One Positive

There have been many things a Mr. Cameron from the ‘Government’ has done and said. However, on the issue of financial aid to countries abroad I find myself agreeing; if not vigorously. It is ‘for a dead man walking’ a step in a better direction. He has come too far, too quickly for it ever to be a step in the right direction, but I’ll let that slide for now.

Charity begins at home. Harsh words for some, I am aware, but as good old Abe Lincoln said “A house divided against itself cannot stand”. Once we have sorted out our own debt, once we have doused the fires, stemmed the tides and dammed the rivers, will we have enough of a foundation to stand on. How many millions have been poured into foreign aid? Where is the difference? I can only see the richer grow richer, while the needy try and endure.

Look through your town, your city; how many lives could be drastically improved with £67 million poured into community efforts? Once the quality of life for every man, woman and child in England is equal then can we reach, ever the stronger, abroad. Once the safety and security of every teenager, every pensioner, and every helpless baby is assured then we can muck in for the nations. Once we all realise we are human can we start behaving that way.

I once lost faith in Mankind. There were too many people trying to burn the world, trying to inflict pain, for any of the good deeds to matter. Don’t make my mistake. I have Hope now, that we can make the World better, even if it means moving street by street. It will take as long as it takes; the world is changing and people need to start growing up before they are swept away by the tides. Now is a time to get to know your neighbours and show them you care.

Apology

It is true what your parents have told you. Saying sorry is one of the hardest things to do. You may think it seems quite easy, it sounds quite easy, it has been easy. But that has only been in VERY small situations.

Saying sorry, when you want to mean it most, when you have been moved in your heart and you have found no other way to apologise, is almost impossible, but necessary and most definitely worth it in the end.

Why is it almost impossible? Because you know, you have done wrong. You know that you have upset the balance, you can feel it. And you understand that saying anything else may hurt the other party more. Something beyond human, is telling you that asking for forgiveness is a VITAL part of life. But you just want them to know you are sorry.

How can you be sure that apologising is the right thing? If you have created a wrong, then it has to be corrected...BY YOU! No other person can undo the damage you have done. It IS your responsibility, so that person can have a happier life.

Could it make things worse? I have considered this in my own situations. Too much time has passed, bringing it up may do more harm than good. But they need to know what you have been through. Maybe not the details, but certainly that you understand where you put them and how sorry you really are now.

are you going to let LIFE pass you by, without an apology? Life IS short, get over yourself, if your not saying sorry because of pride...it is not worth the PAIN! Drop the facade, become your own person and accept your mistakes and learn from them. At the very least, learn from your past. So that it can be avoided in the future. Not speaking to someone you care about has torn the world in two. There are too many lives lost to solitude and pain. Too many voices have faded into the darkness because of selfish actions from selfish people who don't know what harm a single word can do. So GO and make that phone call, GO and tell that person what a fool you have been, GO and show the people why you came back!

At the end of the day in our own little situations, there can never be enough advice; you can never be fully prepared. Just take a chance, it may save your life.

Where Will It End?

Is it funny that sometimes in life we seem to only complain about very trivial matters? It seems that the higher the degree of comfort we live in, the more we take for granted and as a result we moan about the smallest things. Of course we have to loose it ALL before we truly know what we had; freedom is only freedom, when you have been in slavery (of any form).
Is it right that we complain about the temperature of the shower, while other less fortunate people have to spend each day looking for enough food to survive? Even in this "More Economically Developed Country" there are people who can't afford to live.
The amazing part is; they know what they need to do so they don't complain or protest. Who would they talk to anyway? It's not like your going to listen to their small voices, while you turn up your ipod and rush off to some 'vital' meeting. You don't have time...YOU'RE BUSY! Yeah right! The world is busy, but charity still survives.
So far you have grown up in a world without a threat of death, where you can get whatever you want. It will all change soon.
Perhaps. perhaps there can be a difference if you change right now. It's not too late. Stop wasting money and time; live a simpler life and find fulfilment in what you do. Stand still, listen...that's the world calling. Can you here the voices that want to be heard?

