The Silent Tower

Light gives of itself freely, filling all available space. It does not seek anything in return; it asks not whether you are friend or foe. It gives of itself and is not thereby diminished.
~Michael Strassfeld

and is not thereby diminished – that’s an interesting thought to remember ^^

In union there is strength.
~Aesop

There were a number of different quotes that I looked over this evening, trying to find one that best conveyed what it was I was wanting to say. Most of them were quite a bit longer. The problem was the longer they got the more specific they seemed to get. To be honest, they often headed in directions I wasn’t all that interested in heading.

Then I found this one – it’s short and to the point, and yet it still covers all the bases.

What is it about being around other people, about striving together, that changes us? I read a fascinating article that I found this evening when I was looking for my quote. Now, it is a bit dense and from a religious perspective, but it’s an interesting read if you’re willing to wade through. What I found intriguing about it is how it echoed in many ways the manner in which I’ve come to approach people.

I get along with people fairly well. Very rarely do I come across someone who I have an initial negative response to – but it does happen from time to time. When it does, it always bothers me, so I’ve taken up the habit of tracing down what it is exactly that causes the response.

I’ve come to the personal realization (an aspect of which is also covered in the article) that if there is something that bothers me, it is because there is some aspect of it that is calling out to some part of me. So I pay attention – because as I learn what it is that bothers me, I have opportunity to see that aspect of myself. Through that discovery, I can take action to address that issue within myself.

This also works in the positive fortunately When I see an aspect in someone that I admire, I can trace that back to its root as well. Then I can nurture that trait, giving it more attention, and slowly discover how to help it flourish.

I need the people who bother me – because they force me to face the things I may have hidden from myself. I need people who inspire me – because they give me opportunity to discover the good things I will come to treasure in my life. I need other people – to help me see myself.

Thank you – to all the people I have meet, to all the people I know, to all the people I treasure in my life. Your simple presence has allowed me to see the things I have grown accustomed to, and therefor miss. To all of my family, blood-kin and chosen – Thank you, and I love you.

The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Think only on those things that are in line with your principles and can bear the full light of day. The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you choose, what you think, and what you do is who you become. Your integrity is your destiny…it is the light that guides your way.
~Heraclitus

(This one is just a bit later than usual, as the internet connection here at the house went out for a while ^^; )

When I got off work this evening, I was looking forward to not having to rush to get anything specific done. It’s nice, especially when the week has been rather full, to know you have a bit of time to just slow down and unwind.

I spent the evening in a series of activities that mirrored the way I’ve always spent most of my downtime over the last few years. Thing is, when I finished up, though I was refreshed a little, it wasn’t the level of restoration I had been hoping for. I had to think about that one for a little bit.

As I’ve grown and changed, especially this last year or so, I’ve noticed that the way I approach things has changed as well. That seems like it would be pretty obvious – and in some ways it most certainly is – but in others not quite so much. Personally, I find it interesting to discover that what I need for relaxation, for restoration, for play – this to is changing.

It’s not that any of the things I’ve been doing previously are bad, it’s just that they are no longer quite “good enough”. They don’t reach the depth and breadth that I need to actually come away feeling refreshed. In many cases, the same *type* of activity would still work, just the quality of interaction needs to change – a more active, involved role instead of the passive, observational one that has been my penchant. Even in those activities where observation is the purpose of the endeavor, seeking to actively immerse myself would bring about a better appreciation of the experience.

The important part about all of this – to me at least – is that the types of things I’m trending toward are actually more over-all beneficial and (mentally/emotionally/physically) healthy than many of the things I’ve pursued previously. I must admit, I find that encouraging, and I hope it is a pattern that continues. Definitely something to add to my list of daily goals ^_^

The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives.
~Anthony Robbins

OMGCLASS Day 4:
So, I found out today that we would be having 20 minute meetings with BT for our class – and actually, as we’re using the class time for the meetings, our personal meeting will be our class session for the week. And though I love this class and everything associated with it – as a student, I have to say I’m thrilled about getting to sleep in on Thursday xD

For our meetings, BT is going over the goals sortofsignment that we turned in last class period. As I already have a good grasp on what I’m after, and it was fairly obvious I should be able to find information to work with, the next step for me was definitely crafted to fit. BT suggested that I not research so much what is happening in the field currently, as who is in the field.

