"Everyone must believe in something...."

"...I believe I'll go canoeing." -- Henry David Thoreau

I sat down to blog today, and was all set to write about motivation. And as I was looking for the quote of the day and simultaneously reading some of Grey Owl's works, I became distracted (oh, the irony) and found myself lost in a dozen paddling websites. I decided I'd blog about something I'm very passionate about; canoeing. Then, after a few minutes of blankly staring at a picture I'd taken a while back, I discovered that I could very easily integrate the two. So, in a very roundabout and story-telling way, I will explain this to you.

I'm an outdoorsy person, first of all. I don't know why; I come from a family of haggis-eating Scottish immigrants who would love nothing more than to sit in the backyard with a beer with The Best of The Proclaimers or Rod Stewart on the stereo. Which, might I add, I do not mind at all. It's tradition!

However, we rarely camp together (and if we do it's "luxury camping") and I'm the only person in my family of 4 that skis, trips, hikes, rock climbs or swims. And I don't really mind. I have accepted that by some strange quirk, I have become addicted to adventure. I love nothing more than the relaxed challenge of wilderness I've never seen. Nothing brightens me more inside than the prospect of exploration.

I could not have explained it better than Grey Owl;

"The feel of a canoe gunnel at the thigh, the splash of flying spray in the face, the rhythm of the snowshoe trail, the beckoning of far-off hills and valleys, the majesty of the tempest, the calm and silent presence of the trees that seem to muse and ponder in their silence; the trust and confidence of small living creatures, the company of simple men; these have been my inspiration and my guide. Without them I am nothing." -- Archie Belaney/Grey Owl

My inspiration, my solace, my love is nothing more than to be outside. I almost immediately relax around water, whether it's the ocean, a lake, a river, or even if it'd just raining. So, it would only make sense that I would be at my most comfortable in a canoe. I can think of little better than to spend a day paddling aimlessly around, traveling wherever a whim takes me.

Exploring is my motivation.

People have all sorts of motivators, often more than one. Some are motivated by money, some by thoughts of success, some by their mothers' praise; by dreams, by the common good, by the name in spotlights, by someone they feel for, by the promise of donuts, even. We are all motivated by something; for if we weren't, we'd never get anything done. We'd all be stagnant.

The strange thing about motivation is that it can't always work when you need it to. Sometimes, what motivates us doesn't apply to the situation in which we need a little help to get moving. This is what I have experienced quite a lot lately.

What started me on this whole tangent was the fact that I was studying for a chemistry exam last week and simply could not bring myself to focus. I was thinking of ways I could motivate myself. No one was going to pay me for passing chem. No one would give me a plaque, the Nobel Peace Prize, a spot on Broadway, an engagement ring, or even an apple fritter. My motivation was leveling off at around zero...wait, scratch that...perhaps negative three. So I started to think; what could get me to study?

I started off thinking about where I was. I had decided to go to Trent because I had an unshakable feeling that I was going to be happy there. Generally, my gut instincts are true, and have thus far never lead me astray. Just walking across the bridge or by the canal can bring my stress levels down and my endorphins up. However, the more I sat and attempted to study, the more I would wish I was outside, enjoying the rare sun you find during the academic year at Trent.

I nearly went insane.

Which is, what I realized, how I had been feeling all of my year last year. I think I find not being at school very hard because a) there's nothing to challenge me, and b) I don't have the means of exploring while at home. I'm nervous to spend the summer back home, because I'm afraid my motivational fires will die out; I'll spend the summer either at work or in front of the TV despite my best efforts, not out cycling and exploring and practicing guitar like I hope to.

So I compromised and promised myself that if I could just hang on for this last exam, that if I could just crack down on the studying, I would plan myself a canoe trip. Myself, perhaps a friend or two, a canoe, a harmonica, and an expanse of water. Even just the thought of it made me happier. My motivation worked for me, although not as well as I'd hoped, in the case of chemistry. Sometimes you just have to do things because you have to do them. "Suck it up, princess," as my Outdoor Ed teacher would say, speeding past you on a portage with a canoe and a pack on her tiny 100lb frame. I always envied her unending desire to push herself and others forward.

