Plant me, I will be your garden,
Sow me with your love, sow me with your dreams, sow me with your friendship, and I will feed you for a lifetime. Sow me with your seeds and I will grow us a family, and when we die, our ashes will turn to stardust and we will float through the cosmos together forever.
I have loved you since the day I saw your face
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
What is the point?
What is the point of life, if everything we are told it should be turns out to be a lie?
Here [in the united states] we are told that any one of us can grow up to be a doctor, famous scientist, lawyer, movie star, or the president. Our parents tell us money doesn't buy happiness, but then we are conditioned to find pleasure in material wealth (which requires money). We work hard, because we were told that hard work will bring results, but then someone else is promoted to the position we deserve to have, because we've worked harder for it; or we are treated as though our hard work isn't worth much because they can always find someone else more desperate for fame and fortune, to do it for less. We realize that hard work often means missing out on pleasure, but we are conditioned to think that if we work harder, we can get to a point where we can enjoy the fruits of our labour. But this is a rare result for the average individual. Loved ones get sick, children need school supplies vacation time is disrupted by work demands on the other end of the ever present cell phone. We forget to take time for our self. We wonder about how our elders always talk about the good old days, but as it turns out, the truth is, there never was a 'good old days'. Look back at any point in human history and you will see it was fraught with human suffering and disaster. So how is it that we carry on? As it turns out the memory is designed to better retain the happy memories and let go of the sad ones (sorry I don't have a source for this at the moment). Perhaps this is because it makes growing old and dying easier. The more you remember the nice times, the easier it is to go peacefully when it's time, and before going, the more happy hopeful tales you'll be able to pass down to new generations. Even when remembering hard times, the funny joyous bits tend to stick out most.
Now, if we are clearly designed to feel pleasure, hope, joy and optimism, why is it so scarce? Perhaps, because we spend so much time being made to feel guilty for not fulfilling OTHER people's dreams/expectations for us. Most religions require us to almost seek out hardship, with this idea that self punishment will essentially be rewarded with a heavenly kingdom.
Now I personally do believe in some sort of higher energy, but I do not believe in suffering to earn heaven nonsense. If there is a god, it would make no sense for us to waste the gift of being able to feel pleasure, that is like saying, "fuck your gift god". In addition the idea that we are this god's main focus of attention, is also quite ridiculous. Um... Wouldn't he/she have an entire universe to worry about? Of course! And we are tiny in that universe.
Now, suppose there had never been any religion anywhere in the world, these ideas of duty and ideas of our grandiosity in the universe would also not exist. Our role in this universe is really quite minuscule. So, if we are just a blip in this giant universe, what is our purpose, what is the point for us being here? How can we find joy and satisfaction if we have no point? If we do not matter? Right?
Well, that's just it, it doesn't matter, and since it doesn't matter in the whole grand scheme of the universe, we can and SHOULD do whatever brings us joy and satisfaction in life (excluding anything cruel or harmful to others of course)
If all we have, is from the moment we are conceived, until the moment we expire, why shouldn't we make our pleasure our priority?
Unfortunately even if you are atheist, you have still been taught that you need to consider other peoples desires for your life. Jobs guilt us into thinking we need to remain loyal to a company that doesn't even appreciate us. We feel guilty for not fulfilling our parents' dreams and goals for us (likely hold overs from religious conditioning in society over centuries, regardless of the individuals beliefs or non beliefs).
The point to life, is to fill it with all the things that bring you pleasure and satisfaction.
There is no sense fretting or crying over what is out of one's control. Sad things happen, but if there's nothing you can do to change a sad thing, don't give it too much thought.
A perfect example of this, is a typical Haitian funeral. It lasts an entire day. In the morning you go to the funeral service, followed by the trip to the graveyard, everyone is crying and sad, people cling to the coffin, and you'd think they would die themselves, this is then followed by a gathering with food, and music, and happy tales and memories of the deceased, this pretty much turns into a big party with everyone joking and laughing and dancing to music and then when everyone's in a joyous mood, they pack the party up and go to their homes. Of course they are sad for their loss, but even the funeral is a celebration.
