Taking Things for Granted

Hello! SilverDawn here with another post on Gratitude!

In the Western world, we tend to take things for granted - things such as that we have a roof over our heads, a warm bed, food and water, a loving family, and friends. 

If all these things were taken away from you, how would you feel? Sad, scared, depressed, and maybe angry, I imagine. But you don't think about that when you have them, do you? Well, count your blessings and you'll be happy. Here are some of mine:

• Loving, kind, sensible parents
• A wonderful sister
• Lots of friends
• A lovely home
• Five adorable cats
• Food and drink
• Clothes
• Education
• Books
• Toys
• The ability to make a blog
• Authorship on this blog
• A friendship with wonderful people like FrostWolf
• An ability to things which make me happy, like drawing and riding
• Special experiences such as the times when we visited Africa

And thousands of other things! Thousands of them!

Lots of people keep wanting more, and more, and more - but they don't realise that they already have everything they need to make them happy. 

I hope I or somebody else hasn't posted this before!

No Autumn Leaf is The Same

Hello! This is SilverDawn. 

I apologise wholeheartedly for my lack of posts! I was struggling for ideas, but now I'm going to be posting some more. :)

Anyway, this post is about what I was doing yesterday: pressing autumn leaves. It occurred to me to do so when I was walking under a tree which was losing its leaves, and I looked down at the leaves on the ground, and found that no autumn leaf is the same. 

Of course, I knew it already; but this really made me think about it. Some of the leaves were brown with yellow speckles, some where green speckled with brown or yellow, some where yellow speckled with green, and some where yellow speckled with brown - but there were thousands of other combinations of colours. And a lot of the leaves had imperfections, little tares in the leaf from how they'd fallen or where a caterpillar had eaten or something. 

It also made me realise something more that I already knew but didn't think about: that every leaf has a story. First there was a seed. Then this seed sprouts up, and up, and up, into a tree. It grows little leaves. The leaves are green and fresh, they pass through the damp spring to the dry summer, and then, when autumn comes, they turn brightly-coloured and fall. But the story doesn't stop there; some fell on rocks, some fell on grass, some fell on gravel. Sometimes a gust of wind would blow the leaf away. 

So, basically, what I'm driving at, is...

Don't ignore the little things of nature, for each of them will tell you a story if you listen.

and

Just like autumn leaves, you are unique...stay that way.

When you actually truly realise those things above, you will feel a warm glow of happiness.

I hope this was an OK post! :) More posts to come!

Compassion

Hello! :D This is SilverDawn (on Kinyonga's blogger account), here with a post on...

 

Compassion is a really important thing. It's basically loving kindness to other people, especially when they're sad, troubled, or hurt.

One way of being compassionate is comforting the suffering person, such as putting your arm around them and saying "It's OK" or "It'll be fine, don't worry". 

However, some people may not like it that you obviously can see that you are suffering. So before you try and comfort them, you should try and feel how they are feeling. If you think they won't like it that you can see they are suffering, then you can help by for instance, offering to hang up their coat for them, pouring them a glass of water at mealtimes, and generally helping them in little everyday ways. It can make a huge difference, as they will feel that you care for them. 

Thank you for reading, and have a nice day! ^.^

PS. Frosty and other contributors - can you please post? Thanks. :)

Fussiness

Hello everyone! ;) 

Fussiness is one of the major disadvantages of human nature. We're all a bit fussy somewhere. For instance, European, Australian, and American children just can be fussy about their food when children in Asia and Africa are starving. 

Fussiness is NOT GOOD. Next time you are going to complain about something, just think "People in developing countries would be thankful of even this." and use it anyway. Don't waste. 

Short, weird, post, I know. Sorry.

Gratitude

Hello! :D

I'm not sure if someone has already posted on gratitude, but I thought it would be OK for me to do so. :3

 Anyway, people nowadays in the Western world (Europe, America, and Australia) aren't as grateful as they used to be, in general. Of course there are exceptions, as there are with everything. 

People take things for granted - like the roof over their head, their access to food and water when they need it, the fact that they have legs and arms which work unlike some peoples', and all that sort of thing. 

In general, it is the people who have less who are more grateful. In one way, this is logical - but in the other way, it doesn't make any sense at all. Poorer people have less, so they have less to be grateful for - but yet  they are more grateful for what they do have. 

