Thank you to all

I haven’t had a chance to thank anyone, yet..

Well, I just want to say; thank you for all your KIND and HONEST comments. I appreciate all comments even those of you that disagree with some of my thoughts..I enjoy reading different views…

I started this blog, well, basically because of the mess my life was in, I’m glad I have somewhere to pour out my thoughts, I never thought anyone would actually read what I wrote! lol.. but anyway…….

So, yeah, basically; thank you.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

A Thousand Splendid Suns: author; Khaled Hosseini

This book dragged me into a dark dark place. It is hard to believe that suffering like this is infact; reality.

The writer writes with emotion and honesty. The books does mix religion and politics, something which I think should not be done in literature, however, this book brought forth reality to me, it made me realise that this world is a very very sad place.

Living in the Middle East was the main reason that I felt drawn to buy this book, western woman should read this, it will make you feel ‘guilty’ to an extent. While western woman worry about the silly things such as ‘having the latest bag that Paris Hilton owns’, eastern woman are suffering from the reality that they are living in a world of fear and turmoil.

Ultimately the accounts of these two woman show us that amongst the country that remains veiled behind a war, love is still possible and that these woman find the strength to get on with their everyday lives.

An extremely powerful and moving read.

New Forum……..

www.bchillaxed.runboard.com

I have literally just activated this, I know nothing much about forums but I’m gonna give it a shot and I may get someone to give me a wee hand………..

It’s going to be – anything goes…….talk about what you want…..when you want……

If there are any problems – email me.. my contact address is down the left side panel of the blog….

thanks

To Marry or Not To Marry?

In the UK and in other parts of the world marriage is arguably losing its appeal claim many social scientists, and indeed many tabloids. With divorce ever on the increase – with statistics showing one out of every three marriages end in divorce, the institution of marriage as a religious and legal bond may be considered outdated in today’s society. Co-habitation is no longer unacceptable, indeed it is commonplace among the youth of today, and illegitimacy no longer carries such a social stigma. But is a stable family environment dependent on a marital bond – or more appropriately, if not dependent is it improved?

Living in the Middle East, I know that co-habiting is NOT acceptable and that marriage is very very important, still in this day and age…

Personally, I hope I do get married, but I can see why people don’t…

In the UK, what difference does it make? One side to look at is the fact that if you don’t get married you end up getting more benefits, or so it seems……….. ha, sorry that really makes me laugh…

Should Porn Be Banned?

At the moment, pornographic material showing adults over the age of 16 or 18 (depending on which country) is legal. Child pornography is entirely illegal at the moment and hopefully will stay that way. Should pornography depicting adults be available to adults, or be banned completely? What is meant by ‘pornography’ – does the term include books, magazines, pictures, the Internet?

We aspire to live in a country free of censorship in all its form; free speech is an ideal we cherish. Censorship is only deployed when free speech becomes offensive to others. This is not the case with pornography, as it is filmed legally by consenting adults for consenting adults, and thus offends no-one. Pornography, contrary to what the Proposition have argued, neither injures nor offends anyone, and is a legitimate tool to stimulate our feelings and emotions in much the same way as music, art or literature does.

Pornography debases human interactions by eliminating love, laughter and all other emotions, and reducing them to the crudely sexual. Sex is an important factor in relationships – the proposition are not prudes – but by no stretch of the mark is it the be all and end all of them. Pornography also debases the human body, and exploits those who are lured into it due to desperation. It also encourages unhealthy, objectifying attitudes towards the opposite sex; it is naïve to suppose that pornography is a victimless crime. The victim is the very fabric of society itself.

As you can see, I’ve looked at both sides of the coin BRIEFLY…….

What do you think?

Pray for World Peace

So what do the figures stand at now exactly?

25,000 – 10,0000 – injured in iraq since 2003

113 – killed in lebanon in the last 10 days

1233 – civilians killed last summer in lebanon

5,000 – injured civilians killed last summer in lebanon

887 – military killed last summer in lebanon

512 – military wounded

This is happening all over the world, not just in Lebanon and Iraq………. help stop it, help put an end to it!

