He considered

I once considered falling to my knees
to pray to a god
and lay my troubles at the feet of one greater than myself
to trust my fate to a greater power
it would indeed be a comfort

but then I remembered
the famous words of William Ernest Henley

Then I remembered
That I am the master of my fate,
That I am the captain of my soul.

He dreads the curse of mortality

Imagine if you could live a life without the knowledge that you will some day die. Imagine if you could just live, without the shadow of your imminent death haunting your every move. Imagine if you could live without the curse of mortality.

Then you would be immortal.

After all, immortality is nothing but the lack of mortality...and mortality is nothing more than a mind set.

He sighs in harmony with the wind in the trees

Many may not think it, but I actually care incredibly about the environment. My current goal is to grow up and be an Environmental Engineer, not the regulation kind, the designing kind. I want to participate in the creation of a renewable energy resource, or find some way to purify salt water completely, I want to contribute to mankind's ongoing struggle to secure a place on this planet without in the process destroying it.

Well, I guess one can say "Who doesn't care about the environment? I mean really?" I feel like it is too easy for us to say we care about something, to believe we care about something, but not really care about it.

Either way, that is not the topic of this post.


For us, here in the Western cities, surrounded by mankind and all it's ingenious inventions, it is easy to demand. We see these beautiful videos of beautiful places across Earth on Discovery, and we demand that they be preserved. We demand that people stop destroying the worlds biggest rain forest, we demand that people stop cutting down forestland for farmland, we demand that dam is not built, we demand the oil spill is cleaned up, we simply sit here and demand. Of course, we are used to getting those things we demand aren't we?

How naive and narrow minded we are.

Preserving the environment must be an incredibly complex issue, especially because of human beings who call that environment home. Think about the Amazon Rainforest, a large portion of that forest is being cut down for farmland. Yes, it disgusts me too, but put yourself in the eyes of the farmer. That farmer needs his land so that HE can survive, so that he can put food on the table of his family. For us with our fancy gadgets to just demand that he stop right there, that he stop trying to create a life, to live...? What right do we have to do that?

Think about it, who do you think appreciates the beauty of the Amazon Rainforest more? We, who see pictures and videos? or that farmer who sees it through his own eyes every day?

Fact of the matter, is that every human being that lives or has lived has had some sort of impact on the environment. It just happens to be that many of the ones trying to create a life right now are stopped by us who have already had ours created. Do you think our great grand fathers didn't cut down forests and destroy beautiful landscapes to exist? Of course they did, only they got away with it.

I often feel like the wrong people get blamed for destroying the environment, these farmers are just trying to make a life. It's better than those companies who are destroying Earth to make money.

To be honest, we all know that it's us who are the real problem. It all comes down to our over expenditure, our wastefulness, and our weak consumer minded willingness to buy into anything thrown at us by the corporations. The worst part? We don't do a thing about it, we just accept that we can't make a change as just one person, and that those big guys have to.

To be even more honest, there is only so much of a difference that we, as individuals can make. Not that we shouldn't try, but turning off the lights, sparing water, recycling and etc. Will make a difference, it really will if a large amount of people do it. It's something that we should all incorporate into our own lives, and in the end it all just becomes a habit.

This is the very least we can do, I see too many people litter, leave lights on, waste water in the washrooms, waste toilet paper like crazy, throw away paper without really using it, and leave their computers on all night (just look at MSN at 5 in the morning?)

HOWEVER, say a large portion of us who are ruining the environment took our baby steps to save it and actively participated to reduce our carbon footprint, it would not save Planet Earth. It is no reason not to do that, it's simply a matter of fact.

The fate of our planet lies solely in the hands of those who are in charge of our society. 1) The politicians 2) The corporations.
Notice something? Both of these are actually after your approval. Your opinion, and your money. Don't you think we can do something about that?

But the jist of it all, is that we are a greedy, greedy society. We can say that we want to save the environment all we want, but no one actually wants to give up lighting, heating, extra food, computers, cars and all of these other luxuries we enjoy.

No, I revise my self. The fate of our planet lies solely in the hands of scientists. Technology is mankind's only real hope. I agree, technology has contributed greatly to the destruction of the environment, but we have progressed far enough that it can save it too. As a race, we must unite and open our eyes.

