Nothing is as It Seems

          While working for the Communication and Theatre Departments my sophomore year Janeve West came back with a box of props from her Children’s Theatre Class. While looking through the box I was wondering why she had such random items; a stick, bandanas, and others things I that did not make since for her class. When I questioned why she had those things she said for a kid nothing is as it seems. For example, the previously mentioned stick is a wand, a sword, or anything a child could create. It is as a child the Law of Creativity is most dominant because the rules of the world do not apply.  

            I definitely remember using the law of creativity as a child. Whether it was for fun or trying to accomplish a task nothing for me was as it seemed, and if need be anything could turn into something else. I turned my Barbie Airplane into a car – after I forgot where I parked her Volkswagen Beetle – turned the Dream House into a hotel, and used a meter stick as a duster to get passed a spider web. As a child my only limitation to play time and work was my own imagination, and I had plenty of creativity.

            As I grew up the creativity began to decrease as the years went on. I did not have to think outside the box as much to solve school work, get to school, or any day-to-day activity in my adult life. However, like most things in my life when the opportunity presents itself what I need to display will come out. Normally creativity comes when I am baby sitting or interacting with people younger than me. Over many of my vacations my cousins come over for some weekends and keeping them entertained can be difficult. I do not like them to sit in the house watching television all day but paying for activities can get expensive. By putting our heads together we can come up with some fun things to do. We have gone to the park to blow bubbles, created door hangers, and played with Frisbees. It is a fun time when I am with them, and it solves the problem of entertaining them. Tapping into my creative side with younger people around is easier than trying to use it every day, but better than losing it completely.

            A superhero I believe utilizes the law of creativity is Captain America. In the film, Steve Rogers always used something around him as a shield. A garbage can lid, a taxi door and that eventually lead him to having a shield in his official costume. It also was not used as just a shield to block bullets. He used it to punch enemies, threw it as a boomerang to disarm or knock out his enemies. It essentially became an extension of his personality. He wanted to defend his country and allies so he used the most defensive weapon known to man as his symbol. It is very creative.     

Exercising the Law of Love

Start a new fashion wear your heart on your sleeve.” Carrie Underwood may have been singing about love and it may have been for the movie Enchanted but for the homework assignment this week in class we had to take it a little more seriously. This week we had to exercise the Law of Love by telling someone how much we appreciate them and value their presence in our lives. It could not be a parent, significant other, or sibling. A friend, mentor, or someone within that category had to be chosen. This assignment proved to be difficult for me.

I do not express my emotions very well. Even if I am writing it down I have a hard time with the words. When I do express myself it makes me emotionally vulnerable. I get this overwhelming feeling and I want to stop what I am doing because it doesn’t feel right. However, if it is for someone I deeply care about I can get past the feeling and continue on. In some cases it is easy to tell my feelings when the time is appropriate.

Recently, my friend started another relationship with her ex-boyfriend. I never knew what cause them to break up in the first place but from what I could gather he was not always honest with her. Though they broke up they still kept a close relationship as friends and he was constantly telling her how much she meant to him as more than just a friend. Not how I would go about a break-up but it is how it worked for them. So much that they decided to give themselves another try.

I do not know if their relationship would work the second time around. All I know is that as my friend I care about her. I do not like to see her upset, I want what is best for her, and if for any reason he makes the same mistake twice he will regret it. This is what I told her. She was so shocked by my confession that she did not know what to say. That was fine by me. As long as she knows I am genuinely concerned about her well-being I do not need a thank you or recognition. I just want her to come to me when she needs me. It is nice to know that people can trust you with their emotional lives, and will come to you when they need. My confession was to reinforce that I will be available for her when she needs it.

I am not the emotional type. I have not been for a long time, but that does not keep me from expressing myself when I need to. Although this assignment was out of my comfort zone the moment arose when I could easily and genuinely complete it. As uncomfortable as it was for me I learned a lot about how easy or difficult it is for me to express myself. At times utilizing the Law of Love can be easily done other times it is not. I will try to use the Law of Love more, but it will not be for every aspect of my life. Just when the time is right.  

Fiction vs. Reality

Part 1

            Walking down the driveway I could feel the warmth from the sun. I didn’t know if it was her doing it or if the sky decided to reflect my mood.  I was feeling good, but I definitely didn’t have the power to change the weather. The changes in my life kept weighing down on me, so I wanted to get away from familiarity and talk with someone new. It definitely helped.  

            “Thank you for talking with me.” I said. “I apologize for imposing. I know you are busy but I like talking to you.”

            “Oh. No problem.” Storm answered. “The future can be scary sometimes. Especially at your age, but how you manage the hand that is dealt to you shows much character.”

            “Yeah but my hand isn’t as bad as others. I just don’t want to feel like I am judging anyone or for people to feel like I am showing off my superiority.”

