CBrajkovich Ramblings

When you’ve spent a major portion of your life floating away from everything familiar, it’s hard to find ways to fit in with your surroundings.

No matter how long it’s been since you’ve had the experience, you find that it’s always a part of you. Second nature to hold yourself back. Knowing that fitting in isn’t something that you’re used to. So, when the world around you expects you to fit in with the norm, well, it’s frustrating that others don’t understand your position. The pressure takes on a tangible weight that you can’t shake off. And it can be exhausting.

So, why do we fall into these expectations? Why do we have to fit in? As long as we’re comfortable with who we are, then why can’t others understand your position? Mutual respect should require that we all step back and see… really see what we’re each made up of. Understand the experiences that make us all unique. Understand that fitting in isn’t on everyone’s agenda. The only shape that we need to fit is the one that we’re most comfortable with. Anything else is just for the comfort of those others who expect conformance. Our wide open ocean that covers such a major portion of our planet, and the vast sky in which we inhabit, are daily reminders that we’ve got a lot of room to fit into. And the shapes that fit into this area can be as varied as can fit. Water, air…they’re able to fit around whatever shape they come into contact with. That’s comforting to remember when the pressure to fit in becomes overwhelming.

So hang in there. There are a lot of people who are in the same boat, believing that fitting in isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. We’re seeing the fissures caused by the expectations to conform, and the people who are acting out of their own need to be their own person first.

Yup, that favorite time of year (NOT) for those of us who value sleep…Daylight Savings. I feel like I’ve been walking around in a cloud all week. Actually, I feel something like this:

This could take awhile. Bear with me. : p

I hope you’re having better luck. Thanks again, Reddit, for letting us know that we’re not alone in that feeling. Ugh…Spring forward is not for night owls.

Your mind is indeed one of your most powerful tools. If you keep it broad, then you have the universe at your beck and call. And if you don’t…well, the world can be a much tighter fit. Sometimes, circumstances can affect your mind adversely, no matter how hard you fight against the creep. So be careful of what you think, because your thoughts have a tendency of becoming reality by the resulting reactions. There will be days when it feels as though the doors are closing on you. Just remember that you can always draw a handle to pull it open when it closes. That’s the amazing ability of your mind. So imagine something great, and then…become.

And when things close in, don’t let them get you down because that’s a sure-fired way of darkening your thoughts. If you need, carry something around that can help brighten the shadows. You’d be surprised at how little it takes to brighten things up. You’ll know it’s the perfect pick-me-up when your soul quivers at the very sight of it. 😀

– beautiful reminder shared on Piccsy

I don’t know the whole context of the story leading up to this moment, but it is good to see a scientist telling it like it should be. Lately, the antiquated views that are growing around the world have been hard to swallow, much less tolerate. Lawrence Krauss was a participant in a debate between atheism and Islam, and had the unfortunate experience of dealing with gender segregation. It seems that he had been assured prior to the start of the event that there would be no segregation, so he decided to attend. Upon arrival, he saw that the segregation issue had not been addressed. And this is where this important moment captured by Dana Sondergaard highlights someone standing up for a belief…his belief.

The fact that tolerance is becoming scarce in many parts of our lives is something that we should all be frightened of. And not only should we be frightened of the consequences of intolerance (just look through our history to see where it leads…it’s UGLY), but we should be standing up so that no one ever loses the ability to have their own belief. When beliefs become intolerant, then we lose the ability to respect one another because we are no longer seeing (and understanding) with clarity. That in this day and age we are still having to fight such ugliness shows that we still have a long way to go. That this came about during a debate on religious beliefs (or lack thereof, depending which side you’re on) is a sad testament that we seem to be backsliding all over the world.

This story is still unfolding as an investigation continues, though for now it seems that UCL is enforcing a ban on IERA for their actions.

If you saw this happening around you, how would you respond?

Read more about the story at the Guardian UK. Find as much as you can about both sides of the argument. That’s how we all learn from circumstances such as these, and gain a balanced view in the process.

– thank to Reddit for leading me to this important story