Relaxing Vacations?

Do you take a break from the busy life of work and go on a relaxing trip? Is it really less busy than normal life? I think not. Sometimes you may take a lunch break and relax from the daily labors, but what kind of vacation is relaxing?

Now I'm not saying that all vacations are completely busy, though some may be; I've just experienced enough to believe that all vacations have busy parts to them. Anything that involves an airport has plenty of room for stressful travel. But if you drive to your desired location, you're likely to have to pack some or a lot of stuff in the car. The farther you go, the more money you pay, and the more time you spend travelling. Usually the relaxing in vacation comes when you reach your destination. But this is not always the case.

When I spend a lot of money on a vacation, I don't want to relax, I want my money's worth. I will travel into town and see the sites. I will go to the shows and meet the new people. I will learn what I can about my destination before going so that every second can be planned out with activities. All this is anything but relaxing.

Don't get me wrong, I love vacations. I just don't go on vacation to relax. I will escape the normal daily routine of life, but I will still be busy. There will still be stress. Though I will still enjoy myself. If I want to relax, I will go home, read a book, take a nap, or play the piano. I don't need to travel to relax.

Snowflakes of Service

Service has so many forms. People serve for so many different reasons. Some service is small and seems less significant, but other service brings multiple people together in large organized projects. To some degree, service is like snowflakes.

Each snowflake is unique and different from all the rest. Flakes are so small that you can't see their beauty until you examine them closely. They can seem insignificant. But most flakes that you see are not the small individual flakes. Many are large clumps of connected flakes falling together until they reach their destination. Each individual unique flake has its own beauty, but when millions are joined together, they make everything white. When snow accumulates, it can't go unnoticed.

Acts of service and snowflakes are unique as well as similar. Each one is beautiful, and the combination of many is also beautiful. But snow and service can also be dangerous if they fall in the wrong places at the wrong time. Just because the world needs service just as it need's snow, we need to be mindful of our reasons of serving and whether it will help more than hurt.

The Bad Law

We are blessed in the united States to have a government by the people. As long as the majority is moral, the laws should be. But what should you do if you don't think the laws are just? Who should you act if you think a law is morally wrong? Many people will simply vote their opinion. But voting just denies responsibility.

Blacks have been a minority in the U.S. and for most of our history have been treated unfairly. Before the 1960's, they had rights to vote but not ability. Besides, voting wouldn't get them the rights they desired. They had to act. Segregation laws were morally wrong, and things didn't change until more than voting happened. The non-violent protests led but M. L. King and others led to the equality they have today.

Some people refuse to pay taxes because they don't feel that taxing is right, though they share the benefits that we all do. Where do we decide to act? How can one take a stand? When does self-governance overrule government ruling and civil disobedience take precedence? These are thoughts that I don't have a definite answer to, but I know that voting is the least we can do.

Working from Home

Have you ever seen an ad for a job that let's your work from home? I see them all the time. I always have doubts about them. What is so good about working from home?

Freedom. You can work when and where you want. Since you work where you live, you can live wherever you want. You can save time and money by not travelling to and from work. You can also set your own dress-code and have lunch when you feel hungry. If you have children at home, you can be close to help when they need it.

Working from home has limits though. By not being at the workplace everyday, you may miss out on opportunities to learn from group work. Many things can be learned just by observing others that are not taught in training. Also, you miss personal contact with important people in the business who could promote you. As far as advancing in your career, you may want a job that let's others easily observe you.

Though it seems very convenient to stay at home to make the money, you should look at both sides to decide if the convenience is worth it.

Weird Personality

People have different personality traits. Sometimes someone is so different that we call them weird. But what is weird? And who is not weird?

I ask this because I have been accused of as being weird. I know that I am weird, but I wonder what people really think when they say "weird". I am not always weird. I act differently around different people as we all do. When I am around my younger brother, I get "really weird." How is really weird different than weird. Are there different degrees of weirdness? Really what I am asking is, what makes something weird?

If difference alone makes something weird, than I know a lot of weird people. Anybody who thinks I am weird should be considered as "weird" to me. But sometimes weird people are not only different, but they are also rare. The lack of their kind makes them weird. If this is how we classify someone as being weird, then what do we mean when we say, "There are a lot of weird people." If most everyone is weird, then weirdness is the norm and the normal are weird.

If you think people are weird, just get to know them more. Find out what their friends are like and how they were raised. As you discover their background, you may understand that in their spheres, things are normal.

Style and Rules

The English language has many rules and exceptions to the rules. When talking, you can get away with quite a bit, but when writing, one must be very careful. But how careful must I be? At what point am I writing how a speak vs. writing how the rules tell me.

I've heard several times, "When you know the rules well enough, you can break them." I understand that grammar is important, but some word choices are hard to deal with. One rule is using "over" in the place of "more than." Even though "more than" should be used more often than "over", I strongly believe that people say "over" much more than "more than". This is just one of the many examples. Some words, unbeknown to me, seem to be the best word to describe a situation. Though it may be accurate, I don't know what the word is. Sometimes the simple word works best.

All I want to say, is that you don't need to use big words if it's not you. Write so I can understand. Don't distract with words that your desired audience can't even pronounce. Use punctuation correctly, to help enhance meaning, but don't go overboard. Some rules can be broken for stylistic reasons, while others are just plain necessary.

Anger Managed

"Oh, that makes me mad!"

Have you heard that before? Can something really make you mad? You may have heard that being angry is a choice one makes. That being true, it doesn't really help me not to be angry. So I like to look at it another way. Something will stir emotions in me and I have to sort out these emotions to keep anger from coming forth. It's not choosing to be angry, it's choosing to stop anger from beginning or progressing.

Anger is closely connected to other feelings such as disappointment, jealousy, guilt, and fear. So when these other feelings are felt, we humans are prone to become angered. But if we can manage these other emotions, anger will be subdued. However, if anger is expressed and continues to build, many other emotions will follow. Anger doesn't help; it hurts. When I am being motivated by anger, I am an irrational reactor instead of a logical actor. By keeping anger controlled, I can make better judgments related to my actions. So just choose to stop anger, wherever it may be.

Oh, that's not so bad.