A brighter afterthought

The open field. The slight simmer of the tiltilating sunlight. The blades of grass swaying against each other.

Reminisce captures Diederich into a daze.

He relives his childhood which takes him far yonder into a little village of Balzer, Russia.
As German immigrants in the country, his family oversaw a small patch of Russian meadow alongside the Volga River.

Rural Russia educated the young Diederich with a vocation of grazing his family's sheep on these luscious green moors.
It was on these vocational wanderings that he would lead his herd to the crest of the meadows and there he would close his eyes.
Facing the sun with his eyes closed, he would pry them open a little while afterword.

This made his world seem brighter so he had thought.

The sky became clearer. The grass greener. And even his sheep resembled the skien of the whitest yarn that his mother weaved for family clothing.

That was the past.

Twenty years later, standing at a crest of a hill far away from his village in Russia, Diederich's eyes are closed.
A question "Would the world seem brighter if I opened them?" repeatedly nudges his inner self. "Does it?" continued the nudge.

Then as if the question nudged him a little too hard, he opens his eyes. Yes, his childhood find still stands true!
The blood looked more crimson. His uniform screamed of the blood smeared on it. The corpses of fallen comrades around him - lifeless.

His eyes do not fail him yet. The horde of enemy battalion is advancing toward Diederich from the nearby crest.

How he had wished to make the war just disappear; to just close his eyes and open them: seeing his world being brighter and livelier than ever.

His Luger. It has fired its fair share of bullets so he had thought.
Pointing the Luger to his temple, Diederich shuts his eyes and prays that his new world does not disappoint.

Cold Infidelity

The night was cold, frigid with an evening chill.

Two shadows emerge under the moonlit tapestry of the twinkling hosts.
Lucille walks along a pebble strewn pathway. Even with her hand warmed by Kirk's, she could feel the thin crisp air circling around her auburn locks of hair. Lucille relishes these late night walks with Kirk. Mesmerized by Kirk's features complimented by the moon's glow, a voice whispers in her head "Could Lucille wish for anything more?"

The frivolous banter that coupled the two made all clutter just dissipate.

The night was cold, frigid with an evening chill.

A shadow emerges. The blade of the hatchet reflected the moonlit tapestry of the twinkling hosts.
Not even the gnawing cold of the night could blanket the hate screaming out of the his eyes.

His loathe directed at the figure courting his wife.

When Faith Isn’t Working

When Faith Isn’t Working

The Porcelain Seat

Now now. All you Pottery Barn enthusiasts, you better hold your horses. This isn’t a new appeal scripted for your coterie by the marketing minds of Pottery Barn. Don’t get me wrong, I am not undermining the prowess of such impeccable intellectuals. It is just another insane (but true), mundane activity that we may be oblivious of.

So what does a rational and sane human being do on or implement with such a controversial seat? Drink from it? Dogs would give a thumbs up! for that (in their case, a paw up!). That would barf me up though – a huge barf session.

On a serious note, the porcelain seat is a rendezvous point between you and your very own cranium sans the clutter and disarray of all genres of a social circle. It is the shrine where every soul tends to, on all “twos” go into a state of introspection.

In my case, “relief” comes along with the seat in fine print. However, it directs me to a much greater calling than just a bland emotion of relief. I tend to solve a lot of the issues sitting on the porcelain stool. I kinda can relate to Auguste Rodin (the sculptor of the historically acclaimed bronze masterpiece—“The Thinker”) as to why a man would be at his best thinking position – sitting down. I feel like this work of art every time I get seated on the “seat”.

According to a new University of British Columbia study, it finds that our brains are much more active when we daydream than previously thought. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds that activity in numerous brain regions increases when our minds wander. It also finds that brain areas associated with complex problem-solving – previously thought to go dormant when we daydream – are in fact highly active during these episodes.

Now resting my case, where else do can we allow our brain to wander aimlessly (“aimlessly” is an understatement to the study stated a paragraph back) but also solving most of our innermost trivial issues? Answer: The porcelain seat!

