think-become

10/7/2011

2011-07-12T20:28:00.000-07:00

Winter Palm Tree

Bella

© 2011 Belinda Borello. All Rights Reserved to http://think-become.blogspot.com/

Look Within

2011-07-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

Bella

© 2011 Belinda Borello. All Rights Reserved to http://think-become.blogspot.com/

Suburban Dystopia Cont'd

2011-06-26T21:31:00.000-07:00

Since posting the article 'Suburban Dystpoia', I have stumbled across more research on the issue. For those that were interested in the topic, check out the findings on how city life contributes to stress ! Not sure if I entirely support the theory, but it is an interesting read: City Life Affects Brain's Response to Stress http://www.webmd.com/balance/stressmanagement/news/20110623/city-life-affects-brains-response-to-stress?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Bella

© 2011 Belinda Borello. All Rights Reserved to http://think-become.blogspot.com/
Image 'Hooray the suburbs' reused from http://www.flickr.com/photos/thirddesign/5444364520/

Lost

2011-06-26T21:22:00.000-07:00

"I feel like a lion that was once part of the marsh pride, and is now wandering alone on the African planes."-L. Stuttered

Bella

© 2011 Belinda Borello. All Rights Reserved to http://think-become.blogspot.com/

Palm city

2011-06-26T03:23:00.000-07:00

Camberwell Station 26/6/2011

Car parks, train stations, restaurants, freeways... suburban front yards. There are Palm tree's all across the city of Melbourne. Now that I've pointed this out to you, I guarantee that you will start seeing them in the most unlikely of places !

Bella

© 2011 Belinda Borello. All Rights Reserved to http://think-become.blogspot.com/

Everyday the universe changes in some small way

2011-06-25T05:35:00.000-07:00

Are you shaping your universe to change, how you want it to ?

What you think is what you become. Meaning that the mental energy you spend on an idea, manifests it into a reality. Be it positive or negative, you become what you think. If you are fixated on the thought that you are socially awkward, then you will start to live a socially awkward life. You live the idea. You’re steering the car, and if you get side tracked by something on the sidewalk you will inturn veer towards the sidewalk. The same applies for your life, or in light of the title of this post… your universe.

What ideas are you mediating on ? If you need to, write down a list of the few most prevalent thoughts that you seem to always come back to. Someone once mentioned to me that these voices are the tapes of your mind. What are your tapes saying, and are they stuck on repeat. Get the thoughts out of your mind and onto paper. Are they a reality, or are you going to deliberate on these thoughts so much that they become real.

The concept that the universe is continually changing, is a Buddhist one. A component of Buddhist thought is to accept the impermanence of things, and to let go of attachments. For the purpose of this post however, I’m going to focus on the simple idea that the universe is changing. This notion helps me to accept change, and the actualisation of personal goals. As each day comes and goes, it brings with it small changes to the world. The earth is continually rotating, we slowly move towards the different seasons, and as the sun sets on each day the earth itself has evolved in some way.

You too, have also evolved. Ever so slightly, our minds shift and our identity changes with each day. If we all actually stopped to consider this, I feel we may not stay stuck in so many moments. During the difficult seasons of our lives, it’s important to consider how each new day draws us slowly away from the pain. That change will come and eventually shift us to a happier place. It may not seem like a new concept at first. However if you decided to live by this principal, I’m confident you will start to see a radical change in your thoughts.

We continually put ourselves through regimes to change our health, our hair, our bank accounts and our clothes. Pick up any magazine and you fill find an endless supply of new diets, and tips to improve our quality of life. It’s interesting how consideration of what we’re putting in our minds, doesn’t seem as relevant an issue. We spend alot of mental energy stewing on fears, and negativity. It’s hard to sift the unconstructive thoughts. It’s hard to acknowledge that we seem to be pouring all of our energy into an irrational reflection. Or register that our frustration is futile, when is comes to a situation we just cannot change.

