Friday, September 30, 2011

Here's To The Crazy Ones

Here's to the crazy ones.
  The misfits.
    The rebels.
      The troublemakers.
        The round pegs in the square holes.

The ones who see things differently.
They're not fond of rules.
     And they have no respect for the status quo.

You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them,
     disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can't do is ignore them.
      Because they change things.

They invent.    They imagine.    They heal.
  They explore.    They create.    They inspire.
    They push the human race forward.

Maybe they have to be crazy.
How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
Or sit in silence and hear a song that's never been written?
Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?

We make tools for these kinds of people.

While some see them as the crazy ones,
   we see genius.

Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world, are the ones who do.- Apple Computers 





This has to be one of my favorite quotes. It is inspiring to all people who want to make a difference or do not feel like they fit in with the typical 9-5 society. I have always felt like I relate to this quote, because just like Kurt Vonnegut stated, " the most interesting people I know did not know what they wanted to do at 22, some of the most interesting 40-yr-olds still don't" It is the creative, intelligent, bold, dare to be different people who make the changes in this world. Did Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, all believe they would be making the difference they did in society when they dared to be different? They seemed crazy, they were extremists, but it is those extremist and those crazy people who leave their mark on this world, and that is what life is really all about isn't it? Leave a mark, a positive piece of you for history to remember and to learn from, or else you are going to be someone who just passes by and no one wants that. 

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Belo Monte dam

Today I witnessed one of the saddest pictures I have ever seen. This is Chief Raoni crying when he learned that the President of Brazil approved the Belo Monte dam project on the Xingu indigenous lands. The Belo Monte dam will be the third largest dam in the world. The large problem with this is it will take up 80% of the Xingu River completely diverting it on a different route and basically causing a permanent drought. This doesn't seem to be a problem for the city people who only see the benefits of more hydroelectric energy, but it is a huge problem for the tribes who's lives depend on the life in this river. The government believes the dam is a part of the "green development" in Brazil when in reality they are completely destroying the natural land that already exists. AmazonWatch.org explains, "For the Xingu's poor farmers, temporary employment created by the dam is not a viable replacement for lost agricultural lands and the river's fish supply. Considered an "obstacle" to business interests, indigenous peoples are particularly vulnerable. Mega-projects typically confront indigenous communities with disease, loss of food and clean water sources, cultural disintegration and human rights abuses by illegal loggers, migrant workers and land speculators. The indirect and long term impacts of Belo Monte are of even greater concern as other unsustainable industries such as aluminum and metal refineries, soy plantations, logging, and mining expand into the area." Such projects can not continue to go on. The more the government wants to grow bigger and better the more natural areas they are destroying which will only leave to bigger issues in the long run.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

salvation soul

When people think of Miami, they think of partying, clubs, nice beaches , night life, and sex. Miami has opened my eyes up to many things I never would have encountered if I stayed in the North East and for that I am grateful. There are plenty of secret, hidden treasures in this city that the normal tourist would never know or probably even care about. While most people see the steroid, tattooed Guidos at the pool parties or the plastic women walking around everywhere, I see the homeless man who takes the bus 15 minutes down the road just so he can feed the stray cats in an alley. Some people see all the great Happy Hours and expensive cocktails, I see Athens Juice Bar, a small hole in the wall juice bar that has been in business for over 20 years and is run by some of the coolest people I have ever met in my life.  Most tourists go shopping on Collins or Ocean Ave to stores like Armani Exchange, Steve Madden, Michael Kors, I go to Under the Mango Tree on 6th Street. 6th Street, a little sanctuary in it self with an Organic Spa, Yoga Center and Organic vitamin and food shop. Under the Mango Tree is another small little smoothie shop with precious gems from Central and South American countries run by the most down to Earth woman, who has a smile that can light up the darkest room. Lastly, there is Bill Baggs National State Park. In this trash invested, smelly, dog poop filled city, Bill Baggs is at the very tip of Key Biscayne and reminds us why nature is so beautiful. It is a place to visit when you need a breath of fresh air (Literally, the air I think has to be cleaner there). This park is filled with signs to not litter and leave nothing and take nothing. With beautiful plants, trees and mangroves everywhere, you can get lost in its beauty and forget you are in Miami. This is my little slice of heaven in an ever so hectic city. 

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Saturday, September 17, 2011

F.E.A.R

False Emotions Appearing Real. Fear is something each and every one of us encounters daily. Whether it is fear over our futures, our own personal strength, being alone, a snake. All of those fears do not exist. It is shocking how powerful the human mind is. It takes complete control of us in our everyday lives. What we don't notice is that our mind is doing the only job it knows how to do, and that is to think. It is our job as humans to put those thoughts to rest and take control. Our mind is our own worse enemy. We stop ourselves from doing things that we should be pushing ourselves to do. Change is a very scary thing for most people but it is a necessity. Something as little as changing your morning coffee to tea can welcome new possibilities in your life. Have you ever wanted to change something minor, maybe just the way to drive to work in the morning, but the thought comes that it may throw your whole entire day off therefore you just stick with your old patterns? This goes for everything we do. Fear has the strength to squeeze our insides and literally take the wind out of us. If we all just sit back and take a few deep, calming breaths, we will realize how much power we have over our minds. So instead of thinking, why would I ever apply for that job I don't have a chance! Take a deep breath and welcome in the change and the opportunities that may lay ahead of you. What is the worse that can happen?

