Things That Bring Me Peace

****I just want to say that my vote was not cast for either of the mainstream candidates.  That said, these election results REALLY stress me out.  Nothing in this post is meant to be offensive, but if you are a hardcore fan of either candidate, this post might not be for you.*****

This post is really just for me.  It is meant to remind me of the good in the world and what I can use my energy for.  To remind me not to dwell on the negative, but to find ways to prevent this from ever happening again.  What follows is a list of videos  that bring me (that's me personally folks) peace.  If they bring you peace as well, then awesome.

I love this video because of the point he makes about us needing to try and understand other's perspective.  That really hit home for me.

I love this non-political political video!  Stick around this channel for some clean, witty humor.

This video has nothing whatever to do with the election, but it makes me happy so.....

Cute animal videos make everything better, right?

The part about poison in this video is profound.  **some bleeped out language**

I know this video has been posted on Facebook a lot, but there's some gold in here!  Don't say something until you can say it with love.  Dang...  If everyone did that Facebook would not be a minefield right now.

I honestly don't know why, but this video is so relaxing!!!!!!!!

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This song makes me happy!!  Try to watch this video without smiling, I dare you!

This video really reminded me that with God, we can do anything.  So much peace and comfort from that thought.  The most peace can be gained from studying the scriptures and being close to the Spirit.  I'm so thankful to have the Gospel in my life.

Love,

Courtney

PS-Note to self:  Stay off Facebook!!!!!!!

PPS-I hope this post didn't offend you!  I really did just sort of make this for myself!!  Have a great day!

Sorry Not Sorry

Okay, I am a little sorry about the rant that is about to explode on this blog.  You have been warned.

Remember the ice bucket challenge?  That produced some hilarious videos and also brought up some serious feels.  What about the blue versus gold dress controversy?  All fun times on the internet right?

Let me fill you in on the latest internet trend.  Wait, no.  Let me show you.  Click here to witness the phenomenon of the #don'tjudgemechallenge.  Go ahead.  I'll wait.

Yep.  They're all pretty much like that.  Don't get me wrong, I think they are hilarious.  But I have one teeny-tiny problem with them.  These videos promote the idea that you are only worthwhile if you are wearing makeup and expensive clothing.  That if you don't fit into the cookie cutter of societal beauty, you are less of a person.  That's just plain not true folks.

This person:

Is just as worthwhile as this person:

Wearing makeup and nice clothes isn't a bad thing at all.  I love doing it!  But, it isn't important, and it certainly doesn't determine your importance as an individual.  

Phew...Sorry about that!  Just had to get that little tidbit off my chest.  Hope you're having a great day!

Love,

Courtney

The Dress Controversy

If you haven't heard about this yet, you are probably wondering what in the world I'm talking about.  
The Internet is going crazy as a whole over a dress.
This dress in particular:

 Some people think it's black and blue and others think it's gold and white.
Now, the purpose of this post is not to debate over what color it is (although I would love to hear your opinions on it in the comments) but rather to discuss why everyone is going nutzo about it.

This dress is proof that people literally do not see things the same way.  Different individuals saw completely different colors.  But, is this debate really over a dress?  I think it is more about people's minds being blown over the fact that everyone doesn't see things exactly the same.

Now, hear me out.  When you looked at this dress, your brain probably thought, this dress is obviously ___________and _________.  How could people think otherwise?  There are a lot of other issues (arguably more important ones) that people have similar thoughts about.  For example, gun control is obviously __________ and ___________.  How could anyone think otherwise?  It can be difficult (read impossible) to try and see things from another point of view.

The science behind this whole dress debate (you can watch a video about it here) says that people's brains interpret the colors of the dress based on the lighting etc.  Each person's brain can imagine different types of lighting and compensate by tweaking how we perceive the color.
Similarly, an individual's background and circumstances can change how they see certain issues or opinions. Sometimes we think our opinion/solution is clearly, or even obviously correct and it is difficult to even comprehend why anyone could think otherwise.  Perspective really does effect everything.

Now, it could be that this is nothing more than a disagreement about color and my analogy is just my brain creating connections where there are none.  Thanks for reading either way!





Love,


Courtney