Post highschool wanderer

I met a guy who was finishing highschool and opting not to attend university, at least not right away.  Instead, much to his parents' surprise, he signed up and paid for short-term language courses in Beijing, China and Paris, France. He bought a ticket to realize an overseas dream. He had learned basic Chinese and French during highschool, but he was impatient to apply himself and survive in the 'real world'.

In the back of his mind, he dreamed of adventure and nurturing transferable skills. They would surely assist whatever experiences would unfold in his future. He reminisced about his boyscout days and having been taught varied ways to "be prepared." He figured he still had much to learn and decided to move ahead.

As it happened, the evolution of a relationship with his girlfriend nearly caused him to change his travel plans. She didn't plan to accompany him. He was unsure if he should just up and go. Yet, after reflection, he decided the best thing for him at that point in his life was to test the relationship with distance and the passage of time. He was focused on his personal quest. His instincts re-oriented his life compass.

When friends heard about his plans, many tried to talk him out of it. Questions were thrown at him from many directions; How will you survive? Where will you get a job? Who will help you if you get into trouble? What will you do when your money runs out? Skeptics and pessimists nearly caused him to back out. Yet, somewhere, deep inside himiself, he felt the pull of his will to step outside of what he thought he knew in order to figure out who he really was. He felt he had to do that outside a classroom.

Although some people described him as a wanderer, he felt he was on a focused quest of increased self-understanding. He packed his copy of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and readied himself for the next chapter of his life journey.

To divert or not to divert

In Australia, access to adequate fresh water has been a dream.  Individual state governments don't all agree with the current federal government's proposed plan to take control of the major Murray-Darling River system.  The federal government's intention is supposedly to better control and distribute the water.  Citizens get views through media about how politicans from each side view water plans.

Historically, when governments took steps to control this water system, again during periods of severe drought, the consequences nearly led to the city of Adelaide losing its water supply.  Underground waterways reacted to the surface manipulation of water by human beings.  The result was anything but desirable.  Luckily, that catastrophe didn't evolve to the worst case scenario.

Questions have been raised as to whether or not the government should intervene at all.  Nature has a way of finding its own balance. As it stands,a large percentage of the Murray Darling River is used by industry in part because of government contracts which offered free use of natural resources. Agriculture is another big user of this fresh water resource. People use it for drinking water and for leisure activities.

The big question is, would it be wise to interfere with Nature and how it supposedly re-establishes its own balance? Would it make more sense to focus not on struggling to control what little fresh water still exists, but rather, to continue to shift attention ot desalination technology which is already a priority for Western Australia? NSW and Victoria are thinking seriously but have yet to confirm plans for and commit to build desalination plants.

If you think about it, the money which could be spent to fight a legal battle to control the Murray-Darling River could be better spent on other prospective solutions to the underlying problem.  Desalination plants have benefitted other parts of the world greatly already. As we evolve away from a confrontational mentality, we may be better off.  To divert mindsets from conflict-oriented to solutions-oriented is key.

Ask and answers will come

Have you ever prepared for sleep with a situation on your mind and you desire a resolution? How often have you lay down for bed with unanswered questions spinning out of control? You may not have realized that sleep offers a way for you to get in touch with deeper parts of yourself and also your guardian angel.   You may be amazed how your angels respond as you invite them in.  You have the freedom of choice to listen or not.  Open-minded people will listen to varied possibilities.

You may have heard the idea that all the answers you seek actually lie within yourself.  People have the tendency to talk with other people when awake, to reach out for assistance.  This may  be useful if it enables you to listen closer to yourself and not simply do what someone else would for the sake of it.  Whether or not you realize it now, connecting with angels is a way to connect with your innermost self.  You may not realize you have answers already or where within you can find them.

Some people train themselves to ask a question before they go to sleep so that it percolates in their mind and the answer comes to them during the night.  How does this happen? You can condition yourself to self-reflect yet, another force may be leading you to where you store answers.  Your angels know exactly where you are in your personal development and they can guide you to greater clarity in any area of your life.  When and how you choose to connect will be completely up to you.