I think my motivation has also been cause for my interest in environmental science. I feel like everything I can do, everything I discover, everything I can learn about the environment I can put down as investment in a future where we still have the luxury of untouched wilderness, where I can bring my kids out on the water and teach them to paddle. I think canoeing and interior camping are very organic ways of being. The utter absence of human noise, the almost limitless expanse of trees and water and sky, the knowledge that your presence has an absolutely minimal effect of the world around you... I live for that.

"What sets a canoeing expedition apart is that it purifies you more rapidly and inescapably than any other travel. Travel a thousand miles by train and you are a brute; pedal five hundred on a bicycle and you remain basically a bourgeois; paddle a hundred in a canoe and you are already a child of nature." -- Pierre Elliott Trudeau

I guess I am just a child of nature.

I wonder what you are, what motivates you?

Think about it. Put it to good use.

-- Cate





This is a shot of me on my trip to Newfoundland two summers ago. :)

Photojournalism

"When in the wild, take only pictures; leave only footprints" --Anonymous

Here are a few pictures I took with a friend's Nikon Coolpix today. I think it's high time I invested in an SLR and tried my hand at photojournalism...what do you think?

(PS, if you wish to use these for anything, please ask first, as I may enter them into a contest or something!)

I love this last one. Please leave comments!! A Nikon sponsor would be nice...
Next blog: environmental and physical motivation. :)

Little Rascals

"We do not inheret the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children" -- Native American Proverb

I experienced something the other day that I think everyone should have at some point in their life.

I was humbled by a kid.

Here I was, on my way across the bridge to Bata for a coffee, grumbling to myself about how early it was and that I had an exam in less than two hours...and there's kids everywhere. Which, might I add, is something I'm used to at work as a lifeguard, but is a rare occurrence on the Trent Symons Campus.

Kids running, playing, screaming. And strangely, they seemed to almost fit; like birds, they moved this way and that, in flocks, alone, up, down, left, right, squealing and chirping and singing. There was one boy standing on the bridge with his friends, staring wide-eyed at the Otonabee River and Bata Library, with all it's bustling university students. Then he turns to one of his friends and says,

"Wow! I wish we could be here every day."

Just like that. Completely humbled me to the core. But more on that later.

I love kids for this simple reason; you can learn so much from them, if you just let yourself. I realized that half the time, kids have no idea what they're saying or implicating, but just being around a child that just is can be an eye-opening experience.

People say that kids are the innocent and untainted members of our society. Yes, this much is true. But the opposite, however, is not. I don't think adults are uncensored version of children -- rather, children are the uncensored version of adults.

Who hasn't had the embarrassing, yet hilarious experience with a kid who points at the person in line in front of you and says loudly, "Why does that man have such a big belly?" or "Why does that old lady look like she's bald?"

Kids don't really have a filter yet, so when they speak, things come out exactly how they're meant. Which, as we can see, can be a good and a bad thing. But I appreciate honesty. So many adults use that filter far too much.

Sometimes I look at a kid and wish so badly that I could be one of them again; to have absolutely nothing to do all day but run around and experience things. I have two younger cousins (whom are really more like nieces, as one is my Goddaughter) and I love taking them places just to see the looks on their faces when they see something new. The wide-eyed look of wonder, the smiles that could light up a black hole...what an awesome thing! And they ask the best questions, too. I don't know how many times my cousin has asked me a question I didn't know the answer to. But you know, I always make it my goal to find out.

It has always been said that our children are our future. That has never been more true.

But people are also saying that the upcoming generation of children are lazy, overweight, and far too engaged with the media.

This is a problem easily fixed.

Take a kid. Put him outside. Watch.

It's amazing just to see what kids will do outside -- things you would have never thought to do as an adult, but now that you see a little guy or girl do it, you wonder why you hadn't. Why not peek into a rabbit hole, do a pike jump off of a dock, climb to the top of a tree? Why not make man out of rocks, a dress out of seaweed, a home for a duck?

Kids love being outside; we just need to give them more opportunity to get out there and see the world. And with that world will come an appreciation for it. Every child should have the opportunity to camp or spend a few devoted days to exploring outside. Kids will grow up and miss the fields and lakes of their childhood and protect them, especially if they realize that past generations have monopolized such land and made such grave mistakes. I have nothing but faith!

