No one finds it a little ironic that with the high murder and corruption rate in Ja,- homosexuality is a 'moral' issue??

In a culture where 'man fi have nuff gal', 'bust me gun fi likkle and nuttin' is accepted, tolerated and promoted, the sin of homosexuality is too much for your tender sensibilities!! Dont make me laugh, Ja'cans!!!

Its time to open your eyes and realize that most (if not all) that we believe has been fashioned and formed by years of culture and traditional practices and way of viewing life.... NOT by your morals. Morals that allow us to sell weed to minors to drink until we are way past drunk, to do every other considerable act of self harm and harm to others as long as we can at the end of the day, 'bun a gay'!

I got my startling confirmation of this from my most confused and contradictory group of friends; the church people.....

 "They want some cat o nine! "If my son ever turned homosexual, me disown him"....and other remarks of similar nature. But my favorite- from a shaker/Quaker: "I'm not saying I wouldn't pray for one in the altar, but I'm not touching him, no sah! I'll pray for him from a distance", touted one minister.

My deeply convicted brother appeared to be sure of two things:

1. Gay-ness is contagious (therefore, no touchy!)
2. One can determine if a man is gay by mere appearance

I deliberately used the gender reference 'man', since the ever so present double standard extends to homosexuality again in our culture. While most college guys 'bun a gay', they wouldn't mind and would in fact give up a great deal to witness females acting 'inappropriately'. (If ya know what I mean)

The thing is a lot of things we have come to believe are as a result of our culture. You know, things repeated so many times down the generation ladder that we just accept them as truth without questioning (not that we are allowed).

My point: Believe what you must, but at least let it be your own opinion, based on reason, logic and self-reflection. There are too many self-proclaimed persons out there, controlling masses of people and getting them to drink the kool-aid!
   As I mentioned as the title of a previous post. 'when things don't add up, change the calculator'. Our ancestors didnt know everything (how to use Facebook, for instance) so lets examine our own values based on ideologies we have come to embrace, is there much sense to it?

Jamaica isnt homophobic because of our great love of what is right and decent! If so, Fornication and Adultery would also be against the law. Just re-evaluate your reasoning, that's all!!

Change and Grow - SB

Let us settle ourselves, and work and wedge our feet downward through the mud and slush of opinion, and prejudice, and tradition, and delusion, and appearance, that alluvion which covers the globe…till we come to a hard bottom and rocks in place, which we can call reality... - Henry David Thoreau

Thumbs Up for Emotional Health!

So I have two jobs after one, dreary, penny-pinching year of unemployment!! And can I say they are both sooooo cooool!!! Eeek!

One is assisting at a new store my very lovely sister manages...but the other... Blow My mind!!!!...Pays no money whatsoever but is granting me a wonderful insight into Emotional Health and hence getting me this bit closer to my career and life goals!! Awesome stuff! I've been meeting people who are almost as excited as I am about  Mental Health, attacking the stigma and discrimination, educating the masses and most importantly stopping all these teenage suicides...grrrr..

My first post for this blog (Who Am I?) outlined a few of my objectives for Mental Health and explains why it is so personal to me.. One day If I'm brave enough I'll explain (via blog of course) my own tumultuous adolescence and why I deeply feel for and connect with those who believe that the only way out is to take their life...

I want to work with adolescents so badly. I have a soft spot for teens...you know that whole misunderstood, self expression, identity crises era..How many of us can forget. But, truth is, and a supervisor of mine mentioned it; teens today have so much more to deal with than we did... I agree to an extent and could possibly argue both sides, but stats dont lie!!

Suicide, albeit denied by Dr. Abel is either on the rise or getting enough media attention for us to be worried about ideation increase. So its my issue, my cause. I'm rooting for all those Mental Health workers who battle each day to bring another kid back from the edge and sent home with a fresh dose of hope.

On my side, I would love to develop Emotional Health Promotion and get the self love message out there to those teens at risk.

You see, peeps, the principle doesn't change much... If I get my sense of value form an external source, when that goes I have nothing else to live for. My stance is that we get these teens to see the value in themselves, intrinsically, inherently....whichever is the correct word, get the drift?

I feel strongly about this!!! So much so that I would love to pursue future studies in Psychology and do some Adolescence specialization so I can become a practitioner.

Suicide is 100% Preventable!!

To the unsung heroes working with children and adolescence, their parents and teachers, keep up the excellent work! I honour you!!

Change and Growth (has occurred) - SB

Your Unique 'Life-Purpose'

Each person owes it to themselves to 'find self'....That unique life-purpose within you that leaves you satisfied and fulfilled. No one else can provide this for you.

You have so much inside you that is inherently valuable and bursting with purpose. Find it! That thing that your talents, characteristics and gifts allow you to do better than anyone else you know. You already know what it is. It's just that you have suppressed it for so long, listening to the external voices rather than what you know to be true deep within you.

Then you will be hit by that 'Aha' moment!! Then you will no longer try to fill the emptiness with aimless ventures, superficial social clubs and unhealthy relationships and substance abuse.

Your purpose will have been fulfilled....

Most times what we think gives us satisfaction (status, prestige) are the very things that hinder us from real happiness. It takes energy, lots of it to maintain a mask..an image...ANd this only gives us value in the eyes of others who do not see the real 'tinsel underneath'.

True empowerment is doing what you were born to do despite  the popular attitudes and social appendages attached.

What we have come to accept as 'the way things are', is shaped by traditional social practices which have become irrelevant.

The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.
Abraham Lincoln

Change and Grow- SB

The most amazing thing about finding that special purpose is that the voices and opinions of others fade away... You were born with interests and passions for a reason!! Now go pursue!!!  :)