.the other side

How do you feel about religion? Do you consider religion to be praying to far off deity? Or, do you consider it to be more of a look inside yourself, finding your own answers, and making yourself a better person? I myself wouldn’t say I have any particular religion, I consider myself to be spiritual not religious. I believe in bettering myself and thus contributing to a better world. How do you feel about it? I’m curious…Is religion/Spirituality just a thing to make mankind feel safe, to feel protected? Or is it actually mankind trying to better itself and be more loving/compassionate in every day life.

If I were to choose a religion I’d have to choose Buddhism. I only say that because Buddhism itself isn’t really a religion, it’s more like a system to help people better themselves. Buddha never claimed to be a god or divine, he preached loving compassion and bettering oneself to better humanity. I don’t even think I’d call it a religion, I can take what I find useful or helpful from Buddhism and apply it in everyday life, and still become “enlightened”(if you believe in that kind of thing). I feel it’s more of a way to search your soul for the answers to life’s big questions. Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s society is one of fast cars, fast results, and no effort. Everyone is focused on how much money they have how, they are living, how comfortable they are. I’ve been wondering lately how a society can survive with this sort of attitude. Think of this; 95% of the wealth in North America is controlled by something like 5% of the population (don’t quote that I’m not sure what the exact statistics are, but the exact numbers don’t matter). Think of Toronto; when you walk down the street, how many homeless people do you see? Now, think a little farther off; think of a place like Africa. How many people there can’t afford to feed their families? How many people are dieing because they can’t afford their AIDS medication? I know I’m lucky to have been born in Canada, but I can’t help but feel like I need to do something. Whether it’s in my own backyard or somewhere else. I think the previous generations really messed things up here, not just with economies and things (the fact is the economy here is good.) but also the environment.

Think of this; how many companies are literally plundering the Earth of it’s resources, it’s seemingly endlessly abundant resources. The thing here is that these companies are driven by one thing: the Almighty Dollar. How many more Lexuses do you need in your driveway? Let’s think about someone like Phil Knight. He is the CEO of Nike Inc. He is a billionaire. How much money is enough for him? How much money is enough for these kinds of people? Companies like Nike are not only raping and pillaging the Earth, but also the less fortunate people in third world countries. I know this has been said before, and I think it should be said again, and again, and again, until companies start listening. The people who are working for these companies are making 3/10 of 1% of the revenue from the shirt they made in Indonesia. As for the Environment, a company looks at it this way: is the cost of fabricating their products in an environmentally responsible fashion going to cost more or less than it is to pollute the environment and possibly get caught. Read the rest of this entry »

So, I’m sitting in Oakville in Abby’s room right now while she’s at school. I came up on Wednesday and we’re going back to Owen Sound tonight for a week until Abby’s reading week is done. I’m excited that she’s staying for a week. I’ve really missed being able to see her everyday. It should be fun!

I quit my job, and hopefully I can get a new one…A much better one. But, so far, the place I want to work isn’t working. Hopefully I’ll find something soon, I want to move in with Abby for next year and I need money for that.

So, Abby just left to go back to school. We had a pretty good weekend. Yesterday we had thanksgiving at her grandfather’s house with about 20 other people. It was…Interesting to say the least. Maybe a little overwhelming at times. Free beer though, so that helped a little.

Other than that, we pretty much stayed here and watched movies. It was a good time. Next weekend, we’re going to see Oklahoma! with her parents, her sister and sam, and her grandfather and marlene. We’ll see how that goes :p

Other than that stuff there’s not really anything else going on. Except, I get to see the Queen musical, which I am really excited for.

So, this is it, my new blog. Normally, I don’t write blogs or anything because frankly, I don’t feel I have anything of interest to post about. But, Abby pretty much forced me to, so here we are!

So, today I bought halo 3. Halo 1 and 2 were probably my favourite xbox games ever, ninja gaiden being next on the list. I’ve only just started the first level so I can’t really say whether it’s going to be fantastic or not just yet, but let’s just say my hopes are high.

Related to the new halo game is that there is a halo movie in the works. I have mixed feelings about this, as we all know, most of the time movies based on games suck, But, here’s a link to some information on the film. Link.

Thanksgiving is coming up, and I’m pretty excited for it. For one, it’s one of my most loved holidays because I just enjoy eating turkey, and then passing out. Furthermore, Abby’s going to be in town and I have Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday off. =) I’m pretty pumped. I’ve really missed being able to see Abby every day and just doing whatever, so having four days to sit around with her will be awesome.