As for the kid on the bridge...

He reminded me of something that I try not to forget; that being outside is a privilige. Enjoying nice weather and a beautiful view is something to be appreciated. How many students go across that bridge each day without giving their lives so much of a thought, and this kid is wishing for the very thing we take for granted! Going to university itself is something to be thankful for every day. Going to university to maintain the environment is possibly the best thing I could be doing with my time right now!

So thanks, little man, for making my day. I have no doubt you'll do us proud in the future.

Everyone reading -- your assignment for the week; act like a kid!















Two of my friends enjoying the sunset on Founder's Walk.

Opinions

"It is not advisable, James, to venture unsolicited opinions. You should spare yourself the embarrassing discovery of their exact value to your listener."
-- Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, 1957

First, a short update;

I'm not quite sure where I want to take this blog. It started out as an environmental blog, but apparently it seems to want to be a place where I can rant about the failures of society. I don't think I really want to continue this trend. However, I think this will just be a place for thoughts I think need to be shared, with a mostly environmental focus.

So, I'm going to update you with a few things today, and then I'm going to write another piece, so you may get two posts for the price of one today. I know I've been quite irregular with updates, but exams have been hectic. I'm thinking once summer hits, I'll update at least once a week. My friends have also been bugging me to get my comic series , 'Frank and Honest', out to the public. I think you'll enjoy them, so once I have a decent collection of them started, they may appear here or on a new page!

Okay. So here's my minor rant for the day;

I went back to Dwyer for the afternoon today. I keep forgetting about the atmosphere there. Although I had to go get a Visitor's Pass (this particular secretary didn't know me), I felt at home once again. I had students and teachers smiling and saying hi to me like I had never left. I hadn't realize how widespread my last blog post had become, as teachers and students I had never even talked to expressed that they felt it was very powerful. Thank you to all who read it, and for spreading it around! It feels nice to have support, and to be supporting you.

I would like to address a second article, written in The Central, by a Mr. Ingino. First of all, wow. It's impressive that your passion for the subject is so strong that you must type in caps for half of your column. Second of all, I hope you realize that I may have been the only one to read it to the end, since it was so offensive and grammatically incorrect. I don't mean to be harsh, sir, but I'd like to let you know that making a point with clear and concise writing is a lot easier than literary screaming.

Mr. Ingio wrote a column for 'The Central', stating that the incidents at Dwyer could have been prevented, and that the principal was to blame. This opinion is valid, however when Mr. Ingino stated that "Catholic values need to be upheld" and, in the next breath, said that the principal was to blame and he should "F@#K THE POLICY BOOK [...] you should have followed your f@#$ing policy book and reported that retard of TK to the police." I could not help but laugh.

Honestly?

I go to church with my family to St. Mary of the People Parish, across the street from Dwyer. I took catechism for at least three years, and religion classes for at least 1o. I know Catholic values...and swearing and using the word "retard" (which, by the way, should not be used to refer to anyone) is most certainly not a Catholic way to deal with a situation. How can you expect your community educators to uphold values when you don't? How would you feel if a school official came into your son's class and called him a "retard", "social reject", and "a piece of shit" ? But this didn't happen, did it? Catholic values are in place at school, but most certainly not your newspaper.

[ I apologize for the profanity used here, but I am directly quoting Mr. Ingino's article. ]

I can't believe you can call a principal a "failure" in terms of values when you yourself cannot uphold them...and then even continue on to call him a "hypocrite". Mr. D'amico just arrived at Dwyer this past year. I don't know the man, but I can say that surely anyone who experiences the Dwyer atmosphere must know that the school is a place of love and respect, and that everyone works together. What I do know is that at my graduation ceremony, he passed me my diploma with pride, shook my hand and said with genuine warmth, "Congradulations." I was actually touched at that moment.

Any principal would have done what Mr. D'amico has done. It's not his job to be a bouncer or a cop, and it's not his job to entertain parents wacky ideas of safety -- the school board tells him the general outline of what needs to be done; namely, keep a safe place, run the school efficiently, and deal with incidents fairly. He can't possibly control the student inflow and outflow; the essential Catholic outlook on education is that no one gets turned away. That is a value that was upheld.

