Just MakeItBetter

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This is for all you country girls and small town boys. And for anyone who is somewhere dreaming they could take the leap to make a change. If you dream of getting out from where you are but don’t believe you can, this post is for you.

I was raised in upstate New York, in a small town with two stoplights. The place consists of very little: mainly obese townies, neglected property and a large amount of livestock. It’s a safe, sheltered place to keep your kids simple and out of as much trouble as possible.

It’s also a huge sandbox in which to stick ones head into.

Now that I’ve escaped, I look back with appreciation, but when I was there I thought I’d never get out. I was terrified of becoming a local, in a dead-end job, squandering my dreams because of fear of what I’d never been shown.

It wasn’t until I left that I saw it was that very environment which made me aware I had the strength to get out.

Growing up in a secluded environment offers young minds a limited view of what makes up the world. These malleable children are disillusioned about what they could do, who they could be and what possibility lies before them. Similar to children raised in an inner city, information isn’t handed out like Halloween candy, with mentors offering up direction for misguided youth. The unknown is manipulated by media or parental driven portrayals. Growth and open-mindedness is then stifled, shortening an individual’s confidence to head out into the world. And with this brings a adulthood wrought with a mere existence.

Despite this, if you’re smart enough to dream bigger than where you are, then you’re strong enough to take it on.

If a person dreams of something bigger than where or what they are, they must believe that is something that exists for them. I don’t dream of becoming a man, because frankly I have no interest in it, but women that really do want a penis sure will find a way to get one.

When I was small I wished for culture and diversity and by doing so, I was creating that future for myself. Leaving my town of two thousand people wasn’t hard work. Years later, now being where I had dreamed I’d be, I understand dreaming it was all it took.

If you want to get out of your situation, whatever it may be, the fact that you have the strength to even wish for it is proof enough to know you’re smart enough to overcome it. Recognizing inferiority is enough evidence it can and should change.

Just do it.

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photo by Sir Merv’s

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Earlier this week, after finding bread poorly wrapped, I asked my lover to please make sure he put the English Muffin’s away properly or else they will go stale.

Three days later I made breakfast and went to work. Later on, I came home to a picture he’d taken that day:

6/16/08 Edit: After I posted this, I saw that I may not have been so clear. To sum it up: I gave him grief over not wrapping up the bread and a few days later I did the same thing. To point out my hypocritical behavior he took a picture of it (see above) and showed it to me. No words, no judgment.

You can’t argue with that.

Sorry guys, this post may have sucked. Good idea, bad execution.

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Someone shared this amazing idea with me today. It’s a TED Talks video and it’s an intelligent, original idea. In the video, Joshua Klein talks about how we could use a crow’s superior intelligence to benefit society rather then extinguish them.

He explains how the these animals and others like it withstand human development by adapting to the surroundings we’ve created.

Klein goes on to show surprising research that demonstrates a crow’s swift thinking skills while making their living. His intention with this was to show an alternative to population control.

Oddly, this got me thinking about our resistance and judgment of other cultures.

We snarl at crows, but it is only our skewed perception that finds their existence unnecessary.

Similarly, to us, Koreans eating dog is a big taboo, as is people eating horses. Again, this is only how we see it. Perhaps, like with the crows, it is what we don’t know rather than what we do know, that determines our points of view.

And that doesn’t seem very smart, now does it?

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photo by Jurvetson

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Over at Copyblogger, a blunt marketer tells the truth.

Ms. Trunk breaks down my dreams a manager’s purpose.

At a time when it’s easy to hate America, Hunter pulls this out.

Muddled transparency of life with in-laws over at A Good Husband.

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Years and years ago man was only concerned with his survival.

His day to day consisted of clubbing wild beasts and avoiding being eaten. He wasn’t intellectually advanced enough to know the impact he could make on this world. Man’s purpose was simply to be for as long as he could. It was with evolution and developing societies that we become aware of our own mortality. And with this mortality came an unjust fear of the unknown.

What was to come upon our deaths, and with that, what stamp could we make for ourself while our short existence ran its course?

If even today we settled into survival alone (as many still do), the simplicity of our lives would most likely bring us happiness we’d only dreamed of. It is our obsessions with “perfection” and “success” that takes away from our human experience. These ideas of what we should be hang over our heads like unreachable meat to a starving animal. We are plagued by them and we will die wishing to obtain them.

