Friday, May 28, 2010

Hatred

We hate because we don’t know where else to place our emotions. We hate because we are fearful. We hate because we have gone too deep. We hate because we love. The energy happiness takes is draining. The energy hates takes is easy. When you hate, you don’t care.

Emptiness, loss, disbelief, hostility, animosity, weakness.

“Hate is the consequence of fear; we fear something before we hate it; a child who fears noises becomes a man who hates noise.”
- Cyril Connolly

Because there is fear in the world, there is hatred. It makes dealing with problems easier. Some of us hate the people of Iraq because we fear for our lives. Some of us hate the people we should love because we fear we aren’t good enough. Some of us just hate because we can’t find any other emotion to hold onto.

However, when hate finds it’s way into our minds it’s difficult to replace. That darkness will always be there. It’s a strong emotion and has the ability to control your every thought, every move, every action. It drives you away from the things and people you love.

Scottish philosopher and historian David Hume believed that hate is an ‘irreducible feeling that is not definable at all’.

If such an emotion can’t be described, it can’t be said that everyone experiences it the same. One thing that is for sure is that at one point or another, hate finds it’s way into our lives. It is up to us to recognize it. It is up to us to attempt to fill that emptiness with something else. Doesn’t matter what it is. But hatred eats you alive. It gets in your head, takes control, and tears you apart.

If there weren’t hatred, there would be peace. If there weren’t hatred, there would be less fear. So, what do you fear? What do you hate?

The answers are probably the same.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Comfort

You reach for it. It touches you in every way. A sheet of comfort overflows. A sense of peace radiates through your body. Your mind flashes back to a time in your life when you were filled with happiness. When things were easy. When you had someone to care for you. When you had someone bigger than you, stronger than you, take you into his or her arms.

No matter what ‘it’ is, we all need it. We all need something to hope for. We all need something to hold onto when things get tough. We all need a reassurance that we are loved.

During some point in the 20th century, Bob Greene said this:
“If you look closely enough, amid the merciless and the bitter, there is always the chance that you may find comfort and the promise of something good.”

We were not created to take care of ourselves. We were not meant to push everyone away. We were not meant to be so independent. Everyone needs someone, everyone needs something to reassure them. Everyone needs to be loved.

We were thrown into a world of corruption, hate, tragedy, and conformity. It is not, by any means, wrong for you to crave love. It is not, by any means, wrong for you to want to have the comfort as you did when you were a baby cradled in your mother’s arms.

This ‘it’ you long for, let it find you. Let it overtake you. It doesn’t matter where you are. It doesn’t matter what point you’re at in your life. If someone is giving, take. If someone needs comfort, give it.

Let a kiss on your forehead be more than a kiss.
Let it bring you back to a time of ultimate happiness.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Strays

There are stray animals and those animals that are safe in a loving home. The strays don’t have the necessities. They search for food, a place to stay, love. Nothing is handed to them, nothing at all. At one point or another they were abandoned by their mother, owner, whoever. So they spend their life searching. Just searching. Its all they can do.

At one point or another we all feel like strays. We feel as if we have to search for everything. Sure, love may just be handed to us. But what if it isn’t really the love we’re looking for?

We have the love from our family. Sometimes it’s strong, other times it’s weak. Sometimes it hurts, other times it heals. Sometimes it’s doubtful, other times it clearly shows.

But of course, like everything else, love comes with attached strings. And ultimately, it comes down to whether you choose to be selfish or selfless.

To be selfish in love is to make it easier for yourself, to give yourself all the answers, to give yourself all the control. It’s to make someone somewhat of a prisoner or a slave, to give them no freedom. It’s to take away all the chances for someone to learn the ins and outs, rights and wrongs, limits and breakpoints of life before it hits them hard at the home run.

Or, you can be selfless in love. It’s to give freedom, understanding, space, all of which will eventually lead to greater love. It may cause worry, but that should be nothing compared to what you’re giving the other person.

We are all strays at one point or another, searching for something more, searching for the love we deserve. We don’t deserve to be abandoned. No person or animal deserves that.

So next time you see a stray, don’t just watch it, think about it, or write about it.

Get up and give it what it deserves.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

CLASS OF 2010

Seniors,

As I write this, we have less than a week before graduation. As you read this, we have less than a day before we graduate. Time is a precious thing in this type of situation. There is something you long for, something that is just a bit out of reach. Yet, you can still see it, bright and clear.

In these past four years we have grown from children to young adults. We’ve become experienced in many things. We’ve learned more than we ever thought our brains could retain and have read books that have made us want to drop dead. But all those things, each day passed, brought us that much closer to where we’re standing today.

In Baz Luhrmann’s “Everyone’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)”, he says, “In 20 years, you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. Do one thing everyday that scares you. Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours. Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. Be careful of whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it.”

Right now, we have countless opportunities to take hold of. Whereas some doors are closing, there are countless others that are opening into a bigger world. It’s up to you to grab onto one of those handles, turn the knob, and start the journey. If you don’t know which door to open, try them all. One is bound to take you to where you wish to be.

You are as good as you make yourself to be. If you don’t think you can do something, no one else will. If you don’t think you can succeed, no company will think you can either. You’re all of what you make yourself to be. Remember that.

Try and look at the positives of life because just as Luhrmann said, worrying will get you no where. Even more, all worrying does is waste precious time. If you focus more on the positives, it’s guaranteed that more positive things will happen for you. Don’t get down on yourself, but remember that if you do, there will always be someone there to help you get back up.

Out of either my sanguinity or my favoritism, I believe the class of 2010 will go on to do great things. Take life by the forefront; don’t stand in the back. After all, there’s no way to stand out and show what you’re made of, what you can do, if you happened to be cast in the shadows of those in front of you.


Always,
Kim Alfred