            “You aren’t.” Storm reassured me. I always looked up to her. Her gorgeous face, calm under pressure, her voice that can gain the attention of anyone anywhere, and even her comfort with who she is. I always wanted to be like that. Comfortable in my own skin enough that no matter what happens I can handle it with my head held high. I’m still learning but I’m young. I still have time. “What is happening to you has happened to everyone in this building. It may not be as obvious, but it is just as important. I am glad you came.”

            We reached my car. It was time for me to go back to my school. My school that had a whole class just like me but different from the students here. I wanted to see the difference. Determine which was the right course of action, and I got my answer. I was happy where I was. Just like Storm belonged at Prof. Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters I belonged at the school that found me. I was going to develop my future there.

            “Thank you for everything. You’re a very calming presence.”

            “It helps that I can control the wind and tell it to carry our problems away.” We both laughed at the joke. “Use that mind of yours. It is a very powerful tool. Knowledge is a powerful weapon.”

            “I will. I think I’m going to like being a super genius.” I got into my car after hugging her one last time and drove away. Watching her wave through my rearview mirror I thought to myself ‘I’ve always wanted to know everything.’   

Part 2

            Growing up is a universal experience. Everyone no matter where they are from has experienced what it is like to move forward with age, life, and experiences. I think it is most prominent in college. In college people are at the crossroads of being dependent and independent, a child yet not an adult, learning while teaching those younger than us what we know, and not knowing what lies before us after we walk across the stage. That uncertainty about the future makes us long for a time when we did not have to be concerned with what happens tomorrow, the next month, or ten years from now. We desire that time of bliss. I normally have that feeling the most when my birthday comes around.

            Every year for my birthday my Mom tells the story of when I was born. (As story the two of us share so forgive me for not telling it.) While she is cherishing the memories of twelve hours of labor I think back to all the Disney on Ice performances we attended, the ballet recitals I did with my friends from school, and receiving a new outfit every Easter. Every birthday I long for that comfort of the past to settle the anxiety about the future. I do not always panic about the future but when I do I look to the past to calm myself down. Give myself a feeling of happiness so that I do not start becoming pessimistic and thinking of worse case scenarios about what could happen after graduation. Those past gives me hope for a beautiful future.

            Nostalgia is another concept that connects everyone everywhere. Although we all feel nostalgia from different catalysts and our feelings of the past give us various feelings of the future the point is we all can sympathize with another person about this feeling because we have felt it before. My personal nostalgia helps me be positive about the future. A future I do not have all the answers to but will embrace when the time comes.          

Free Thought: The Law of Transformation

In season seven episode one of Buffy The Vampire Slayer Willow is in England with Giles undergoing rehabilitation for over use of magic. With her thoughts she is able to summon a flower that according to Giles is native to South America and should not be able to thrive in London. When Giles asks Willow why it is present her answer is “The Earth is all connected.” When discussing the Law of Transformation from The Seven Spiritual Laws of Superheroes this is the scene I thought of to help me understand the concept. I believe it is a perfect example.

            According to Chopra’s the Law of Transformation superheroes know they are connected to all things in the universe. The superhero Chopra uses to explain this idea is Storm and how her powers come from a connection to the universal Self. The Self that is aware of its relationship to the source of all things in the universe. If she ever feels she is her individual self and only her individual self her powers will cease to perform at their full potential. It is difficult as a human to understand how we connect to the universe. For a normal human, Chopra gives the example of when someone looks at a tree and sees their lungs. Like our lungs provide oxygen to our bodies trees provide oxygen to the planet. If one ceases to perform the other does as well. It is still a little too complex to understand completely.

            When we think of ourselves we do not automatically think “I am the light, the darkness, the rivers, and the desert.” That type of thinking, for some, is too philosophical to apply to every aspect of our lives. So I believe we can start by taking a look at Aristotle’s phrase “The whole is better than the sum of its parts” specifically the “sum of its parts.” The person we are today is the result of all things we have said, done, experienced, and even the people we are related to. How often has the phrase “learn from the mistakes I have made” been said? We learn from all things.

            Very often I have heard people say I wish I could go back in time and not have said that or I should have done this. I am guilty of wishing this as well. What I have learned is it is those actions in the past that make us who we are now and connect us to who we will be. They are the different parts that make up the whole of who we are. Without the lessons we have learned by saying the wrong statement, not double checking a test, or trusting the wrong person with our secrets we would not be who we are now, but because we did make them we learned from them and became the people we are today. In addition to making us who we are at this moment those lessons will continue to follow us as we get older and connect us to our future selves. By rationalizing that we are ourselves connected by the past, present, and futures surrounding us we can start applying the Law of Transformation to our lives.

            So in the following episodes of season seven when Willow becomes more powerful and stable with her powers it is because she has realized her connection with the earth and all things in it. She accomplished the Law of Transformation by coming to terms with the amount of magic she possesses. We can act on the Law of Transformation by coming to terms with how our pasts make us who we are now and who we will be in the future. It is all inside of us.