Insidious Adaptation

Smoke lingers in the thick, damp air. Wafts of sulfur and burning paper fill the olfactorys of a town celebrating. The kids run around with fire sticks, adults gather and drink from cans, bottles, large stainless steel containers with a pump on top. The animals are scarce, avoiding the flash and bang from the larger fire sticks. Celebrations of a victory erupt across individual city blocks neighborhoods, towns all throughout the land declaring unity and its freedom. We get to do this... Happy Birthday America, for you truly are the greatest nation in the history of the world. Established by men who went against oppression, the wrong they were seeing, to produce the documents that built the nation today. For even, Benjamin Franklin, a Deist declared, "I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth- that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that a...

Like a piece of meat in a pool of sharks. Nashing, bodying, pushing, insufficient altruism, yet no contempt, simply survival. The human male is worse, for we have the knowhow, the insight, to know that   when we harm or bully another for something they have or a resource we all want, it can get personal. Sorry Larry. This one's mine.  Like a girl in the gym, sports bra, toned midsection, tight, trendy yoga pants accenting all features of self, men clamoring, trying to vie for the affection, but attention will suffice. Every man has their reason, some for lust, strictly sexual, others for attention, for if this apparently confident and attractive girl is interested in me, she might fulfill what I don’t see in myself. Other men want to show for other men and be the dominant one, the one to gain the attention of the quietly-agreed upon head lioness. The difference between Animal Planet and the Real World, is intent. Man’s intent is not to merely mate, despite the argument ...

The mist blows from across the lake. The sun's rays sparkling each particle as though the dust of diamonds has been scattered in the air, an abundance of shimmer. The ends of the lake wavering on the beach as though their defined line of wear is a clear boarder. The trees as a backdrop, numerous, a thick plethora of green and brown filling in their own gaps. The brush below is hard to determine where one ends and another begins, all to much to be significant, too picturesque to be identified. The mind makes sense of this nonsense. The mind takes in the scene, it's beauty, and without effort interprets into a feeling. The mind is capable of so much more, so much in fact, that the scene, her landscape, and what she presents through her natural beauty, the accumulation of organisms of all sorts, is mostly a blur, for you might not have noticed the detail if I hadn't brought it into your mind. Instead you might be consumed with a problem at work, or pain in your gut, for th...

Explosions erupting all round, the central nervous system kicks in, this must be battle . The physical feeling of impending conflict, its fight or flight. The worst part, the mind knows, the conscious intellect reminds the physically-stimulated body that things are OK and this is not a "battle." It is the body's familiarity with explosions associated with impending death of self or loved ones that a soldier must endure while children run around laughing and a father with beer in hand lights another one. Light it up Johnny! This is what the Fourth of July might mean to those who served so we could celebrate. This is PTSD as reported to me and this is what America tends to forget. However, the blanket way in which we refer to mental health has become an overlooked nuance. "I was anxious last night." Much different than, "I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder." "I was feeling depressed." Much different than being sad. "He'...

On my way home the other day, after a day of interaction, paperwork, daily occurrences that tend to wear a person down, my mind wanting to disconnect from reality, decides to latch on to something extreme. As I was driving past an old, now-abandoned storefront, I noticed something peculiar. I saw a row of 6-7 police SUVs all lined up, some with hoods ajar, others just parked. At first I thought, Huh, wonder why those are there, is that a new police station? After a few more microseconds, my mind, free to do as it wants, went to, With all those SUVs there, isn't that a liability? From here, the fuse was lit, the reflection of sun in my eyes no longer the priority, and quickly I thought of lighting the SUVs on fire! Ah yes, that would stir up some talk around here. For this was an immediate thought post-lighting. Like a mackalov cocktail thrown from across the street at 3AM, igniting one, and like dominos one explodes causing the others to follow.  What a scene this would be. I thi...

Gun laws, something of a debate these days. After all, when inanimate objects start to take over, killing hundreds a year, I too have my concerns. If only there was a way to understand the workings of tools that have evolved over the past few decades into these killing machines. Unfortunately, I have not come across the self-workings of a handgun, much like a hammer or the stinging steel of a blade. Therefore, I will attest to what I do know a little about, being human. Though my experience in humanism has only been 32 years, I have spent much time in this brain of mine, and in the last fifth or more helping others with what they present in their mind. This makes me nothing of an expert, however does allow me to contribute a perspective with intent to assist those who try to control. Those are left tired and angry, spreading soiled words on their children and so on. One apparent, and safer route to travel down is that of ice cream, or more specifically, ice-cream-type foods, a, ...

Summer has officially sprang on us as scheduled. Yet, like a surprise visit from an aunt you haven't heard from in a while, the conditions have been lingering for a while now. Long forgotten are the days in which we were complaining of, "the long winter" we had and now at times we crave a few frigid nights. Times when the conditions were miserably cold we could enjoy the indoors without a sun and overgrown weeds reminding us of our need to face the sweltering conditions.  "Hello you beautiful sunshine." "Oh, and hey humidity." "Oh, hey bugs."  "Whats up electric bill."  Despite the first-world problems and minimal to actually complain about, fall is right around the corner. Yes, fall, probably the longest, most-recognized season of the year. I mean, autumn feels at times to start in August, for football kicks off, and goes until December. What a demanding season he is.  Think about it. It just turned summer,...