We don’t think about the health of our minds, and it’s time we did. Reading this article and suddenly thinking ‘happy’ is not possible, this just isn’t going to happen for you. You have to start to slowly re-wire your thoughts, and allow each day to bring a slight change to your reality. It is possible to fixate on our goals in a positive way, in a way that allows us to steer towards them. Personally I find I get discouraged without some sort of immediate relief, or change to a situation I’m not happy with. But this just isn’t how the universe works. Acceptance that we are slowly getting there is such a tangible idea. It’s real, and it’s something you can think about at the closure of each day. You may not be there just yet, but as the sun rises tomorrow you will have changed ever so slightly. You will have hopefully shifted towards the person you want to be.

Everyday the universe changes in some small way. Are you shaping your world to change how you want it to ?

"I only wish to be free, the butterflies are free" -Charles Dickens

Bella

© 2011 Belinda Borello. All Rights Reserved to http://think-become.blogspot.com/

Creative block

2011-06-25T03:28:00.000-07:00

http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/33-ways-to-stay-creative

Bella

© 2011 Belinda Borello. All Rights Reserved to http://think-become.blogspot.com/

Belonging

2011-06-23T23:19:00.000-07:00

"I'm stuck in a city, when I belong in a field"
-Julian Casablancas

Bella

© 2011 Belinda Borello. All Rights Reserved to http://think-become.blogspot.com/

What do you want to do when you grow up ?

2011-06-23T23:10:00.000-07:00

I think at one stage my sister wanted to be a pottery artist, because she liked the designs on mugs. She was probably around 6 years old. It never eventuated; it’s something she laughs at now. I think we also both wanted to be checkout chics , because we liked the idea of pushing the buttons on the cash register. Also, scanning barcodes seemed like it could be fun.

Now that we are supposedly grown up, are we working our dream jobs ? I’m not sure. If we could be in any profession, what would it be ? We’re not sure either. OK, so maybe we should be sitting down and writing a list of the things we are good at. We are a bit hazy about that too, I think I am interested in doing photography… or advertising… or watching Masterchef on TV after work…

When asked what we do for a profession, not many of us give a confident answer. The question can make us squirm. Some of us are caught up in an industry by chance, but it will do. The notion of a dream job is steadily declining. We have evolved to accept that not knowing what we want, is OK. But it seems that as a result, no one really knows too much about anything. Have we become a little bit watery on the issue?

Whatever happened to developing a skillset. Call me sentimental, but there is something noble about acquiring a trade. You study a subject and then you commit to it. You work hard and your knowledge in the area becomes invaluable to others. It’s almost a legacy, a body of work that you have whole heartedly dedicated yourself to. “Handiness is a mindset. It’s a ‘can-do’ kind of spirit...alot of people in their late 30s and early 40s say that they were too busy playing Atari and didn’t want to be with their dads working in the garage. But now they find themselves owning homes.”*

I don’t think our grandparents we’re so flighty. I imagine that they would have decided on a profession, and just worked hard at it until it eventuated. They weren’t raised to ponder and contemplate, to fluff around and think about what we ‘maybe’ like. Our grandmothers may have been stay at home mothers… but it seems many of them spent this time creating a legacy of recipes and family traditions. Will these things continue through the generations that follow ? It’s questionable. Yes we have so many opportunities now, but it seems our smart phones and self-serve checkouts have made us a little bit weak…

“Once when I was too lazy to bathe
Or paint or write or try to make a change.
Now I can shoot a gun to kill my lunch
And I don't have to love or think too much”
–MGMT

Bella

*Excerpt taken from “Have we lost the ability to work with our hands” http://www.carrollmagazine.com/articles/have-we-lost-the-ability-to-work-with-our-hands.html

Tell me lies

2011-06-15T03:00:00.000-07:00

“I am running late because I have been stuffing around”.

I sent this to a friend the other day. Instinctively I wanted to make up a legitimate reason. I wanted to communicate that I was late due to circumstances beyond my control. Or somehow project that a random accident of time had caused it. This was seriously my routine thought process, as I pulled out my phone.