Every event should be approached that way. Sometimes things go badly, but it just means other things will go wonderfully.
More than anything in this world, aim to fill it with your joy.
Here [in the united states] we are told that any one of us can grow up to be a doctor, famous scientist, lawyer, movie star, or the president. Our parents tell us money doesn't buy happiness, but then we are conditioned to find pleasure in material wealth (which requires money). We work hard, because we were told that hard work will bring results, but then someone else is promoted to the position we deserve to have, because we've worked harder for it; or we are treated as though our hard work isn't worth much because they can always find someone else more desperate for fame and fortune, to do it for less. We realize that hard work often means missing out on pleasure, but we are conditioned to think that if we work harder, we can get to a point where we can enjoy the fruits of our labour. But this is a rare result for the average individual. Loved ones get sick, children need school supplies vacation time is disrupted by work demands on the other end of the ever present cell phone. We forget to take time for our self. We wonder about how our elders always talk about the good old days, but as it turns out, the truth is, there never was a 'good old days'. Look back at any point in human history and you will see it was fraught with human suffering and disaster. So how is it that we carry on? As it turns out the memory is designed to better retain the happy memories and let go of the sad ones (sorry I don't have a source for this at the moment). Perhaps this is because it makes growing old and dying easier. The more you remember the nice times, the easier it is to go peacefully when it's time, and before going, the more happy hopeful tales you'll be able to pass down to new generations. Even when remembering hard times, the funny joyous bits tend to stick out most.
Now, if we are clearly designed to feel pleasure, hope, joy and optimism, why is it so scarce? Perhaps, because we spend so much time being made to feel guilty for not fulfilling OTHER people's dreams/expectations for us. Most religions require us to almost seek out hardship, with this idea that self punishment will essentially be rewarded with a heavenly kingdom.
Now I personally do believe in some sort of higher energy, but I do not believe in suffering to earn heaven nonsense. If there is a god, it would make no sense for us to waste the gift of being able to feel pleasure, that is like saying, "fuck your gift god". In addition the idea that we are this god's main focus of attention, is also quite ridiculous. Um... Wouldn't he/she have an entire universe to worry about? Of course! And we are tiny in that universe.
Now, suppose there had never been any religion anywhere in the world, these ideas of duty and ideas of our grandiosity in the universe would also not exist. Our role in this universe is really quite minuscule. So, if we are just a blip in this giant universe, what is our purpose, what is the point for us being here? How can we find joy and satisfaction if we have no point? If we do not matter? Right?
Well, that's just it, it doesn't matter, and since it doesn't matter in the whole grand scheme of the universe, we can and SHOULD do whatever brings us joy and satisfaction in life (excluding anything cruel or harmful to others of course)
If all we have, is from the moment we are conceived, until the moment we expire, why shouldn't we make our pleasure our priority?
Unfortunately even if you are atheist, you have still been taught that you need to consider other peoples desires for your life. Jobs guilt us into thinking we need to remain loyal to a company that doesn't even appreciate us. We feel guilty for not fulfilling our parents' dreams and goals for us (likely hold overs from religious conditioning in society over centuries, regardless of the individuals beliefs or non beliefs).
The point to life, is to fill it with all the things that bring you pleasure and satisfaction.
There is no sense fretting or crying over what is out of one's control. Sad things happen, but if there's nothing you can do to change a sad thing, don't give it too much thought.
A perfect example of this, is a typical Haitian funeral. It lasts an entire day. In the morning you go to the funeral service, followed by the trip to the graveyard, everyone is crying and sad, people cling to the coffin, and you'd think they would die themselves, this is then followed by a gathering with food, and music, and happy tales and memories of the deceased, this pretty much turns into a big party with everyone joking and laughing and dancing to music and then when everyone's in a joyous mood, they pack the party up and go to their homes. Of course they are sad for their loss, but even the funeral is a celebration.
