DISTRACTION = IGNORANCE!

The wedding of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West is completely irrelevant to me.  As a matter of fact, the lifestyle’s of celebrities do not interest me at all unless they support a cause that matters to me or for the greater good of humanity.  Don’t get me wrong, I do buy music and go to the latest Hollywood blockbuster movies – but doing that is just a temporary escape from the distractions that BIG CORPORATION and governments want us to lose ourselves in. 

I do my best to remove the brainwashing that has occurred all of my life;  I have had to remove the notions that eating, drinking or wearing animal products was a necessity, I have had to tell myself that I don’t need a big car or house in order to be satisfied, I have had to understand that more consumption will not fulfill my life, I have come to the realization  that  governments or corporations are not acting for my best interests but their own.  All this has allowed me to ‘wake-up’ and to focus on issues that really matter.  What is a more important priority:  Discussing the name of the next royal baby or ending the mass genocide of seals that the government of Canada allows annually?  Forget about Lindsay Lohan’s next stint at rehab when the Alberta tar sands is causing sickness, destroying the environment and polluting Canada’s waters. 

DISTRACTION = IGNORANCE

Imagine if people gave their focus to the issues that really mattered – would there be as many people facing starvation, would there be less environmental devastation, would animals be protected from inhumane treatment, would there be less war, better health care and education?  Yes, there would be, but we are too busy being distracted by media to help us think, do or say.  Eat at McDonald’s, shop at Wal-Mart, drink Coca Cola, buy a gas-guzzling SUV, live and work in the concrete jungle, work nine to five and have children, a big house and a mortgage you can’t afford.  By doing all this, you are guaranteed to become sick, rely on pharmaceuticals to help you do something you hate to do all over again – until you die.  THIS IS NOT REALITY!

Here is MY reality:

  • I work to live and don’t live to work.
  • I advocate for things/people who fulfill my life (animals, environment and the LGBT community).
  • I eat foods that make my body and mind feel good (I do have some cheat days – which are great for the soul).
  • I try not to support companies that do not have good environmental or animal rights policies.
  • I am always working hard to change my behaviour to become more enlightened and positive.
  • I prefer to treat ailments in a natural way.
  • I try to be outdoors as much as I can.
  • I will not support political parties that will not commit to renewable/sustainable energy.
  • I have learned to pace myself and not become stressed regarding ‘lifestyle deadlines’ (life-style deadlines is a term I use to describe the traditional goals that were pushed on society and that we must reach at a certain age such as; finishing school, having a career, getting married, having children, buying a house, etc…).
  • Accepting and loving the aging process.
  • Learning to let go of my past and living for THIS moment.

I love not being distracted and I love that I have to think about the things that I do or say without having to conform to what everyone else is doing or saying.  I love being the ‘eccentric uncle’ or ‘that weird guy’ – I love being me.

 Are you ready to remove your distractions?

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!

 

THE BEST OF 2013

Here are some of my favourite moments of the past year………

PEOPLE/EVENTS

THE ARREST, DETAINMENT and RELEASE OF THE ARCTIC 30

The crew of the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise took part in a peaceful protest at Gazprom’s oil rig to call attention to the threat of oil drilling and climate change. The ice is retreating and oil companies are moving north to drill for the same stuff that’s driving that melting in the first place. It’s madness.

These brave activists looked at the scientific evidence of man-made global warming and the threat it poses to the Arctic, and decided to do something about it. A freelance photographer and videographer were there simply to document their protest. Just as in years past, the resolve and courage required to win a better future for our children requires personal sacrifice, a sacrifice the Arctic 30 are now making. They made their stand in the interests of us all.

Here is a list of names of those HEROES who were brave enough to peacefully protest climate change and drilling for oil in the Arctic:

Peter Henry Willcox (United States), Miguel Hernan Perez (Argentina), Camila Speziale (Argentina), Colin Russell (Australia), Ana Paula Alminhana Maciel (Brazil), Phil Ball (United Kingdom), Kieron Bryan (United Kingdom), Alexandra Harris (United Kingdom), Frank Hewetson (United Kingdom), Anthony Perrett (United Kingdom), Iain Rogers (United Kingdom), Alexandre Paul (Canada), Paul D. Ruzycki (Canada), Faiza Oulahsen (Netherlands), Mannes Ubels (Netherlands), Anne Mie Roer Jensen (Denmark), Sini Saarela (Finland), Francesco Pisanu (France), Cristian D’Alessandro (Italy), Jonathan Beauchamp (New Zealand), David John Haussmann (New Zealand), Tomasz Dziemianczuk (Poland), Roman Dolgav (Russia), Denis Sinyakov (Russia), Dima Litvinov (Sweden), Marco Weber (Switzerland), Gizem Akhan (Turkey), Ruslan Yakushev (Ukraine), Andrey Allakhverdov (Russia), Ekaterina Zaspa (Russia).

The above, and additional information about the Arctic 30 and Saving the Arctic is posted on Greenpeace’s website, here is the link:  http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/climate-change/arctic-impacts/Peace-Dove/Arctic-30/

BARACK OBAMA’S SPEECH at THE NELSON MANDELA MEMORIAL SERVICE

YEB SANO’s CLIMATE CHANGE SPEECH AFTER TYPHOON HAIYAN

MALALA YOUSAFZAI – INSPIRING STORY and ADVOCATING FOR WOMEN’S RIGHT TO BE EDUCATED

ENTERTAINMENT

Some of my favourite cds of 2013: 

M.I.A. (Matangi), Nine Inch Nails (Hesitation Marks), Daft Punk (Random Access Memories), Kanye West (Yeezus), Atoms For Peace (Amok), OMD (English Electric), Alison Moyet (The Minutes).

Some of my favorite videos:

LADY GAGA and RUPAUL

DAFT PUNK featuring PHARRELL WILLIAMS

ATOMS FOR PEACE

NINE INCH NAILS

MADONNA – SECRET PROJECT REVOLUTION

LGBT ISSUES

The powerful story of love as told by Shane Bitney Crone in the great documentary – BRIDEGROOM (A hopeful Oscar contender).  Here is the movie trailer:

Edie Windsor (LGBT activist) on shortlist for TIME’s ‘Person of the Year’ along with:  Bashar Assad (President of Syria), Jeff Bezos (Amazon founder), Ted Cruz (Texas Senator), Miley Cyrus (Singer), Pope Benedict Francis (Leader of the Catholic Church), Barack Obama (President of The United States), Hassan Rouhani (President of Iran), Kathleen Sebelius (Secretary of Health and Human Services) and Edward Snowden (N.S.A. leaker).  President Barack Obama was TIME’s 2012’s Person of the Year.

COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET and LIVING THEIR AUTHENTIC LIVES

Jason Collins (NBA player), Tom Daley (Olympic Diver), Raven Simone (Actress, The Cosby Show), Bob Harper (The Biggest Loser), Wentworth Miller (Actor, Prison Break), Earvin Johnson III (NBA’s Magic Johnson’s – of son).

Not only are these individuals risking their careers by issuing a statement that they are gay, bisexual or lesbian – they may be empowering other individuals who are gay to do so.  Many LGBT people are shunned from their friends, families and communities because they are born gay.  This leads to high rates of suicide and homelessness in the community.  So if these people – empower others to live their authentic lives, I applaud them whether they intentionally or unintentionally wanted to become role models for others in the LGBT community.

What were your favourite moments of 2013 and how have they helped create a more loving, compassionate and positive world?  Let’s make 2014 the year of the peaceful protest!  Let’s start our REVOLUTION OF LOVE and be more compassionate to animals, our planet and to each other!

Together, we can make the world a more positive one!