So the next time the “pressure train” rams you—hard! and beckons you to The Thinker’s seat (forgive me, Mr Auguste Rodin for borrowing your “nude dude” in vain), think of it as an appointment to your shrink wherein a load of your shenanigans can be decrypted and solved.

So, go! Don’t “hold back”, just “let go”.

P.S: For the simple minded, synonyms for the Porcelain Seat: the john, the can, the crapper, the thunder mug or just wait for “it”, you’ll be acquainted to it shortly.

How Students Use Technology [INFOGRAPHIC]

Via: OnlineEducation.net

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Is weeping a frailty?

Who would've thought I would come up with something as debatable a topic as this one.

Shedding of tears can occur due to various reasons - from the simplest to the most complex. We tend to hide this "dent" (or chip) that resides in this Tungsten armor of ours called our ego. So is crying a frailty? A weakness? Does it undermine our robustness? Our credibility as toughened men and women?

Sure, the perception of "Why, women do that all the time! It's the men that should be worried about the 'C' word (read cry).." inhibits every stable person's cognition. Men are supposed to show no remorse, pain or any signs of wear-and-tear. He is the quintessential Rambo or Schwazzennegger (Darn! I still can't spell that name. I meant Arnold Schwarzenegger. Phew! A mouthful of a name).

Well, I sort of beg to differ. Yes, men are one of the cornerstones of a family, many at times the only bread-winner, one who carries forth the responsibilities of the household (though priorities are shifted from time to time in a family). He is looked upon as the head of the household. The one who is seen as figurehead.

Scientifically or physiologically, due to the chemical composition of emotional tears, some scientists have hypothesized that a function of crying is to rid the body of stress hormones. William H. Frey II, a biochemist at the University of Minnesota, proposed in his publication "Crying; The Mystery of Tears" that people feel better after crying due to the elimination of hormones associated with stress specifically adrenocorticotropic hormone. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crying_in_humans).

However, ultimately we see that crying is a facet of the human that cannot be stripped away from his/her being.

In the Bible, the portion John 11:35 has been remarked that this is the shortest verse in the Bible; but it is exceedingly important and tender. It shows the Lord Jesus as a friend, a tender friend, and evinces his character as a man. This verse simply states “Jesus wept.”

Certain people from all walks of life may shudder to show this emotion but no person can shy away from a teary eye. It is part and parcel that every human life is bestowed with along with its other emotions that you would consider trophies to flaunt about for example, anger.

So I state if your feelings well up, your eye feels like they need to burst out a dam, I say “let loose those tears for they will bring out some good”. It is a-okay to do so.

A take on the reed plant

Relationships.

What are they? Counts marked by chalk sticks on an empty slate? Lint that we dig out from the depths of our finite end of the pocket of our trousers? How do we handle them? Do we continue to make them? Break them? Work on them? Do we seek for new ones?

These are questions that need to be introspected within us. A survey. A “Googled” introspect, if I may.

Relationships are an important facet that comes along with this life that we lead. We need to check the “fine print”. They start from the very time a mother lays her eyes on the life that she has been caring for, for the stipulated nine months. Right from that inconspicuous sparkle that glistens from the child’s eyes, the parent see the alluring grandeur in their child and “voila!” there is a conduit that is knitted between the parent and the child.

As the gradual cycle of life carries us ahead, relationships are built. Be they for a second (bumping into a cashier on the sandwich retailer, Subway: “Eat Fresh”) or for a time that cements for the rest of your life (with the one who calls you “Pookie” or “Cupcake”. Apologies for the cheesiness but that is how the world operates.) This then comes to the point of whether we treasure them or look at them as baggage that we burden around.

