Yes, that’s right. I’m BACK!!!! But I’m moving to a new site in order to start fresh and really focus on what’s important to me. Here is is: justapizzamymind.wordpress.com
xoxo
An Issue of Today: Slavery
Slavery. I feel like this is an issue that gets swept under the rug because it isn’t something we see on a daily basis. We gravitate more toward things that directly affect us, but there is a huge issue that continues to grow right under our noses. While we’re busy worrying about equal rights, equal pay, there are millions of girls (and some boys) who are forced to sleep with men who are three, four, even five times times their age. Men who are strangers to them, and yet they must— MUST invite them into their beds. They see no way out, no way up, and no way to improve the circumstances they are in. While we worry whether we are receiving fair pay, these people— often children, are having something so much more important than money taken away from them, and that is their self-worth, their dreams and hopes for their future, their pride, and their health. I’m not implying we should stop showing support for issues that affect us directly, only that it’s equally important to show support for issues like this, that violate not only gay rights or women’s rights, but HUMAN rights as a whole. Watch this video by an organization called Exodus Road. Please donate if you feel inclined to do so– it’s a cause worth supporting:
10 Ingredients In The Great Relationship Recipe
Good advice…
I am limited in my ability to cook, but one recipe that I like to think I understand pretty well is one that turns out a happy, healthy relationship. There are a few key ingredients that go into this tasty meal.
Fire up that oven and let’s get started.
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Attraction.
We can say that looks don’t really matter all we want, but the honest truth is that physical attraction to your partner is an essential ingredient for a happy relationship. This does not mean that the only successful relationships out there will be between two supermodels – everyone is attracted to different things in different ways. The key is finding someone who fits what you want and has an equally strong attraction towards you.
Forget about societal descriptions of beauty – be honest with yourself and find a man or woman who makes your heart skip a beat or two…
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A Message to Conservative Christians on Same-Sex Marriage
Over the past few decades, the acceptance of gays and lesbians in our society has drastically increased, and legislation to approve the legitimacy of homosexual marriages has gradually spread across our country. Conservative Christians, however, resist this legislation. They feel that same-sex marriage should not be deemed legal. While I feel it is important for Christians to maintain their beliefs, including the belief that homosexuality is immoral, I also believe that it is not their place to try to stop this legislation.
Why should a non-Christian be required to follow the rules the Bible lays out? Let me speak frankly to my fellow Christians: if a man does not believe in God, he isn’t going to get into heaven, whether or not he is gay. So why should we force these rules (that they do not believe in) down their throats? I feel that a better solution would be to simply love everyone and continue to preach the Bible to those to want to listen.Individuals who feel hatred and negativity coming from the Christian community are not very likely to dive into our religion, but if these people feel love and acceptance, they might just take a risk, walk through the doors of the church, and discover the forgiving arms of Jesus.
Now, you may be thinking that this moral standpoint poses a problem because it means that other things like killing another person should be okay, but really there is a simply solution to that issue. Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, “the right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins”. In other words, one persons rights are terminated when they infringe upon the rights of another person. Murder? Abortion? Abuse? They still are not excused by this reasoning. All this does is free some individuals from the confines of a religion they do not subscribe to, and what’s so wrong with that?
Love [others] Always,
xo
My Favorite Hobby: Laughing at Myself
Yeah, it sounds strange. Maybe it is. But honestly, embarrassing situations are only embarrassing if you let them be. In light of that, let me share a few of my favorite “embarrassing” moments with you all. Maybe you’ll get a laugh or two out of them too.
1) The time I went to a concert with my friends and forgot the tickets. Yes, I really did that. I picked up my friends, drove 30 minutes to the concert, and as I was getting out of the car, my one friend goes, “Hey, you have the tickets, right?” Awko taco. Fortunately, they looked up my name and were able to reprint our tickets for us!
2) The time I almost got into the wrong car. When I was in high school, I was supposed to be picked up from my rifle practice by my friend Jake so we could make dodgeball tournament t-shirts. As a little brace-face sophomore I felt all confident as I saw the jeep pulling through the parking lot. So I jogged over to it as it was moving and waved. And the girl driving the jeep smiled, waved, and kept driving. So yeah… I walked back inside and the entire team started laughing at me.
3) The time I almost got into the wrong car again. Also during my high school years, I was at my friend Mariah’s house and it was dark and rainy when my mom came to pick me up. I walked out to the van and the door was locked, so I put my face up to the window and cupped my hands and the window rolled down. “Can I help you?” I heard coming from the mouth of the strange lady in the passenger seat. Not my mom. Not even close.
4) The time I actually did get into the wrong car. During high school (do you see a trend?), my friend David was driving me home from band one night after a football game and he was meeting my parents to drop me off at the Chug-a-Lug, a local bar. So again, it was dark and rainy and I got out of the car with my band uniform and helmet in tow and walked over to my dad’s silver car with the headlight on. I open the door, sit down, toss my bags on the floor and start talking to him about how me and Dave are going out for wings with some people next week. But of course it wasn’t my dad, it was just some 40 year old man with a creeped out smile on his face. So I kind of freaked out and said, “Oh my god, you’re not my dad, I’m sorry!” and jumped out of the car and started running after Dave as he was pulling away and whacking my band helmet against his car. He appreciated that.