May the angels keep you till morning.
May they guide you through the night.
May they comfort all your sorrows.
May they help you win the fight.
May they keep watch on your soul.
May they show you better ways.
May they guard you while you’re sleeping.
May they see you through your days.
May they show you new hopes.
May they still your every doubt.
May they calm your every fear.
May they hear you when you shout.
May the angels keep you til morning.
More than this I cannot pray.
And if the angels ever fail you.
Then may God be there that day.

Euthanasia

If a person with a terminal illness is suffering unbearable pain and wishes to end his or her life, is it wrong to help?

Well, that’s why euthanasia, the intentional termination of life at the explicit request of that person, has been a hotly debated and controversial subject. Is it right or wrong? Moral or immoral? Murder or mercy?

What are your thoughts?

I mean I can see both sides; god gave us life not to end it…… however, did God intend for people to suffer???

Catholic Priest asking people to boycott their MP’s.

A catholic priest in England is asking people to boycott their MP’s if they support Abortion.

This is a much debated topic.

Personally, I agree with Abortion. I know that if it came down to it tho, I couldn’t myself ever have one, unless my child was to have severe disabilities, and by that I mean, a complete vegetated state.

I think this priest is wrong, I know the Catholic church and many religions don’t believe in abortion but this is a woman’s own decision.

Losing Faith

Ok, this is all gonna sound like the ramblings of a mad woman.. but I need to get this all out or I’m heading for a nervous breakdown….really!

Before my grandfather died I attended church regularly and was a devout Chrisitan. After my grandfather developed cancer I lost complete faith in the church. How could this man who had raised me like a father been suffering so much? He never had a cigarette in his life, he enjoyed the odd pint but enough to make him develop cancer?

Yet, once again due to circumstances out of my control – I have yet again been tested. My faith has been tested. And right now I think God sucks. I think he gives people joy and then takes it away from them and laughs about it….sound pathetic? Yeah I know if does, but how can you give someone the best week of her life and then within a month change it all to mean absolutely fucking nothing!?

Enough bullshit about – you make your own choices in life. We don’t , God has a plan for all of us, I believe that, but does he have to be so god damn friggin cruel? I don’t think I can take anymore of his life tests.

I just want an easy life. . . enough of this testing me shite. I’ve been through enough in my years. I think since the age of 3 I’ve had one good year. I’ve never met anyone who can truly make me feel happy until this one person and yet again , they have been taken away from me……..

Here’s what I think of life – it truly fucking sucks!

And yeah I feel like shit today.

Sorry, no more posts for awhile.

Takin a break.

My place of worship

This morning, I got up at 5am. The sunrise was beautiful so I headed to the beach. I’m lucky that it is a few minutes walk from my apartment, however, this morning I was feeling a little low so I expected to stay their for awhile. I ended up spending 4 hours sitting on the beach – yes – four hours, 2 of those were spent walking – the other 2 sitting.

It really is the most peaceful place on earth. I guess being a water sign, that’s why I love it so much. It really allows me to gather my thoughts and try and work things out in my head, it doesn’t always work – a bit like today but I did however, feel much better.

Sex before Marriage – Right or Wrong?

So, the BIG question? I can see both sides of the coin.

As far as I see; sex is a natural thing that happens between two people that care about each other. So, why shouldn’t they express their feelings physically?

But I also believe that giving you pure body to your new spouse is the greatest gift you could possibly give them. It says that “I knew I would find the perfect mate some day and I saved myself for you”. That is so much better than, “I got tired of waiting so I gave it away to three other guys before I met you”.

Then there is the other issue of religion but regardless of religion, God’s will sometimes doesn’t have the power to stop raging hormones or a deep love for someone.

So.. is it right or is it wrong?

I’m adding this on because someone stated that, if you waited until you got married you could be sexually incompatible.