When we feel we are letting someone down we tell small lies. I believe they have been categorised as ‘white lies’. I find it amusing that we have somehow archived forms of lying into different classes. Is there such a thing as a grey lie ? Is that the sort of lie that is really bad, and a white lie is OK…

‘Small’ or ‘White’ lies are at times unavoidable. There are those few moments in life when a lie is required to protect. I guess it is up to the individual to evaluate, if they really do need to stretch the truth. It seems however, that the lies have been taken too far. We are a generation of deceit, and most of the time I am sure you will agree that the lies aren’t even necessary. As liars we have blurred the distinction between a lie of integrity, and one that is simply to cover our own asses. And I’m not talking about the crazy-eyes-type liars, I’m talking about everyday common folk like you and I.

Studies have proved that on average, we tell 910 lies a year. Which is close to three lies a day…*

I think we justify these lies by pretending it’s because we ‘care’. We care that our friends aren’t hurt or disappointed by our actions, so we cover them up. But are we lying to protect our friends, or ourselves ? Since when did it become acceptable to fabricate the truth, to avoid confrontation? And by constantly avoiding conflict, are our people skills deteriorating? Instead of actually meeting a scheduled time, we all too easily cancel in a text. Then instead of admitting that we cancelled with no real reason, we make up a little bit of a story to ease the bad news.

It’s not about a confrontation revolution, but how about a little bit of honesty. Isn’t it refreshing when someone is just out with it. When they pick up the phone to call you, or shoot a message that’s clear in intent and rife with the truth. It’s always easy to spot the lies in a text as well. It’s always those messages that seem kind of fuzzy, and the lie is explained in three different ways so that they can convince themselves that yeah, this totally could have happened.

So next time you are late, don’t make up some sort of cause-effect physics explanation. Keep it real people !

"When he said I do, he never said what he did"

Bella

*Statistics taken from “How often do people lie” http://radioalice.radio.com/2010/05/19/how-often-do-people-lie/

Image “True lies” from http://movieart.net/

What can one person do to make a difference ?

2011-06-14T22:38:00.000-07:00

" 3 things"

Don't be defeated by the everyday. Write down a list of three things you can do, to make a difference. It doesn't seem like much, but isn't 3 things a start ? Visit the website http://3things.org.au/add-3things, and upload the 3 things that you will start doing. Try to reflect on these things daily, as what you think you become...

Bella

Edited image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/sweetonveg/5179031393/sizes/z/in/photostream/
© 2011 Belinda Borello. All Rights Reserved to http://think-become.blogspot.com/

Nice Dream

2011-06-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

The other morning I had a vivid dream, the kind that seemed to continue even as I was waking up. You know the type ? When your alarm is sounding and somehow your dream is in fact connected to that alarm noise ? It was a dream about a past friend. They were confessing everything they had done wrong by the friendship, and explaining why we were no longer in contact. The feeling of the dream was with me that entire morning, and it seemed like a bit of an assault on the mind. Why was I dreaming about this person, whom I really hadn’t thought about in a while. The feeling of the dream wouldn’t shake either.

There is an overwhelming amount of research on the meaning of dreams, dream symbolism, and prophetic dreaming. Sometimes however it’s interesting to step back a little bit, and consider the primal nature of dreaming. Putting aside the ‘spiritualism’ some associate with dreams, what does it mean to dream? Have you ever watched a movie, or sat down to watch a series on DVD only to dream about the characters that night ? Often the dream even involves ourselves as a part of the story ! I don’t know about you but I used to wake up and think, wow what a waste of time. I spent what seemed like a whole night dreaming that I was a part of Dawsons Creek ? !!

Yes, Dawsons Creek.

But lately I have considered if there was some logic to these sorts of dreams, if there was more to it. Perhaps it is my mind using the sensory information of that day, and dealing with it. Sorting through the images of conflict it received during the programs I viewed. According to researchers at Harvard Medical school, dreaming occurs after we receive new information and our brains are attempting to “consolidate” it.* This theory was proved when two groups of participants completed a computerised maze. Both groups were given two attempts to complete the maze. The first group made the final attempt later in the day, and the second group was allowed a nap inbetween. The group that slept completed the maze 10 times better, than the group who stayed awake. So there really is merit to the advice ‘just sleep on it’.