Every event should be approached that way. Sometimes things go badly, but it just means other things will go wonderfully.
More than anything in this world, aim to fill it with your joy.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Gluten Free, Grain Free Pizza from a Native New Yorker
Pizza Dough
3/4 cup warm water (105°-115°)
1 packet active dry yeast
1 cup tapioca flour
1 cup potato flour
1 teaspoon honey
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tabe spoons olive oil
Pour 3/4 cup warm water into a small bowl, add yeast and let sit until it dissolves, (DO NOT STIR) approximately 5 minutes
in a large bowl, mix two cups flour, honey, and salt, (mix with hands or a processor - i used my hands)
add yeast mixture and 3tablespoons of olive oil
mix until you have a firm but sticky ball (adding more water or flour to get the right texture)
knead dough until smooth
transfer to a bowl lightly coated with olive oil, roll ball of dough around until lightly coated all over with olive oil,
cover with a plastic wrap or a wet paper towel
let rise for one hour
punch dough down and separate into four balls (for individual pizzas and easier baking)
roll out dough, starting from the center and working your way out being sure not to flatten the edges
Pizza Sauce
chopped garlic
tomato juice
oregano (dry)
basil (dry)
salt
black pepper
Saute chopped garlic in olive oil, until slightly browned add tomato juice and spices.
tomato juice
oregano (dry)
basil (dry)
salt
black pepper
Saute chopped garlic in olive oil, until slightly browned add tomato juice and spices.
Boil until thick adding more of any ingredients as you think they are needed.
when the consistency is to your liking, spread on rolled out dough and bake in a preheated oven (450° to heat up, reduced to 425° for actual baking)
when the dough is a bit brown add your cheese, you can use fresh mozzarella or the low moisture kind
or any other cheese you might like.
bake until cheese and crust are nice and browned. :D yummy
remember to let it cool before you chow down, or you'll burn the top of your mouth like i did. lol
Saturday, October 8, 2011
mommy baby picture day, by jupiterpuppy
today, i went to the hudson river with mommy and her friend david, he takes pictures.
mommy put on a dress and tall shoes and painted her face (sometimes she likes to paint her face, sometimes she doesn't). it was so hot and sunny out, and i got to lay in the sun. the river was scary though, there is a fence but i was afraid to go too close, what if i fell in? i am not a swimmer.
mommy is brave, she would stand right near the fence and even lean on it, i didn't really like that.
there were lots of other dogs there, because it is a park and it is a fun place for dogs to walk with their mommies and daddies and meet other dogs. there were also a lot of things to smell, and that is good, because dogs like to smell things.
i like mommy's friend david, he pets me and tells me i'm good and he takes my pictures, he also always has good stories to tell because, he always meets interesting people.
mommy put on a dress and tall shoes and painted her face (sometimes she likes to paint her face, sometimes she doesn't). it was so hot and sunny out, and i got to lay in the sun. the river was scary though, there is a fence but i was afraid to go too close, what if i fell in? i am not a swimmer.
mommy is brave, she would stand right near the fence and even lean on it, i didn't really like that.
there were lots of other dogs there, because it is a park and it is a fun place for dogs to walk with their mommies and daddies and meet other dogs. there were also a lot of things to smell, and that is good, because dogs like to smell things.
i like mommy's friend david, he pets me and tells me i'm good and he takes my pictures, he also always has good stories to tell because, he always meets interesting people.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
my life by jupiterpuppy
i wake up in the morning and everyone in the house says hello to me and tells me how cute i am. they ask me if i slept well and they pet me. i get to go lay in a sunbeam with the cat, when i get bored with that, or when it gets too hot, i go to my box bed and shove my blanket around until it is a wad, and then i lay down on it. in my bed i have stuffed toys, they are small and i get to cuddle them and pretend they're babies. some dogs beat up their baby toys and that's not very nice. maybe they would beat up their babies too.