Be grateful and thankful for what you've got. You'll feel much happier. :)

Making Friends

Hello! :3 This is SilverDawn, and I thought we might post, as well as lessons, advice on stuff like making friends. :)

Who to make friends with...

Things you want to see in a friend are friendliness, loyalty, and share of your interests. For instance, if there was somebody who was very nice but into completely different stuff to me, then they would not be the best person for me to make friends with.
Now, there's something I need to get straight. You can be friendly with people who do not share your interests, but you cannot be firm friends with them.
Things you don't want to see in a friend are; disloyalty and thinking they are better than you in general.

What a good friend is...
  
A good friend will always stick by your side, remember you and keep being friends with you if you move away, stick up for you when others are mean to you, and have the ability to have fun and laugh with you. And you must do these things and be these things to your friends, too. 

How to start at being friends with someone...
  
  Imagining you are staying in the same place as someone who you notice qualifies Who to make friends with. How do you start at being friends with them?
It can all start by you saying hello (imagining they haven't). You mustn't let the fact that they haven't spoken stop you from speaking to them. You can start a lifelong friendship by simply saying "Hello. Do you want  to play with me?". They're most likely going to say yes, but if they say they are busy right then you can try again later. And if they say no because they simply don't want to, then they wouldn't make the best friend anyway. Once you've started doing things together, you should exchange email addresses (if you're only on holiday in the same place). That way, you can keep in touch!

I hope this was an OK post! :3

  

Animal Rescuers Stories

Meep!

Long time no post! :3 I'm now going to post an Animal Rescue story, and I think I'll assume this role on the blog, if that's ok? I may, occasionally, post other stuff too ^.^

They will all be true stories. 

Credit for them goes to the animal rescuer, the rescued person, whoever wrote it and whoever put the story on the internet!

 A stray dog saved the life of a newborn baby after finding the abandoned infant in a forest in Nairobi, Kenya, and apparently carrying it across a busy road and through some barbed wire to her litter of puppies, witnesses said.

The stray dog found the infant, clad in tattered clothing, in a poor neighborhood near the Ngong Forests in the capital of Nairobi, Stephen Thoya told the independent Daily Nation newspaper.

The dog apparently found the baby Friday in the plastic bag in which the infant had been abandoned, said Aggrey Mwalimu, owner of the shed where the animal was guarding its puppies. The seven-pound, four-ounce infant was taken to the hospital for treatment on Saturday.

“She is doing well, responding to treatment, she is stable. ... She is on antibiotics,” Kenyatta National Hospital spokeswoman Hanna Gakuo told The Associated Press from the hospital, where health workers called the infant Angel.

Kenya’s media often report the abandonment of newborns by mothers. Poverty and the inability to care for the child are seen as the root cause of the problem. Most people who abandon babies are never caught.

The child had not yet been claimed.

“Abandoned babies are normally taken to the Kenyatta National Hospital because it is a public hospital,” Gakuo said. “People are now donating diapers and baby clothes for this one.”

 

 

I like that story! :3 It just shows that animals are as clever as, if not more clever, than humans. 

~Kinyonga

P.S O.O I've been to the Ngong Forest mentioned above! O.O

Long time no Posting!

HI! This is FrostWolf! I am going to try to revive this blog, and try and get more authors. . .

Okay, So I have decided that you don't have to post on a lesson, you can post on an animal, or story that is uplifting -you know- something like that. The #1 rule is no posting on un-lifting things. 

Sooo, I am going to be thinking up a list of ideas, so my authors don't have to struggle to find a subject!

If you want be be an author, PLEASE ask! 

Thank you for reading! 

Death

Hello, Leafa here with a post on death.  I know Anika Taylor covered this, but I thought I'd just clarify it a little.

When someone has died that you know, it's alright to be sad.  Of course you'll be sad.  But they've gone to heaven, and you will see them when you die.  And remember, they've gone to a better place.  I've gone to three funerals, two my relatives, and it's not exactly cheerful.  But we know that they have gone to live with Heavenly Father.  All the suffering they've had is gone. 

Naturally you would be sad if someone close to you died.  However, they are more comfortable where they are now.  They'll be watching over you now.

Hope this was a good post! :)

 

Should I keep posting?

Hello! :3 This is SilverDawn, and it sort of looks as if this blog has been abandoned on my hands...I'm the only person who's posted for almost a month....

My question is:

Should I keep posting?

I really enjoy posting on this blog, but I like it as a community blog, and I don't want to feel as if I'm alone with it. 

