The Return To Innocence

This is just so I can remember my favorite evolution videos without having to search all over YouTube.

As I told a yowling Christian Creationist* a while back:
Listen carefully: Evolution does not claim to be connected with gods, God, aliens, or something that might cause creation. Evolution means this: Changes in trait or gene frequency in a population of organisms from one generation to the next - and it has nothing to do with how the world/universe was created/made. Which means that, hey, we're not saying it was aliens... but it was [probably] aliens.
Also, this may be mind-blowing, but "theory" is an established idea that has been tested.
Happy now? Okay. Now watch the whole thing and stop fighting over facts.

And yes, even the most fundamentalist Christian can agree that creationism and evolution are two different things. There's a term for it, which I completely forget - amniogenesis, maybe? Something like that? I mean, Intelligent Design is even based on it, I think. In fact, Deism is the idea that a god created everything and then backed off and let evolution happen all on its own, through reason and science.
For all we know, something like that happened. We don't know. If a theory is an idea that has been tested, then a belief is a personal knowledge that has not become fact and faith is an emotion tied to belief. And that is where the battle of religions happens. The problems with belief and faith is that they are so strong, so intense, so powerful, that they overcome logic and reason and become a way of thought, a way of life, and the person is literally unable to truly see or understand any other method.



*She was really sweet and really smart, but I could tell she had been literally brainwashed by parents, family, friends, churches, and teachers. Once we had these talks, I watched her brain go ker-klunk as she realized how massive and amazing the world actually was beyond what she thought she knew. I told her she could still believe that her God created everything... but evolution was nowhere near the same thing. She actually burst into tears and hugged me. Really, I don't care if you believe in Intelligent Design; I just want you to know exactly what real evolution actually means. That the theory of evolution simply means that the idea has been established and tested. Which has nothing to do with whatever creating entity you believe in. Evolution is its own thing, or miracle, if you wish. Fun, though, isn't it?

I kind of feel like throwing a tantrum and whining. You know, "Why meee? I don't wanna hurt like this! Make it stooop! I'm so tiiired!"
But part of growing up and growing wise is learning to understand how far you can raise your limits.
If there is one platitude I will forever hate, it is the "You have no limits, they are all just in in your mind" bullshit. I certainly do have my limitations. I just have to keep pushing them more and more so it takes more strength to reach them, and along the way I slowly grow stronger in my own way. Once I reach those limits, I exhaust myself, then I rest, and then I push the limits even more, because it's a goal, like climbing a mountain. I don't "push past my limits" - I push my limits beyond so I can keep reaching for them.
Just because I have my limits does not mean I can't surpass them. They will always be there, but the farther away they are, the stronger I become as I work toward them.
But I do allow myself the occasional stomping and screaming and getting angry at the pain along the way, because Dealing With It tends to get very old and very exhausting. Being told to slap on a metaphorical bandage and walk it off makes me snarl and growl. Being told to use the pain as a focus makes me determined. My pain can be a weapon in a way.
I have held these powerful masks and walls in place all my life, and eventually I must let them all come crashing down, and I have no idea what will happen then, I just know it will not be pleasant or good at all. I refuse to bow or bend to anyone else's ideas of what it means to push through pain, but I will absolutely work with my own views. If I bend, I won't break. But even if I do break, I will put myself back together. I am a Diamond. I am Steel. I am a Rose. I am a Lotus. I am fragile and powerful and You Can't Tell Me What To Do. Unless I like what you're telling me. Then I will be happy with your advice and your views. But do not ever tell me what I cannot do for myself, because You Are Not Me. I Am Not You. One Person Is Not Another Person. Here, let us trade shoes and figure out what it is really like.
I am full of love right now, I am shining so intensely that I can barely see past my own soul. Who wants some Love? Who wants some Shiny Love? Seriously, I am radiating energy and power so insanely that all three cats are staring at me, all purring, and I can actually sense all the trees in the neighborhood bending slowly toward my house. I have no idea what any of this means, but I do know that I am full of a powerful thing that I cannot explain in words. I will do my best to help you Shine and Feel Loved as I sit here, by myself, with my cats and my toys and my books and my medicines. I am made of stars, just like you. We are the universe exploring its own imagination.
It's All Good.

My husband and a tree.
Look closely...
http://pics.livejournal.com/shiefox/pic/0001qr97/
(zoom in; you can see his face)

http://www.junkscience.com/Greenhouse/
This was a very interesting read. I'm sure many people will disagree vehemently, of course; that's cool. And others will wholeheartedly agree; that's fine too. Me, I'll just make my own personal conclusions. I feel that a lot of people are panicking too quickly and too soon. Yes, there are major problems, but I refuse to run around flailing and yelling that we're all going to die. I do my small part to help the environment, but I also trust that Mother Earth can take care of herself. No, seriously. She can. She's been doing it for billions of years. She doesn't always need our help with everything -- just the messes we make ourselves (you make a mess, you clean it up, or no supper tonight and no TV for a week).
She doesn't like what we kids are doing, so she's giving us warnings and trying to give us time outs, but we're stubborn little bastards. She's very strong and willfull, however, so eventually we'll listen. Even the worst "Nanny 911" brats settle down and pay attention when Mommy (and maybe a nanny) starts yelling.
However: I will not be part of any radical group, extremist group, or bunch of nuts who complain and whine loudly in public all the time. I like my personal connection with Momma Nature just fine, thanks. I think she listens better to those who speak to her softly and in private.

http://www.junkscience.com/Greenhouse/
This was a very interesting read. I'm sure many people will disagree vehemently, of course; that's cool. And others will wholeheartedly agree; that's fine too. Me, I'll just make my own personal conclusions. I feel that a lot of people are panicking too quickly and too soon. Yes, there are major problems, but I refuse to run around flailing and yelling that we're all going to die. I do my small part to help the environment, but I also trust that Mother Earth can take care of herself. No, seriously. She can. She's been doing it for billions of years. She doesn't always need our help with everything -- just the messes we make ourselves (you make a mess, you clean it up, or no supper tonight and no TV for a week).
She doesn't like what we kids are doing, so she's giving us warnings and trying to give us time outs, but we're stubborn little bastards. She's very strong and willfull, however, so eventually we'll listen. Even the worst "Nanny 911" brats settle down and pay attention when Mommy (and maybe a nanny) starts yelling.
However: I will not be part of any radical group, extremist group, or bunch of nuts who complain and whine loudly in public all the time. I like my personal connection with Momma Nature just fine, thanks. I think she listens better to those who speak to her softly and in private.