This would explain those dreams we have the night before a job interview, or first day at a new workplace. We often dream that we are late, we have worn slippers, we forgot to go, or that we missed the bus. This is our minds way of getting prepared for all of the scenarios that could occur the next morning. It is the primitive conscience from within; training us to protect our resources, and in turn enhance survival. It explains why children dream about monsters and things in the dark. The instinct of the human mind is to initially get ready for hunting and gathering… once the mind adjusts to it’s surroundings it will dream about relevant issues. For example, as children grow up their dreams may change to be about toys and relationships with family members and friends.

Therefore sleeping allows us to train for life’s challenges. Be it an emotional loss, a new career, or a toy we want for Christmas… our brain preps us for it throughout the night. “It’s almost like having an internal therapist, because you associate [through dreams] to previous similar feelings, and you work through the emotion related to it.” –Professor Rosalind of Rush University Chicago.** So what can we take from all of this ? Next time you have a dream about conflict with your boss, a partner, an ex or friend, try to really evaluate the feeling it left you with. You would be surprised how once you try to acknowledge the process your psyche is going through, you may actually never dream about that character again.

In retrospect, that vivid dream I had, actually got me to re-think the friendship. The faults they were speculating in the dream were actually real. Due to that persons self confessed short comings, it made me realise, did I even want the relationship to work out ? Infact the dream enabled me to have some sort of closure on the situation. It’s as if the file of my mind was going through ‘auto-archive’, and sorting through an issue that it wanted out of the way. That lingering feeling that stuck with me throughout the day, was my consciousness bringing something to the surface and forcing me to face it.

Bella

*Excerpt taken from Richard Allene’s article ‘Dreams helps us understand and consolidate information’ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/7619653/Dreams-help-us-understand-and-consolidate-information.html

** Except taken from the ‘Health benefits of dreaming’ http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/the-health-benefits-of-dreams
Image "Dawsons Creek" from http://streaming--flix.blogspot.com/2010/10/we-love-90s.html

Saturday afternoon

2011-06-13T00:54:00.000-07:00

11/6/2011

Bella

© 2011 Belinda Borello. All Rights Reserved to 'Saturday Afternoon'' http://think-become.blogspot.com/

What do you miss ?

2011-06-13T00:51:00.000-07:00

"I miss the playgrounds and the animals and digging up worms... I miss the boredom and the freedom and the time spent alone" -MGMT

email- think.become.blog@gmail.com

Bella

© 2011 Belinda Borello. All Rights Reserved to 'What do you miss?' (Image only)' http://think-become.blogspot.com/

In the Sky...

2011-06-09T21:24:00.000-07:00

"In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west. People create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true."

-Buddha

Image by Sarah Manley

Bella

Suburban Dystopia

2011-06-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

"Despite the multitude of little traumas that cluster around it, suburban experience is exactly the opposite of historical experience, which is big on making connections, big on building narratives out of whatever events it can lay its hands on. The suburb is history at a standstill."

This is an excerpt taken from A.L McCann's Subtopia. The story is set in the suburbs of late 1970’s Melbourne, among a backdrop of politics, scandal… and well, boredom. The protagonist Julian tells of his journey amid the bleak and lonely streets of Melbourne’s suburbs. On eventually leaving this grey forlorn ‘subtopia’ Julian always ends up back there. Be it in the States or Berlin, the story does not credit him with some sort of out-of-suburbs-epiphany. Instead, the bland and lonely isolation continually haunts him.

