CNN – its not just for news anymore.

Tags

Anderson Cooper, cats, cnn, fascist, felines, hitler, Jesus, Lindsay Lohan, News

This has become quite apparent to me this evening. I logged on to CNN and I have to say I was stunned by what I found. Now, I wasn’t born yesterday and I realize that sensationalist news is what makes the cash to pay Anderson Copper, I get it. However, there is a line and frankly CNN should be ashamed.

I don’t know who is in charge of what they put on their homepage, but you can bet I will be asking. For the last few days I have been looking and I have seen more of Lindsay Lohan than ever should be on a credible news site. Lets leave things like how Lindsay’s fellow inmates feel about her to E! and Perez Hilton shall we? We can also leave to someone else “Cats that look like Hitler”. Really CNN you should be embarrassed. I am embarrassed for you. If that weren’t bad enough, then we have “Jesus Rocks”. I am not talking about a shout out to the face of Christianity, I am talking about a face carved into stone. Really CNN? Really?

I am all for the humanitarian and “social interest” stories, but this is too far. It is insulting. To assume that I would want to go onto what used to be a reputable news site to find felines that look like fascist leaders is demeaning to my intelligence and if that is what you really think that you viewers want to see, think again. Some of us are still interested in the real news.

The Meaning of Prayer

Tags

balance, God, life, meaning, prayer, relationship, religion, ritual, spirituality, values

For me, prayer is more than just clasped hands and closed eyes. Do I do those things? Sure, but I also pray with my eyes wide open. (This is much appreciated when I am praying and driving!)

For me, prayer is that moment in a day when it is just me and God. It is me talking with my guiding force. It’s me finding my balance and reconnecting with my core values.  It means I am taking all I have learned in the day, up to that point, and either giving it back to Him, or thanking him for giving me the events that shape my life.

I love the traditional ritual of prayer. The closing of the eyes, shutting out the physical world to connect with my spiritual world. The clasping of the hands, the feeling of the physical connection of skin on skin, embracing, coming together to center and focus me and giving me something to hold on to. I love taking that deep breath right before I spill my soul to Him, that deep cleansing breath that elevates my soul closer to heaven.  I love the sense of quiet and calm that comes over me.

For me prayer represents renewal. In letting go of the worries and the stress, I am letting in the calm. I am sweeping out the negativity of the day, or of the moment, and I am bringing in serenity and peace.  It is the shedding of an outer shell and the re-birth of who I am intrinsically as a person and as a woman.

I received a phone call this morning during my moment of prayer. I answered the phone and the person on the other end asked what I was doing. I responded with “Praying”. I think it caught that person a little off guard.  I mean, how often does one really catch someone in the act of praying? It was that conversation that led me to think about prayer and its meaning and place in my life.

So, what does prayer mean for you? What does it symbolize, what does it represent?

Late night bloggin’

Well I would love for this to be a front porch bloggin’ post, but until I get my new laptop, I am chained to the office. It’s late. It’s after 2am. I should be in bed. I have work in the morning. I just had this urge to blog. It’s been awhile.

Actually I don’t even really need to sit here and figure out what to say. I have a blog written. But tonight I am not feeling that blog. I feel like I have this brick of words lying on my chest and that I will never go to sleep if I don’t type it off.

This weekend was a productive weekend. I bought a new desk. Well, new to me desk. I joke with my Mom that I will never own anything new. I love eras that have gone by too much. This desk is not a vintage piece, just lightly used. I found it for fifty dollars at a store in a nearby town. Then I asked the lady if that was the best price she could do and got another 20% off. I was totally willing to pay the fifty, but I am also going to be a broke college student. How’s that for planning and foresight! Those eight dollars will buy me a nifty off campus lunch when I am on the verge of smacking people upside the head.

I also found a couple of vintage purses for really good prices. One will be a birthday gift from my aunt and the other I bought for now. It was six dollars and it’s really great.

Ok ok, I know desks and purses aren’t exactly deep thoughts for contemplative blogging. So what’s on my mind you ask? I just keep thinking about school and the logistics of everything that has to happen before I can set foot into the classroom. I am waiting for a response to an e-mail I sent to financial aid. I am waiting to hear from a lender to see if I got approved for a loan. I can’t do anything really until those things happen and there is so much that has to happen soon, so I can be ready to start. I don’t want to put things off until the last second.

I have made my lists. I know what I need to buy, how to pack the car, what to pack the car with for those just in case moments. I even bought the bins to put it all in. I know what laptop I am getting and I even have a price quote. I have taken all the steps I can and I want to keep moving forward and I am only spinning my wheels. This is causing me to worry about how it will all go. If I am moving I don’t worry as much because I am doing something. Right now my hands are tied, bound by other people.

Mom says not to worry it will all happen in its own time. But that is just it; this is my time, my life. I am ready to move on with my life. I am over thirty for heaven’s sake and still living at home. I know I have had life happen and all, and that it caused me to have some setbacks. Well, that and trying to do it right when I finally figured it out.  I just want to keep on moving on.