Creation Myths

Creation myths in there own way are very exciting for me to learn about. Most everybody has heard of the Greek deities, the Virgin Mary, and Jesus Christ these gods are widely known throughout the world but learning about other gods and other myths from places that I honestly haven’t even heard of is really cool to explore. There are so many different types of gods and holy figures it almost makes my head spin. Even though it is fun to learn about new things and to know them I still hold onto my own beliefs. I believe that there is one God and that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I believe that He died or my sins and the sins of the people around me hoping to give everybody a better life and a chance into Heaven. It is kind of weird in some sense to hear that some people don’t believe that there is a heaven or hell or that there is even a God to begin with. I think that being able to study and compare all these different creation myths helps people to really know who they are. In a way it could cause the reverse affect and cause someone to doubt who they are and where they come from but I think that if you have very strong beliefs then learning about these different myths can help you grow stronger in your beliefs and have more faith in them. There are always going to be people that believe in something different then you do and that it just the way that the world is. Everyone is different and if they weren’t then our world would probably be really boring. Being culturally diverse and having knowledge of the world around you is a great gift though, no matter who or what you choose to believe in. We can all benefit from each other even if it is only in the simplest or smallest of ways. So learning about other cultures creation myths is fascinating, people believing that we come from dragons or eggs or that someone was just poofed into existence really is cool and not so different then what anyone else believes. Like I said I believe in God but nobody knows where my God that created the earth in seven days came from, He has just always been there. All in all I think that everyone could benefit in some way or another by learning about the different cultures and beliefs around the world. Even if it is not what you choose to believe yourself, nobody has the right to put down someone else’s beliefs especially when if they took the time to learn even a little bit about them they would see that all of our beliefs really are not that different. Everything came from somewhere and everybody wants to have a purpose in life so having knowledge from around the world definitely couldn’t hurt your chances of knowing who you are and what you are really here for.

Knowing is Hard to Handle...

It seems to me like every character in the story has some sort of “burden of knowing”. The characters that mainly stick out to me with a burden of knowing are T. Ray, Lily, August, and Rosaleen. I have not yet completed the novel but so far these four seem to know the most and carry the heaviest burdens. T. Ray knows what happened to Lily’s mother and that is his burden. In his own way he is protecting her by not telling her the whole truth about what happened and leaving her in the blank but at the same time he is constantly punishing her for trivial mistakes. Rosaleen has a burden of knowing because part of her knows that Lily is suffering and why but she cannot talk to Lily about it. August has a burden of knowing because she recognizes Lily and knows that her mother came to stay with her and her sisters and she knows part of Lily’s sad story as well but just like Rosaleen, August cannot say anything to Lily.
I think that Lily carries with her the most burden of knowing because I think that deep down inside she knows what really happened to her mother but because of all the pain and suffering she has been through she chooses to suppress this knowledge and live in ignorance because it seems like it is easier for her to do so. Lily is also burdened with the knowledge of how she and Rosaleen ended up at the calendar sisters’ house, she knows that how they came to be there wrong and she also knows that lying to the sisters is wrong yet she continues to do it. There is one point in the story where Lily accidently overhears a conversation that August and June are having and August tells June that she knows that Lily is lying. Because Lily heard this statement from August it makes her feel even worse about lying to her when she has shown such kindness to them.
I think that this story is extremely complex and because each one of the characters has some sort of problem that they are going through or some issue that they are dealing with you have to keep track and pay close attention to every one of them. Though Lily is the main character, her connection with each of the other characters in the story is significant because all of these different connections help her to grow, to experience, to learn, and to accept the issues and the pains that she needs to overcome. I have not finished the story but I do have high hopes for the way that it will end. I believe that Lily will figure out the right things to do in all of the different aspects that she is having troubles. I also believe that each one of the other characters in the story help Lily in her journey of discovery in their own unique way.

Perfect moments

There have been many times where I have felt very strong feelings, those feelings have ranged from anger to sadness, from sadness to joy and anything in-between. I think my most memorable overwhelming emotion was love, with a whole lot of joy mixed in. I had this feeling when I held my son for the first time. I cannot even begin to describe the wonderful feeling of holding the life that you created in your arms for the very first time. The feeling of holding their tiny hands and counting their little toes. Of seeing their eyes open and focus on you and of knowing that no matter what that little person is yours and you will do anything for it. Don’t get me wrong there were countless (well 10 exactly) months of cravings and morning sickness, well all day sickness in my case, and crazy hormones and a ridiculous amount of ups and downs and a whole lot of pain. When it came down to that moment though, it was like the entire world stood still and He and I were the only people in the world and from that moment on he was the only person that meant anything to me, the only person and I would do anything and everything for. I do not really know too much about animals and how they are with their young so I cannot really say that it was an equivalent feeling to any one specifically, but I think that the feeling of protectiveness would be the same as any lions or maybe tigers. I know that they are very territorial animals and that when anyone or anything gets close to their young they become very defensive. That is the way that I feel about my son constantly and in order to feel so protect over something or someone you have to have a special kind of love for them and let me just tell you, if my heart could have exploded the first time I held my son I think it would have. Like I said before there are really no feelings and no words that I could use to describe how literally awestruck I was in that moment. I don’t know if everyone who has kids feels that way the first time that they hold them but oh man, nothing can compare to it. All I could think was how I made this perfect little person and I know everyone thinks that their kids are special but in the first moment they really are perfect. There is nothing that can take that joy away and nothing that can tarnish the memory. Babies are perfect, the innocence and the, I don’t have any other word except perfectness, are so overwhelming. I think that if there was any way to feel so happy and so amazing all the time that I would do it no matter what, not meaning to say that I am just going to keep having babies, lol, one is more than enough for now.