by Chris Billowsin Spirit Speculations0 comments
Poverty is generally defined as being in material want of something. Not having enough to eat or money to buy essentials is the general understanding of poverty. But I would also say that poverty is also having an attitude of feeling powerless, helplessness, or even non-gratitude. It is psychological and is how you define yourself. My in-laws are living examples of people who took full advantage of what Canada offers them. They are immigrants who worked very hard and created wealth through their industry which appears to be lost of many native-born Canadians. Technically they have always been “poor” as far as annual earnings are concerned, yet the life they lead is as far away from poverty as can be. Their example tells me that that poverty is not a state of physical or financial want, but a psychological one. These are people who don’t think of themselves as poor and in terms of how they live, they are not. They have more than enough money because they are content to live within their means. Yet there is nothing simply psychological about the poverty experienced by Canada’s aboriginal people. I can only conclude that what they have experienced collectively is […]
by Chris Billowsin Mental Mischief0 comments
Dear Reader, The Hiearchy of Needs was originally defined by Maslow as being the pinnacle of his hierarchy of needs. It is a conceptual model that speaks to the height of satisfying our most advanced need, which is our sense of being. On a certain level Maslow is correct. We all need to take care of our bioligical and security needs before we can have the luxury to work on our self-development. But if you evaluate the entire model, it is all about a singular self. There is no recocgnition of the self in the context of a social or ecological world. Sure, Love & Belonging has a social component since that means to Love others and the Belong to others. But if there was no Love or Self-Sacrifice and Protection offered by mothers and fathers, then we as babies and children would not make out of of the bottom level. Man’s Search for Meaning explained this well. At a more fundamental level, our parents and families would not be here if we did not have a society that could take advantage of the earth’s resources. Ecologically we would be nothing if we did not have a hospitable planet and […]
by Chris Billowsin Spirit Speculations0 comments
What unifies all great art is inspiration and vision. It cuts beyond popularity, profitability, and personality of the creator. Yet with the rise of greater leisure and technology allowing for everyone to more readily become creative, we see a huge swell of new music, movies, books, and games. Unfortunately, inspiration is rarer than the amount of media that is out there and only the true Poets are the visionaries, not being concerned for money or reputation. Where does that leave everyone else? I have mapped out a definition hierarchy of this creative class that ranges from the authentic Poet to the Parasite. 1) Poets (the elite of the Artists, known for influencing the Artists, being visionaries not concerned for money or reputation, the crazed and eccentric) 2) Artists (the creative craftsmen, creating new genres/markets, concerned about legacy) 3) Craftsmen (those who refine the performance, bringing peak performances, concerned about the craft) 4) Performers (capable, journeymen, emphasizing showiness, concerned about the performance) 5) Pretenders (riding on the coat-tails of the Performers, the critics, concerned about reputation) 6) Parasites (pure copy-cat, cynical marketing, pure hype, concerned about money) Its not a pyramid that Poets need Parasites who are at the bottom of […]
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