"We are Catholics and it should be a badge of pride. Everything has a price in life and we must teach our children value, otherwise we get TK."

Your religion should not be a badge of pride, sir. It's ok to be proud in what you believe. But I feel that it is not something to flash like a rented Jag convertible -- you didn't build it, you don't own it, and you know nothing about it's inner workings. And your religion is certainly nothing you should be using to justify your thoughts when those thoughts are so painfully contradicting of the very values you preach.

I'm sorry, I can't go any further into this article...I could quote every contradictory sentence, but I won't, because it's not worth it.

However, I will say this;

Oshawa, Durham, and possibly the world, would be a better place if people stopped expressing their opinions with too little information and too little time to think about what is being said. Please stop laying blame and spreading hate (I hope I myself am not being contradictory here, as I do tend to speak of these individuals) without first consulting all information and sides and your own true values. If we all use critical thinking and take time before we answer in this fast-paced world, we might be a more agreeable society with better answers to complex problems.

Everyone is open to your own interpretation and your opinion, and even free speech.

But for heaven's sakes, use it wisely!

--Cate

Support for Dwyer Community

A year ago today, I woke up for school. I slipped into my grey slacks, tucked in my uniform shirt, made sure I was wearing black shoes. I walked to school, like I did every day, through a neighbourhood of mainly elderly Italian and Portugese couples, stopping to pet the neighbour's dog that has barked at me every morning since I was six. I got to school on time, was greeted at the door by my teacher, stood for the national anthem and morning prayers.

Our school has been one of the most humanitarian and spirited schools in the region for as long as I can remember -- as long as many of my teachers (many of who went there and came back to teach, our of love for the place) can remember. In fact, during my four years, we collectively raised over $25,000 for the Terry Fox Foundation, built a school in Africa, collected food for the less fortunate families of our school, and raised hundreds of dollars in support of 'Me to We'. All of our non-uniform money went to organizations for the greater good. We came together to support members of our school, students and faculty who had tragically lost loved ones. We celebrated victories in sports and the arts, our football team, womens' hockey team and annual musical revered by other schools and citizens of the region. We have, yearly, at least 5 students on scholarship to schools for sports, and teachers who consistently rank in the best of the region.

Yet, when one unfortunate mishap happens off of the property of my school, one woman has the nerve to say that Monsignor Paul Dwyer Catholic High School is the "worst Catholic school in the Durham Region".

I am flat out embarrassed.

Let me start out by explaining a few things. First, unless people ten years our senior actually work at a high school, they have absolutely no idea of what it is like now. I do not think it is fair for parents and older members of community to cast judgment on a school's students without being fully immersed in the social atmosphere. Computers have definitely added to the social climate of a high school -- bullying rates have skyrocketed. And yes, this is an inevitable fact -- bullying will happen. Bullying will happen everywhere. But it's not like "bullies stalk the halls" and there are gangs of "knife-wielding students" around every corner. It is one kid, once in a while, who has issues no parent or teacher or friend can (or worse, want to) deal with, that becomes a bully. It isn't a social choice, to be a bully.

In my years of high school, I only knew of one personal friend who was bullied -- and this was over the internet; no physical threats or even much face-to-face interaction. And this was quickly resolved by the school administration by separating the two on different lunches and class schedules. In fact, the two later resolved their issues and became friends. Fights would occur -- but it was always the grade 9's thinking they had to make a name for themselves; the upper grades had hardly any cases of people picking on younger kids, or even fighting with one another. In fact, I feel the Dwyer community was quite close-knit and mature, given that it is a place that houses 1400 teenagers.

At my school, you were not allowed to enter most classes without first tucking in your shirt and having uniform shoes. You attended monthly masses, you knew some of your teachers on a first name basis, and you could walk around the neighbourhood without any fear of being hurt.

Yet, somehow, two young boys happened to have a fight after school, ending in a fatal wound.

