Imagine…

Imagine a place, unlike your safe and comfortable home. Imagine your neighborhood being bombed and your children afraid and crying. Imagine not knowing if your family will survive.

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Imagine your neighbor’s children being abducted for sex trafficking. Imagine being fearful that your children will be next.

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Imagine your spouse has been brutally murdered by men with powerful guns, your children witnessing this atrocity.

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Imagine your family starving and ill from malnutrition. Imagine living in filth; unclean water, no clean clothing, rodents sharing the same living quarters. Imagine living in such poverty! 

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Imagine traveling a great distance, in dangerous conditions, trying to get your family to a safer place.

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Imagine seeking safety, freedom, and a future for your children. Imagine fighting for a chance to have a life as the life you have now. 

Wouldn’t you pray for help if you were in a dire situation? Wouldn’t you try to get away to safer ground, to protect your children?

There are many, many reasons why people travel such great distances to other countries like the US. It shouldn’t matter the color of their skin or the country they came from. It shouldn’t matter their religion. They are HUMAN BEINGS. Let’s treat them as such.

Should we take care of the people in our own country? Yes, of course. But does that mean turning our backs on people who are less fortunate just because they’re not from the US? Should we not help them because they’re brown or black or a shade other than white?

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Once here, should children be separated from their parents and put in cages? YES, they are CAGES! Imagine that! How would you feel if your children were separated from you? You don’t know if they’re being taken care of or if they’re hungry or cold. You don’t know if they’re crying for you, wondering why you haven’t come for them. They are most definitely scared!

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Immigrants made this country what it is today, like it or not. Not all people entering this country are trying to soak us for what they can get. Some are coming from places like El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras – which are the most dangerous places on Earth! These people are looking for a better life for themselves and their children!

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I’m not saying we should have open borders. I’m saying we need to treat people with some compassion!

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com

11 Blogs I Totally Enjoy!

A “professional” blogger once said that it was a mistake to write a personal blog. My thought on this is that you should write whatever the heck it is you want to write. I happen to love personal blogs! There are many, MANY popular personal blogs out there, so how can it be a mistake? Most of the blogs I read and enjoy the most are personal. I love that someone is willing to share their journey with me. It’s a great way to learn about others’ opinions, troubles, ideas, etc. – and to build new friendships, as I have done here on WordPress.

I decided to share with you a list of some of my favorite blogs. This is in no way a complete list because there are so many amazing bloggers out there! The blogs on this list are WordPress blogs and those that I read most regularly, for one of several reasons: 1) They resonate with me personally, 2) They make me laugh, 3) They’re informative, 4) They’re intelligent, or 5) They’re inspiring. They may even be a combination of those things! I can’t always read each and every blog in my Reader every single day but I do try as often as possible.

It was not my intention to hurt anyone’s feelings, so please don’t be upset if your blog is not on this list. There will most definitely be other lists in the future!

In no particular order:

 

Do check out these wonderful blogs and I personally invite you to drop a link to your blog with your comment below! It’ll give everyone a chance to find new blogs to read, including ME!

Just An Illusion

There’s so much negativity in the world today. Humans can be such rude creatures. Social media has created a world of snobs; people who think they’re better for one reason or another. I know they existed before Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., but those platforms have exacerbated the problem.

I’m not impressed with anyone who boasts of the possessions they hold, followers who worship them, or the places they have traveled.

I’m not impressed by social status, job title, or money.

I’m not impressed by the education you’ve received or in what schools your kids are enrolled.

I’m not impressed by the Church you belong to or your religious beliefs.

I’m not impressed by your perfect skin, which has been covered with inches of makeup and/or fixed with photo filters.

I’m not impressed by your wrinkle-free face that has been lifted more times than the weights at the gym.

I’m not impressed by your hair, that you spend so much money, time and effort on to present your “perfect” self.

I’m not impressed with your high-dollar automobile, or your indoor pool in your big fancy house.

Nope. None of those things matter. Your looks will fade and you’ll die someday regardless of your “perfect” image. You can’t take your money or your house with you when you die. Your kids can go to the most prestigious schools and still end up homeless and addicted to drugs. You may not always be healthy, wealthy and if social standing and money are of utmost importance to you, then you are surely not wise.

I’m impressed with people who are real; people who walk tall and proud on their own path. I’m impressed with those who are “transparent” as they like to say these days. No hypocrisy. No greed. No self-absorption. No perfection. Just real. Real people, living real lives.

I’m impressed by your humility, empathy, kindness, integrity, and honesty.

I’m impressed with your attitude, your smile, your laugh, and your sense of humor.

I’m impressed with how your mind works; the ideas you have or dreams that drive you.

I’m impressed by your heart; your willingness to help others when they can offer you nothing in return.

I’m impressed with how you treat other people and animals. Kindness always matters. ALWAYS.

I’m not putting down people who have “things” that I do not. It’s fine to be proud of what you have or of what you have accomplished. It’s great that you can travel or that you’ve earned multiple degrees or that you have a Mazaratti.

Being better off financially than others doesn’t make you better nor do most people think of you that way. It’s not real. It’s just an illusion.

My Top 15 Favorite Authors

A recent Facebook challenge was to list 15 of your favorite authors, without thinking too hard and in no particular order. So, I did it and a few days later I reviewed my list. I don’t think I’ll make any changes. I love these authors, many of whom I grew up reading for one class or another in school. Of course, I hated it back then. How dare they make us read something not of our choosing?! Ha! I have to say, I am very thankful we were forced to read those books! Many though, I’ve read (or reread) as an adult and find it much more enjoyable!

Here’s my unrevised list, in no particular order, with titles I loved the most.

1. Alexandre Dumas – The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, The Man In The Iron Mask
2. Harper Lee – To Kill A Mockingbird, Go Set A Watchman
3. Margaret Atwood – The Handmaid’s Tale
4. Mark Twain – The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
5. Dean Koontz – House of Thunder, Watchers, Demon Seed
6. William Golding – Lord of The Flies
7. George Orwell – 1984, Animal Farm
8. Scott O’Dell – Island of the Blue Dolphins, The Black Pearl
9. Louisa May Alcott – Little Women, Jo’s Boys
10. Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Scarlet Letter, The Wives of the Dead
11. William Shakespeare – Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Taming of the Shrew
12. Robert Lewis Stevenson – Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
13. Edgar Allan Poe – The Raven, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Tell-Tale Heart
14. Herman Melville – Moby Dick, Benito Cereno
15. John Steinbeck – The Red Pony, East of Eden, Of Mice and Men, Grapes of Wrath

Who are your favorite authors? Have I failed to list an author that perhaps I’ve not read? Do tell!!