Authentic or watered down

To be unwelcome in one's own country, to find a lack of work opportunities, leads some writers to become expatriates.  Their sensibility and perception may remain distinctly national, cultural, localized, and soulful.  Writing can design its own rules as words move along.  They may gain more power in orality, the living voice, in live performance.  Perhaps a recording can't replace a real life experience? Why even try to translate it into words?

More often than not, people turn their books as a way to find solace in solitude.  These people aren't seeking inter-connectedness with people around them, but to be engrossed in fictional people and places.  What is it about exoticism its seductions?  Interpreting a culture at its deepest level is typically done by nationals for their own nationals.  This gives perspective authenticity.  When a writer writes about a culture for foreigners, would such an interpretation be as authentic?  

You may imagine that people do not adjust their language to the expectations of the foreigners who would judge you.  Yet, writing and publishing a book in multiple countries implies it must be translated into language and and at times, jacket and title slightly changed. Would this imply that the original written work be as valid or would it be watered down when marketed as a package?

Open the fire

You may know someone who has managed to overcome different kinds of suffering, to transform it into something positive and meaningful.  Would success come in the form of intense living and learning? Open the fire.

How can you hope to understand success until you know what it is really like? What form will it take?  When will you experience it? Do you share in a frenzy?  Would you accept challenges and learn from them? What makes your view of success so vital now that it deserves your attention?

For some people, success takes the form of discovering a thing they didn't know before.  The idea of giving something of your own, something meaningful, represents sharing a piece of your own sense of success.  You may structure success in your hopes and expectations.  What is miraculous about your life is that you do not wish to miss an opportunity to transform your fate.

As you explore the power of your present, you can create a more desirable future.  Whether your view of success would be more or less desirable than the life you leave, you have to decide. 

The prospect of chaos

Do you dream od encountering a relationship that throws your life into chaos? Few people do.  The most common practice is for people to make choices that keep that threat under control.  These kinds of people become content and reassured by their predictable lover's routine.  They believe to leave the comfort of what they know would be too scary and would lead to problems.

However, other people think the very opposite.  The thrive on impulsiveness and surrender to the unknown without giving the risk too much thought.  At times, these kinds of people hope to find solutions to their problems in the realm of their most passionate experiences.  The people who follow their passions may experience euphoria when marvellous things occur or deep disappointment if events unfold in undesirable ways.   

In either case, if you make your partner responsible for your happiness and blame this partner for your unhappiness, then you haven't yet realized you make your choices and must be accountable. As you consider denying or giving into the source of your passion, only you can decide whether either perspective is more destructive, or whether you would make a completely different decision.  The prospect of chaos could sound scary of exciting, but each experience teaches you useful things. 

Disoriented world mafia

Controversy exists about the origins of global genetic diversity.  A recent investigation initiated by National Geographic supposedly leads us all back to a collective history together in Africa.  Apparently, we evolved from the apes, to Neanderthals, then to have dark brown skin and hair before diversifying.

When European explorers set sail over 700 years ago, the lands they "discovered" were already full of people.  In this sense, they weren't the first humans to live in the places they colonized.  The encounters with natives were often wary or violent, but they were actually reunions of a close-knit family of individuals with apparent irreconcilible differences.  Why do power struggles evolve?

Consider that National Geo traced DNA back to Africa and followed the DNA trail to meet families all across Central Asia.  It is conceivable that their ancient generations walked  through the Asian continent and across to what is now Alaska when a land bridge existed.  This humans passed through vast territory and faced daunting climate to eventually migrated to North America.  They diversified again into Native Indian tribes.  Some of their ancestors moved still further south, as are recognized in lineages of Mayans in Mexico and Indian cultures dispersed throughout South America. 

All this said, why would blood family worldwide evolve to fight, compete for power and kill each other? If we're interconnected biologically, culturally and ethnically, and spiritually, why perpetuate indifference and conflict among modern ancestors? Do you sometimes feel like cultures are perceived as disoriented world mafia with amnesia about their past? Come what may, life will evolve again.  Some people would argue another widespread evolution in human mindset is long overdue.

Light of hope

As you realize your value is intrinsic, positive thinking becomes more accessible.  You learn to look beyond, people, societies, systems and circumstances.  You don't have to worry about whether or not you'll meet someone else's expectations or prove yourself valuable. 

You don't have to try to understand why someone walked out on you, abandoned you, cheated you or, treated you in some other way which causes you to lower your self-worth.  You start out as 'a somebody.'  You're free to build on that as you choose.  You're never a nobody, not even from birth when you set out with a clean slate.

Rather than focus on how far you have yet to travel, places you have yet to see, chapters of your life on the horizon, why not turn that around and pat yourself on the back because of how far you have already come?  No matter what destructive words you've heard, they don't control you.  Ther rejection of other people doesn't have to cause you to reject and dislike who you are.

Consider the story of the transparent glass with water in it. Some people regard it as being half full.  Other people see the glass as half empty.  Still other people wonder about the relevance.  This reminds us that positive thinking begins inside.  You may believe you're far from perfect, but don't fail to realize there are many great things about you as well.  As you identify and recognize them, other people will appreciate you as well.  Positive thinking can rub off. It's a reassuring light of hope.