I grew up in the neighbourhood. I wandered through the field next to the Oshawa Airport, I walked to the store at the stop of the street. I went to Dwyer just one short year ago. My sister, 5 years previously. My friend's father went there.

Dwyer is not a bad place.

I felt safe every day I went to that school. In fact, I stayed there until six some days, working on extracurriculars with teachers and friends.

It its beyond my comprehension that such a thing could have happened.

But it did.

I accept that.

I know that bad things happen at high schools. If you pack 1400 confused and trapped teens into a building for six hours a day, they are bound to get a little edgy. But we can't cast blame on an entire community simply because a few misguided individuals make mistakes. No one ever said that the entire country of Canada was the worst in the world when Paul Bernardo was arrested, or when Jessica Lloyd went missing.

People do bad things, under bad circumstances -- but it is in my strong belief that these circumstances were not a result of Paul Dwyer Catholic High School.

Accidents happen, such as the incident that resulted in a broken window at a local store -- no one still knows for sure what exactly happened in that situation. The problem with high schools is the spread of rumours.

An article written by Parvaneh Pessian from durhamregion.com quoted a Mrs. Young, defiling the name of Dwyer as the "worst Catholic School in Durham".

The article stated "From violently competitive cliques, knife-wielding students exchanging a torrent of threats, and even people being thrown through windows -- a murder just steps from the school's front doors comes as no shock".

While I attended Dwyer, less than one year ago, I was not involved in any of these situations.

Why, you may ask? Simply because these are rumours. Rumours are circulated by students, sure. They typically end quickly. But there's another circle going on here. Parents hear of things from their kids -- usually kids who have started fights and altercations and need to lay the blame on someone before their parent finds out that they're involved -- it's manipulation. Parents spread rumours to other parents just as fast as the rumours in the hallways and this can be just as dangerous. I heard things from my own parents and my friends' parents before I even heard them at school myself!

From the article: ""I'm surprised it hasn't happened sooner because they have no control over those students whatsoever," said Ms. Young, who pulled Jessica out of the school at the end of her Grade 10 year after hearing repeated disturbing stories.""

One can't lay the blame on administration, either. The staff at Dwyer has always worked hard to maintain an atmopshere of safety and respect. But we need to remember one thing;

Teachers are educators. Not policemen.

I expect nothing from faculty other than for them to teach us to love and respect others. Sure, a governing force is sometimes neccessary, but what can a principal or teacher really do to stop a student from doing what he or she wants? Nothing -- a teacher can only lead by example and teach what is good and what's not. I can personally vouch for any staff member at Msgr. Paul Dwyer, had he or she been aware of the situation that was about to occur, that they would have done anything in their power (mainly, calling the police, as any citizen would have the responsibility to do) to stop it.

The Dwyer community has lost a member. They need time to mourn, time to recover, time to reevaluate. They need to do things the adult way, which they are capable of.

Spreading rumours and pointing blame, as seen in the Oshawa This Week, is not the adult way to go about expressing opinion. It is, ironically, the typical 'high school way'. I do not know what happened to her daughter at Dwyer, but I'm sorry that anything did, and I'm sorry that she did not have the courage to alert administration if she was unable deal with her situation herself. Things happen in high schools. But they are not standalone. They are fueled and catalyzed by stereotypes and blame and predjudice.

I am not disappointed in my alma mater.

I feel sorry for them.

I am, however, disappointed in the community media, this woman, and anyone who feels any animosity in this situation whatsoever. I'm sorry that Mrs. Young's daughter did not have a pleasant time at Dwyer, that she was on the bad end of someone else' misfortune, and that administration couldn't help either of them. But one must realize that this is not the case for all students.

Please do not cast shame upon a community that does not deserve it.

Perhaps all of us should take note of our school motto:

Vertias Bonitas; Goodness and Truth.

The article by durhamregion.com can be viewed here.

Environmental Art

Humans are intrigued by complexity. We secretly like not knowing everything -- we like the fun in trying to figure things out. The more confusing, the better. And what is more complex than the entire world?

We try to understand the world. In my view, there are two ways people try to do this; through science and art. Yet, I also believe these two ways are intricately related.