I remember my grand uncle telling me that relationships are like prayers. To elucidate on this, he brought out an anecdote. Once, he said was a huge bell that was built for the city tower in a small county. As the builders tried to lift this tonne of a bell to fit it into the city tower, the ropes that were holding the weight snapped and the prized bell fell straight into the city lake over which the bell was carried across. With the lack of facilities to retrieve the lost possession, the citizens mourned over their asset because each had sacrificed a huge deal of their own pittance to build the bell. The submerged bell was forgotten. It became an old wife’s tale. However, as time went by, small insignificant reeds started growing on the surface of the underwater bell. As these reeds started growing on the surface area of the bell, the buoyancy of the reeds (a facet of the reed plant) started to lift the bell upwards. With their roots intertwined firmly onto the bell, the reeds carried the bell though heavy in its stature over the water. To cut a long story short, the citizens noticed the “reed miracle”, rejoiced over the divine turn of events and thus, had the bell handed back or “reeded” to them and to the city.

Well, prayers and relationships are the same as a reed plant. They may seem insignificant and small. The “No-good-can-ever-come-from-them” premise batters our judgments. However, when the burdens are stacked and your head and reasoning has burnt out the last tip of the wick, people and prayer become the solace and peace of mind that we were looking for all along.

It relies on our conscience and belief to either, flick away a relationship and dwindle it. Or take it and through the perseverance, work on it and make it sturdy.

“Hah! Easier said than done” is a welcome response but I dare you to grab on to perseverance, endurance and work on the relationship given to you on your platter.

Follow @DylanSyiem

A "Purposed" Existence

“What an uncanny beginning for an article?” some would exclaim at first glance. Others would be conclusive, “We’ve heard this one before!”

Well, taking most of the critics into account, this writer will try to edify and shed some light on this seven-lettered word which began this literary piece. So, what is the fuss regarding the word “purpose”? The Oxford Dictionary paints a simple yet clear picture when it defines purpose as “..the reason for which something is done or for which something exists.” Every entity whether it breathes the same air that we breathe or not comes with a definitive design which clearly supports its claim of purpose. Take for instance, a pebble. One of its purposes is to beautify the landscape on the banks of a crystal clear water body along with its posse of pebbles. On the other hand, it puts on a cursed purpose when it gets in the shoe of an unfortunate somebody. If such a small and insignificant pebble can have a definitive purpose, this writer is convinced that we, human beings who have been formed with such meticulous and intricate design definitely have a clear cut purpose.

Purpose highlighted here refers to the one of utmost importance in an individual’s life. So, is purpose a strong impetus to your life? Is your life driven by purpose? This world that we stand upon at present is completely structured and built by people who had a definite purpose framed in their mindset be it for glory or infamy. Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ, a Great Teacher led a life set on a Divine Purpose-to redeem the lost. Till date, His principles and sermons still awe a large section of the world. The Mahatma allowed his purpose of liberating a deprived nation through the path of non-violence and look where we stand now- a land having an identity, one christened as a free country that overcame evil with good. Another selfless figure that is recorded in the annals of history is Mother Teresa whose hands have served and whose feet have trod the most impoverished of streets and corners of Kolkatta for the leprous and maimed section of society. Another life driven by purpose.

This writer hence, urges his fellow brethren to never allow their supposedly mundane lives to be devoid of purpose. Purpose, like a rudder of a boat propels a life its fixed direction irrespective of the intensity that the waves beat about it. Let integrity, benevolence, compassion and love be the sole stimulants to your life. Let us not become like the rich old fool who when asked what he would do with his immense wealth overflowing from his storehouses, replied that he would build more storehouses! On that very night, God in His anger took away the life of the poor old soul. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world yet lose his soul?

On that note, let us strive to live a life driven by purpose and leave behind a legacy that transforms lives.

he tried to save the calender business (clipped to Polyvore.com)

A First Blog

Hi

That's me showing a gang sign. It used to mean victory, God knows what it means now.

Hi! This is my first blog.

I'm not even sure what that means. I am humbled when I say that because I believe sometimes my Mantle'ism' (taken from the obnoxious Reggie Mantle from "Archies") doesn't have 'humble pie' as a dish in its self acclaimed menu.

But hey, I am allowed to try many new things and voila! here I am getting to touch the very tip of this Iceberg or in this case a 'blog'berg.

As days go by I will give it my best whether or not people engage with moi in my blog space or not.

May God bless you and yeah, do come peep in sometimes at this amateur.