, and even our own minds are constantly fighting against us to be something that we're not.
Society requires us, on a regular basis, to often be the exact opposite of who we really are. The world revolves around giving people what they want, telling them what they want to hear, and being who they want you to be.
It's a struggle, a struggle between the truth and the reality that comes with truth, and the need and instinct to survive and adapt.
I personally don't have any more answers for the question of why we pick on ourselves so much, or how to fix it.
I would love to know the "cure" for this problem just as much as the next guy, but I struggle with it just as much as the next guy.

"Side Effects May Include... "

We live in a country where losing weight has actually become more of a fad, than a healthy choice. Because of our obsessive compulsive nature, we see something on t.v., read about it in a magazine, or see an article in the newspaper about a health concern, and suddenly everyone in America has that health problem. I think we've become so used to the subliminal use of commercials for things like fast food and medications, that we see anything on t.v. and automatically we've got that disease, disorder, health problem, mental disorder, etc.
We don't know how to really look at ourselves anymore without some image of somebody with a better body, whiter teeth, more money, etc, popping into our sub-conscious and effecting the way we see ourselves.
This is something that drug companies, weight loss programs, and their advertisers count on. That automatic CLICK, "You know, maybe that's what I have, I need that pill", way of thinking that we've adopted.
Those companies don't really want everyone to lose weight or get healthier, otherwise their out of business. They show you people that have never had weight loss problems, libido problems, or the health problem they are advertising for saying things like, "I've used this program and look at me" or "I took this pill and my wife is so much happier in the bedroom".
And, 99 percent of those companies are full of crap. They just want to fill their pockets and bank accounts with your hard earned money.
If you want to lose weight, for the most part, exercise and diet are the only things that are going to save you.
If you're having problems in the bedroom, their is probably an underlying problem within your body or mind, and you need to fix that problem, not start taking a pill that will help you every once and a while.
If you've got insomnia, once again their is probably an underlying physical or mental health problem that you need to attend to, not take a pill.
Pills and programs aren't going to fix everything, if you want to be healthy you have to work at it. "Miracle" pills, drugs, and cures have been around for thousands of years. The people who produce them just have a bigger media market, more research, and more funding now.
Don't be a pawn to the drug companies, weight loss program owners, and "miracle" cure makers. If you have a problem, figure out where it's stemming from and, if possible, fix that underlying problem. You're never going to get anywhere just treating the symptoms, you've got to go after the disease.
I'm not saying that if you have a legitimate reason to take medication that your should stop, I'm just saying that a lot of people are suffering from illnesses, mental disorders, and other problems that they create inside their own heads. Don't take my advice as medical advice, I'm not a doctor or a phychologist, I'm just someone that has faced some of these demons.

The Calling...

So, I found this guy on bloggeries.com who has a fundraiser going to get him through seminary school. I encourage all my reader to check it out, and if you can, to contribute.
This is an awesome use for a blog, and I believe anyone who has a calling, whether you be Christian, Muslim, Jewish, etc., you should follow your calling. This is something not all of us are capable of, and I that we need more religion, especially in America. So, Christian or not, I encourage you, once again, to check this out and help put him through seminary.
Schooling is expensive, I think almost everyone knows that, so lets help each other.Because, Let's face it the government isn't going to... We have to count on each other.

HERE is the link to his blog

Is that a fig leaf in your pocket ?

I know this is probably going to make a lot of you think I have a few screws loose and a bag full of extra nuts and bolts. But, I had this thought pop into my head at random and now I must share it. Has anyone ever really thought in detail about the story of Adam and Eve, our biblical first couple? In every painting I think I’ve ever seen, you see their privates covered by a fig leaf, never for the entire world to see (even though no shame of nudity was supposed to have existed). But the point I’d like to make here is the very idea that Adam and Eve would even have genitals. They wouldn’t have needed genitals because with the fruit of everlasting life, they would live forever. No point in reproduction if there is any need to create future generations. To put it bluntly, no need for reproduction if you don’t need to make more of your species. Everyone knows that the whole point behind fornication (sex) is to reproduce. The survival of your species depends on it. And they wouldn’t have needed their genitals for pleasurable purposes, because biblically, that would be a sin. So, maybe there wasn’t anything to hide beneath those fig leaves. And continuing on with this thought; we were provided our reproductive organs once we were banished from paradise because, no more eternal life= need to produce children. And I even took this a step further. Maybe it’s just really weird of me to think. But, if you look at a woman’s genitals, it has a close resemblance to an open wound. And women do bleed for 7 days (sometimes longer). A man’s genitals look like a sword. So symbolically speaking, the woman’s genitals could be perceived as the open wound that is continually stabbed with the male genitals. Maybe it is symbolic of Adam’s long running revenge for Eve’s enticement, one that ultimately caused them to fall from Paradise.

White Trash

What is so wrong with being, what is commonly referred to as, "White Trash"?
By all standards I would be considered "white trash", because my family has a very low income, lives pay check to pay check, shops at thrift stores, and use government assistance programs to get by. That doesn't make me or my family "bad people", but for some reason we're viewed as being weak minded, un-educated, almost worth nothing, peons...
That's never made sense to me, I've lived my whole life in this situation or something close to it.
But, I'm just as smart as anybody with loads of money and I know my way around opera, well written literature, I know how to dress nicely, and I take care of my family.
Being poor doesn't make me weak minded or "trash", so why does the world view the poor in this way? I'm a firm believer in the "everyone is equal" way of thinking, and I don't understand how a society that's supposed to be clear of a hierarchy, has in a weird sort of way, created one composed of upper class, middle class, and lower class.
Any who, that's all for tonight, just wanted to throw this out there. It's something I've never really understood, it's existence only makes some people feel high and might, while others feel worthless and small.

