Curiouser

“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.”

Bertrand Russell

Everything gets "curiouser and curiouser" (Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland). Why, as we grow up, do we want things to be explained and why do we want to be 'right' and label everything; good/bad, right/wrong, pretty/ugly, happy/sad, scary/safe...??

I think we really are all 'mad' and this is a function of our creative, vulnerable, unique, inside sparks which get buried under the rubble of the 'things' we think we 'know'. The more we think we know the deeper we get stuck in a world of our own creation instead of a place of magic where every sunrise is different and trees can talk ... where its okay not to know the answers or what is going to happen tomorrow ... where we can cry and laugh in the same moment about the same thing and where funny little inspirations can jump out at random times and places and there are always multiple paths we can choose to take us places we haven't even dreamed of yet.

Warm wishes for a wonderful, imaginative, curious, loving Christmas time to all.

Jeanne
Bertrand Russell





Photo by Larry Burrows
Bertrand Russell

First published Thu Dec 7, 1995; substantive revision Thu Jun 29, 2017

Bertrand Arthur William Russell (1872–1970) was a British philosopher, logician, essayist and social critic best known for his work in mathematical logic and analytic philosophy. His most influential contributions include his championing of logicism (the view that mathematics is in some important sense reducible to logic), his refining of Gottlob Frege’s predicate calculus (which still forms the basis of most contemporary systems of logic), his defense of neutral monism (the view that the world consists of just one type of substance which is neither exclusively mental nor exclusively physical), and his theories of definite descriptions, logical atomism and logical types.

Together with G.E. Moore, Russell is generally recognized as one of the main founders of modern analytic philosophy. His famous paradox, theory of types, and work with A.N. Whitehead on Principia Mathematica reinvigorated the study of logic throughout the twentieth century (Schilpp 1944, xiii; Wilczek 2010, 74).

Over the course of a long career, Russell also made significant contributions to a broad range of other subjects, including ethics, politics, educational theory, the history of ideas and religious studies, cheerfully ignoring Hooke’s admonition to the Royal Society against “meddling with Divinity, Metaphysics, Moralls, Politicks, Grammar, Rhetorick, or Logick” (Kreisel 1973, 24). In addition, generations of general readers have benefited from his many popular writings on a wide variety of topics in both the humanities and the natural sciences. Like Voltaire, to whom he has been compared (Times of London 1970, 12)), he wrote with style and wit and had enormous influence.

After a life marked by controversy—including dismissals from both Trinity College, Cambridge, and City College, New York—Russell was awarded the Order of Merit in 1949 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950. Noted also for his many spirited anti-nuclear protests and for his campaign against western involvement in the Vietnam War, Russell remained a prominent public figure until his death at the age of 97.

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/russell/

Just Appreciate

I recently spoke at a local high school to explain to the students what it feels like to live with a disability. I want everyone to understand that being different isn’t scary or weird”  

Jamie Perrenoud

Found another hero!! I learned of Jamie when he spoke briefly at an event. He was notable before he spoke by the energy that emanated from him, then when he spoke the enthusiasm and earnestness of his message really brought home his message. Bullying hurts people! I expect that more of us than will ever admit have faced bullying of some sort during our lives and there are deep scars covering dark places inside us where once we innocently expected that we would be accepted as we are. Jamie's reaction and actions to address bullying are inspiring and full of what I call "grace". Instead of withdrawing into a shell he is choosing to shine a light on the inside of his experience. He is courageously putting his most vulnerable self out to help the world see that others "differences" are not to be feared or ridiculed. Thank you Jamie, may you inspire both bullies and those subject to bullying to shine a light on their fear. It is the responsibility of all of us to deal with this epidemic in our competitive, materialistic, egocentric society where values are so topsy-turvey that we need to be reminded that judgement, hatred and bullying breeds more fear and hatred and are anathema to appreciation, love, respect and any chance of peace. 

Cheers

Jeanne

Cerebral Palsy Doesn’t Define Life of Jamie Perrenoud

Jamie started his own T-shirt business with a clear message: “Don’t judge, Don’t hate, Don’t bully.”

Article & Images by Gareth Vieira

https://www.porthopenow.com/?p=5652  

Jamie Perrenoud is a 32-year-old man who lives with Cerebral Palsy, and while this diagnosis is an aspect of his life, it doesn’t define his life. What defines him is his determination to beat the odds, to make a difference, and to speak out with a creative spirit for people of different abilities

“I have been bullied and judged all my life,” said Jamie.

“So I took it upon myself to make a difference. I’m fighting for every individual that lives with a disability, every day, like me and anyone who has been bullied.”
  With this view as his framework, Jamie started his own T-shirt business with a clear message: don’t judge, don’t hate, don’t bully, just appreciate. “If enough people wear the T-shirts it might make a difference in how people treat each other,” said Jamie. The money raised from T-shirt sales will be donated to the March of Dimes and Community Living in Ontario to develop day programs for the differently-abled.

