True Knowledge

We all like to know things. The grass is green, the sky is blue, I am a girl, I live in Canada, the world is round, and bacon is AMAZING!

But what if all of that was taken away. What if we could only know things by reading about them? No going out, no experiencing the wind, food, family, friendship, love, and heartache.

Do you think that we would be different people? or even a different society?

If you read about what a hug feels like, would you understand it even if you have never experienced a real hug? I know I wouldn't. I think that much of the world would become a fantasy and partially unknown to most of us.

I have found a poem that I believes captures the way that I see the world. Of course, it is a what if poem but this poem in particular, challenges what we think we know. It makes us think about our experiences and knowledge. It makes you wonder what you really know and if it is possible that you are wrong.

 

So let us think about this poem shall we? 

A tree - as far as I know the tree outside is not upside down

Clouds - the only cloud I know of that is on the ground is fog, and that isn't technically a cloud 

Chairs - hair? really?

Ice - I think my ice tray makes cubes

And so on.

I know these things as facts right? Yes. But, what if these facts were not true?

 I suppose it is kind of like the saying "a rose by any other name would still be a rose".

Would you ever challenge what you know as true?

Locomotion

Think of everything that you use your body for: transportation, self-expression, sports, eating, playing board games and video games, hugging loved ones, being present, breathing, talking to people, sitting, sleeping, waving.

How many of these things do you enjoy doing? I'm sure most of us enjoy these things.

No moving?

There are obviously lots more things that we do with our bodies but we take most of them for granted. So, what would you do if you suddenly became paralyzed? You've probably never thought of that have you? 

If by happenstance, you became completely paralyzed, what couldn't you do?

Here's my list of a few top items:
- walk or run
- hug people I love
- no more video games
- say goodbye to unassisted hour long showers
- no more guitar

Figuratively, my life would be over. Yes, I would survive and I'm sure you would too, but it would NOT be easy.

Hopefully now that you have thought about what you would lose being paralyzed, do you realize all that you take for granted? Think of all the "what if" questions that people who are paralyzed have.

What if this didn't happen? 

What if that didn't happen? 

What if I could have stopped it? 

It is true that we all have what if questions. It is true that we all have problems that make us wonder what if. Do yours pale in comparison to those who have life altering what if questions?

25, 50, 75, 100!

Some people are amazing in school, some people are not. Passing a class all has to do with getting above that important number, 50! I can say that there have been times when I did not believe that I could do it.

Where do we sit?

But, what would happen if the passing mark was no longer 50? What if it was higher, much higher? Say, 75 or 80?

Take a minute and think of last year. How many classes would have turned into a fail? As hard as you might try, some students will never reach these marks.

In life today all that matters is your GPA.

Do you think that you would try harder to meet the passing grade? Or would you just give up?

I have no idea what I would do. I love school, so I have an easier time with it. But, I already feel stressed when my marks aren't supper high. I know for a fact that high school stress levels would go up for everyone. We would all be fighting to pass and to get the edge on everyone else.

Are we too dependent on grades? Do you overlook the person and their perseverance? I think we do. If you take a walk around any school you will see a number of things. There will be an Honor Role board somewhere, students who have gotten academic awards have their name posted somewhere and you also have the cliques.

People base their friendships on grades and brains, more and more each year.

There is also an increased need to have the best marks as you get into the higher grades. By grade 12 you must be the top of you class to get into the best schools.

That is not fair. And it would only get worse if the passing grade went up. How do yo think you would react to the change if there was one?

Judgement Day AKA Every Day

Okay, who has ever been judged? I'm sure everyone has, so do not try to deny it. We all know what it is like. We all know the self-doubt that comes along with someone judging you. And, we should also know that there are different ways people are judged. People are judged by their actions, looks, likes, family, status, brains, and even hobbies.

But, none of this is right.

Simon Cowell? King of Judging?

We should not me judging people. Yes, I know that it is easier said than done, but think about what it would be like if you didn't have to worry about people judging you! It would be amazing. Think about all the people that would actually be themselves and be happy with themselves.

So, what if people didn't judge others? What would you do? What would you say? Who would you be?

Personally, I think I would be so happy. There would be a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I would definitely dance in the streets, sing at the top of my lungs, be brutally honest all the time.

But, most importantly, I would not keep any secrets.

I think that with judgement of others comes this cage that we all think we need to live in. We are always watching what we do and what others do. We always have to say the right thing. It is like there is a perfect mold that we have to fit into so that we are not judged. The only problem is that even if you fit the perfect mold you will be judged for being so perfect.

There is no winning!

Do you think there is anyway to win this battle of judgement?

SPAM?

So, what is SPAM? Well, I could be talking about that mystery meat or I could be talking about something that we all can relate to.

Spam mail! 

