Melting Snow

Motivational Monday: Thoughts, October, and Columbus Day

Monday, October 10, 2016

"The worst part of my Mondays is hearing you complain about Mondays."
Unknown

The "Blogging Circle of Friends "  prompt for DAY 945
“It has taken me quite a few years to realize the fact that most of the thoughts in my head are not necessary.” ― Bert McCoy My question is, how can anyone chase away those unnecessary thoughts? Do you have any ideas?

I Think Therefore I Am

The human mind was created to think. In order to think then thoughts have to flow through the mind. Thoughts are necessary to human survival. Out hunter gather ancestors used their minds to think about their environment and notice the small differences in their surroundings for day to day and season to season. They used their minds to notice differences in the terrain when they moved from one area to another. They watched animals such as carnivore, herbivores, and omnivores. Through watching animals and the environment they thought about what they saw and thus learned to know when danger approached from the changes in the environment and the actions of plants and animals. They learned by thinking about what they witnessed and comparing it with other things they saw.

I'm not convinced that most of the thoughts in my mind or in any writer's mind are unnecessary because I subscribe to the "I think therefore I am" theory. Thoughts are necessary for my survival. Thoughts are necessary for my writing. I my mind didn't think then I would be dead. What may appear as unnecessary thoughts is just the mind exercising its muscle which is the brain. I don't believe a person can stop thinking for long periods of time. You can meditate for five, ten, fifteen minutes, etc. Even in meditation you can't stop thoughts from entering your mind. In order to stop thoughts from entering the mind a person has to answer the question "Where do thoughts come from?" In order to stop unnecessary or even necessary thoughts from entering you mind you have to know where they come from. Do thought come from a person's mind or soul?

The "Blogging Circle of Friends "  prompt for DAY 1425
Write about October.

October

October is an orange month
Casting it deep shadows across the fading greens of summer
Turning cottonwood leaves yellow and
Oak leaves brown, red, or orange.
Bringing chilled winds into the valleys and sprouting clouds in blue skies.
Expressing itself in the chill bumps on the arms of unsweatered humans.
Ripe with the promise of winter snows.

The "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise"  prompt for DAY 944
Monday is Columbus Day in the United States- a holiday that some areas are no longer acknowledging  , choosing instead to celebrate the heritage of the people Christopher Columbus first encountered. Should we still continue to honor Columbus in the US? And if you're not in the US, does your country celebrate similar holidays, either for the natives of your land, or for the person(s) responsible for discovering it?

Columbus Day

I think Christopher Columbus should be remembered as one of the people who discovered America. Columbus was looking for a sea route to Asia and his discoveries were a results of that goal. He didn't achieve his goal, but not because he lacked enthusiasm. He didn't reach his goal because the Panama Canal lay several years in the future, so he couldn't use it to cross from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Columbus, along with the majority of Europeans, at that time wanted to convert Native Americans to either the Christianity. Columbus did a good job of helping Spain do that.

I don't think Columbus Day should be celebrated unless it's a part of a person's cultural heritage and the person wants to celebrate that day. I believe each individual should be free to celebrate what ever holiday he or she wishes without out being told they are wrong in their beliefs. True they may be wrong in some of them, but not all. Telling someone they shouldn't celebrate a specific holiday because you don't celebrate it infringes on their rights as a citizen of America and the planet. I won't celebrate Columbus Day, but whether anyone else in my house, family, or neighborhood celebrates it is up them.