We've got to have fun

Fun is fundamental.  There is no way around it.  You absolutely must
have fun.  Without fun, there is no enthusiasm.  Without enthusiasm,
there is no energy.  Without energy, there are only shades of gray.
-Doug Hall


I know many people who consider having fun to be of secondary importance.  They're focused on work and tasks and paying bills, and to them, having fun is something for kids--or worse, something childish.  "Life's serious," they'll tell you.  "You have to take it seriously."  Of course, there isn't a smile on their faces when they tell you this.

I've had enough of taking things too seriously, though.  I've seen the results of this:  ulcers and high blood pressure and addictions and depression.  We do need to take much of life seriously--I would never consider not earning as decent a wage as I can, or not doing my job as well as I possibly can--but that seriousness needs to be balanced with fun and enjoyment and relaxation.  Our bodies and our hearts and our spirits all benefit from us enjoying ourselves, and it's not a good idea not to do so.

When I go to group things like picnics, I'm amazed at how quickly adults sit down to talk to each other about the same things they always talk to each other about.  Personally, I prefer to be with the kids who are playing at these events, because I don't want to hear the same old complaints about work and family and society in general.  I want to run and play tag and just be, along with a bunch of people who are also just being their authentic selves.  Who cares if they haven't been on this planet as long as I have?  They know how to have fun much better than the adults do.  I spend plenty of time being an adult--when I have a chance to have fun, I take it.

We've got to find time for fun--or make time for fun if it's not there now.  And fun doesn't have to be running around and playing.  I have a lot of fun reading, or watching an enjoyable show (even cartoons!), or baking, or going for nice walks.  Fun is relative, of course, but it's also necessary, and I hope that you're able to put more fun in your life--for your sake!

Let them be as they are

We need to promote greater tolerance and understanding
among the peoples of the world.  Nothing can be more
dangerous to our efforts to build peace and development
than a world divided along religious, ethnic or cultural lines.
In each nation, and among all nations, we must work
to promote unity based on our shared humanity.   -Kofi Annan


What a shame it is that we've become a nation filled with intolerant people.  We hate each other, we get angry at each other, we shame and mock each other, simply because we disagree about certain things, or we believe in certain things, or our skin happens to be of a different color than someone else's.  Sometimes it makes me sad, and sometimes it makes me sick to witness the terrible ways that we treat each other so often.

We must accept each other and help each other.  We have to cooperate with each other if we're going to improve our lives and our world.  We need to teach our young people to work with each other rather than fight against each other.  When we're intolerant, we're putting ourselves and our views and our beliefs on a pedestal and telling anyone who disagrees with us that they're wrong, even though the truth is that there's a good chance that we're the ones who are wrong.

What kind of world are we building to pass on to our young people if it's a world based on intolerance?  What are we teaching them when we model intolerant views and ideas?  How can we say that we love our fellow people when in practice we don't allow them to have their views and beliefs without judging them harshly for those views and beliefs?

Let's make this world a better place, and accept others for who they are without trying to change them, for what they believe without telling them they're wrong, for what they stand for without telling them that they should stand for something else.  Let's create a world of love and understanding rather than resentment and intolerance, for the sake of everyone.