Is money really the root of all evil or is it the greed that follows it often?

The Blog Action Day is upon us on October 15th. This is a new concept to use the mass number of people that write blogs to participate in a world wide front to speak on one topic on one day and try to change the world for the better. The topic on the 15th of October is the Environment. The organizers of the Blog Action Day are calling on all bloggers to write on this topic in any way they would like to inspire thought in the world.

How can people fly in the heavens, swim in the ocean, and do so many other extraordinary things but still not look beyond themselves?

As I was sifting through the presidential candidates’ websites I stumbled upon this one which made me affirm my current beliefs. I am one that thinks outside the box and I advocate others to do so as well. When you allow your mind to move to other alternatives than what is popular you usually will find that the outcome is a better, and more logical solution to the problems you face by yourself or with your fellow man.

At the AFL-CIO rally in Chicago, Barack challenged the conventional thinking that allowed the Bush administration and its enablers to authorize and engineer the biggest foreign policy disaster in our generation.

In response, Barack was told that presidents aren’t supposed to tell the American people what they think.

That’s exactly the kind of don’t-ask-questions politics that led to the disaster in Iraq. The American people deserve a president who respects them enough to tell them what he thinks and how he’ll keep them safe from the most urgent threats to our national security.

My challenge to you is to choose a problem in your own life and then think of some unconventional ways to solve it. It is a difficult task but you may find you will end up all the better for it.

P.S. If you really want to take it a step further, then try the same hand at a problem outside yourself that your country or even people you have never met face and use this same process for those dilemmas.

A buddy of mine named Ryan Bourgart visited Australia and New Zealand on a trip for his college band. While in a bathroom in New Zealand he stumbled upon some graffiti that wouldn’t be found anywhere near Chicago…

“Go placidly amongst the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly, and listen to others, even to the dull and ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and agressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of aridity and disenchantment; it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and stars, you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, [there's] no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.”

Yesterday I played with legos between two business meetings. I want everyone to soak that in for a moment. This is not normal behavior for a full grown adult. I do not have kids and I wouldn’t trust my little sister with my legos so yesterday, by myself, I constructed and then destroyed a series of legos that I built.

Why did I do this? Am I crazy, slightly mentally retarded, slow? No. (At least that I know of.) I was enjoying the feeling of being a kid again. Sometimes with the stress of the adult world a person must do something to bring them back to the better times.

In the book “Everything I Needed to Know I Learned In Kindergarden,” the author portrays a similar model by using crayons and coloring. On my first day of a philosophy class with the great teacher Mr. Charlie Kern, he could have posed a big question or made us dig head first into Socrates, but instead he read us this passage entitled “Crayons” and had us color a picture.

I stayed almost completely in the lines!

The point is that to keep stable in the hectic world that is adulthood sometime one must come back to what is pure to them. For many it is coloring. For some it may be swinging on a swing in the park. For me it is playing with legos. Just think about what you did as a child that brought you joy. You may be surprised to find out that it can bring a smile to your face even today.

Is it better to give a man a fish or to teach a man to fish?