I don’t actually agree that anyone is sexually compatible – well, not at first.
Obviously, you have confident and overconfident people.. and then the opposite those that are reserved….
Two people will grow to know each other and what satisfies each other..

Dealing with Grief

Back in my teenage years, I lost a dear friend. One of the best friends I had in fact.

I woke up to find my mother at the kitchen table, shaking – my father beside her -something very weird……..

What on earth was my father doing here? I couldn’t understand what was wrong.

My father came over and for the first time in 13 years sat me down on his knee, ok, this is bad I thought. I knew someone was dead.

He said, ‘we have some bad news about Kirsten.’ I said what is it? He said, ’she commited suicide last night’.

I remember my whole world turning upside down in that moment, the next thing I knew I was being violently sick, the tears didn’t come until after.

It turned out that Kirsten had taken her grandfather’s gun and shot herself in the head. To this day, I have no clue why. She never told me of any problems she was having, nor did it seem ever like anything was wrong.

I still think about her smile and how she used to make me laugh. . . however, I don’t think I ever got over it or the feeling of guilt that in some way I could have prevented it.

10 years on and I still wonder why?

I lost my grandfather 6 years ago and I feel at ease now with his death. I know he is not suffering anymore and I know that he wouldn’t want me to be sad. But, are there two types of grief? Why do I feel so different about one death and so different about the other?

Different Sect but True Love?

I was truly horrified in the last few days when I watched a video on youtube about an ‘honour’ killing involving a 17 year old Kurdish girl who fell in love with a Sunnai Muslim. She was dragged from her house and stoned publicly until she took her last breath.Is it really possible that people could be like this? I understand, living in the Middle East, how two different sects of people could fall for each other, and I also understand how it is wrong to the extent that it goes against your family beliefs and your culture. But, can we really help who we fall for? I don’t believe we can. We all grow up watching the media, we see celeb weddings – we stereotype – ’she married him for publicity’ – ’she married him for money’ – how about; ’she married him because she loves him?’ Do we ever say this? What if it is true? How can we all be so stereotypical when infact we have no idea what goes on behind closed doors?

Should we only fall in love with ‘our kind’?

In Northern Ireland, many years ago, we had the same problem between catholics and protestants. Thankfully, my family are very open minded and I was never pressured to stay away from the other religion. Being protestant and sent to a Roman Catholic school was infact a shock for the majority of my parents friends. ‘Are you really sending her to a Roman Catholic school?’ My parents of course looked on in disbelief. How could these people have the audacity to say that?

I’m surprised to see it is still a problem, and the extremeness of the attack on the Kurdish girl this week just made me question; what type of people are there out there?

We cannot choose our family but we can choose our friends.

We cannot choose who we fall for but what if they don’t fall for us back?

“If you love someone, let them go. If they return to you, it was meant to be. If they don’t, their love was never yours to begin with…”
-Unknown

God or No God?

I was brought up a good christian girl. I attended church regularly, sang in church choirs, attended scripture union and went to Girls Brigade.

There was always questions in my mind, doubts in my belief. One being that Jesus was the son of God, another being that he wasn’t in fact crucified and lots more.

After coming to the Middle East, I took a keen interest in Islam. I have, as yet, not converted as I still have questions in my mind and therefore I won’t convert until I fully believe.

However, besides the above. I always ask myself; why does God let innocent people suffer?

In Islam, suffering is seen as the result of Allah’s positive will (“Verily We have created man into toil and struggle” — Qu’ran 90:4).

The “problem of pain,” as the well-known Christian scholar, C.S. Lewis, once called it, is atheism’s most potent weapon against the Christian faith.All true science and history, if rightly understood, support the fact of God. This evidence is so strong that, as the Bible says: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Psalm 14:1).

So, why do people suffer? Why are little children kidnapped, murdered, raped and abused? Why did the family down the road lose their 13 year old daughter to Cancer?

Without any evil there would be no good?

Why?