It’s not just ‘Subtopia’ that explores this permeating feeling of empty suburbia. Take Arcade Fire’s latest release, simply titled ‘The Suburbs’. Its lyrics express similar sentiments to McCann’s novel… that the suburbs are something to escape, only to find yourself isolated elsewhere. The musical pace of the album explores this also, there are no triumphant orchestral moments as per previous records. It simply plods along, exploring the boredom and rhythm of suburban life through steady, anti-climatic melodies. The title track’s lyrics are not subtle nor cryptic, “By the time the first bombs dropped we were already bored”, and “all the houses they built in the 70’s finally fall… it meant nothing at all”. Later on in ‘City with no children’ he laments that life outside of suburbia is absent of letter writing and children, and is his very own “private prison”.

Are the suburbs really this terrifying? Does history come to a direct standstill out there? Are we to be forever tormented by the boredom, by the familiarity of it all ? And once out, are we to be left with a continual feeling of emptiness and disenchantment?

It’s generally conceded that whether we move or travel; there is something that always pulls us back to the suburbs. Is it that elsewhere just doesn’t feel like home ? If the suburbs are so destitute, why are we continually complaining that we just want to go home, to feel at home, to have someone make us feel like it’s home. Home seems to be some sort of un-reachable goal that many are striving for. The suburbs are tangible, realistic, homely and comfortable. Challenge and change is always welcome for a season or two, but comfort is often what we crave at the end of it all.

Although it’s generally agreed that suburbs can be dull, it’s hard to imagine that history stops due to the ‘ordinary’. Is history only created against a backdrop of contemporary, fast paced, inner city living? So many great narratives are centered on a sort of ethereal, suburban dream. Australian films such as Muriel’s Wedding, The Black Balloon, and The Castle, all exemplify both a comedic and sentimental notion of the ‘Suburbs’. There are also countless examples of international films that perpetrate a suburban lifestyle. Take for example Zach Braff’s Garden State, the 2005 cult flick Thumbsucker, and the poetically dark Donnie Darko. Surely these sorts of stories have been birthed from the writers own suburban experience. It seems that in that deep gloomy heart of the suburbs, ‘dreamers’ and ‘creative’s’ are born. It seems that the ordinary can propel some individuals towards the extraordinary. That all of that boredom and pavement can leave a space for creativity.

If you have a story, a photo, or just some words about your suburban experience please email them through to- think.become.blog@gmail.com

Bella

"Grab your mothers keys were leaving" Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/thirddesign/4854427259/
© 2011 Belinda Borello. All Rights Reserved to 'Suburban Dystopia'' http://think-become.blogspot.com/

Happiness... a product ?

2011-06-07T23:15:00.000-07:00

Brigette Bardot was repeatedly to have claimed she was unhappy

“The Pursuit of Happiness”, -a movie, a song, a psychological study, a thought, a goal …an ambition for most. It is innately human to strive for the goal ‘of happiness’. We want to be better, to feel better, to look better, to set up a better future.

But has happiness become a product ?

According to the ‘Happiness Institute’* it seems to be. Happiness is a book to buy, a tape to listen to, a seminar to spectate. A character named ‘Dr. Happy’ has a video on the website, who can tell you on the spot how to get it. ‘Happiness at work’ is a program of services aimed to achieve a more fulfilled workplace. The site even suggests on one of it’s post’s that the secret to happiness is to just be nice.

Speaking of secrets… the worldwide acclaimed book and movie ‘The Secret**’ seems to be another successful happiness product. The website has it’s own store, whereby you punch in your credit card details to purchase the tools that will make you happy. The basic concept is admittedly great, that to achieve your goals you need to focus your energy on where you want to be. But do we really need an online store with an array of medium, to word us up on this simple notion?

I understand that positive psychology holds a valid place in society today. It is credit to human nature that we have evolved to acknowledge Depression as an actual disease. No longer are we burning witches at the stake, or waving the town trumpet when someone seems mentally challenged. Depression is now recognised as a scientific imbalance of chemicals, and people are able to speak out on how they feel. Therefore positive psychology is just that, a ‘positive’.

But has it all been taken too far ?

It seems that a bad day, a glum afternoon, a stressful week should no longer be tolerated. We should be googling, spending, and constantly drumming into our minds that we should be happy. The distinction between ‘Clinical Depression’ and an ordinary ‘Bad week’ seems to be lessening. The lines are blurring, and some of us seem to be hovering in a grey unhappy area with no way out. That is, unless we buy into the merchandise, or set up more smiley faces around the office ?