Since the near beginnings of man, art has been a way of expressing knowledge, a way of coming to understand new places, new landscapes, new ideas, new concepts. Art is communication, appreciation, imagination...art is everywhere. Art has always been about the environment. Think about the ancient wall carvings and totem poles of the indigenous communities; how they were used to convey the feelings that group had towards the environment around them.
Art is how we express our feelings. It's everywhere; carvings, paintings, statues, graffiti, music, television, movies, architechture, stories, myths...


Humans try to emulate the beauty they see into something they can produce. Sometimes that's about domination, about taming the world in some small way -- whittling a piece of wood, making something raw into something new and pretty. But sometimes it's about appreciation, about looking at that raw piece of wood and painting it exactly as is, knowing that the complexity of it is the real beauty.

Many people see many different things. Any person in the world could look at a scene and see something different, have a different perception; but the unifying thing is that what they see is part of the world, part of the environment. We are transfixed, we are confused, we are challenged, we are terrified, we are consumed, we are inspired by the environment around us. It's all we know and it's all we don't know -- and that's the paradox we've been living with for centuries.

The concept of using then environment in our art isn't new; it's not a hippie thing, or a new, modern millenium thing. It's not brought on by war or global warming or technology (although these are things that influence our perception of the environment and art). Art, however is not simply a mirror in which we see the world. Art has always been used to put value upon the environment. But this value I speak of is not monetary or political -- it's an emotional and personal value. The artist chooses to make something and he or she puts a value on it; but the beauty of art is that each individual person gets to put their own value on what they see in that piece of art.












In today's society, where most people are knowledgeable about our actions and their global impact, it seems that more and more artforms are relating back to our primal views of the environment. Our most up-to-date paintings, movies, and music are carrying heavier themes of environmental appreciation, responsibility, and impact. I have a professor who likes to play one environmental song per lecture. He showed us this diagram. However, I feel that more and more 'envirotunes' are being made, and they're getting better! People are becoming more aware of the environment and are focusing on talking and communicating about that.


People are beginning to use art for communicating environmental issues. People have messages to convey; strong messages that urge us to once again put values on art, values on the world around us. Art can be a very powerful thing. It can start a spark of idea in our minds, help us to see things in new ways. It can be an important environmental tool. Art has been used for years as a way to influence the public. However, the emerging trend in art isn't simply environmental propaganda, in my view. A point needs to be made. And personally, I say rock on!

What's interesting is that now that art is back to focusing on the environment, it's also taking on a new edge; people are recognizing that art emulates the environment...but art is also part of the environment. People are actually using pieces of the world around them in sustainable ways to create art, such as this eco-friendly Gibson Les Paul!

So when you're looking around and living your life, be open to natural art; really think about the messages they're giving you. They can be quite powerful.

Here's your quote of the day;
"Good planets are hard to find;
Temperate zones and tropic climes;
True currents in thriving seas;
Winds blowin' through breathing trees;
Strong ozone and safe sunshine;
Good planets are hard to find..."
-- Good Planets Are Hard to Find, Steve Forbert

Thinking Beyond Ctrl+Z

"People are like stained-glass windows.
They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,
but when the darkness sets in,
their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within."
-- Elizabeth Kubler Ross

So, today (well, yesterday now) was St. Patrick's Day. It is the one day a year where the non-Irish drink Guinness and pretend to be Irish, and the Irish...well, they do that every day. The streets were filled with drunken friends clad in green and glitter. It sounds like fun, yes. But it got me thinking about how we treat ourselves; how we value ourselves and our friends. How we value everything. But before that, a short -- but related -- digression.

Myself, not yet being 19, am not legal in terms of alcohol where I live. So we went downtown for a bit, just to explore and enjoy this unusually nice weather. And on the way back from our excursion, two friends and I had a small brush with death. We were almost hit by a city bus. We had the right of way, and the bus, which had come to a complete stop, suddenly accelerated around a corner, forcing the three of us to literally run out of the way of the speeding bus.

Now, we hadn't been drinking much (it had been a few hours) and thankfully escaped unharmed. But I couldn't help but think of what might have happened if circumstances had changed. What if we had been drinking more? What if we hadn't been so aware of each other's proximity, leaving enough room for each of us to escape the path of the bus? Now, I don't know why the driver did what he/she did, but this may have been a direct result of that day's choices. If one small thing had gone differently, I might not be here right now. And that is terrifying.