Ok, I’ve said before that I love people – and that is an absolute truth – but .. getting to know people, randomly introducing myself – these are not things I do well at all. Most often I’d rather set in my little corner and listen and watch everything that goes on around me. To be honest, the initial idea of it makes me balk. I’m much more reactive than proactive most of the time.

Now don’t get me wrong – before this sortofsignment, I was already thinking of contacting a few of the different people I’ve read about in the field, just because I have a passion to act in the field. Interesting how passion can temper fear, eh? ^^ But the actual doing .. yeah, that part is what never seemed to quite materialize.

With this though, once I have an idea of who to contact, BT will show me the proper way to setup/format an email to them. I’ll comment appropriately on some of their work, then ask them a few questions. Networking – connection – is probably one of the most useful skills I could develop through this class, because it is also one of my weakest.

In many ways, I’ve lived in my own little world growing up. I have a level of disconnect with society and culture that makes some look at me funny and leaves other aghast O_O! I’m getting better, t’is true, but it’s still slow going. I’m still, and believe I always will be, best one-on-one or in small groups.

… which, when you think about it, is pretty much exactly what this will be Guess I may already have some experience with this after all ^_^;

Loneliness can be conquered only by those who can bear solitude.
~Paul Tillich

This is one of the more interesting quotes I’ve found so far, but I have to say I agree with it completely. Loneliness is seen as, “[a]n emotional state in which a person experiences a powerful feeling of emptiness and isolation.”(def) Solitude is about being by yourself.

I think a large part of it is the fact that so many people never seem to take the time to understand themselves, but instead go searching after someone to “complete” them. Male, female, spoken or not – it happens rather consistently. People would rather have someone, anyone, to occupy their time and thoughts, than allow them to think about who they might actually be.

Personally, I’ve found the quote to be true. Over the years, as I’ve become more comfortable with myself, who I am, and who I will be – the loneliness has receded. I love people – I love being around them, listening to them, helping them, feeding them, playing games together – but being a true introvert, I still need those times where I can just rest and regroup, reestablishing the core from which everything else stems.

Plagued by loneliness, simply seeking out restoration could become a dangerous experience. But now, I can take that time and return to everything else much refreshed. There are still days I have to unleash the lolcatz to drive away the loneliness that attempts to encroach, but that’s why I’m thankful I’m so easily amused

When you find peace with yourself, joy and courage begin to sink in deep roots and flourish. And since what you find in the world around you is often a reflection of what you yourself posses – the more they grow, the more you will find them. At least, that’s what I’ve been discovering ^_^

And he that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom.
~Gandalf the Grey

(As a side note, can I get away with that? Or would I have to say I’m quoting Tolkien? I’m of the mind I could quote specific characters, but let me know what you think ^_^ )

A while back, I talked a little bit about the idea that I look at things from a whole/broken viewpoint rather than from the standard good/evil one. It’s one of those things that, once you realize you’ve sorta taken a stance, you begin to wonder when you might finally bump into it and have to do something about it.

I’ve seen more broken things than I care to admit. I acknowledge that a number of those things are ones I had some part in. But once you see these things in yourself, as I said before, you get to decide what you’re going to do about them. I’ve chosen to face them – though that has been a process, and I admit to doing my fair share of running to beginning with. There are still times that running seems like the most logical option – but I don’t listen as much as I used to.

It also means that, though there are times you stumble upon things that pique an interest, you will find yourself hard-pressed to determine how to proceed. A blind response – whether quick or thought out – is never a good thing. And that’s why I look for people I can trust to talk things over with ^^ It’s always nice to bounce ideas off people.

The most useful piece of learning for the uses of life is to unlearn what is untrue.
~Antisthenes

When you pay attention, there are certain things you begin to notice. If you’re honest with yourself, some of those are the fact that this or that thing that you’re held to for some time is in fact untrue. The actions that come after that point are what gets interesting.