Don't you dare tell me that you have no idea what I am talking about. Everyone knows about that annoying little attack on your emails. No matter what email you have, whether it be gmail, hotmail, yahoo, and even live, you will never escape the spam mail.

Now that I have everyone on the same page, I believe it is time to start talking about what I really came here to talk about. What if spam mail didn't exist? Wow, I feel happier just thinking that question.

Let's be serious here though. If there wasn't any spam mail, I probably would not be on my email all that much! I really only go on to delete all my spam mail, because to be honest I do not get that many real emails.
So any ideas what spam mail is exactly?  Those emails are also called junk mail but the whole idea of them are that they are identical emails that are sent to a LARGE number of people.

Any ideas why it is bad? Here are some of my reasons: they are unwanted, may include a virus, scams, encourages impulse buying, it's all garbage, may tarnish email reputation and even make you hate your email.

All in all, spam mail is bad! It is a waste of time! Your time and the time of those who send it.
So,
GIVE UP SPAM MAILERS!

The Dream World

So, our wonderful world is reality, right? What if it wasn't the only reality that we had access to? You know what I am talking about. All those strange and realistic dreams that haunt or occupy our sleeping minds. Have you ever stopped to think about whether or not there is a possibility that what we dream is real? I know I have. 

Sadly, I am not one of the lucky people who have dreams all the time. For me, dreams haunt my sleep once in a blue moon. 

So, try to think about your most recent dream or nightmare or what ever you wish to call it. How realistic is it? From whose perspective is it? Did you recognize anyone or anything? Personally I ask myself these questions every single time I have a dream. 

My last dream was crazy. But, it helped spur the questions as to how real dreams are. In my dream world I woke up, and looked out the window (the window was exactly where it was in real life). It felt as though I had sat there staring at the empty street for some time. When suddenly, there was an unbearable pain in my hand, so, like any person would do, I looked at my hand. My hand was covered in small black bugs to the point where I could not see my flesh beneath them. I remember screaming and waking up my friend (with whom I was staying). I cried until I fell asleep. And then to my surprise, I woke up and none of that had happened. 

So, what do you think? I know it was a dream but what if it was my mind taking me to a different reality? I can not say I will ever know for sure what dreams mean or what they really are. Although, I can always say that I will question their existence.

Celebrate what?

So, we all like having holidays and celebrations. Whether it means a day off of work or school, a lazy day, or a day to spend time with family and friends.

Have you ever stopped to think about what it would be like if we did not have these days? Personally I haven't given it much thought.

So, lets think: Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years, Family Day, March Break, Birthdays, Halloween, Easter, Valentines Day, and so many more.

 
Now, what if we didn't have any holidays?

What if we didn't even have celebrations? What if we didn't have the opportunity or option to do anything to celebrate these days?

I think that a world without holidays would be perfectly fine.

Yes, I do enjoy some holidays and celebrations but I believe that it is because of the society that I have been raised in. There are many places that don't celebrate many holidays.

Many of our holidays have to do with our religion, culture, location, and sometimes society and status.

What are holidays and celebrations even for? To get stuff? To help others? 

To be thankful for what you have?

"Memory" Chip

What if we didn't know who we were? What if we didn't know our own name, address, our family, or even our own face?
I don't know about you, but I would freak out!
Losing your identity, I think would be worse than having your identity stolen. Because when you lose who you are, you become a completely different person.

Just think about it. 

No home. 

No family. 

No past. 

No friends. 

Possibly no future.

"Memory" chip?

What would you think? Would it be a great blessing, or would you wish to have everything back?

I cannot imagine the stress and fear that would accompany the loss of your identity and being. 

So imagine you did lose your memory. And imagine that we had the technology to give it back to you.
What if you had to cut your hand open by yourself to do it? What if you had to trade your brain for a computer chip?

Would you do it? 

I sure wouldn't! 

As wild as my imagination is, I could never do anything my mind says. I'm a self proclaimed chicken, hence why I enjoy the world of what ifs. I do love the idea that we could possibly get our knowledge staight from a computer some day. I think it would make life interesting. Plus, imagine never having trouble understanding a concept. Yes, I know, very Matrix, but it's only in my imagination. 

Misunderstandings

What if everything that we over thought, had just a simple answer? As humans, we are skilled in the department of over-thinking(myself being the worst). This is one of my favorite songs, as it explores the idea that maybe, just maybe, we don't know what we are talking about.
Life throws us punches left and right. I think that it is time that we stop and think about what where the punches are coming from and where they send us.
The truth is, I often think too much into everything that happens in my life. And every time I listen to this song, I remember to take a set back. To remember life isn't always a riddle.
I do not expect a lot of people to like this song but I do hope you listen to it.
Are there any songs that make you take a second look at life? What about movies? Or perhaps a poem?
Even if you don't have something that makes you think, I encourage you to find something. As crazy as it may sound, it can help a lot.
It can help you find who you are, what you want to do, and what you stand for.