humanity
Humanity begins at home.
Lop-Sided
My life began unraveling last Friday at school. The night before, I hung out at Marissa’s house. It was like old times. We were in her bedroom, listening to the original version of Total Eclipse of The Heart. A veil of smoke hung in the air between the burgundy-colored walls. She opened the window, but there was comfort in knowing Marissa’s mom was always passed out drunk on the couch downstairs. She wouldn’t come barging through the door like my dad if there is the slightest chance of mischief. Marissa and I laughed at pictures in last year’s yearbook, and she convinced me to let her cut my hair in an asymmetrical wedge.
By Amy Walcker5 years ago in Families
The End
I’ve lost the only man than loved me even with all of my flaws and all of my achievements! The story of my father and his daughters is one that many father and daughters have however no one knows the story! You see my father was an entertainer in the Hispanic community that many people loved and respected. They said he was a great man. Little do they know he had this sad story of four girls he deeply loved and cared for. He abandoned us as we searched for ways to survive in this world without much of him to count on!
By Yvette Riojas5 years ago in Families
The Root of the Issue
It is said in almost every civilization that the family is the basic building block of the community, the society, the kingdom and nation. Therefore, everything starts in the home. The health of the home is directly contributing to the health of the broader society at large, being that families produce individuals, which are the most basic units of humanity. As each individual is born and grows, their individual health, attitudes about life, their beliefs and expectations of life all of coalesce into a collective bundle of cultural norms and ideas that directly influences societal health, attitudes and beliefs. Using this logic, one can surmise that unhealthy families create unhealthy individuals who coalesce into an unhealthy, greater society. If I could draw a parallel in nature—the nation, society and community are much like a forest, which essentially, is a collection of individual entities, albeit of different species and existing as individuals, but do so together as a collective. These forests, these massive communities of trees and other forms of vegetation all begin with tiny, individual seeds and are nurtured by their environments—the dirt in which seeds are planted. I have learned to see human beings in the same respect. As we are socially organized, our collective health is dependent upon how healthy each individual is and this health, or lack thereof, is hugely influenced by the environment in which the individual was raised in. Trees start with a seed; humans start with an egg. This egg, at first, is nurtured within the womb, which, like nature, nourishes nascent humans, who are totally immersed in the environment which is its mother. The health or emotional and psychological state that the mother is in is inherited by the sentient being that emerges from the egg. Thus, if any malfeasance occurs or manifests within the adult personality and psyche, then the root of the issue is most likely the parental style which raised that individual or the formative environment or people who were responsible for rearing the young individual. Logically, the process of healing must start there. Many ancient societies required their want-to-be members of the community to go through some sort of birthing ceremony where they must climb back into the womb, reconcile what was or what should have been and then be re-born again, reemerging from this symbolic womb, healthier, healed and endowed with a better sense of purpose.
By Robert Burton5 years ago in Families
Nugget
The coolest thing my parents ever did was try and run a puppy farm on their couple of acres in South Florida. For many years they were very successful, even while doubling their family size. Out of the four of us kids I was the only one who took to caring for the dogs. The puppies were fun but they were only small for so long and their mysterious departures saddened me over time. It was better to hang out in the kennel with the full-sized dogs. They never left.
By Stacles Broadsky5 years ago in Families
I'm Just a Barn Owl
I'm just a barn owl. During the day I sit high up here and stagger in a corner under the roof of the old barn. Almost no one notices that I'm here. It happens from time to time that I make a dark sound - UHU, u-hu. The sound seems to linger in the barn for a few seconds, but after that it is quiet. I'm mostly silent, and when they look for me they cannot see me in the shades.
By Øivind H. Solheim5 years ago in Families
the smoothie diet
It's easy to fall into the trap of eating whatever you want. It's easy to justify it with "it's a treat" or I'm only doing this once. But when you start adding up all those small indulgences, they can really add up and start making a difference in how your body is functioning. And with the summer heat here, we're always looking for new ways to stay healthy while enjoying the season!
By ghania hedjazi5 years ago in Families
How YOU Can Help Break the Stigma Around Mental Health
At face value, I appear as a person that has everything together. I run a successful company, I am a Chartered Director, a published author, and a mom. I am a leader in my community and a mental health advocate. How could I possibly have any experience with stigma or mental illness?
By Jessica Gale Friesen5 years ago in Families
How do you know your cat is hungry and give it a meal
How do you know that your cat is hungry, knowing that animals do not have the ability to speak? But thanks to her body language, it's possible to tell when she wants something. Let's see together how to understand if the cat is hungry.
By Samara Ben5 years ago in Families