If whatever gets pointed out is a standard part of your life, there is a good chance that you may decide to carry on anyway, whether it is true or not. Humanity has an amazing capacity to deceive itself. By setting it aside/locking it away, when it finally builds to the point where it can no longer be ignored, it will most likely blind-side you.

Then there are those who would be horrified by the information and decided to overreact to it. Now, that’s usually not a direct psychological choice, most of the time. It would lead to a life where interaction became ever more proscribed and limiting, so that they might continue “forward” without ever having to acknowledge whatever it is they have learned.

And then there are those who actually decide to face the information. Being scared is a perfectly acceptable option when you find yourself confronted with something that you have never encountered before. The sign of strength is, in spite of your fear, moving toward it to address it. The trial involved with that confrontation may truly be epic in nature, but the individual that will come out the other side with be much stronger, and immensely more in tune with who they really are.

Science is an adventure of the human spirit. It is essentially an artistic enterprise, stimulated largely by curiosity, served largely by disciplined imagination, and based largely on faith in the reasonableness, order, and beauty of the universe.
~Warren Weaver

This one came from my EnviroSci text. I like it because of the way it shows the dynamic relationships that can exist when you deal with science. There is always the potential for something more than what we can see – as the quote implies, it is this focus beyond the everyday interaction that leads to the new discoveries that make up the core of the study that is pursued.

A person can grow only as much as his horizon allows.
~John Powell

I stand beside the archway watching people pass by, wherever they may be going. There is a restlessness that has been worrying at the edges. There is a melody that I strain to catch, calling me outward as it leads me ever more inward.

Let me tell you of my city.

There is a reason I love fiction, and especially fantasy fiction. Many times in my life I have come upon situations where, for better or worse, plain language simply does not suffice. But when I can paint you a picture – when I can take the things that I perceive and give them forms and shapes – then you can see them.

I love to tell stories. I love the rhythm and rhyme, the flow and cadence, the undulation of language and utterance as it rolls across the landscape and lounges about the unwitting and unsuspecting that are taken in by its engulfing waves. So I find the courage to put those stories down in script, that someone somewhere may shiver and gasp as the fragment that has been working itself into place slides home, and they begin to see.

Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.
~Albert Einstein

I don’t believe in happenstance ^^ I believe there is a reason and rhyme for everything that happens. No, I do not know every one – and I don’t think I ever will – but I believe there is One who does, and I believe that in the end everything will be worked out.

I signed up for my course this fall back at the end of spring semester last year. I had an idea of what I needed to take – which included the summer psych course so I’d have all the credits I needed – and I selected from what was available. I was thinking over my different classes today, and I realized that each of them pertains to an aspect of my life that I am currently addressing.

Sophomore Seminar : “Communicating in a Diverse Society”
This class focuses on the ways to overcome the communication breakdown that seems to proliferate amongst peoples of divergent societies. As I slowly become more in sync with the world around me, it becomes more and more obvious how little I know about the people around me. I know that kindness and courtesy will give you an opportunity to build a rapport with most, but even that is not a guarantee in all situations. Learning ways to bridge these divides and address these issues in a positive manner is something I can take with me into every endeavor I undertake.

Environmental Science
Were as the previous course relates to the patterns and interrelations of humanity with one another, this course deals with the cycles and interactions of our physical world and our daily existence. I love nature – though I don’t spend as much time in it as I could. I admit, I do not posses the passion that others do in this regard, but I do enjoy taking day long hikes through the woods, over hills, past streams. How we treat the things around us we take for granted – how we can restore the things we have destroyed – how we find sustainable methods of existence – all of these are concepts that I can carry with me into the rest of my live.

Lifetime Wellness
*eyes his stomach* yeeeaaah ^_^;;
Though physical well-being is an important aspect of the class, it is not the only thing that is taught. An integrated regard for every aspect of wellness is addressed. I know there are things I need to change and improve upon, and then there are things I know I don’t know – and this class will help me find and identify them now, when they are useful, instead of later when it may be to late. Harmonious personal well-being is an extremely important issue, if for no other reason than that you can never find more when you go looking than you yourself posses.

OMGCLASS
^_^ Go read my other posts

All in all, I feel rather blessed to have the opportunities that I do this semester ^^