News

As of late, I have felt a strong desire to expand my intelligence and become more informed about the ongoings of our world. Naturally, this means I have been doing a little bit of research on Osama Bin Laden. I've compiled a list of facts I found interesting.

• It is said that he has married four women, the first of whom he married at 17. By 2002, he is said to have somewhere between 12 and 26 children.
• He wrote poetry in college
• He rejects "chilled water"
• His father was killed in a plane crash, when an american pilot misjudged the landing
• He was described as soft-spoken and mild mannered in demeanor

It appears to me that the reason for his acts of terrorism are linked to the death of his father, but his main logical reasoning, apparently, was the belief that the world should be placed under the Sharia law--the code of conduct of the Islam religion.

Sharia law, though incredibly strict, actually holds up well to my own ideals. Alcohol and gambling is forbidden, as is eating animals that weren't properly slaughtered (ripping out the esophagus or using a blunt blade, for example, would lead the animal to a cruel death and thereby render it impure for consumption); maintaining proper hygiene on all levels is crucial, things of that nature. However, they are incredibly strict on proper dress and sexuality (both in terms of their view on homosexuality and their view on fornication). I believe we--as an american culture--should have more digression about who we have sex with (i.e. you should actually know and like the people you're having sex with), but I don't believe in strictly marital sex.

Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to get at with all of this is that Osama isn't a particularly bad guy--he's just doing what he thinks is right: "purifying the world", in a sense, of all the things he sees wrong with it (the american culture and democracy, for instance)... Yes, he's incredibly mislead--the Sharia doesn't really have anything in it about the ethics of murdering other people, and he couldn't really figure out on his own that it's unethical--but I'm not fond of the whole, "justice is served" attitude. Yeah, this guy was killed--but that can't really make up for what he did. We make up for what he did by coming together and resolving the problems he caused within our own boundaries--with love and acceptance and kindness and working together to heal our own country, not by going out and occupying foreign territory and hunting terrorists.

...And for the record, the government never made the official decision to murder Bin Laden. He was shot in the crossfire (in the head) during the ambush. Obama called Pakistan prior to the event to let them know he was going to be arriving to assist in the capture Bin Laden--whereupon he would make the decision of whether to take him into custody or put him down... but he was dead when he arrived.

Something I also found nice: they gave him a proper funeral, in the ocean--attempting to keep it in align with his islamic tradition.

April 4th

"He used often to say there was only one Road; that it was like a great river: its springs were at every doorstep, and every path was its tributary."

It occurs to me how much of myself I place in my writing. In fact, this is so true that I'm certain (if I were a mass murderer) I would've created dozens of horcruxes by now, in the form of blog posts or journals or essays or facebook status updates.

And it occurs to me how much of myself I miss when I don't write... The horcrux analogy wasn't a perfect metaphor, because it's not really that I'm loosing parts of my soul: it's that I'm discovering and then displaying them.

I'm going to re-open this door, and follow the path it takes me to--before I lose myself in the idleness I have succumbed to in these past few days.

I'm not promising every-day, but that's what I'm shooting for. Just a little quip, maybe some thoughts from my day, to prove to myself that I think about a wide variety of things.

Here is something you probably know about me: I thirst for adventure. I feel confined, trapped while I'm still in school, but I am perhaps only trapped by my trepidation as I am unsure how to go out into the world. I am unsure where to go, or how to be out there, alone--I don't know how to book a hotel or if I'd be okay sleeping outside or if I'd get myself into dangerous, life-threatening situations. But I would still like to leave, to go out into the world and see what it's like. I tell myself that if I wasn't in school or if I had enough money, then I'd undoubtedly do it--but would I? Do I really need the security of money? Is there any way I could do it without? Perhaps I could live in an ashram in India--but the thought of something that unknown terrifies me. What if they don't speak english? What if I can't communicate with anybody? What if I'm freaking out unnecessarily, here?

I guess... it just comes down to me taking that first step out of my door, the way Bilbo talked about. I just have to follow that road. I will wait for what seems like the opportune moment, or, if it hasn't arrived by the summer--say, july--I will force it into existence.

Today, I: Woke up, read some, sat around thinking about my life, wrote a little, wrote a blog... am planning on going camping later with a bunch of people I don't really know. But first things first: breakfast with my mom and walking (or bike-riding?) into town to buy a present for one of the people I don't really know that I'm camping with.

I love: The dynamism of stillness and strong wind; pre-storm weather; storms; clouds, sunlight, green grass and new clover; the thought of adventure; the thought of returning to Austin for a few days; the contents of my wardrobe; the people close to me; feeling as though I've got my feet on solid ground; feeling as though nothing can affect me negatively (something that happens very sparingly)...

I want: Adventure. Constantly flowing change, growth, to feel as though I'm living my life to the fullest extent. Experiences. To never say "no" if someone asks something of me, provided it will not put my body in harm. To chase after spirituality and to learn to fully open my heart and mind to others. Breakfast.

All you really have to do in life... is love each other.

It sounds cheesy. By all means, it is cheesy. But when you think about it, that's the only thing that really matters in life. When you look upon the past, you don't remember your insecurities, or what you chose to wear, or if you got Starbucks that day or not--you remember the important people in your life, and how you treated them. And if it's with love and kindness, then you will lend yourself to incredible growth.

Here, just watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X6q7nt15uk