The part of this story that almost goaded me the most was that after we dove out of the way, the bus stopped several meters away. It sat there for a moment, with a few dozen other students inside staring out the blue-tinted windows. And then something more astounding happened.

The bus drove away.

We were left alone, shaken, but thankfully unscathed, by the side of the road.

So this brings me back to value. How much do people really care these days? I realize accidents do happen, and perhaps this was one of those freak things. But, as I said, the immediate aftermath of the incident was what affected me most. How could someone just drive away? That is not only inconsiderate, but almost inhumane, in my mind. I think that the well-being of three students (who, by the way, had been on that very bus twice before in those past two hours) is much more important than the timeliness of an already-lacking schedule. But is this way of thinking relative?

Let's go back to drinking. I know I'm living the college/university life, but I can't understand how people can drink and party hard every weekend. How can you be healthy and actually pass classes? How can you feel good about yourself, when you know you need alcohol to do that for you? I mean, a few drinks once in a while is fine. But when you're spending the night wrapped around your toilet twice a week, there has to be something wrong. How can a person not care enough about their own body to do that? I mean, it's a simple enough choice -- drink to such an extent that you're ill....or don't. I know there are other factors; peer pressure, the need to explore, the wanting to feel in control and adult...

But I think this all boils down to one thing.

Respect. Yes, the very same thing your elementary school teachers drilled into your head.

Ok, I'm getting lecture-y. I'll stop that.

It's taken me a while to understand it, but I think I get it now. Especially since I've been studying the environment and ecology. Everything is related. If you don't respect yourself, you don't respect your body, and you don't respect other people. If you throw your beer can out the window, you don't respect yourself, your space, or the other things you share than environment with.

Take a second and think about what "respect" means. It literally means "re-see" -- take a step back, and have another look. Respect is all about scope. I think we all need to take a 'step back' and realize that things aren't static, and we're not set at one magnification.

Respecting ourselves means we need to re-see ourselves at a new level. How about, instead of thinking about how you feel, think about how you feel about you; how others feel about you; how strangers feel about you -- and how all of these things translate into your actions.

Respecting others means we need to re-see them by thinking about how they feel, and how that affects the way they act, and how you act towards them.

Respecting the environment means we need to re-see how we feel about the environment, and how we act within it.

To me, respect doesn't have to be a "spur of the moment" thing. Respect stems from the past. Your past experience is something everyone has a lot of; you have more behind you than you can be sure of in front of you.

Respect is reevaluation.

The bus driver didn't disrespect me by almost running me down. The bus driver did, however, disrespect me by driving away, after reevaluating the situation.

People make mistakes. But people learn from them. Which is why I find it so hard to accept that there is such a lack of respect in today's society. How long has the human race been living and learning; how long have people been alone, been together, been in the environment? And how much experience has been had? Multitudes. And where has all this gone?

We have lost the ability to look back.

In today's world, we rarely ever look back. And if we do, it's the momentary and ever-self-replenishing "Ctrl+Z". It's a do-over we barely think about, a mere function of our computers that our brains seem to have lost the capability to use. We, as modern humans, can't simply hit Ctrl-Z, and go back. We don't have a clipboard, we can't Crtl-C and Ctrl-P.

At one time, we had the ability to use hindsight. The human brain once had a billion times the memory of a computer. Actually, it still does. But do we use it?

That bus driver momentarily couldn't look back. That bus driver couldn't Crtl+Z that near-miss. So, instead of looking back, using the scope and reevaluation of respect to look back at the situation and make a proper judgement, that person drove away.

So, my challenge to you?

Next time you're faced with a decision, whether it be big or small, immediate or lengthened, try to think beyond Ctrl+Z. Try to use respect. Re-see. Change your scope.

If everyone could do this, think about how much better the world would be! How many problems could be solved!

Use a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Find out what it meant to me. Find out what it means to you.

I'll leave you with the Celtic tree of life; remember we're all interconnected.

It's good to be Irish. And alive.

Slainte!

- C