The 'make-other-people-happy' gene

You may not consider having a change of heart controversial, but what about people around you?  What if you're the type of person who doesn't like to disappoint others? 

Maybe, from the time you were a child, you considered yourself a 'good kid.'  You always felt you did the right thing.  You felt the love and respect of your parents and or at least a close circle of friends, teachers and mentors.  Somewhere along the way, you developed the desire to please and this became synonymous with your own sense of happiness.  You couldn't tell the difference.

Suddenly, you're having seemingly radical thoughts.  Your intuition is suggesting you change course.  You sense something doesn't fit. You envision separating from what you know or have known.  People are not looking at you kindly. Will you leave them in a bind and think of yourself? Intead of inner peace, do you experience inner turmoil?  What makes the most sense when your desires are in diametric opposition?

Controversy, PR stunt or more?

Controversy stimulates our minds and causes us to question our choices.  Many fiction authors are seen to write as a means of catharsis, as a means of easing emotions of loneliness, fear, grief and isolation for their readers.  Provoking controversy is also an outlet for authors to explore themselves.  Even fantasy may contain elements of reality. How can we verify?

The idea of dreaming up controversies can also sell books.  Some of your favorite books may not get nearly as much attention as you think they deserve.  Little do we realize how much and what kind of attention authors will receive. Would all notoriety be good for authors and  books? 

Many viewpoints have been expressed about books which raise controversy and question the limits of censorship and freedom of speech.  Consider the reasons for public outcries about books you would or would not choose to read. The following are samples of books which repeatedly raise eybrows. What are your own views? 

1) Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

2) 1984 by George Orwell

3) Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck

4) Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie

5) Forever by Judy Blume 

6) Brave New World  by Aldous Huxley

7) The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

8) I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

9) Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

10) The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

11) The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

12) The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

13) The Bible by ~40 authors over a period of about 1500 years

What's all the hullabaloo?

When we reflect on the top 15 best-selling books of all time, this makes a statement about the kinds of timeless topics that inspire dreams of people of different cultures. Some of these works are shrouded in mystery which itself may appeal. Others are meant to shatter mystery and shed light on particular issues. Its all in how you look at it. Consider whether any of the books are familiar. How do they impact your life and dreams?

1) The Bible –many languages (sold 5-6 billion copies)
2) Quotations of Chairman Mao-Chinese (900 million)
3) The Qu’ran –Arabic (800 million)
4) Xinhua Xidian-Chinese (400 million)
5) Book of Common Prayer -English
6) Pilgram’s Progress by John Bunyan -English
7) Foxe’s Book of Martyrs by John Foxe -English
8) Book of Morman –English (120 million) -English
9) Harry Potter & the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling -English (107 million)
10) And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie- English (100 million)
10) Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein-English ( usually in 3 book set-100 million)
11) Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling- English (65 million)
12) The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown -English (60 million)
12) Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets -by J.K. Rowling English (60 million)
13) The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger-English (55 million)
13) Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix by J.k. Rowling -English(55 million)
13) Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban by Jk.K. Rowling -English (55 million)
13) Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rolwing -English (55 million)
14) Watership Down by Richard Adams -English (50 million)
14) Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace -English (50 million)
14) The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho -Portugese (50 million)
14) Heidi by Johanna Spyri -German (50 million)
14) The Mark of Zorro (Curse of Capistrano) by Johnston Mculley -English (50 million)
14) The Little Prince by Antoine de St. Exupéry -French (50 million)
14)Common Sense Baby & Childcare by Dr. Benjamin Spock- English (50 million)
15) Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White -English (45 million)
15) The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter -English (45 million)

*statistics taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_books

The paradox of fear

Fear by Pablo Neruda

Everyone is after me to exercise, get in shape, play football, rush about, even go swimming and flying.  Fair enough.

Everyone is after me to take it easy. They all make doctor’s appointments for me, eyeing me in a quizzical way.  What is it?

Everyone is after me to take a trip, to come in, to leave, not to travel, to die and, alternatively, not to die. It doesn't matter.

Everyone is spotting oddnesses in my innards, suddenly shocked by radio-awful diagrams.I don't agree with them.

Everyone is picking at my poetry with their relentless knives and forks, trying, no doubt, to find a fly. I am afraid.

I am afraid of the whole world,afraid of cold water, afraid of death.  I am as all mortals are, unable to be patient.

And so, in these brief, passing days, I shall put them out of my mind. I shall open up and imprison myself with a most treacherous enemy, Pablo Neruda.

As you interpret between the lines, is the poet not encouraging you to spend time with yourself while you still can? If you learn to listen to yourself, then you'll answer the question, "now what?"  The time is now to discern your fears, pin them down, identify who imposes them and share your story.  The paradox of fear is to learn how confronting them is the first step to diminishing them.

The ultimate destructive weapon

For people who dream of having the power to change the past, time travel could become the ultimate destructive weapon. Imagine how it could introduce unpredictable catastrophic events and their consequences into history.

Think of Ray Bradbury's science fiction novel, Fahrenheit 451.  It suggests that killing an insect in another era could have unfathomable changes across many spheres. The idea of Michael J. Fox's adventures in the film, Back to the Future may no longer appeal to you if you realized making desirable changes for yourself and reversing decisions could trigger other undesirables for balance.  Would you care?

The growth of advanced science and technology lessens the relevance of natural physical boundries. This is natures' way of stabilizing balance for humans, other creatures and things. Future technology promises to be able to remove or compensate for what we assume would be missing. This could lead to a future world were human actions or achievement might be entirely controlled by ego, drive to achieve and desires to do so.

Already, we see such motivation in the arenas of genetic engineering and software engineering in cyberspace where holograms are meant to enable us change who we are.  Why is it that the world around us sends messages that convince us we should seek to change aspects of ourselves? Should we not be happy withour past and learn what we can from it rather than seek to change it?

Restraint may only be found in those people who have created a consicence, who nuture ethics, moral wisdom, self-control, and self-discipline. And what of the rest of us? As warp cores and other technology that fragment and send us through time and space come to be, it may not only be up to us to sense and change our moments. Would it be desirable for you to become suspended in time?