What Makes People Tick?

In another episode of the ongoing "Wow, this universe is simply stunning" show, here´s a picture of the sun. I found the image on the website physicsworld.com, from the 2010 article  First Stunning Images from NASA´s Sun Gazer . Stunning indeed !!!!! Another image I found accompanies an article entitled "Eruption on the sun" ( Eruptie op de zon ), and the words right underneath the picture translate as "stunning fireworks on the sun" (spectaculair vuurwerk op de zon). I couldn´t agree more. Isn´t the universe we live in simply an amazing place? There is so much beauty that is not only on our planet but also all around us, often so far away that we can´t even see it with the naked eye. While I would love to live in a world where we appreciate the earth and its people more and technology just a bit less, I have to acknowledge that technology is the reason we humans get to see these amazing images. Stargazing at night is awesome and I love it,...

Japan's Chaos is a Wake-up Call Read an interesting piece of writing today by Alice Slater that I wanted to share. It´s a piece I agree with, expressing worries I´ve had too in the wake of the triple-whammy disaster that hit Japan earlier this month. They were hit not only by a huge earthquake and the following tsunami, they also suffered a nuclear disaster in the aftermath of the earthquake. The article starts with the following paragraph: Sometimes chaos comes along as a wake-up call to humanity. Japan's double-whammy earthquake-tsunami is overwhelmingly tragic. Being at the mercy of the total chaotic effect of the elements--able to be wiped out by a wave of water from the sea--is an insult to the arrogance of modern humanity that thinks it can insulate and protect itself with technological know-how from the calamities visited upon our earth by Mother Nature. Mother Nature and her calamities are things we can´t do anything against. We can build our buildings to earthqua...

Came across the following article, and really liked it. So here it is: Top Ten Things to Think About If You Want to Change the World Looks like a very interesting website too - will most definitely be visiting it again!

Doing a Google search on inspirational quotes for the post before this one, I came across the following blog post: Smile and the world will smile back at you! It´s full of pictures of smiling people, and as it made me smile, I wanted to share it.

Be the change you want to see in the world. ~ Mahatma Gandhi Smile at the world, and the world will smile at you. ~ Help me out here, who is this by? The only medicine for suffering, crime, and all the other woes of mankind, is wisdom. ~ Thmas Huxley The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. ~ Lao Tzu If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? ~ Shakespeare - Merchant of Venice Let us realize that a change can only come When we stand together as one ~ Michael Jackson - We Are The World All meaningful and lasting change starts first in your imagination and then works its way out. Imagination is more important than knowledge. ~ Albert Einstein

Imagine there's no Heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people Living for today Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people Living life in peace You may say that I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will be as one Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger A brotherhood of man Imagine all the people Sharing all the world You may say that I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will live as one ~ Imagine, by John Lennon

Happenings like the most recent quake and tsunami in Japan, the Christchurch quake in New Zealand, the draughts in Australia, widespread war, unrest, and disease in the world, the most recent uprisings in the Middle East, coupled with it now being 2011, make me think about the End of the World prophesies and how it´s all supposed to happen at the end of 2012. What if? What if pretty much every religious and spiritual system in the world is warning us in some way or another, and we are too busy with our electronic gadgets, our cars, our appearance and popularity to see these warning before it is too late? I don´t follow any one religion or system of beliefs. I believe in a higher power, a creating force that shaped the world we live on, the universe we live in, and everyone and everything we see and know. I believe that all roads lead to Rome, and that no matter what one believes exactly , eventually we all worship the same divine force and all religious systems teach the...