If we didn't ask questions

Human nature makes many people inquisitive.  From childhood, we ask our parents why the sun shines, why it rains or why it snows. We ask why its time for bed or why we must get up and go to school. We ask why we must finish the food on our plates when we'd rather not. We ask why we have to try to go to the toilet before a trip or why we can't stop when we're 'almost there.' We ask why we can't have something someone else already does, why we're treated differently than a sibling.

And, later in life? During adolescence, we ask our friends why someone does or doesn't like us, why someone does or doesn't wish to be our date for a dance. We ask prospective employers why they won't hire us or why we can't get paid more for babysitting overtime. We ask why we didn't make a sports team or the cheerleading squad. We ask why we can't extend curfew, go to sleep later and grow up faster.

Later still, as adults, many people ask why they don't experience the fruits of their labor or why the car happens to run out of gas on the side of the highway. People also ask why they can't seem to meet prince (or princess) charming, or the right people in the right places. They also ask why they had to end up in their conditions, why they couldn't be blessed with a different 'lot' in life. Older people ask why they they can't look and feel younger. Sick people ask why can't they just die to end their illness or, find another way to put themselves painlessly out of their misery.

If we didn't ask questions at all, if we became content where we are, doing whatever we're doing, then, what would happen? We wouldn't be asking why, but we could be grateful to just be. We could rethink the value of 'here and now.'

What is your IQ?

Many people measure intelligence by way of traditional psychological tests. Yet, why is it that the American with the highest I.Q. supposedly lives in a trailer park and has worked as a bouncer during the last ten years? Why is it that the American individual with the second highest I.Q. also works in a bar and doesn't live the lifestyle standard you may associate with high intelligence?

And then, turn to someone like Thomas Alva Edison. He was an inventor who holds almost 2000 patents even after his death. Would you be amazed to learn he was expelled from elementary school for being considered stupid? Leonardo Da Vinci was seen as an anti-social recluse. He hid away from the world because he didn't think like anyone else. He was ostracized. Yet, remind yourself of his contributions to Humanity, from preliminary designs for flying machines and detailed examination of human anatomy, to applications of complex mathematics and cosmology. Would devising such ideas, long before their time, really reflect a lack of intelligence?

The former examples bring to light that human beings indeed have the potential to develop different kinds of intelligence. In a given era, societies establish standards for intelligence that ignore everyone doesn't learn the same way. Consider home-schooled children who learn outside traditional institutions. Consider artists, pioneers and other individuals who don't fit into traditional categories. Does this reflect short-sightedness or an inability to see beyond intelligence we think we know?

You might know people who are very smart about some subjects and yet, appear hopeless in other ways. A gourmet chef may have no idea how to repair a broken-down car. An olympic medalist may excel in sport yet, struggle to develop lasting relationships. A self-taught accountant who is brilliant alone may struggle in team settings. Some people learn easier through visualization and practical experiences. Other people learn better through repetition and regurgitation. None of these cases implies stupidity. They simply point out that everyone isn't gifted in every way.

Intelligence is quantified and qualified. You can develop emotional intelligence to better relate to and empathize with people. You can develop technical intelligence which might empower you to effectively repair machinery or design software. You might develop spiritual intelligence which permits you to connect with other realms. Varied talents could be understood as different kinds of intelligence. Intellectual intelligence is but one view of learning. Why assume one kind of perceived intelligence is better than another? Maybe its not. Maybe you're brainwashed.

In order to survive, no matter where you live, you need to develop 'life skills.' They include things like the ability to adapt, to develop versatility, to gain insight into emotion and diplomacy (sense when and how to say 'the right thing'). People who realize their views of success are known by qualities such as compassion, accountability, having respect for themselves and others, and listening to instincts which guide their evolution.

No limit may exist for the potential of our intelligence. Each of us may learn new things. Whether you connect with inner passions or act to build on your perceived IQ is up to you. Even if submolecular time travel is your vision, go for it! After all, naysayers didn't stop the invention of telephones, cars, airplanes and many other things that help people. Believe in your potential. Accept yourself. Redefine your I.Q.