mommy asks me if i am hungry and mommy asks me if i need to go potty. usually hungry means i get kibble, my kibble is yummy, but sometimes hungry means i get chicken or fish or beef. i usually get some of those meats at least once a day, sometimes it is a lot and it is my whole meal, sometimes it's just a snack. usually potty means we walk around the block and i get to smell the flowers and sniff everything. mommy doesn't rush me to find my perfect spot, even if it is raining or snowing (i like rain and snow). i like to poop. i pick my perfect spot to make my poop, and then mommy always puts it in a bag, i don't know why she does that. i need to find a spot so perfect mommy will leave it there. finding a spot to pee pee is even harder. it has to be even more perfect and sometimes i think i've found it, and then i realize it's not perfect enough because an even more perfect spot is next to it. it is hard to pee pee in the right spot.
sometimes mommy asks me if i want to go shopping, and i always say yes.
shopping means i get to go into places where strangers tell me i'm pretty and pet me and fawn over me. i like that. before i lived with mommy, people were only ever mean to me, and yelled at me or hit me. mommy doesn't let anyone do that, she only introduces me to nice people. there are so many nice people in the city were mommy took me to live. no body hits me here. my favorite place to go shopping is TJ Maxx because they have baby blankets there, and if i beg really nicely mommy buys me a baby blanket. i love soft blankets. i also like it there because the ladies at the jewelry counter are very nice to me. sometimes mommy also takes me to the gap. there is a man there with his hand out to pet me, he never moves though and every time i go to his hand mommy laughs at me and says he's not real. he looks real and he's always wearing new clothes, so i don't know how she can say he's not real. she calls him a man kin or something like that. i don't know what kind of man is a "kin" but he always has his hand out to pet me.
i also have an uncle, he is fun, he tries to do things to make me mad, sometimes he pretends to get electrocuted, sometimes he plays ugly notes on his musical instrument, one has strings and one has teeth you press. usually he makes nice music and it makes me happy. sometimes he says words i do not like to annoy me. i love him any way though. he plays tag with me and does agility tricks with me, i jump from the floor to some pillows to the couch and stuff like that and he likes that. sometimes when he is at his desk, i tap him so he can pet me, because he looks bored and needs to pet me so he won't be bored. i like to sit on his lap and sometimes the cat gets jealous and then we both sit on his lap.
i like to visit grandma and grandpa in their room. i watch tv with them and they tell me i'm cute and they pet me and tell me they love me. i am not allowed on their bed, because grandma says no fur on the bed. but the cat goes on there and it's not fair grandpa says. grandma doesn't know that he lets me on the bed when she's not home. mostly i go to their room to watch tv with grandma.
at the end of the day it is my bedtime and i learned from the cat how to push the bedroom door open with my head, then i go to bed. sometimes mommy asks me to snuggle with her in her bed, but i have my own bed. sometimes i think mommy can't sleep so i lay with her and then when she is asleep i go to my own bed to sleep. i like my bedroom bed. it also has a blanket like the living room box bed.
i have a good life with mommy, not like with my old owners they were not nice, but mommy is very nice to me. and now i have many friends.
mommy asks me if i am hungry and mommy asks me if i need to go potty. usually hungry means i get kibble, my kibble is yummy, but sometimes hungry means i get chicken or fish or beef. i usually get some of those meats at least once a day, sometimes it is a lot and it is my whole meal, sometimes it's just a snack. usually potty means we walk around the block and i get to smell the flowers and sniff everything. mommy doesn't rush me to find my perfect spot, even if it is raining or snowing (i like rain and snow). i like to poop. i pick my perfect spot to make my poop, and then mommy always puts it in a bag, i don't know why she does that. i need to find a spot so perfect mommy will leave it there. finding a spot to pee pee is even harder. it has to be even more perfect and sometimes i think i've found it, and then i realize it's not perfect enough because an even more perfect spot is next to it. it is hard to pee pee in the right spot.
