MyFacebookSpace

Social Networking sites have become very popular lately, and I can see why. It’s an easy, entertaining way to stay in touch with people and to dig up friends and acquaintances with whom we had lost touch at some point in life. It allows us to create and maintain a sort of community with a combination of folks that we see all the time and others whom we haven’t seen for many years. One thing that’s ironic about these sites is when people get a friend request from someone they don’t know very well, don’t like all that much, or barely knew in high school. It begs the question: Do I accept this person’s request? The down side to having this person on your list is that you don’t necessarily want them thinking they are your “friend”. They are then allowed access to your personal corner of the internet. One of the main pros AND cons to having people linked to your page is that it’s very easy to share photos and information with them. Regardless of the good and the bad aspects of these sites, they’ve definitely carved a place in our culture. People become addicted to spending time posting their random thoughts and reading other people’s thoughts and comments about their daily activities. I’m all for it. :)

Ages of Enlightenment

It's interesting to see how our perspectives change as we get older, primarily our view of what's considered old and young. As a young child, we think everyone who's over 20 is elderly. Most teenagers are eager to add years onto their young life so they will be taken more seriously by adults, so they can move out of the house, so they can have the perks that come with adulthood, etc. Then as we move through our adult years, the concept of "middle age" or "old" tend to glide farther into the higher numbers. Having recently turned 40, I've been pondering how my friends and I might appear to others. When I'm out somewhere with my friends, laughing and having a grand old time, it's quite possible that teenagers who see us think that we're just a group of "old folks". It doesn't matter what they think; I just find it humorous because there are times when I still feel like I'm 15 years old, and that certainly colors my perspective. Sometimes it actually feels like my group of friends is just a bunch of goofy, energetic kids who just happen to look older on the outside. Maybe keeping that youthful internal core is the true secret to staying young.

There's Nothing Wrong with Being Single

I think it’s refreshing when you meet a person who is not in a partnered relationship and is truly happy to be single. There tends to be an assumption in our culture that everyone wants to find their true love or soul mate or spouse or whatever label you want to call it. Some people have a difficult time finding that “perfect” match, and I’m sure it’s frustrating for someone who is put in the position of having to justify being single or put up with the words of pity from friends and family members who assume that the individual is unhappy. For some people, it takes many years to find and establish a good, healthy relationship with a partner. Often when people leave a marriage or relationship, they need time to adjust to a new phase in life. We shouldn’t assume that these folks want or need a significant other right away…or even at all. I applaud strong, independent people who have a healthy self image and are content and complete on their own.

Traditions

People like the comfort of having good, reliable traditions in their lives. This is especially evident around holidays. A lot of families have their regular routines where they prepare the same food and serve a big holiday meal at approximately the same time of day on a given holiday. I’ve noticed that people rarely go very far from these routines. Some people feel uncomfortable when finding out that a favorite food will be absent from the meal or that gifts will be opened on a different day. A whole family might be hurt or offended if one of the members announces that she is not going to be joining the group for an annual ritual. On one hand, people are very content having consistent patterns on which to depend. On the other hand, why do we fear trying something different from the usual customs? If it’s just for one year and then back to the common tradition, what’s the harm? Certainly there are many individuals and families who do not adhere to their customs as strictly as I’m describing. Why not toss some variety into the foods served at the traditional meal? Perhaps even try decorating the house differently or invent a new family tradition and see what people think of it? There are no set rules saying that a holiday, wedding, reunion, etc. has to contain particular elements to be correct. There are endless ways to celebrate a gathering of friends and family. I hope you enjoy your traditions!

To Do Lists

1. They never seem to go away
2. They always have some tasks that linger much too long
3. Sometimes we write something on it that we’ve already completed so we can cross it off
4. They stare us in the face daring us to finish everything
5. If things are not added to a list, we’re likely to forget to do them
6. Sometimes we have several different lists going concurrently
7. Some people refuse to keep lists because they don’t want to be tied to them
8. Some people lose their lists…purposely
9. What would happen if we actually finished all of our lists completely???

News Creates News

I’m starting to miss the good ol’ days when we weren’t bombarded with news stories about every single thing that happens every single day. We are able to receive up-to-the minute news on the internet and on TV, and I don’t think it always serves us well. The financial crisis in the United States is really bad right now, and in my opinion, it’s just made worse by the constant updates about it. When the initial “Bailout Plan” failed in congress, the stock market immediately took a huge dive as a result. Maybe there would have been a different outcome if we hadn’t been told what happened in congress…It’s hard to say. Americans are getting more depressed and worried about savings accounts and housing foreclosures, and perhaps there would be less worry and panic if we weren’t constantly exposed to all of the news about the financial state of the country. Hearing statistics about the number of foreclosures in California makes me worry about my own home. Then I remind myself that my home and mortgage really aren’t directly affected by those foreclosures. It just feels that way when there’s so much information thrown at us. We’ve fooled ourselves into believing that we need to know everything that’s happening on every corner of the earth, but how much of it truly is useful and necessary information? Especially everything we hear and read about each teeny tiny detail in celebrities’ lives! But that’s a whole other story.

Sports Fanatics

As I write some of the topics on my blog, I’m noticing how often my preferences and my lifestyle are so different from the way many other people live their lives. I hope that readers won’t interpret my observations as judgments or criticisms of other people. I admit, it’s a fine line as I try to be objective and simply ponder the questions of “why?”, “how?”, and the “isn’t that interesting?” parts of life. Anyway, on the topic of sports fans and the often over-the-top obsessions of fans, I know I’m way off to the side observing the proceedings with wonder. On game days, people go through so many of the same routines – dressing in the appointed team colors, starting the drinking and bratwurst eating around 7 or 8 am, and for a lot of fans, it’s important to be drunk before the kickoff. Many years ago, watching sports was primarily the domain of men, but these days, there are lots of women who get equally jazzed to tailgate, watch the game, and get swept up in the fervor. Football is probably the most popular spectator sport among Americans, but is barely followed in other cultures. Wouldn’t it be great if a majority of the spectators would spend the same amount of their time participating in sporting events in addition to watching them? We’d have a much healthier society.