30 TRUTHS IN 30 DAYS - DAY SIXTEEN

Truth #16: Children are remarkably honest creatures until we teach them not to be. Yes, children are born into this world without filters especially when it comes to honesty. As they grow up they learn how to cover the truth by using tact or worse, by outright lying. Being truthful in many situations we are told hurts people's feelings and so honesty is pushed aside for something a little more humane, thus we witness the birth of lies or "white lies" we like to call them. Children learn to lie for many reasons until all those reasons blend into one. As we become adults, some of us forget how or when to tell the truth because using "tact" is easier. But for a child the truth is always right there in the forefront waiting to be verbalized without hesitation or malice. For them, it's simple and straightforward. The truth is the truth!

WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS

This post was originally written and posted in 2005 on my original blog, Abnormally Normal People.

The caged bird sings for freedom. It sings as a disguise. It sings because if it remains silent, it will fade away and die. Many times I have tried to place myself in other people's shoes especially those people who feel as if they have to hide or cover up who they really are or conceal the lifestyle they have chosen to live because they fear the stigma and rejection attached to it. I grew up being the black sheep of the family, but even the antics of a black sheep doesn't come close to type of reaction created by someone who is homosexual. I can almost understand why some people try to lead a straight life, be something they are not and never feel comfortable enough to reveal who they really are. The inner turmoil must be devastating. Yes, I know all those who still say horrific things about homosexuality. I've heard all the arguments...all the pros and cons!!! I guess my views on the subject allow me to see the person as a human being and not as some perverted demon or freak of nature. 

Several years ago my mother made a strange statement to me one day. She told me that I had changed her views on homosexuals. Me? I'm straight....how did I do that? She asked me if I remembered the day I first learned that one of my female cousins was a lesbian. I thought back to that day over 30 years ago and remembered what an uproar within the family that announcement had caused. Hey, at the time I probably felt relieved because the focus wasn't on me and the gossip was centered elsewhere! Yes, I remember being told! My mother asked me if I remembered what I said to her when she told me about my cousin. I thought back, but I couldn't remember my initial reaction. 

My mother refreshed my memory by telling me that I informed everyone in the room that my cousin was the same person as she was the day before they all knew she was a lesbian. As far as I was concerned, nothing had changed. My mother said my words stuck with her and she knew what I had said was true. She stopped labeling my cousin and allowed her to continue being the person we always knew her to be. That acceptance broadened in time and allowed my mother to view others with different preferences and lifestyles as being just as human as she is and it made me smile knowing the black sheep can be pretty sagely at times!

Gratitude statement: I'm truly thankful for being able to view people's differences as differences and not in terms of making one person better than another. 

30 TRUTHS IN 30 DAYS - DAY FIFTEEN

Truth #15: One of the most frustrating things in life is trying to be someone you aren't. Take someone who desperately wants to live what they perceive to be as a normal life, but they are completely miserable in doing so because that person needs a little spice, a little wild hair every now and then to feel what's normal for them, but to fit in they go against what their core is telling them to be. My mother always told me "to thine ownself be true" but how far should one take that? I'm not talking about let's all go out and swing from the trees, become serial killers or live out all our wildest fantasies, but what if someone struggles with living a lifestyle that's not meant for them to live. Life is too short to live it being void of any happiness, any satisfaction, any fulfillment. Shouldn't we all find our own path? Whatever that path is? If the beat we hear is a different one, then I think we owe it to ourselves to follow it to see where it will lead us. If that path is down some rabbit hole, then perhaps we should change our name to Alice and just enjoy the adventure.

30 TRUTHS IN 30 DAYS - DAY FOURTEEN

Truth #14: We tend to cram people especially those closest to us in the box labeled PERFECT and then when those people disappoint us by being less than perfect, it hurts us deeply. We tend to forget that nobody is perfect. We all make mistakes. And unfortunately those closest to us are the people who will hurt us the most in life. But it's entirely up to us how we handle that hurt and disappointment. We have a few options: We can isolate ourselves so we are insulated from hurt and disappointment. Good luck on that one because it's a lonely existence being a hermit! We can forgive and go about our business knowing that to err is human and to forgive is divine or we can fall into the trap of the endless tit for tat game of I'll show you how it feels to be hurt and disappointed. All that does is breed hate and discontent. Revenge is a horrible game to play! The truth is people will hurt and disappoint you sometimes, but if it's a continual pattern and you feel used or cast aside like day old trash until you're needed again then you might want to reevaluate your own self-worth and move yourself into a different box. Face it, if someone continually hurts you and disappoints you, they aren't as perfect as you thought they were and they might be more comfortable residing in the ASSHOLE or BITCH box.  

NEW BREAKTHROUGH OR NEW NIGHTMARE?

One might question why two of the most addictive chemicals on Earth (nicotine and cocaine) would be combined. The Genetic Literacy Project has an article and video shedding a little light on the subject:

A tobacco plant relative called Nicotiana benthamiana has been genetically modified to produce cocaine in its leaves. Cocaine is produced naturally in the leaves of the Erythroxylum coca plant, and scientists set out to recreate this process in N. benthamiana. A team from the Kunming Institute of Botany in China altered N. benthamiana to produce two enzymes that generate cocaine when its leaves are dried. The breakthrough could lead to a way to manufacture cocaine, or produce chemically similar compounds for medicinal purposes. 

 

While cocaine is notorious as an illegal drug, it has also been used in medical practices as a local anaesthetic or to narrow blood vessels to stem bleeding. However, pharmaceutical companies are limited in ways they can produce the drug, as key steps in its biosynthesis have remained a mystery. In their paper, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the scientists finally discovered what was missing. Two enzymes, EnCYP81AN15 and EnMT4, are essential for this conversion reaction to form methylecgonone.

30 TRUTHS IN 30 DAYS - DAY THIRTEEN

Truth #13: Relationships do not thrive on neglect. I see it all the time...two people get together and they're the perfect fit, the perfect couple. They have everything going for them and then BAM! Everything goes to Hell. It's simple. They got caught up in their own hype and thought their relationship didn't require any work when in reality all relationships require work.  Your relationship with your significant other is a work in progress until the day you die. The day you stop working on your relationship is the day you should go sign the divorce papers or just call it quits altogether. Relationships require comunication and honesty regardless of what a person may think. Yes, there are going to be difficult times and times where just looking at the person is going to make you want to pull your hair out but it isn't the fact that you love the person that gets you through a difficult time, it's the fact the you LIKE that person and that you RESPECT that person. It's the bond you have with that person that gets you through the hard stuff. It's knowing that no matter what, you can talk to that person about anything. If you have someone you can share anything with and I mean the most intimate details of your life without hesitation knowing that person will still accept you for who you are and they won't turn their back on you, then you need to hold that person close to your heart always because that person is a true gift that doesn't happen often.