According to the lyrics of Melbourne based hip hop artist ‘Illy’, happiness is a “momentary lapse of reality”. This may seem like a bit of a gloomy view on the issue, but a realistic one at that. It is important to consider that reality is not always a continuum of happiness. Define and find out your own version of what happiness is, and in the wise words of Buddha “Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it …unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense”.

If it works for you, then please keep entering ‘happiness’ into a search engine to get the results you need. But at the same time… give yourself a break. Keep an awareness of your bad days against the good. If the bad days are outweighing the positive one’s, then definitely seek professional help and advice to push through. But if you have genuine reasons to be having a bad day or week, than ride it out. You are allowed to feel what you are going through, without a voice in your mind telling you to snap out of it and be happy. It’s clever marketing isn’t it ? It has been said that small doses of stress help us better to reason, to judge character, and to make bold decisions. If we were on a constant stream of happiness we would lose these abilities.

And remember, to just be ‘nice’.

Bella

*http://www.thehappinessinstitute.com/

**http://thesecret.tv/behind.html

Image 'Brigitte Bardot' from http://cliff-07.xanga.com/photos/cdab8203137839/

Too Serious ?

2011-06-07T21:21:00.000-07:00

“Take events in your life seriously, take work seriously, but don’t take yourself seriously…” -Shelley Duvall

Bella

Grandpa's Datsun

2011-06-07T03:03:00.000-07:00

Why is it that one's first car, can hold such a deep, profound, and fond memory in our minds ?

My Grandpa always raves on about his beloved 1985 Datsun (pictured below). For whatever reason, his current Station Wagon just doesn't measure up to this musty yellow car. The 'Datsun' was when there were good times to be had... the 'Datsun' just never let him down. Is it just me or can we all relate to this story ?

Yesterday my sisters first car decided that it didn't want to drive anymore, and we watched from the sidewalk in utter disbelief as a tow truck picked it up. Although just a possession, this was a very glum moment between us. Watching the car being transported, only to be used as scrap metal, left us both metaphorically and literally 'guttered'. It wasn't just the thought of the waste of cash, the litres of petrol, or the $99 CD player left inside that weighed so heavily on our minds. It was the sentimental thought of losing that car, the memories, the idea that this green 1997 Barina somehow represented my sister.

The main character 'Christopher McCandless' of the 2007 film Into the wild, expresses similar sentiments about his first car. At his college graduation dinner his parents offer the prospect to 'upgrade':

BILLIE- Well your father and I want to make a present for you

WALT- We want to get you out of that junker..
CHRIS- What's a junker?

Walt points outside to the Datsun.
CHRIS- The Datsun?
WALT- Yes. We want to get you a new car.
CHRIS- (appalled) A new car? Why the hell would I want a new car? The Datsun runs great.*

Chris is appalled by his parents constant need for possessions and materialistic objects, and this is a strong motif propelling this film. He doesn't want a new car to cover up his parents disdain for each other, and moreover his disdain for them. Yet there is something significant about this car in the film, and when he leaves it to go 'into the wild', it seems an almost re-birth for him as a character. The car is constantly filmed in the background during the flashbacks of Chris's childhood, and these constant visual references to the 'datsun' confirm the idea that a first car holds a significant and sentimental part in one's rite of passage.

A few years back my closest friend suggested we take polaroid photo's of our first cars, exclaiming that one day we will reflect on those moments. How true she was. Although only a few years old, I'm sure this photo will hold much sentimental value in the years to come. Maybe then we too will romanticise about those cars ? Them were the days... that car never broke down.

If you have a great first car story, or just a feeling about your first car that you feel like writing down, please email to- think.become.blog@gmail.com so I can post up your words too !

Bella

*(excerpt taken from the Into the Wild script, posted on http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Into-the-Wild.html.)

