Natural Beauty

I am one of those people who think that people are generally much more beautiful when they are fully natural. No implants, no tatoos, and no makeup. Especially the last.
What we don't understand is that, in most cases, it doesn't matter what things look like. We don't need plastic surgery. We don't need digital editing. We don't have to become anorexic to look better.
For example, the most beautiful person in the world is there next to you. You have a conversation. If every word that comes out of their mouth is foul, you don't really want to be near them, no matter how good they look.
Say you have a very-- pardon my rudity-- ugly person. Tentatively, you say hello. You have a conversation. They could be the loveliest person in the world. All it takes to get to know each other is a simple smile, a shy hello.
If you think of it, no relationship can truly thrive on looks alone. I mean, what if there was a fire and suddenly that person were disfigured. You lose the relationship. So there really is no point to live in fear and paranoia and empty, shallow nothingness.
A true friend, a really good one, will never care of how you look. Your lover will never bother much with appearance. One may say that love is blind. But it is not. It simply causes you to find beauty where before there may not have been a reason to look.
Therefore, to represent natural beauty, I present you with these pictures. They were not edited, or fixed, or changed in any way. It is just nature in it's most natural state.

The World of Horrors

The world is full of awful things, there is no denying. The hurt, the pain, the crimes that happen on a daily basis are unforgivable, terrible, horrific.
But there's more. Never mind the murder of an innocent person, the torture of a blameless child, the agony we face every single day... there is always more, it seems.
I mean things like the holocaust, the african slavery, the residential schools. Abuse, neglect, mis-directed hatred, the cruelty that no one should have to face.
Why do we do these things? To feel strong? To make another understand? To get even?
Well, there are easier ways. The problem is, we never use them.
I will never understand how a person can punish a nation for one man's crimes.
In my family, I have seen and heard of pain. I have seen tears, I have felt my own horror in hearing the awful, painful stories.
I hate it. I absolutely, without a doubt, loathe it.
It is unfair. No one, absolutely no person on the planet, should be treated this way.
These casualties, these events, make me hate myself, make me despise human beings as a race.
We have no purpose in living if all we do is destroy everything around us.
And these things affect everyone.
How many people have commited suicide, have slit their wrists, or resorted to extremes like drugs or alcohol to escape the horror of their pasts. There is nothing we can do to right our wrongs. It's useless to deny that we have destroyed one another very, very thoroughly.
The only thing we can do is prevent it from happening. We must listen to our souls, and do what is right. We must act in love. That's all it takes in most cases.
For example, a child would much rather listen to someone who is kind to them, against someone who yells at them and abuses them, just like anyone.
We have to be able to do the good thing, no matter how hard it may be.
We have to flip the situation around in our heads. What if it was us who was taken from our homes to be abused or neglected? If it was your mother who was murdered, or your child who commited suicide because of horror inflicted on them?
It's not so pleasant from that point of view most of the time, is it?
Now try this: say it was you who was treated kindly in spite of everything that was done to you, everything you have done to others? What if you were the one respected and accepted? If you had love and goodness surrounding you?
It is easy to see which is easier to bear.
There is a saying that goes a little like this: 'If you don't want it done to you, don't do it to another.'
And another, 'If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.'
These are things to live by. Both are marks of compassion, of understanding. These are things that people, in general, lack. They are things that we must, no matter what, have, because, if we didn't, we would have no regard for each other whatsoever and there would be no more of anything.
If we coudn't relate to each other, if we couldn't understand one another's sides, then there would be no reason to abstain from hurting those around us.
Sometimes bad things happen. They happen for a reason. We must find that reason, and put it to work.
Teach love, understand one another's pain, be kind and compassionate.
Because, in the end, it may be all the we've got.

Ice Age Humour

I am currently watching Ice Age with my sisters. There are some great lines I thought I would share.First...
Scene: Buck has skulls on each limb.
Skull one: 'We'll never survive, it's too dangerous by day.'
Skull two: 'But it's even more dangerous by night.'
Skull one: 'Plus their guide is a lunatic.'
Skull two: 'What, Buck? He's totally wacko.'
Buck: 'I am not!'
Skull one: 'Totally bonkers.'
Skull three: 'And his feet smell!'
Buck: 'Shut up!'
Skull three: 'You shut up.'
Buck: attacks the skull, 'Why you!' 'Ha! I've got you now!'
Manny: 'He's strangling his own foot....We should really get moving.'
Skull three: 'And give Rudy a midnight snack? Not likely.'
Buck: 'The skull is right. Now who's hungry?'
Skull three: 'I am!'
Buck: 'You don't need the calories!'

And:
Buck: '....The monster.'
Crash: 'Monster?'
Buck: 'I call him... Rudy.'
Manny: 'Oh, that's a relief. I thought it would be something intimidating, like Tim, or Sheldon.'