I hope Frosty can de-confuse me! ;)

Bye

I'm quitting for good this time, I'm not in to blogging anymore and I quit AJ. Im quitting all my blogs except for a few. Kay thx bye

Creativity

Hello! This is SilverDawn, and today I'm posting on Creativity!

A lot of people think they are not creative because they (for instance) can't draw. Or it could be can't make up stories, can't paint, can't do graphic design, or anything like that. But it is not true.

EVERYONE can be creative. Different people may have different creative talents, it is true, but everyone (don't forget I said EVERYONE) has their own talent which they can nurture and make AMAZING. Everyone has potential.

I don't know where this post is getting, but anyway...

I hope this meant something, and goodbye until next time! :D

~SilverDawn (signature currently unavailable)

The Person Behind The Screen

Hello! This is SilverDawn, to post on The Person Behind The Screen. 

You may be wondering what I mean by that. Fair point. :)

You can't see the person behind the screen. You can't see whoever you're interacting with on the computer. No, this post isn't about stalkers, it's about kindness. 

Imagining two people were on Animal Jam (using AJ as an example) and one of them was typing slowly. It would be mean for the other one to accuse the slower of being a slow typist, because they can't see the person behind the screen. 

This person may have been much younger than you thought. Or they may have finger problems, or slow-registering problems. You don't know. So you can't judge them for typing slowly. 

Also, you have to watch what you say on the computer. Other people can't hear your tone, so you have to speak (well, type actually :b) mindfully. 

There are more examples, but I'll leave this at this. For now, anyway. :)

Bullies

Hello! This is SilverDawn, to post on bullies. 

A bully is simply somebody who has a practice of being mean to others. They may say cruel things, take things, break things, get innocent people into trouble, and so forth. A bully isn't like that for no reason. A bully is generally someone who is very sad. And I don't mean temporarily sad. I mean hurt deep down inside. Bullies bring this out on other people.

So, really, you should be compassionate to bullies (though, of course, don't let them do bad things). This gets us back to my post on Love and Leafa's on the Golden Rule :b

Sorry for this very short post >.<

The Golden Rule

 

Hi! Leafa here with yet another post, on the Golden Rule! . . . .Sorry, I enjoy putting my topic in italics at the beginning of each post :p

You all know what the Golden Rule is? . . . . No?  Ah.  Well, the Golden Rule is what Jesus once spoke of: "Do unto others as ye would have them do unto you," Matthew 7:12. 

So, however you want others to act to you, act to them the same.  They will meet you with kindness if you meet them with kindness.  Love them, cheer them, care for them.  They will "do the same unto you". . .most likely, at least.  This will earn you friends, earn you liking, and if not that, respect.  And don't just do it to the influential and powerful figures in the world you meet: Do it to everyone you meet.  If you're Christian, you believe that there is a judgment seat; and at the judgment seat you're, well, judged.  If you have done misdeeds and been rude to other people, you'll receive your reward. 

Just a quick post!  Hope it's not TOO religionist. . .FrostWolf, if it is, delete it, and I will post again on this without the religion.

 

Fear

Hi!  Leafa here with a post on Fear!

Fear sounds like a bad thing.  And it is.  It can paralyze you, muddle you, make you shy away from something that must be done.  But if you master it you will have accomplished something great indeed. 

Quotes on fear--

"Fear stifles our thinking and actions.  It creates indecisiveness that results in stagnation.  I have known people who procrastinate indefinitely rather than risk failure.  Lost opportunity causes erosion of confidence, and the downward spiral begins." ~Charles Stanley

That's the bad results of fear in a nutshell.

"A person's fears are lighter when the danger is at hand." ~Lucius Annaeus Seneca

"Fear is static that prevents me from hearing myself." ~Samuel Butler

"The fear of becoming a 'has-been' keeps some people from becoming anything." ~Eric Hoffer

"Courage is on the other end of the bone of fear." ~Kathryn Lasky

That's true.  Without fear, courage could not exist; for what would we have to be courageous about? What tangles of fear could we brave?  None.  Fear strengthens character, and it has a little purpose--some things weren't made to be meddled with, and fear will keep you away from them--but too much of it can be a very bad thing.  It will muddle your thoughts and make you stand still, trying to consider through a fog of anxiety, like Charles Stanley said.  A little of it can make you see sense instead of blind courage or determination.