But what do we do? How can technology save all of humanity, when all funding is spend on wars and military to destroy it?

Human Beings need to realize that these borders that divide us were implemented by us. They mean absolutely nothing to Mother Earth. They are nothing more than psychological barriers that plead to our inner pride, they will be our eventual doom. Divided we fall, and fall we will. Humanity needs to learn to collectively think as one, the potential our race has is immense. We are already so much farther along than any other species on Earth because of ability to think collectively. But we must not ruin our gift through division amongst ourselves. Division of any sorts, race, religion, sex, and most importantly countries.

If we are to live, every country needs to lay down it's arms and become peaceful enough to really and truly invest in saving the environment.

He reasons

Through many recent and not so recent situations, I have learned that you can not reason someone out of a situation that they did not reason themselves into.

He realizes his years

I realized something of significance tonight in the car...I am 17 years of age. Turning 18 in January, it's the first time it's really ever hit me, that I am sort of old now.

The years of fun, leisure and non caring, easy going living are far behind me now, and they will never return. From here on out, I will struggle every single day to try and fit in, to try and find my own place in this crazy world of ours. From now on, life get's serious, and so must I.

He Plays the game of life

The following is a very badly written post, I haven't written in some time so please forgive me. It's also a post that I know many will love to argue against, please do :p I think these posts would be a thousand times better if I actually bothered to read it over/edit ._.



Many smart philosophers and writers are often want to say things like "Life is a game, and we are all but a pawn" even William Shakespeare said that "All the worlds a stage" In our modern day, a lot of idealistic people I know seem to argue against this point. Many claim that life is not a game and that we choose our destiny and we choose what we become and every person has an intense burning significant.

Still though, one can not argue with the similarities that life has to just a game.

Think about each of us as an individual, now think of a piece in a game, say chess. Like the piece in the game, none of us has the power to choose what we are born into, additionally, what we are born into predetermines the path we will travel for the rest of our lives. It predetermines the hardships we will face, the friends we will make and the victories we will win.

Someone born into poverty will sadly struggle his entire life against it, let us compare him to a pawn...A piece that is not too significant in most games and a piece that is used by those that are higher than it self.

Now, the pawn has a hard life in front of him, he can move only one square at a time...A limitation comparable to those born in poverty...He has not much to offer and is easy to wipe out, he is plentiful and competition is intense. BUT, every now and then a pawn that is hard working, a pawn that is determined, disciplined and dedicated will make it to the end of board. He will make it to that point where he can become great, where he may be substituted for any piece in the game.

Isn't that a lot like life? Where those born in poverty must fight and struggle just to exist, fight against the higher born like us. But every now and then, someone will make it, over come poverty and be able to give a better life to his children than he did himself.


Every piece in a game has set limitations made with it, these limitations determine what sort of affect that piece will have on the entire game. Pawns may move one square up (unless starting) and kill only one square diagonally...Where-eas a Queen may move any where she pleases excepting the knights movement of course. Now, which of these will play a more significant role in MOST games of Chess?

The same can be said of life, all human beings are born with limitations that limit how far and what we will do in life...Some may be born with horrible diseases that they have no control over, others mental handicaps, and others handicaps that they place on themselves.

But the point is, it would be nice to believe that every body is significant, it would be nice to believe that every body has a a destiny and something to do that will make humanity better...But is it really true? Just like the Queen will make more of a difference in the game than a pawn, the president will make more of a difference in the world than a telemarketer. If that telemarketer, or if that other person just died randomly...How much of a difference will it really make? What would never be that could have been? I don't mean to downplay people as individuals, I think everyone is amazing in their own way and I think everyone is significant in their own and their friends lives...But how many of us are really significant in the larger picture, in the game of life? What blow will humanity suffer if a drunken, broken man dies? Only the potential that must have been, that always was...and was buried deep down

When most people say that life is not just a game or just not a play, they say that we all have the freedom of choice and choose what life we live. But is that really true? Do we not make choices specifically to the deck that life has dealt us? Do we not choose specifically because life has given us a specific situation...What if, maybe some how our choices too are predetermined, like we are meant to choose to go to university and study, which would have been our choice any way...Now I don't really know how to believe that, because that would require some sort of religious belief there too so I don't think it goes that far.