Four mile beach

2011-06-07T02:30:00.000-07:00

Four mile beach -Port Douglas, QLD

Bella

Summers End

2011-06-07T02:27:00.000-07:00

The white tall drawers stood by the entrance way.

There many sections filled with things.

(to keep me busy, all things do these days)

By Summer’s End, I was told.

These drawers will be no more.

With all the measurement of a carefully corrected sum.

Long nights of stillness as summer drew to its awful end.

Small cities closed down and cries were stifled,

Eyes peered awake.

Naked flames consumed the drawers and the many things.

(busy no more?)

Cold sweats and the morning sun looms with its indifference.

Wide eyes, relief.

The white tall drawers remained with all their futility.

The days muffled along, as routine played it’s card.

Careful measurements no longer evaluated.

The drawers remained, like a tall blank wall.

There collection of things as if a thousand comforting hands

had outstretched themselves.

There comfort strange, yet inviting.

It was not summer, nor season,

when the drawers were hastily emptied.

A myriad of horrible things, with wide eyes,

Quick hands took them out.

Calculations then made, letters addressed.

I peer awake, consumed by the drawers.

Each day unfolds itself, the sun hits with dreadful indifference.

There were no flames.

Bella

You will find it

2011-06-07T02:18:00.000-07:00

"You will find it"

Check out http://www.learningtoloveyoumore.com/

This website set out to produce a number of creative 'assignments' for viewers to complete, and the entries were then submitted and posted to the site. Although the submission period is over, it's a fun and thrilling challenge to complete these assignments for yourself !

This is a photo of the mirror in my room, where I have stuck up the above lettering. It's my interpretation of Assignment NO.63. "You will find it" serves as a positive reminder for me everyday. It translates to so many contexts, and several personal goals. Sometimes my eyes glaze over the words as if they have blended and blurred into the familiarity of my surrounds. And then there are those moments when the words jump out, and serve as a powerful reminder.

Which assignment will you create ?

Bella

Lost ?

2011-06-07T01:40:00.000-07:00

“I’m lost, can anyone help me find my way back to google?”

Browsing on youtube recently, I happened to glance at the 'comments' post beneath a Lady Gage video. And yes, someone had posted above. For some reason this post resonated with me...

Bella

Office antics

2011-06-07T01:18:00.000-07:00

Whether in the office or a ‘hotmail’ victim, we have all fallen pray of the office ‘forward’. At times the forward can be witty, amusing, ridiculous, delete worthy, mildly distracting etc. Every now and then however you receive the serious forward, the one intended to confront, the one that threatens you not to hit ‘delete’ without ‘forwarding’, the one that questions your ideas and lifestyle. Being the cynic, I normally hit delete as soon as I catch this all too positive/ preachy vibe. I was however a sucker to one of these very forwards, only days ago.

Titled ‘The Soldier’, this forward details the life of a soldier who has just returned from home, it has some very disturbing images that catch you off guard (caught in between the email to the girls about how you solemnly swear your jeans are getting tighter). The forward outlines the thoughts of a soldier post-war, and how the ideas of complaining about the traffic, your job, your meal at a restaurant, boredom etc. seem totally irrelevant and ridiculous after facing the front lines of a cruel war. I hate to admit, but this forward has definitely plagued my thoughts….

It led me to consider the idea that all of us middle class, suburbanites, suffer from ‘Chronic Dis-satification’. Yes my initial thoughts to the forward were along the path of…’we all all have problems, and these can seem like real problems depending on your circumstances’. ‘It’s not fair that we are used to these luxuries, know nothing else, and then should feel guilty about complaining’. These thoughts then led me to think, are we chronically dissatisfied ? That no matter what our plight, what our situation is, we are all disheartened in some way or another ?

Consider the single friend, single for years, heading on thirty, needs a companion. Then place her next to the girl who has always been with that guy, feels she hasn’t achieved independence, feels that her life is predictable. Next consider the man who craved a holiday and some spare time, the boy with infinite spare time and no job. The married couple who have it all yet feel there lives are repetitive, next to the couple struggling with the ideas of marriage and commitment. Yes we all know the grass is not greener, but seriously I felt a little bit ill when I recalled my complaints of bad coffee, juxtaposed next to a third world child drinking water from a filthy stream.