Sometimes, when I can't fall asleep, I'm afraid I won't fall asleep again.  Also, when I'm alone, I become afraid sometimes.  That is irrational fear; I mean, you're bound to fall asleep again sometime, right?  And when I'm alone, it's just my imagination I fear.  And that's nothing to be scared of.  I can straightway imagine a purring cat winding herself around my shoulders and a sleek, small border collie laying on my lap.  Would I be scared of that? Of course not!  Often it's just your imagination that terrifies you.  When that happens, well, read, or do schoolwork; or, talk to someone.  No, I'm not telling you to get psychological help xD You can talk to them about anything, and only if you want, what you're afraid of.

 But if you feel rational fear. . .Distract yourself.  Take hold of the situation.  Or, if someone's already done that, offer to help.  Doing things will get your mind off of what's happening.  But if it's something you can't control, like you're afraid of a thunderstorm or a far-off war, distract yourself by doing service such as doing chores others would've normally done, taking food to others, or just cheering them up.  Or you can just do things that doesn't even help someone: garden, do schoolwork, read, play a game, and if you play music, play your instrument.  And if you're really afraid, just face your fears, explain it to yourself in your mind, and understand why exactly you're afraid and how you can help.

Hope you profited from this! :D:D

 

 

Faith

Hello! This is SilverDawn, to post on Faith. 

Firstly, what exactly is Faith? Faith is trust, confidence, and hope. Basically, to have Faith is to believe that God will provide, He will help you through hard times, He will never forget you, and that in the end you'll find a place with Him in Heaven. It is very true. 

You can also have Faith in your friends and family. That, though, is rather different. It basically means to trust your friends and family, which is also very good and important. 

I don't know where this post is getting, and I think I'll just end it here. I hope you learnt something! :3

Friendship

Hi!  Leafa here with a post on Friendship.  This has been mentioned in many posts, but I thought I'd write a post with the official topic of friendship ^.^ If that makes any sense...

I hope you don't mind, FrostWolf, but I'm going to borrow your quote:

              Another friendship quote I like--

A friend is someone who understand your past, believes in your future, and accepts you today just the way you are. ~Anonymous

Friendship is where you have deep respect and good will towards another--it's hard to explain; you might have respect and good will towards an acquaintance, but with a true friend you should feel compassion, respect and good will.  You should expect the best from your friend and give them your best.  If they don't fulfill your standards--you decide what happens: a) Don't become friends with them (but that's rather for extreme cases) b) Help them reach your standards c) Leave them the way they are. 

You should be respectful and kind to your friends; and acquaintances/strangers too, of course.  But let's not veer off the topic, shall we?

You need to be worth your friend's friendship.  It doesn't matter if you can't give them presents for their birthday or Christmas.  It doesn't matter that they didn't send you a gift.  If you're really friends, it doesn't depend on material matters like gift-giving.

Also, you should be truthful at all times to your friend--unless it will cause something harmful.  Take a look at this post on Truth by me.  Your friend won't like it if you don't trust them enough to tell the truth; and in return, would you like it if your friend lied to you? 

All of this is true in vice versa.  Your friend should expect the best from you and give you their all; should be respectful, kind, and truthful.

I hope that was a mostly sufficient post on friendship!

 

Love

I know Wolfskin has already done a post on love, but I thought it would be OK to do another as long as I don't say exactly the same thing ^.^

People often misuse the word love. Saying 'I love potatoes', for instance. They like potatoes. They like them a lot. But they don't love them. I'll explain. 

You know the Bible says to love your enemy? Well, you can hardly like your enemy; they wouldn't be your enemy if you did. But you can love them. Imagine this:

A madman, completely off his rocker, rushes into your living room. He's dirty, completely mad, has warts all over his face, and he is yelling a string of gibberish at the top of his voice. You could hardly like that man, but you could love him. By love, I mean you could invite him to sit down, offer him a cup of tea, and help him. Now you know what I mean by love. You can see this man is in need. Ask him what the problem is, be friendly, help him, etc.

That is love.

I hope this post makes sense, and remember that while you're still a child, you shouldn't attempt to help any possibly dangerous people.

Hello! This is FrostWolf. 

No one has posted in forever, so you might be surprised that this isn't a good-bye post.

I made a  new blog, The Daily Smile! (LINK!)