Also:
Manny: 'So when exactly did you lose your mind?'
Buck: 'Three months ago, actually. I woke up one morning and was married to a pineapple. An ugly pineapple. But I loved her.'

As well as:
Buck: 'Now I'll tell you the story of how I used a sharpened clam shell to turn a T-Rex into a T-Rachel.'
Manny: 'I think that's enough fairy tales for one night.'

And last of all:
Buck: 'It smells like a busom's butt fell off and then got sprayed by a bunch of skunks.'
Diego: 'That's Sid.

Finding Hapiness

Life can be hard sometimes. Sometimes you feel like giving up comepletely and letting the world fend for itself.
But we couldn't do that. Deep inside of us, we think that, and a little voice in our head says, 'but you are still needed.'
You know this is true, and so, no matter how unwillingly, you try to keep going.
Feeling downcast every now and then is normal.
But we have to find a way to become normal again when these things happen.
This fix is happiness. But how to find it?
Happiness stems from places where love resides.
It can be a friend or family member, a beautiful sunset, a fun task, a good meal, a simple smile.
 For me, happiness is found in places where I see beauty, and kindness, and love. It is mainly in my family, my handful of friends, the teachers in the schools, a kind act, music, writing, hugs from loved ones, and knowing that I am loved and being able to return that love.
Hapiness is not neccessarily easy. It can require work. A lot of work.
When you feel depressed... it is as though there is nothing in the world that understands you. It feels empty in the depths of your soul. You may feel worthless, unloved, unworthy, hated, misunderstood, and angry, along with every other bad feeling known to us.
But we are not alone. Someone, somehwhere, really does love us. We must acknowledge this.
Because we, as humans, can be very weak. There is nothing wrong with this... as long as we also know how to be strong.
Everyone is strong in one way or another. We rarely realise it, but we are all strong in at least one thing.
You may be a good listener, you may be good at handling tough situations. Maybe you have talents in woodworking,or aren't afraid of heights.
I mean, you can be good at blowing your nose.
If that's your strength, all the better for you. No snot will dare try to congest you.
My point is, you have to look at the bright side of every situation. We are all loved. We are all talented. We are all worthwhile in one way or another. And life is beautiful, just as long as you are willing to find the beauty in it.

Sunset

My favourite pictures are of sunset. All of these were taken then.

Maybe it's something about how beautiful it is, and how every day, every second, has something different about it.

Something about how, even though it means that the sun is about to leave us, it also means that it is coming back, bright and beautiful, the next day.

It seems impossible that it comes back differently every time, and yet, is it not true that we, as humans, are different, every day, every second?

And is it not equally true that the physical changes matter little? The true wonder is seeing and understanding the changes that go on in our minds, our hearts, and our souls.

And, to me, the most wonderous change is seeing and finding love where before there had been none.

bullying

Bullying hurts. It sucks.It has no point in life but to cause us misery. Or so it seems.
When people feel pain, especially when inflicted by another, they feel that if the person felt what they were going through they would stop.
Fair enough. In many cases, this works.
However, in most cases, the truth is that the person who is hurting you is feeling just as much pain as you are.
I was bullied. When I first started school, there was a person in my class who was very cruel to me. She hurt me emotionally, physically, and quite deeply. I knew that she was being mean.
But what I didn't know was the reason.
Some family memebers were treating her unkindly as well, and so to feel strong she hurt me.
But who does this help? No one, that's who.
This person was went away to a rehabilitaion of sorts.
When she came back, she appologized and asked for forgiveness.
And right away, I accepted and we became friends.
I was just a little three-year-old.
But, sometimes, age is not a marker of wisdom.
Perhaps we should take a leaf out of a child's book and place it in our own.
Consider the fact that they (people who hurt you) could be feeling pain as well. Try to forgive them, and understand the situation.
I understand that this is no easy feat. And yet, it is doubly difficult to maintain a grudge, thus making everyone miserable.
If there was just a little more love in the world, just a tad more understanding, would these things happen?
There is no way to know. Not unless we do anything about it.
When obstacles are placed in our path, it is usually for our own good. It is to shape us into who we are meant to be. It doesn't seem like it most of the time.
But if you search for that tiny flicker of hope in what seems an unpenetrable darkness, you may find that the light it brings is even brighter than it once was.

First Post

Hello.
To those who do not know me, my name is Lee-Amber and I am thirteen years old.
I started this blog, in basic principle, to share my opinions and take on the world around me, as well as to share my writing, photography, and music. Please understand that these are my opinions and I completely understand if you do not agree.
I hope that these posts give you food for thought and make your day a little brighter. Thank-you.