It is our awareness of our impending demise that leads us to wish for a remarkable life. Shouldn’t knowing that we have this great opportunity be enough to appreciate it?

Doesn’t that alone make it remarkable?

We live in a time when we could (literally) be whomever and whatever we choose to be because our society has become so wonderful that we can become prosperous doing things we love. Our basic needs can be supplied with much less work and more efficiency than our ancestors could have ever known. Yet, still we squander resources and whine about circumstance.

Knowing the limitation time brings us shouldn’t create fears of mediocrity and failure, it should further illustrate the gift of life. To exist and know of it is our most valued treasure.

Evolution was a such a thoughtful present. It gave humans mortality. Perhaps it is best we honor every moment of it.

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psst - Have you stimulated someone else today?

photo by Emuisphere Peliculas

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I recently received my stimulus check.

I originally intended to save the entire $600 bucks for my first vacation in seven years.

But I’ve given it some thought, and since I don’t really NEED the money (as in the real definition of neediness), I’ve decided to use a portion of it to help stimulate someone else.

I am going to donate $100 of my check to Kiva.org and I hope I can get other people to do the same.

Now if you’d rather donate it to another organization or individual, so be it. If you didn’t receive a stimulus or aren’t an American getting fed a few hundred bucks in hush money, I still encourage you to consider the idea.

I could give the speel about giving rather than receiving, but you’ve been fed that line before.

This is an easy way to do something for somebody else with money we otherwise wouldn’t have had in the first place.

Any attempt to Just MakeItBetter is one worth doing.

I’m gonna try to get other bloggers in on the action. So do harass your favorites about it and/or please click on the links below to attract my blogger friends’ attention as well.

Thanks all, I appreciate your support.

White on Rice

Retire Syd

In My Heels

Millionaire Mommy

Frugal in the Fruitlands

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I’ve been feeling a bit unmotivated lately.

Sometimes, I lose the pep in my step. More often than that, I get anxious about whatever so-called plateau I’ve created for myself.

It feels like I am in all three right now. I’ve been working on waking up my internal cheerleader, but she’s become a lazy bitch. So I’m resorting to bragging on my blog.

Now, what does this do for you?

I mean, that is the reason I do this whole blogging thing. (So my obsession with making this world a better place can help others learn from my life and avoid these debacles - in case you weren’t sure.)

It helps to look at your life for all the greatness you have in it. For what you’ve created in it.

I’m in a lazy mood, (remember?) so I’m going with a list for this one.

1. People know not what they do. My father was an abusive drunk and I was a loud kid. You get the picture. I’ve forgiven him. All is well now. I decided not to drink that self-inflicted poison.

2. I have a few great friends. I’ve managed to keep the good ones and weed out the toxic ones. Yaay!

3. Saying no to cake. I have a sweet tooth. It’s under control. I could be better, but considering my friend once hurled a Snickers bar across the store because I couldn’t resist, I’d say there’s been significant improvement.

4. No consumer debt. Besides the 10k in student loans, I’m totally financially free. In less than two years I’ve paid off 4k in credit cards and almost 8k in a car loan. And I probably make less than you.

5. Spilled milk isn’t worth crying over. “Get over it Nicole, it’s not that bad. Seriously, just get over it.” I did and will continue too. Once you get the habit of it, it’s no big deal.

6. Mommie Dearest. My mother drives me crazy. She’s amazing though. I’ve learned to deal, breathe or leave the room. It’s okay, karma will just give me a kid just like me.

7. Scary stuff. Fear is just your body’s way of letting you know you really want something, but it doesn’t believe you can do it. I make sure to let my body know who’s boss.

8. Small town girl. I am proud I escaped the sandbox that is my hometown. I could’ve stuck my head it in and continued to suffocate. Instead I took the best lessons it could teach and followed my heart.

Amen baby.

No go, write your own list. You’re a raging success too. Success isn’t a future event, it’s happening to you right now.

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Btw, until I find a programmer who likes being paid in cookies and smiles please bear with me as I learn this blogging stuff. Who knows what interesting issues lie ahead so I appreciate your patience and understanding.

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