So, if you ever feel down, just simply give that blog a visit, and I PROMISE you will come back with a smile! ;P

But, I WOULD like some of my authors to post, like ILoveMYPets, Ameila, AG (I really liked your posts, just so you know) If you haven't noticed, those are all of my authors that haven't posted for a while. . .  ;P

But thank you, Leafa and SilverDawn, for all of your amazing posts! I LOVE them! ;P You two post so much! Thanks again! :D 

And Kinyonga, I am sorry you don't have time for my blog anymore. . . :'(

Sooo . . .Tomorrow, I'll be changing the URL to theundeniabletruth.blogspot.com 

Thanks for reading, and I hope you all have a wonderful day!  ^-^

The Results of Lies

Hello! This is SilverDawn, here to post on...

The Results of Lies

There have been several posts on truth and lies, but I thought I'd like to post on what actually can happen if you do lie ^.^ I'm going to tell you a story I heard. 

Once upon a time, there was a rather dishonest man who went about buying pieces of antique furniture for unfair prices (by insisting the owners of the furniture that it wasn't actually worth as much as it was), and then selling them again, making a profit. One day, he came to a rather grubby old farmhouse, badly in need of repair on the roof. The man didn't think they'd have anything of interest, but he'd ask anyway. He went over to the door and knocked. 

A woman opened the door and answered, 'Yes?'

The man responded 'I'm looking for old pieces of furniture to buy. Do you have anything?'

'You can come in and look,' said the woman, standing aside to let him in. 

The man went in and looked around. His eyes fell on a unique and antique wardrobe, which was worth millions. The man stared at it and rubbed his eyes. Then he turned to the woman. 

'I'd like to buy this,' he declared, indicating the wardrobe. 

'Do you know it's worth?' the woman raised her eyebrows a little. 'It's hundreds of years old, and there's not another like it in the kingdom.'

'That, hundreds of years old? No, no!' lied the man. 'Of course not. It's a look-alike - a fake. It's worth no more than twenty pounds.'

'How can I believe you?' said the woman suspiciously. 

And the man went forth into all sorts of description of the tiniest details until the woman believed him. 

But she asked nevertheless 'If it's so worthless, then why do you want it?'

 'Well, the feet of the wardrobe would look rather nice on some other furniture I have, you see,' explained the man untruthfully.
'Couldn't we just cut off the feet?' suggested the woman.
'Well, it would rot then, if you kept it on the floor,' pointed out the man. 'And also I do need some fire wood, as a matter of fact. Well, is it a deal then?'

'Yes,' confirmed the woman. '

'Right. Here's the money, I'll just go and get my vehicle,' and after giving the woman the pitiful price of fifteen pounds, the man went off to his van. 

The woman turned to her husband once the other man had gone, 'What sort of car do you think he'll have, dear? Not something that could fit this? I suppose we'd better cut it up - he was going to use it for firewood anyway.'

And thus the man came back to find the priceless wardrobe smashed up, and it was all because he'd lied. 

And that is what can result of lying. 

Bye

I'm going to remove my self from this blog because I have nothing to post about. Sorry!
-AG

Joy

Hello! :3 This is SilverDawn... Can you guess what I'm doing? I'm posting of course! XD

Well, I'm posting on joy. It doesn't take much to be joyful, but nevertheless few people are joyful. You don't need much to be joyful at all. Here are a few things which make me want to run around full of joy:

1. A cuddly pet.

2. A very good book. 

3. Some other happy people who I'm doing happy things with. 

4. The breeze in my hair as I run down the slope in my garden. 

There are more of course, but they're some of them ^.^ Some people are so caught up in their unhappy thoughts that they don't notice the good of those things. 

So be aware! :3 You will be very happy. 

Sorry if this post is odd. 

Bye...

Hello!
I think I'll quit this blog...

No one posts on it anymore o.o
I may want to come back...if you'll let me X3

And I have my own (LINK!)...it's not quite the same as this...it's not exactly a lesson blog.

Anyway, bye I guess!

~Kinyonga

P.S I am not quitting Animal Jam or blogging.

Imagination

Hello!
Sorry I haven't posted in a while :(
Not many people have, though o.o

Well, here I am, posting on Imagination.

 

Imagination is similar to pretending. Not pretending like bad pretending. I mean pretending like pretending you're (for instance) a cat. You have to imagine how a cat would act, feel, see, hear, think.

Some people have no imagination whatsoever, which isn't good.

You should have at least a little.

I love that quote! :)

That pretty much sums up imagination ^.^