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avatar depression Avatar reactions

Avatar Blues

There has been so much discussion about the movie Avatar and people’s reaction to it. I saw the movie a few weeks ago and thought it was great. Yes, it cost a ton of money to make and yes it is visually stunning with all its SFX. But…it also has a great story too. I think good Sci-Fi can take a theme, write it into a new setting and more strongly illustrate its point.

I have to say I was disappointed to read an article on CNN.com about people being depressed after seeing the movie. Here is a link to the story:

Avatar Blues on CNN

I went to the forum mentioned in the article and read through many of the posts. I have some strong feelings about what is being said. It concerns me that people are feeling despair after seeing this movie. Part of me has red flags go up when Hollywood or the media tries to stir up emotion in the public. I have too many bad flashbacks to propaganda films from the 40’s…

Another feeling I have is the fact that this movie is being used as escapism by some. Escapism is only a way to continue not dealing with issues or themes in one’s life. I spent too much of my life running from things and distracting myself so I didn’t have to deal with my life challenges. There are many things in life that can be a way to escape like drugs, sexual activity, internet, fantasy stories. Once you face the issues that have been latent or avoided, brilliant changes can happen in your life.

I will say though that there is something to be said about this desire for escapism. If you look at it, maybe these feelings of despair are making people look at their life. Maybe these feelings are indicative of something. There is nothing wrong with indicators or flags that go up. I think it’s important to do something about it though. But to do this you have to look around at your life and then take an active part in it.

Here are a few ways to do this. First off, the digital effects that create the world in Avatar are stunning. But I think also stunning are the shades of green when the leaves blow in the trees during a summer wind. How many shades of green are there? You really have to look to see this but when you can, it’s amazing. For those in the northern climates, I’ve found snow to be very intriguing. When it gets very cold (below 0 degrees F) the snow isn’t as compact as when it gets closer to freeing point. But you can see the individual snowflakes when you look at them closely. If you’re lucky and have some light there is a brilliant array of colors that dances off of them.

Another amazing thing you can do in life is to study martial arts. I took classes in Shaolin Kung Fu and was in awe of some of the advanced students that had superior leg strength and agility. I knew guys that could effortlessly leap up onto those yellow cement poles in front of buildings. And the flying kicks too! I even remember getting good at windmill kicks and being able to whirl across the studio once I got better. Need something more subtle? Tai Chi classes really get you to feel the internal energy within the self. Try some QiQong breathing to ease some stress. There are many benefits to these martial arts techniques and can be quite balancing.

My point is that there are amazing things to do and get involved in. At the time I write this I am still in between jobs and have taken up volunteering. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to help some people out. A lady asked me to help her learn how to use the computer because she’s older and finds it frustrating. I’m happy to help her learn so she can type word documents or applications! I’ve learned that there is a whole world of people that need help (me included) but there are ways to connect to people and lend your abilities.

So pay attention to those feelings of uncertainty or despair! They’re telling you something! But more importantly take action. Sure, the world of Pandora from Avatar is fictional but James Cameron’s imagination is very much influenced by the cultures of this big blue marble we live on and there is so much here if you look around and jump into life. Don’t sell yourself short!!! Take control of your life and begin living! You have gifts and perspectives that nobody else has earned in life because no one has gone through the same events that you have. That is special, own it.

Categories
be what you are being

Being

As I sat in meditation tonight I had a great feeling. For those of you that don’t know me very well I take time every night to sit in prayer and meditation. I find this invaluable to my well being and I actually feel out of sorts if I don’t do it every day. Anyway, let me back up to earlier feelings today.

I met with an individual at the Career Transition Center at UWM about a volunteer position. She felt that I’d be a good fit at dealing with people as they first come in, and then find out a bit about what they need. Sounds great to me actually, I’d get to deal with people, and then offer my advice to the supervisor. I’m thrilled to be able to use my skills! It was almost surreal though, I wasn’t expecting anything like this. When I left I felt this sense of serendipity (I think that’s the word). I really felt like I’m right where I am for a reason. Like I’m in the right place.

Tonight though I felt something deeper. I felt like I’m getting closer to being able to be more “me” in a career. My long term goal is to go back to school and get a graduate degree in counseling. I’m taking steps to get to this and I feel more like I’m doing the right thing. I feel like I’m really being in a very active sense. Being is one of the simplest actions yet one of the most profound. It requires one to be in touch with themselves so that they can perceive their own state. I’m amazed at how easy it is to get out of touch with that.

Once I was feeling this I focused on the positive effects that got me to this point, and then imagined the positive effects I would have on those I have not yet come in contact with. In a way it was bridging the past and future through the feeling of joy. So I sat with that a while. I really enjoyed it.

I recommend a few authors very strongly and one of them would be Dan Millman. He wrote a book entitled Everyday Enlightenment and it contains a chapter on Intuition. It really speaks well to the fact that one must be in touch with themselves, I highly recommend at least that chapter. It doesn’t need to be read in a particular order to get the meaning. I really believe that when you’re more in touch with yourself that good things will happen. The better I get at this the more good things happen.

Take some time to be with yourself and see what you feel. Get in touch with silence and see what happens. It may not be easy at first but believe me, it will be worth it. I think it’s within the Silence that the loudest truth will ring. I’m glad I can hear again

Categories
ability ability out of necessity necessity

Ability out of necessity

It’s amazing what people can do when they need to. I wanted to put a post out there to illustrate that people are much more capable than we think we are. I want to highlight a few things I’ve been able to do and also share a story I came across on Facebook.

First, I want to set the stage and talk about fear. Fear makes us think that things are impossible. As Dan Millman puts it, fear is a tissue thin barrier that portrays an illusion of how something looks. There are a few scary things I’ve done in my life that I’m pretty proud of. I’ve cracked open computers and fixed them. It’s kind of scary because if you damage the circuit board the whole thing won’t work. I’ve recently done brake jobs on both our cars. Brakes are an integral part of an automobile and if you screw it up, you don’t come to a stop! You lose control, how scary! I tackled it anyway. Recently I just replaced a dishwasher. Plumbing is kind of scary because if you don’t do it right you get constant water leaking. Scary!!! But I learned how to do compression connections and just hooked up a dishwasher. Scary!!!

But you know what? I have the ability to do these things. Part of me tackling projects like this is out of necessity. The cars needed brakes and I’m still out of a job as I write this. It will be a fraction of the cost if I just buy the parts and do the work myself instead of hiring someone to do the work for me. So guess what, I researched and tried and failed. Then tried again and succeeded. I did the same thing with the dishwasher. It took me 2 days to do a compression joint right, but I learned. And I did it.

I recently read a story on Facebook where a girl was hit by a car and trapped under a wheel. A passerby saw this happen, ran out of his car and LIFTED the other car off the girl! That is amazing! He did this because he had to. Here’s a link to the story if you want it (ignore the Ann Coulter propaganda on the right):

Story

I had a martial arts instructor teach me once that I could push my body further than I thought I could. He was right, I did some cool things in training. Later I had a Kung Fu instructor warn me that my mind could push my body further than its limits so I had to be careful of that fact. Everyone, please listen. You can do far more than you think you can. If there is a necessity, you may be able to rise to the occasion. It may be a shot of adrenaline that helps you, it may be your mind that unlocks your potential, or there may be some sort of supernatural intervention that helps you complete what you need to but understand that your ability is amazing. Try new things, don’t be afraid. Your underlying potential is spectacular and you almost won’t believe it 😉