It just means that the choices we make, we make because life gave us that situation in which to make that choice...The result, is that we can not reallly choose, we can struggle and fight and try to make our lives better, but why do we do that? We do it because life gave us some thing to fight, life gave us a situation to struggle against, and life gave us something to fight for.

Yes, you are right...We create situations ourselves by choosing, but life gave us that situation when it gave us that initial choice. It just makes me wonder how much power we really have. I may often picture life as a complex algorithm with different paths and different choices that lead you down those paths...But what is the basis of the algorithm? What is it that gives us these specific choices to make, these specific decisions, to live this specific life?

In the end, one must ask...Do we have any real say in the matter? Or do we just go with the flow? Is life all nothing but a game? A game with no meaning other than to just survive?

He dreams of contact

Are we alone?

The answer to this much pondered question should be obvious...No, of course we are not. From every thing I've read, I find that it is impossible for Earth to be the only planet in the entire universe that can sustain life...The only way this would be possible in my eyes is if there is a divine being, but really, how likely is that? hehe ;)

*it's actually a really funny thing, I had a discussion with a friend who I know to be very religious about aliens, and she said to me "I'll believe it when I see them" I couldn't help ponder her beliefs in her god here"

Sometimes we just need to have faith, I Believe there must be some other life out there, whether it is cultured, intelligent or even capable of movement is not as guaranteed in my mind. Given the vast quantities of the universe, It's highly unlikely we'll ever actually run into other life though, but just imagine...

Imagine what our first contact will be like...What will mankind learn? Will we learn of ancient civilizations that destroyed themselves from within, foreshadowing our own imminent destruction? Or will we learn new methods of space travel, will our laws of physics be flipped upside down? Will Einstein be proved 100% off mark?

Or will we simply stare through a microscope, at a tiny life form...A tiny reminder of how small we really, truly are. A tiny reminder of how life will find a way, always?

Let's imagine our first contact is initiated by an intelligent alien race that arrives on Earth, a race that may or may not wish to take our planet for themselves

What will mankind learn from this race?

The biggest question I have here, is will mankind stand united, or fall divided?

Upon seeing another intelligent life form that is so different from us, will we all realize just how similar we are to each other? Will we realize that these trivialities that separate us now, such as skin colour, gender or race really have no more meaning than the blank page that we often find at the end of a book?

Will mankind learn to stand united, to help each other, to look after others of it's own race, to accept all human beings as the same and one, to accept that this is our race, this is our heritage, our inheritance and everything that we are, it is everything that we have?

Or will mankind divide and break apart? Will there be political disagreements on how to treat the aliens? Will we wage war with ourselves to obtain these new technologies? Will we struggle against each other for an ally in a sentient being? Will those of us with power kidnap the outsiders to study and experiment, despite many protesting against it?

Will mankind destroy itself from within? Will we, in our individual, selfish greed, and our collective thrust for knowledge destroy the very bonds that separate us from more primitive forms of life?


I often think about what our first contact will be like, sadly it will probably not occur in my life time, it may never occur at all. If it does occur, it may just be us stumbling upon some microscopic or primitive organisms, not that that alone wouldn't be beyond exciting.

But I feel like mankind's ultimate test, the test that will prove our mettle as a race will be the one where we meet our equals, or the one where we meet those that are superior, that are beyond us. What will humanity resort to? What means will we go to not only survive, but to thrive?

But more importantly, how will we change as a race? Will this be the end of all of the many problems that we have placed on ourselves? Will we finally act on our current realization that we are destroying our beautiful planet? Will we see that we are disgracing members of our own race, that all we ever really seem to think about is ourself, as an individual, and not often about our race as a collected unit?

I think the most important thing we could learn from contact is that humanity is small. I know that to us it may often seem like we dominate this planet, where everything seems to be ours because we are capable of intelligent thought. This makes us not think so much about humanity as a whole...We think about "those people" or "the Arabs" or "the Chinese" We think about ourselves and the people we as an individual know...

But we never really think about HUMANITY about HUMAN BEINGS as a RACE. If we met other races of equal or higher intelligence, or equal or higher culture...we would see...we would see that humanity is just one small puzzle piece, that there is a bigger picture...that to survive, we need to learn to love all other human beings because we are all one and the same.