So you say, why are you in turn making me feel guilty ? My thoughts here are not to invoke guilt, but perhaps a little re-consideration. Yes you may want that relationship, yes you may want that salary, but what comes next ? OK so you don’t have the financial stability of your best friend, but have you not learnt a little more about thriftiness and living on the edge ? No matter what our situation, we all suffer from chronic dis-satification. I cannot offer a cure, nor can I preach that I am above the status quo. All I intend to do is elicit the thought process instilled on myself this week.

No matter were we are at, who we are or aren’t dating, what we’re wearing, what we’re owning, were we’ve been, who we’ve been with, -we will always find the faults in our situation. How about appreciating somehow what we do have, considering the plight of others, and maybe spreading the word about the spread of chronic-dissatisfaction?

Image "Charlie Sheen" from http://121youth.wordpress.com/2010/06/11/top-ten-80s-movies/

Bella

Technology on the mind

2011-06-07T01:02:00.000-07:00

Whatever happened to actually calling people on the phone ?Taking photos on film... candid imperfect photos and then looking forward to printing the film because you never knew what you were going to get? What about writing letters, notes, sending actual invitations in the mail ? Is anyone else reminiscent of the days when you would organise lunch with an old friend, and actually put the date in your diary? Read a book from cover to cover, or try to find an album you've been looking for and feeling that thrill when you finally found it. How good it is to hear that song after you've hunted it down.

What about enjoying a fun night without reporting so on your facebook 'phone', and actually being in the company of the people your with at that moment? According to studies by author Nick Carr recorded in his book 'The Shallows: what the internet is doing to our brains', the internet is hijacking our brains.

Our thought processes are changing and evolving due to the introduction of technology, and so far we don’t have a generation to reveal the long term results. The internet is not the only troubleshoot here… television has also been shown to reduce our brain waves to that of an ‘alpha’ state. Alpha brainwaves being the slow, inactive waves, likening our mental activity to that of one “staring at a wall”, according to Chris M Carmichael in his May 2007 Lifestyle article titled “Your Brain Waves Change When You Watch TV -Low Alpha Waves Can Lead to "Mind Fog".

We have become a society accustomed to immediacy, and social existence for many has been reduced to an instantaneous forum. Some of us have worked in an office for so many years, that our brains tend to be programmed with the simplistic problem solving techniques of ‘cut and paste’ and ‘ctrl alt delete’. When it comes to solving a real problem we seem distraught without icons to double click on, and online diagnosis to source. Who are we to problem solve really, when the answers are at the click of a mouse? Who are we to really invent and create, when we can sit on the couch and watch the stories of others lives fall before us from the television screen?

It seems many of us are lacking real pursuit, drive, challenge and motivation. Is it because technology has altered our natural state of mind? No longer are we hunting and gathering, no longer are we replenishing vitamin D stores in the sun… there has to be consequences for our inhumane human behaviour. It is a topic that has a thin veil of research and discussion, and something that needs to be recognised before we evolve into a complete Alpha state of being.

The answers ? They aren’t here before you in this article, nor are they linked up in a double ‘click’ source. Perhaps the answers are something for you to research and understand without opening a new tab, or updating your status. Those random, imperfect photos mentioned earlier are the one’s that capture the real essence of the human spirit. Its time we restored our concentration abilities, and actually read a book from cover to cover, without needing the immediate answers or results. As Stevie Dance mentions in the October 2010 issue of Lifestlye Russh magazine, “Moments without a traditional discourse tend to leave everyone going, "I have no idea what just happened’…these are the best moments in life. Thank God you don’t know the answer”.

Bella

Autumn

2011-06-07T00:50:00.000-07:00

Autumns finest

It's reportedly Melbourne's coldest Autumn in 60 years ! This is the tree out the front of my apartment, that's left it's hundreds of leaves in my tiny courtyard.

Bella