Jamie is living proof of that old adage, you practice what you preach, and his advocacy for people living with disabilities is a ceaseless testament to that as he brings awareness to many causes and movements that are important to him.
“I recently spoke at a local high school to explain to the students what it feels like to live with a disability. I want everyone to understand that being different isn’t scary or weird,” said Jamie.

Jamie’s parents, Charlotte and Pierre, both say that from a young age Jamie has always had a spark of enthusiasm when it came to supporting causes that could bring attention to people with special needs.

“Diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at a young age Jamie, never let it get in his way.” says his father Pierre. “Jamie has one of those personalities that is not deterred easily and I get the feeling when someone says something can’t be done, he not only shows them that it can but how it can be done better and along the way clears a path for others who want to embark on a similar road.”

Jamie was a founding member of the special needs rock band Superfire. They played to school audiences and at rock venues. The band recorded two CD’s of original music, with Jamie contributing a good number of songs, said his father adds.

Jamie’s foray into fundraising as a means to expose stereotypes and intolerance began several years ago when he undertook his first T-shirt fundraiser, donating over $800 to the March of Dimes.

“With the success of that first T-shirt fundraiser, Jamie embarked on his latest venture “J.A.M.” (Just Appreciate Movement) The message Jamie is putting out there is to appreciate people different from yourself,” said Charlotte.

In December of last year, Jamie donated $310 to Community Living Burlington for their special needs music program, and his donation was matched by an anonymous donor. His parents say the shirts have truly resonated with those that see negative behaviour towards others, as just not acceptable.

Jamie proves that having a disability, whether it be physical, mental, visible or invisible, includes a broad spectrum of people, and while the difficulties navigating a disability can be hard, a disability is just a single facet of who we are, not all we are. We are connected, yet different, and it’s our differences that make us special and unique.

Lists from Naive. Super

It might be fun to do lists like the ones in Naiive Super by Erlend Loe

1. a list of what we have and what we don't have

2. a list of qualities for an object that will make us think about nice things, or preferably just smile

3. a list of what used to excite us when we were younger

4. A list of who we look up to

5. A list of what we know a lot about

6. A list of animals we've seen lol with or without insects this could take a long time!

7. A list of what we would paint if we were a painter

8. A list of qualities for something that would redress the damage done by a "bad" friend

9. A list of things we have in our room/house of things we are not using

10. A list of things that should never be animated in a commercial context

11. A list of things we appreciate

12. A list of things that make us happy

13. A list of things that are big and long and tall in a city/ place we visit

14. A list of things we remember from the day

15. A list of companies and products we love

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

“Love isn’t a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like struggle. To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.”  

Fred Rogers

We saw the movie "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" last night so, of course, you get a Mr Rogers quote today. I've been anticipating this movie since I sent a Mr. Rogers quote earlier this year. I am adding this to my favourite movies of all time list to be watched during the Christmas season. Why "favourite" and why "Christmas" are encapsulated in the above quote. Adding "to love ourselves" exactly as we are and "to love our world" exactly as it is to the concept "to love someone" completes the picture of the epic struggle between love as challenging us to love the way we want to be loved and our expectations of perfection in what we love.

Christmas is when I have less demands on my time, but in the dark evenings I spend alone I can feel really alone and sometimes I decide to look at my unlovable-ness, because if I was loved someone would want to be with me. Doesn't make sense, but serves a purpose because that's when I explore the world and myself.

 

Those evenings I spend reading, listening to music and thinking. Maybe for a bit I'll cry about being alone; then I'll hear my mother's voice telling me to get over myself (which I didn't appreciate hearing when I was a teen) but now makes me laugh and feel blessed to have been loved unconditionally by a wise, beautiful, strong woman. I love these evenings because she feels so close. Sometimes I dance because music takes me somewhere to another emotional experience. Sometimes everything seems so hopeless, the world seems to have given up on love and gotten stuck in patterns of competition, greed, cruelty, pain, and hunger and to have buried a deep and unconscious need for love in looking for substitute value in a material world. Broken people and places around the globe that are stuck in patterns of hate because it is hard work to love broken things and it is hardest to love ourselves in our own brokenness.  

Those are the times I watch one of my Christmas movies like "Love Actually".  It is a movie about many kinds of love, loneliness, struggle and forgiveness... and illustrates that love is not easy and people can't help but be who they are and every single one of them is lovable and has the capacity for loving others beyond what they seem to be and do. (and because it makes me laugh and cry)

"A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood" made me cry, remember the child I was, remember the times when everything in my world seemed fragmented and a common experience brought people together in a few minutes of shared consciousness. There's a couple links below about the story and the movie ... 

There is something magical about these movies that make people believe in love, at least for a little while, and that is the Christmas season to me.

Thank you to all the inspiring people and movies and songs that help us believe in love.

Cheers

Jeanne

Check these out:

"https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_beautiful_day_in_the_neighborhood

https://classic.esquire.com/article/1998/11/1/can-you-say-hero