9 March 2010

Night Angels

Ann was 25 years old and she was a young doctor. Ann was thin and short, with a fantastic sense of humour and kindness. She had green emerald eyes and a long and straight hair fire coloured. She was a beach lover, she loved the peace and the freedom of the sea, but she loved all the confusion of a big city too, all its lights, cars and shops.
Ann had a friend, Ayda, very active, with a contagious energy who used to do voluntary work in the city. Ayda departed every night in a van with more volunteers to the streets and distributed food, clothes and medical cares to the homeless.
One day Ayda invited Ann to go with her to the streets to experiment volunteer work, and Ann accepted immediately. On the following Friday, a very cold night, Ann joined Ayda and went on her first experience as a volunteer. Ann didn’t imagine how many people were waiting for them to ask for aid. In the places where, during the day, the expensive and famous shops functioned, at night those places became full of homeless people to protect themselves from the rain and the cold.
In the beginning of the night Ann started distributing food and sleeping-bags. Then Ann treated the small wounds of the homeless. The first homeless that was treated by Ann was Mr.Smith. He was in the streets for five years and he knew all the other homeless. Ann treated Mr. Smith and he started to open up, talking about his life. He was a learned person that went to the street when he got divorced. He told Ann that he still had hope to get out of the streets and to have a normal life. She talked to Mr. Stuart, another homeless whose son and wife had died in a car accident. With that disaster he started drinking and became an alcoholic. Mr Stuart was wearing an old wool sweater, very old and damaged jeans and overcoat. He had long beard and lots of pain wrinkles.
All the homeless talked about the disinterest people showed to them. After some months of help and gathering, Ann won the respect and admiration of lots of homeless, but she created a special affinity with Mr. Stuart. In one of the calmest nights Ann talked with Stuart about an institution that used to shelter and integrate homeless people in the society. She convinced him to go into a rehab programme.
Ann had applied to a medical specialization course in the USA and she received the notice that she had been chosen. She was very excited but she was sad too, to leave her family and friends.
When Ann finished her two-year course successfully, she came back to England.
One summer night, when Ann was watching a musical concert of a well known British band, she thought she knew a familiar face in the band. When the show ended a very handsome man, looking like an artist, approached her. At that moment Ann recognized the bearded and badly dressed Mr. Stuart. They embraced. He started crying and told Ann all about his new life since he had started his rehab programme. He told her that he had always loved music and that when he was young he used to play in garage bands and at that moment he was part of that band that had performed minutes before.
Actually Mr. Stuart has a job, he loves what he does, he has a house and he could rebuild his life but he still visits his old street mates. Ann still visits the homeless people too, besides being full of work, she can always find time to visit her friends in the streets with her best friend Ayda and now with Mr. Stuart too.
Romana, 1001

3 March 2010

Substance Abuse vs Addiction

The difference between substance abuse and addiction is very slight.
Substance abuse means using an illegal substance or using a legal substance in the wrong way. Addiction begins as abuse, or using a substance like marijuana or cocaine. You can abuse a drug (or alcohol) without having an addiction. For example, just because Sara smoked weed a few times doesn't mean that she has an addiction, but it does mean that she's abusing a drug — and that could lead to an addiction.
People can get addicted to all sorts of substances. When we think of addiction, we usually think of alcohol or illegal drugs. But people become addicted to medications, cigarettes, even glue! And some substances are more addictive than others: Drugs like crack or heroin are so addictive that they might only be used once or twice before the user loses control.
Addiction means a person has no control over whether he or she uses a drug or drinks. Someone who's addicted to cocaine has grown so used to the drug that he or she has to have it. Addiction can be physical, psychological, or both.
Physical Addiction
Being physically addicted means a person's body actually becomes dependent on a particular substance (even smoking is physically addictive). It also means building tolerance to that substance, so that a person needs a larger dose than ever before to get the same effects. Someone who is physically addicted and stops using a substance like drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes may experience withdrawal symptoms. Common symptoms of withdrawal are diarrhoea, shaking, and generally feeling awful.