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Costa




The Seven Deadly Sins


"Wealth without work 
Pleasure without conscience 
Science without humanity 
Knowledge without character 
Politics without principle 
Commerce without morality 
Worship without sacrifice." 
 Mahatma Gandhi

the next generation


The baby boomers are an incredible generation. They wanted nothing more but the best for the future, their families and their children. They meant no harm when they decided that growing bigger, better, faster, stronger would lead to the America everyone has always dreamt of. They did not see the destruction that would lay ahead and what our current generation would have to deal with. Currently, deforestation is a huge issue. A huge issue which is leading to an even bigger issue, global warming (a topic a lot of people enjoy to ignore and deny). The simple fact that the earth, environment and animals were all here before humans, should make people understand that there is something out there bigger than them. But humans are only human which means they are self- centered and narrow minded. It is not exactly their fault, they know no better than to continue their lives the way they were raised. Which goes back to the baby boomers who were only trying to make things better and easier for future generations. But thanks to all these grand developments; more buildings, more roads, more oil, etc., things such as deforestation and pollution are not being controlled. With the current rate of deforestation, planet earth would be lucky to have a rainforest left in a 100 years, that is if planet earth is even around in 100 years. It is bad enough that deforestation and pollution take away oxygen and put a hole into our ozone layer, but it also kills off millions of species. People complain about these issues and try to do simple things such as recycle but that is not enough. It is sad to say but one single individual is barely making any difference in such impacts. It is the large corporations, such as the meat industry, causing all the devastation. This generation has fully abused everything our ancestors worked so hard at to make this life a better one for us. While our ancestors did actual physical manual labor just to put food on the table, this generation feeds disgusting meat companies all of their money so they can turn the other way and get their food as quickly and simply as possible. With this current generation raising their children, our future generations, on such morals and a lifestyle that only wants the easy way out, what is their future going to look like? Will future generations be able to even witness such beauty of the quietness of the rainforest, or the diverse marine life in our oceans? Will they understand that the world does not just revolve around humans, but that there is other life all around us that they should embrace and learn from? If one little change could take place, and our generation could stand up and no longer tolerate this.. who knows, maybe the next generation will completely rebuild this world.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

paraiso

An American philosopher once stated, "The only Zen you find on the top of a mountain, is the Zen you bring there." American's aren't exactly known for their understandings in Eastern philosophy but Robert Pirziq could not be more correct in this statement. I spent the last twenty-two years of my life searching for some sort of "zen", "piece of mind", "nirvana", whatever you would like to call it. I threw myself into Ashtanga yoga, acupuncture, organic and holistic health, therapy, breathing exercises..I think you are getting the jist. But none of the above worked, my mind was still chaotic and I still felt lost looking for this so called, "Self". I thought all my answers would come the day I decided to leave the country for a month and travel through Costa Rica. I was wrong. I found myself thinking I should probably tattoo "persevere" on my forehead because this is what I had to tell myself to do every single morning before our two- hour nature walks. Don't get me wrong, I am the first one to want to take part in any form of exercise or physical exertion. But these hikes were not bringing me zen and that is what I was truly looking for. I spent 26 days trying to figure out why I was not being handed the answers to life or why I wasn't experiencing this grand epiphany. It was not until my last week in Costa Rica that I experienced Shanti. A Buddhist mantra which means peace. This feeling of Shanti was consumed after a 5 hour bus ride and a ferry trip from San Jose to a small town called, Montezuma or as I like to call it.. paraiso. Words will never be able to describe this little piece of heaven. Montezuma mended my soul. It is a small town with an estimated amount of 30 locals. The rest, which is still few, are all American and European tourists, but the type of tourists you actually enjoy spending time around. I'd rather use the word backpackers than tourists. Tourists get such a bad rep. The town was surrounded by mysterious beaches, waterfalls and underwater graveyards. The beaches went on for miles and I still could not tell you where they began and where they ended. That was one of the beauties of this place. As you walk out onto the beach you witness beautiful waves crashing, locals relaxing on the beach in hammocks, people playing music, one local old man who sold fresh ceviche.. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I had never met such relaxed and happy people in my life. One local who went by the name "Monkeydog" repeated over and over to me in broken English and some Spanish, that, "he is just so happy, how could you not be happy with the beach in front of you, everyone in Montezuma is just happy!" And this was true. The happy attitudes of these people wore off on me. I no longer was wondering what time is was or what day it was or what I was going to do the next day. I was simply living in the moment. This is where I found my zen. The realization of just living in the moment and not worrying what is to come. I did not find zen in, yoga, on a mountain top, in the rainforest, but in the moment of realizing only I can bring myself Zen and to live in the moment. Live and let live.