Pandora's Box

There are many stories about the infamous Pandora's Box and what it holds. However, despite this infamous object's fame, very few people know much about Pandora's Box and its origins. Look no further for this post will aim to inspire you and inform you about the mystical mystery (yeah, I went there) of Pandora's Box. Pandora's Box is an artifact in Greek Mythology, taken from the myth of Pandora's creation in Hesiod's Works and Days which I think is some Greek mythology story. The "box" is actually a large jar which was given to Pandora and it contained all the evils of the world. You can see how such an object would appeal to such a wide variety of people and how it can be a source of great story telling. A popular phrase (that I have never heard of) which is "to open Pandora's box" means to do a little innocent action that has far-reaching and severe consequences. I do not know why that is important but it is, so deal with it.

Source: http://www.insanelymac.com/_/osx86/news-pandoras-box-beta2-is-out-r1000

In Greek mythology, Pandora was said to be the first woman on Earth. Zeus ordered Hephaestus, the god of craftsmanship, to create her and so he did. Athena then clothed her, Aphrodite gave her beauty and Hermes gave Pandora speech. In retaliation of Prometheus stealing fire from heaven, Zeus gave Prometheus' brother, Epimetheus, Pandora. In doing so he also gave Pandora a jar with strict instructions not to open it under any circumstances. Of course, due to her curiosity, Pandora opened the jar and all evil contained within escaped and spread over the Earth. Before Pandora had the chance to shut the jar, all of the evil had already escaped leaving only the one thing that lay at the bottom: the Spirit of Hope named Elpis. Then even Hope escaped into the World. So after this the world was full of every kind of evil, but it was also full of Hope. Pandora's Box has become something of a modern obsession for story-tellers due to its rich history and the possibilities it holds. Some people see the evil as truth and so that by opening the box an unimaginable number of truths, some good and some bad, would be let free into the world. Others see Pandora's Box as something which contains all the secrets of our world and existence and once found and opened our new lives can begin. The point of Pandora's box, however, is not the story. Rather, Pandora's Box is merely a vessel in which the ancient Greeks believed that evil and hope entered the world. It is a nice story.

I do not know how I got onto this topic, see you tomorrow!

What our Parents Taught Us

We may not realise it at the time but our Parents teach us a lot. Our Parents teach us things we may not glean from School. Some of what we learn may come into use later in our lives while most will not. However, it can be better to know more than you need to in case you do need it later in life. Although, most of the stuff our Parents teach us we just really want to forget right away. Most of what our Parents teach us is inadvertent and not what they want us to know.  Now I just want to say that what I am about to talk about DOES NOT all come from my Parents. A few of them maybe but I am not writing this about my Parents but about all Parents in general. Sorry in advance if I offend anyone.

Image Source: http://paperhoon.blogspot.com.au/2010/10/embarrassing-my-kids.html

The first thing that your Parents will teach you is that their word is law. Heaven forbid you ever break their laws. They brought you into this world and sure as hell can take you out of it. Later in life you realise that your Parents were wrong about many things and that not following their orders may have been the better option in some cases. However, when you are young you do not think about these things and think that all adults are always correct. Oh, to be a child... We also learn from an early age to always strive to "do your best". For some parents this can be as simple as just trying your best but for others trying your best means having to be at the top of the class. Second-best is not good enough for some Parents and I feel sorry for their children. How must they cope sometimes? Our Parents also taught us that we can be whatever we want. Well, except for a few jobs but we will not go there. Sometimes I think our Parents are setting us up to be rich so they can retire in comfort. That is actually a pretty good plan, must remember it in the future. So the lesson we can learn here from our Parents is have kids and retire happy, among other things of course.

Image Source: http://asianetindia.com/life-lessons-kid/

Among other things our Parents also seem like very big religious advisers. Always going on about praying about one thing or another. Whether it be a stain coming out of the rug or a mark off the wall. Always we are reminded to pray or may "God help us". Religion must really be essential in raising families. Logic is also a big issue in our World and our Parents show us from an early age what logic is correct logic. We must always remember to do something because someone said so. That is all the logic we will ever need in our lives. We are also taught to empathise and be able to read someone's feelings. If we are not able to read feelings we may get on the nerves of certain people at certain times of the month. The ability to read feelings is always important when growing up as it allows us to know which rooms are safe to enter and which to avoid like the plague.

Image Source: http://www.modernmom.com/article/life-lessons-to-teach-your-kids

A major source of our Vocabulary is our Parents. Without our fathers we would not know what to say when we drop something on our toes. Where would we be if our mothers had not taught us what to say when we burn something? Then there are the words we say when we get a fright. Where would we be if our Parents had not taught us them? Persuasive Techniques are also learnt through our Parents so we already have a head start for English before we even reach High School. We learn especially about exaggeration and appeals to emotions as children as our Parents make us feel guilty about choosing something or whether they exaggerate how many times they have told us things. They are also experts at personifying and thank the heavens inanimate objects can not bite or I would be covered in marks for every time I forgot where something was. Put simply, our Parents teach us many things and for this we are eternally grateful.

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!

Faith

Faith, it is what makes us hope for a brighter future. Faith is what makes people get out of bed every morning. Faith is believing in something even when you can't see it. Faith is believing in the good of something. It keeps us sane. Faith doesn't have to mean religion it can just be the belief in something that might happen (it could even be something bad). We all have faith within us it is just the person who decides whether to bring it out or not. When everything looks bleak, faith is what can pull us through.

Faith in a better tomorrow gives people the motivation to get out of bed or to exercise or help people out. Faith can help people who are sick, it can fill in the days for those who are lonely. Faith in a brighter future can pull people from the brink of despair and can change a person's life. Faith in a religion, in a god or in one another can change a person. It can make them see differently as if someone has given them new eyes or a new lease on life. Faith can change you, it can make you into someone entirely different. It can give you the confidence to stand up for what you believe in and do what you view as right and just. Faith is what causes people to persist and to keep fighting. Without it, what is there to fight for?

Things don't change without faith. Did Martin Luther King Junior have faith in the end of the Apartheid? Did Nelson Mandela have faith in an equal South Africa? Did NASA have faith in space travel? Of course they did, why else would they strive so hard and spend so much time on something? If you don't have faith in something happening then why do it? If Nelson Mandela couldn't envision an equal South Africa how could he expect anyone else to? Faith and action are closely linked and without Faith, action would be very limited and our world would be centuries behind what it is today. Steve Jobs may not have had Faith in Apple. Walt Disney may not have had Faith in Walt Disney Studios. Bill Gates may not have had Faith in Windows. If they hadn't we wouldn't have all the technology and entertainment around us today. Faith plays a big role in everything we do and without it we are lost.

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!