Faith, the brightest torch I know

There MUST be more than this right? You look around in life and you had dreams...but now your stuck in a dead end job, just because you needed a little bit of money once. What happened to those dreams? Where has the passion gone? It's not that you need a boost, because every time you arrive at the bottom, you somehow manage to pull yourself back up. BUT WHY DOES IT NEVER GO ANY FURTHER?

You just try to survive, to find a way to ignore the bad times. The times when all of life closed in on you and your friends turned their backs. Each time you survived. What was the cost? Does your heart ache less now each night? Do you ignore the desperate plea of another human in a situation you where once in? Where is the joy you once lived for each day? How could it all end like this?

When we were young, and all of life's issues were kept from our eyes we had happy lives. But as age gains on us, we see the truth. That family, friends put their own worries aside to let us have great childhoods. No one ever said life would be easy. Then again; did we ever have a choice? There will never be answers to every question. There will never be a human life of pure joy and no sorrow. We can kid ourselves and look past the pain, filling our lives with useless things to keep us from thinking...what if?

You are individual. You are strong. You have survived. When did you give up on yourself? How did doubt get past your guard? You CAN make it you know. That dream, sitting in sight, but out of reach. It can be yours. It will take more though. More than you want to risk, but as much as you have. Give it your life; give it all you have and see where you end up.

"But where do I get that confidence from?" Look past life. And ask.
He will provide, if you want it enough. Ask God each day for what it takes, what it needs. Then step out. Point your whole self in that direction and walk. Walk without fear, walk with God in your sight toward you dream. Then see where life can take you. And know why there IS so much more than this.

For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Steps on the Pyramid?

It is a rather odd thought to me, that my thoughts (go figure) would feel so much more ordered and understandable when i am the most tired.

Either you a trawling through the senseless ramblings of a tired 17 year old lad; or you are witnessing the well structured and proved prose of a keen young mind. But at times we are called to work with what we are given so...here we go.

Due to my young age, there are many things in life that i have not experienced; as of yet. One situation that has only recently reared it ugly head is, inequality. Sure we see it in films, on television; or hear of it in talk, but up until recently i have never been a victim of it.

On this count i would consider myself blessed, because inequality IS a horrible thing. As just mentioned I did experience it quite recently from someone who is equal to me, and being that I am still young, and forming of opinions and views are not yet set in stone, it shook me up a fair bit.

Now I really know what injustice feels like, and it's only from our own emotional experiences that we can create opinions and perspectives on situations in life. What then, am i going to do?

I am going to give this person and peoples the same respect i give to everyone else. I would consider us equals and try to help, as I have helped others. I would wish them, well and long lives, and show them that I care for their future. Even if they do not.

I'd hope any person reading this would be challenged and also give it a go. For it is not the depths of our wallets, nor the height of power of our acquaintances that make us friends of the people. It is the sacrifices and time, and equality shown to the people. That earns true respect, and that is hard to break.

Broken world

Every generation is different from the last. Personally i wouldn't have it any other way, people need to express themselves and learn their own ways. But, I do believe some teenagers who are coming to understand the bigger picture may believe they have inherited a broken world.

Now this can sometimes be because the parents don't care. Other times its because the parents want to wait until a certain point before they tell you or show you some things. But teenagers are curious, they - or we rather - are going out into the big wide world and unearthing, so to speak the remnants of the world you [adults] left behind. Almost as if you didn't want us to find out.

Of course this may sound like I'm blaming or even using you as a scapegoat. But the number of times I've heard "You've never seen it!" "I'm sure we showed you that one" or anything else that translates as absolute shock from the parents, it seems to me like something else is going on.

To many parents their child is all that matters.To others they couldn't be less bothered. Harsh but true, cynical; but I'm talking straight. Too many parents have let emotions rule their lives. Forever stuck looking at the problems, rather than looking at The Answer. For those who can or want to understand, the Truth is in a couple of my blogs, somewhere. Just look and open your eyes.