So, moral of the story: laugh at your mistakes, tell them to others, and embrace your awkwardness
Love you all,
xoxo
Zen Christianity; What It Is, and Why I Practice It
Just thought this was some interesting food for thought…it’s an approach to Christianity that I’ve been thinking a lot about recently.
I get a lot of questions — several times a day, actually — about what I mean when it says in my Profile that I’m a Zen Christian. So you’ll pardon me if I indulge myself and take a moment to explain what I mean. If this isn’t your thing, I have lots of political articles below this you can peruse. I should also explain that the terms I use in this article are of my own definition. They may or may not be what you might call a standard definition of the word.
When you say the phrase ‘Zen Christian,” you have two words there — “Zen” and “Christian,” obviously. The word “Zen” comes from the Buddhist philosophy and refers to the concept in Buddhism of simplification. “In all things, simplify” might be the guiding philosophy of Zen. Simple, neat, orderly, harmony with the things around it. Buddhist thought…
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Is Being Unique Overrated?
North Face, yoga pants, and Uggs. This is the unofficial uniform from anyone between the ages of 12-22. When I see six girls walking together, all wearing this exact set of clothes, I often roll my eyes and secretly pass a little bit of judgement. I judge them for conforming to the exact style of everyone else. I judge them for not thinking for themselves and for letting society tell them how to dress. In the United States we constantly preach, “Be unique! Be different!” and I’ve wondered why these messages don’t get through to these girls (and boys).
However, lately I’ve done a 180 on this issue (Okay maybe not a 180– probably more like a 90 degree turn). If you are happy as a north face wearing, yoga pants adoring, Ugg enthusiast, why change that?
This may sound like a strange argument to make in the midst of so many arguments against conformity and peer pressure, but pressure like this is harmless. Conformity is only bad if you feel trapped and unhappy by the decisions you are making, or if the resulting decisions are bad for your well-being and health. If you’re content looking like everyone else, keep it up. Don’t change yourself in an effort to be different solely because “being unique is cool”.
In a sense, I have done just that. Throughout the past year, I have spent hours and hours trying to find unique music to listen to and unique clothes to buy. Lately, however, I’ve been realizing that while I do enjoy the music I listen to now and the style I’ve adopted, I loved the clothes I wore before and the music I listened to then just as much, if not more!
My point here is simply this: If you’re a person with unique interests or a unique style, don’t let others around you stifle that. But if you’re just like all of your friends, don’t change just for the sake of being “different”.
Why is Success Measured in Money?
We see it everywhere. It’s a culturally accepted idea that to be successful, a person has to have to have money. We measure individuals net worth, discuss salaries, and talk about the objects we bought with our money. But why is it that money is what qualifies a person as successful? An incredibly popular saying states that “money can’t buy happiness” but, don’t look now, that’s exactly what everyone tries to do! We love to use that phrase, but yet we still hang on to the idea that once we have enough money, then we will be free to establish relationships, volunteer, etc. I have news for you. Once you have money, that is exactly what you won’t do. We wait for financial security so that we can spend time on other people, but once we have that financial security, we think, “Well…what if something really big happens and I deplete my savings?” So we waste more time making money and continue neglecting friendships and before we know it, half of our lives are gone and all we have to show for them are 401 k’s and a nice car. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to have money and, if we use our money to donate, go on service trips, etc., money can be a great blessing. However, so many people never get to that point. Money can buy objects, but at the end of our lives, we won’t look back and think, “Wow, I’m so glad I worked overtime so I could buy that new furniture. It meant so much to me.” So this brings me back to my initial question. Why do we measure success by the amount of money we have?
I have a challenge for you: Start viewing yourself from a different perspective. Instead of judging your success on the number of dollars in your bank account, judge your success on the number of people you invest time in.
Spread friendship & spread love.
Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all.
-EleynaL
You Can’t Change the World
You can’t do it. You absolutely, most certainly, cannot solve world hunger, establish world peace, or create a international movement for any cause. It’s impossible. You can try, but you won’t get anywhere. These issues are impossible to solve and you would be foolish to think you could do it….by yourself.
“By yourself” is the key phrase there. You, working individually, without any other assistance, cannot do shit to change the world. You can make a difference in someone’s life for sure, maybe by providing a meal for them, buying them groceries or clothes, or taking time out of your day to sit with them and comfort them. However, if you’re aiming higher than that and desiring to truly make a difference in the world, the probability of doing so is zero.
To change the world, you have to collaborate with others. This is where the saying “the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts” comes in. If you desire to change the world, join an organization that advocates for the things you are passionate about. If there isn’t one, create one. Get others involved in this change. In doing so, you can change the world. Not alone, but with the help of like-minded individuals we can make incredible differences in our world and do not ever doubt that. So get involved somewhere and be part of “the whole” that is impacting this world in unforeseen ways.
Define the Box 