BELIEF/JOHN MAYER

Last week in class we were discussing morality and ethics. We had an epic debate about trying to save puppies from being punted through goal posts and grandmothers of autistic children locking themselves in the bathroom to keep you from getting her keys (I still don’t think she was a good g-ma, she clearly was too concerned with herself to save the kid…). Professor M brought up the point that people have certain beliefs and views as to what is ethical/moral and what is not. Different cultures especially vary. And if you were to come in as a complete stranger to those cultures, you would surely think they were barbarians, yet to them punting puppies is a sacred tradition.
Well I am very opinionated on this topic and therefore was very sad when our elluminate session got canceled—I had come up with an AMAZING idea.
For anyone who has heard John Mayer’s song “Belief” you know my stance (for those of you who don’t know it, get on that ASAP, and I am placing the lyrics at the end). Basically he says that beliefs aren’t like clothes or fashion trends. They are deeply rooted in you and are the essence of your being. You die to defend them. There is no way a stranger could come in and change someone’s beliefs with logical argument. Because beliefs aren’t logical. That is what make them beliefs. It doesn’t matter what anyone says, that is what you believe, and you are sticking to it.
Obviously if it is something factual that can be proved wrong… but even then people find ways to deny the truth. Take the holocaust for example. There are people, to this day, that believe that is all made up. No matter how much evidence you show them, they will not change their minds. I will end on that note and allow you all to peruse the genius of Mr. Mayer. ☺

Belief lyrics:
Is there anyone who
Ever remembers changing there mind from
The paint on a sign?
Is there anyone who really recalls
Ever breaking rank at all
For something someone yelled real loud one time

Everyone believes
In how they think it ought to be
Everyone believes
And they're not going easily

Belief is a beautiful armor
But makes for the heaviest sword
Like punching under water
You never can hit who you're trying for

Some need the exhibition
And some have to know they tried
It's the chemical weapon
For the war that's raging on inside

Everyone believes
From emptiness to everything
Everyone believes
And no ones going quietly

We're never gonna win the world
We're never gonna stop the war
We're never gonna beat this
If belief is what we're fighting for

What puts a hundred thousand children in the sand
Belief can
Belief can
What puts the folded flag inside his mother's hand
Belief can
Belief can

in our best interest?

Why do we as humans, who are supposedly acting in our own best interests, continuously place ourselves in unhealthy relationships? I don’t just mean abusive relationships. Relationships can be unhealthy if they cause you to act a certain way, if they make you feel a certain way. Sometimes, the other person is completely unaware of how the relationship changes you, or makes you feel. So why do we continue to cling on to those relationships? Is it that we hope there might be a change? Are we just irrationally throwing ourselves into something just to try to feel like we belong? Or is it that we unconsciously want to change, want to be something – someone – else. Do our relationships even exist? Or are they simply fabricated in our minds as wishful thoughts?
Is there some thing, some urge, some genetic code, in us that makes us want to be part of a larger whole? I think maybe we want to be part of something so much, we almost believe we are part of it. And THAT is why we cling on to those relationships. We want so badly to belong, to feel loved and accepted, that we are willing to put ourselves through heartache and pain. If we were acting in our best interests, would we do that?

headaches

what causes a headache? is it simply just chemicals colliding in the wrong way and making you miserable? if that is the case why is it they always seem to occur at the most in opportune times. over the past week, i have had 4 POUNDING headaches. so bad, im pretty sure the people next door heard them. are they stress related? are they anger related? i can't see why being happy would cause a headache, otherwise im pretty sure people would be walking around with them most of the time. whatever causes them, the out come is always the same: pain, unpleasantness, and - i say this without shame - grumpiness. i guess on the bright side, you can at least count on them to always be that way. at least one thing in this world is consistent.