sometimes mommy asks me if i want to go shopping, and i always say yes.
shopping means i get to go into places where strangers tell me i'm pretty and pet me and fawn over me. i like that. before i lived with mommy, people were only ever mean to me, and yelled at me or hit me. mommy doesn't let anyone do that, she only introduces me to nice people. there are so many nice people in the city were mommy took me to live. no body hits me here. my favorite place to go shopping is TJ Maxx because they have baby blankets there, and if i beg really nicely mommy buys me a baby blanket. i love soft blankets. i also like it there because the ladies at the jewelry counter are very nice to me. sometimes mommy also takes me to the gap. there is a man there with his hand out to pet me, he never moves though and every time i go to his hand mommy laughs at me and says he's not real. he looks real and he's always wearing new clothes, so i don't know how she can say he's not real. she calls him a man kin or something like that. i don't know what kind of man is a "kin" but he always has his hand out to pet me.
i also have an uncle, he is fun, he tries to do things to make me mad, sometimes he pretends to get electrocuted, sometimes he plays ugly notes on his musical instrument, one has strings and one has teeth you press. usually he makes nice music and it makes me happy. sometimes he says words i do not like to annoy me. i love him any way though. he plays tag with me and does agility tricks with me, i jump from the floor to some pillows to the couch and stuff like that and he likes that. sometimes when he is at his desk, i tap him so he can pet me, because he looks bored and needs to pet me so he won't be bored. i like to sit on his lap and sometimes the cat gets jealous and then we both sit on his lap.
i like to visit grandma and grandpa in their room. i watch tv with them and they tell me i'm cute and they pet me and tell me they love me. i am not allowed on their bed, because grandma says no fur on the bed. but the cat goes on there and it's not fair grandpa says. grandma doesn't know that he lets me on the bed when she's not home. mostly i go to their room to watch tv with grandma.
at the end of the day it is my bedtime and i learned from the cat how to push the bedroom door open with my head, then i go to bed. sometimes mommy asks me to snuggle with her in her bed, but i have my own bed. sometimes i think mommy can't sleep so i lay with her and then when she is asleep i go to my own bed to sleep. i like my bedroom bed. it also has a blanket like the living room box bed.
i have a good life with mommy, not like with my old owners they were not nice, but mommy is very nice to me. and now i have many friends.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Jupiter Puppy Thinks She Can Fool Me
It is just after midnight and just after Lunar's dinner time. Lunar is my brother's cat and he eats at 11am and 11pm. Jupiter thinks Lunar's food is delicious (even though it makes her tummy upset). When Lunar eats we have to keep a close eye on Jupiter, lest she sneak in and eat his food. The thing is, we always know when she's after his food, because it's the only time she ever hangs out in the kitchen uninvited. She will twirl about and act very cute, and pretend she just wants to get some water. Her water dish is next to Lunar's food bowl. We will ask her if she is thirsty and she will twirl about excitedly, but we know water isn't really what she's after, we don't fall for that trick anymore - drink two sips and then sneak some kitty food.
She is terribly cute for trying, however.
She is terribly cute for trying, however.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
My Beloved Gameows (stuffed kitties)
These are my most beloved stuffed animals. They were my favorite baby toys and they are as old as I am.
These are the three Gameows, and each on had a personality of their own. the one on the right was the extra timid shy kitty, the middle one was the boy and he was tough and flashy(I also used to have a REAL tortoise shell bracelet that I put 'round his neck as a collar), the one on the left was the even tempered one, she was neither tough nor shy, but she was sweet.
The one on the right has no ears because I ate them off in my sleep as well has half of the middle one's ears. I was dreaming I was eating and when I woke up I discovered I had been eating the ears. I woke up before I could eat all the ears. They really are two gray and one brown, they're actually not that dingy, which is quite remarkable.
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