Chapter 3: simple truths and simple lies

Jun 18 • Uncategorized • 13362 Views

Simple truth: War leftover explosives kill a person every thirty minutes of every single hour of every single day. That person is normally a child.

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Repeating something does not make it real

But it can make us believe it is. Peace is not the absence of war, peace is so much more. Peace is eating three times a day, peace is going to school, peace is a roof above, peace is the absence of fear, peace is hope in the future. Peace is when you know you can live and raise a family in peace.

The simple truth is we have been accustomed to a cheap version of this concept and celebrate the end of wars like the final solution that ends all problems. Then we forget about it and feel uncomfortable when we are reminded by the news that something remains rotten in Denmark. Thank God for the remote.

We do not like to acknowledge those things. It is easier to ignore them, not to picture them in our minds. In the end, it is going to be a barefoot dark-skinned kid lost in a tropical jungle somewhere. Something distant, something not so real. Or even better, just a number. Some comfortable statistics.

Please, make an effort and don’t look elsewhere this time…

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Chapter 2: about courage and fear

Jun 16 • Uncategorized • 4191 Views

Our lives are not shaped by our problems, but by our determination

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Courage only appears in the presence of fear

One thing that makes it harder to lead a balanced life is fear. What fights fear is courage. I am not talking about Fear and Courage with capitals, but about those nagging micro-battles we fight or elude every day and that can make us feel miserable. Many of us believe we cannot be courageous because we are  scared. That’s the thing with courage, one cannot be brave if he is not afraid. Courage is by definition the power or quality of dealing with  fear.

Fear is just a tool, a warning system that prevents us from doing stupid or self-harmful things. It is when we lose control of that tool that we have a problem. Courage is our way of dealing with this tool. The simple truth is that everybody is afraid of something some time or other, every single day. The difference is that some people take these fears in their stride without even realizing,  and others get stuck on them.

“Our lives are not shaped by our problems, but by our determination”

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Chapter 1: take nothing for granted

Jun 13 • Uncategorized • 12541 Views

Daisies, so familiar and yet not exactly what we thought. Take nothing for granted.

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What does this “take nothing for granted” actually mean?

Well, this simple phrase condenses the way I face life. It is the key, my key at least, towards making the most of our lives in any given personal situation. It means a lot of things I consider relevant if you want to lead a happier life. The following are some of the ideas I associate with this motto. Try to read them slowly and absorb their sense.

• It means we need to learn to look at everything with the eyes of a child, as if it was the first time.
• It means we need to make a conscious effort to recognize the worth of all the little good things that happen in our lives every day, and cherish them.
• It means we need to make a conscious effort to take into consideration all the little things that annoy us in our lives every day and act upon them.
• It means happiness can be learned, but it requires a conscious effort and practice.

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Weston Westmoreland • 6 Comments on Chapter 1: take nothing for granted

Prologue: the Red Baron

Jun 7 • Uncategorized • 9096 Views

The Red Baron flying his legendary triplane on the clear sky above the clouds

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Why begin my blog with this picture?

Several reasons:

– First, I find  the image of a man flying alone into a limitless sky very inspiring. That is our goal here, to display all kinds of pictures and to let them guide our reflections with total freedom.

– Second, I love bi- and triplanes. These aircraft are fully functional aerodynamic machines that obey the rules of physics, but are also wonderfully romantic and surreal creatures. That sets the tone, our feet on the ground but our spirit in the clouds. Not pragmatic, not spiritual, something in-between. Like this bright red airplane.

– Third, he was the enemy. The motto of this blog is take nothing for granted, and that means taking a second look at everything, and avoiding second-hand judgments. This is a good example.

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