Wow, that's really a pretty dress Bob...

How many of us get a smile on our faces picturing a "manly-man" wearing a dress ?

I would guess that millions of people would find the idea of this just plain hilarious.

So, why is it okay for a woman to wear a man's suit ? Nobody really bawks at the idea of that, or even gives it a second thought.

In general, there are quite a few things that a woman can do, that a man wouldn't get caught dead doing. It's considered alternative for a man to wear nail polish, get his eye-brows waxed, shave his legs, etc. But, it's perfectly okay for a woman to have male characteristics. In fact, it's smiled upon as women taking their place in a "man's world".

How many things can any of you think of that are "just for men" in this day n' age ? I would guess, and I'm just guessing here, that there aren't too many things you can think of.

Almost everything once associated purely with the male gender, are now considered for the most part uni-sex.

Why is it so funny to see Bob in his pretty dress, but Gina looks great in her suit ?

I myself get a smirk on my face at the idea of a man wearing a dress, but I myself, don't understand why this is such a funny idea.

My fiancee has borrowed my deodorant without a second thought, has a few ties of her own, has worn men's shoes because she found some to be more comfortable, and wouldn't think twice about wearing a suit and tie. But, if I walked out of our bedroom wearing one of her dresses, with a nice pair of high-heels on, and smelling like flowers, I don't think she's let me leave the house.

I want to, yet again, hear from all of you on this; how you feel about it, why you think it's okay for a man to wear a dress, and why it's not, etc. Anything you have to say on the subject, I want to hear your opinion on the matter.

I don't know, what do you want ?

My fiancee and I have this re-occurring problem with trying to decide what to eat. And, it's not just dinner or lunch, it's lunch, dinner, breakfast, heck even snacking in-between. We can never seem to decide what to eat.

It even comes down to the point sometimes where we end up having to ask our daughter what she wants, or having to call my mother for her suggestions. It's that bad.

We just can't seem to decide on one thing that really sounds good. Fast food, well we're burnt out on all the fast food joints. Restaurant, we've got four kids and taking a trip inside to eat can become quite a task. How about what we've got here at home? Nope we're hungry now and everything we've got takes forever to cook. So, usually we end up at the grocery store searching for stuff that's quick and easy, but sounds good.

I think it's a kind of epidemic that is faces by most Americans in this day n' age. The in-ability to make up our minds on anything, at least in a somewhat timely manner. And, it's probably because we have too many darn things to choose from.

You can get food from any country, just about anytime of the day, at just about the same prices, and that's just one choice on the list involved in what you want to eat.

Next comes the most important one, what do I want from that type of cooking choice.

Than you move on to the next step, do we both want that type of food for dinner ?

Will our daughter eat that? Is that really what we want? what about that new place on 6th? Do we have the money for that place? You know I really don't want that now that I think about it, but how about this ?

And on and on the list goes, until you're exhausted from trying to decide, your stomach hurts because it just wants sustenance, and you feel like screaming because this should be such a simple choice.

But hey, maybe this is just us, maybe we're just extremely in-decisive and need to seek therapy. I don't think that's the truth though, I think whether it's these choices or a zillion other choices, once again, us Americans have to darn many.

We, unless on the brink of starvation(and even than this problem still persists sometimes), can't just eat whatever because we're hungry, we're too flipping picky.

If you are suffering from this problem, I can't help you, I don't have any list's of suggestions for this one. We're in too tight a bind ourselves making this decision too offer any sage advice on what to do.

Well, I'm off now, to a far away place, a place that hopefully has something that sounds good to eat and fills our stomachs.

Superstitions Contest

Superstitions, both an integral part of society and a danger to the people around us. They have been around since the beginning of man, and many of those original superstitions still exist in updated form. My fiancee and I buried a mirror this last Friday because she knocked over a large mirror in our home and it shattered on impact. Everyone know the old superstition about breaking mirrors and 7 years of bad luck, if not you can check out an explanation HERE. She immediately hopped online and found a site that stated, plain and simple, she had to bury the mirror to counter-act the bad luck associated with it breaking.

I myself am a fairly religious person, and have a very strict superstition about wearing any kind of hat in a church. I figure that if I have to take off my hat for the American flag, I can at least do the same when in a place of God.

I got in trouble with my fiancee because I called her silly when she said we had to bury the mirror, and after looking at my own superstitions, I understood her frustration with me.

I ended up with shovel in hand, in the backyard, helping her dig the hole.

This got me to thinking about people and superstitions, so that's what I want to explore with you readers. What kind of superstitions do you believe in ? Do you swerve out of the path of a black cat ? Do you pray for your life when you walk underneath a ladder ? I want to hear your superstitions. Come on people, lets get some good ones going here. We'll even make it a contest, a contest for the best submitted superstition. I'll work on the prize and you work on typing up your oddest superstition. E-mail them to me at jnsmith83@gmail.com, and you may find yourself with a Joseph's World prize.

The Contest will run from July 27, 2008 to August 3, 2008...