Psychological Addiction
Psychological addiction happens when the cravings for a drug are psychological or emotional. People who are psychologically addicted feel overcome by the desire to have a drug. They may lie or steal to get it.
A person crosses the line between abuse and addiction when he or she is no longer trying the drug to have fun or get high, but has come to depend on it. His or her whole life centres around the need for the drug. An addicted person — whether it's a physical or psychological addiction or both — no longer feels like there is a choice in taking a substance.
Signs of Addiction
The most obvious sign of an addiction is the need to have a particular drug or substance. However, many other signs can suggest a possible addiction, such as changes in mood or weight loss or gain. (These also are signs of other conditions, too, though, such as depression or eating disorders.)
Signs that you or someone you know may have a drug or alcohol addiction include:
Tips for Recovery
- Tell your friends about your decision to stop using drugs.
- Ask your friends or family to be available when you need them.
- Accept invitations only to events that you know won't involve drugs or alcohol.
- Have a plan about what you'll do if you find yourself in a place with drugs or alcohol.
- Remind yourself that having an addiction doesn't make you bad or weak.
If you're worried about a friend who has an addiction, use these tips to help him or her, too. For example, let your friend know that you are available to talk or offer your support.
If you notice a friend backsliding, talk about it openly and ask what you can do to help.
Above all, offer a friend who's battling an addiction a lot of encouragement and praise. It may seem corny, but hearing that you care is just the kind of motivation your friend needs.
TeensHealth.com

London's Multicultural Experience

Being one of the largest and most populated cities of Europe, London, the United Kingdom's capital is a cosmopolitan area in which a highly diverse range of peoples, cultures and religions coexist today.
According to a Guardian newspaper editorial, "London in 2005 can lay claim to being the most diverse city ever." With more than 300 different languages spoken in London's streets by its permanent residents, such a claim seems at least reasonable.
During my last London visit, I was astonished by the multicultural experience a tourist like me could have, just by visiting different neighborhoods and talking to a variety of people. In fact, the city is considered today to be an international transport hub and an extremely popular tourist destination, making London one of the most visited world's capitals; a fact that tremendously promotes its multicultural character.
London's metropolitan area has considerably grown over the centuries, especially during the 19th and early 20th centuries increasing industrialization that led to rapid population growth. England's capital was the most populated city of the world until 1925, when New York overtook its immense number of citizens. London continued to grow until World War II. But although urban building constructions were not allowed to take place at the same speed as before, the city's habitats' number continued to increase. Today, London's wider metropolitan area has a population between 12 and 14 million depending on the definition of that area. According to the 2001 census, 27 percent of London's population was born outside the UK and about 29 percent were classified as non-white -non-counting the unknown tens of thousands who did not complete a census form. But even this total does not include the second the third generation immigrants, who have inherited the traditions of their parents and grandparents.
Ethnically diverse and historically rich, London continues to attract people from around the globe who find in its neighborhoods their new home. London in 2006 is uncharted territory. According to sociologists and historians, never have so many different kinds of people tried living together in the same place before. Virtually every race, nation, culture and religion in the world can claim at least a dozen of Londoners. But, what some people see as the greatest experiment of multiculturalism of the last centuries is already challenged by the global political and social developments which have recently begun to point out that harmony and peace are more than ever subject to the powers of race and ethnicity.

John Gibb

The Real Problem

"My name is Dave. I generally function under the persona of 'Father Dave'. That's because I am a priest -an Anglican priest. Apart from being a priest I am also a boxer and all-round martial arts master. I am also a 'youth worker' of sorts.
In some places in the world I would be granted an enormous amount of respect because I am a priest. In this community, I find I receive more respect that I deserve on account of my reputation for hitting people. I personally believe that the only role in that list that really demands respect is the one of 'Youth Worker'
Working with young people is hard. I used to be a young person. I was a hard young person to work with. I was a difficult student at school. I went on to be an argumentative University student and then a troublesome seminary student. I've left behind me a whole string of academic institutions that have been somewhat glad to see the back of me.
Now I've been working with hard and difficult young people in Dulwich Hill for the last twelve years (which may be God's way of paying me back). Some of the young people I've worked with have really got their lives together and gone on to bigger and better things. Quite a number of them have died - mainly from overdoses but also from car accidents (often in stolen cars) and from suicide. Others I'm still working with. They're just not quite as young as they used to be.
People ask me all the time 'Dave, what do you think is the biggest problem facing young people today'. ...
Personally I think the biggest problem I see with our young people is that most of them don't feel themselves to be a part of anything that is bigger than themselves.
Most young people I meet have tragically small horizons, very little ambition, and hence live in very tiny worlds. When I ask teenagers about what they would really like to do with their lives if they could do anything at all, most others speak in terms of getting something, whether that something be a horse or a car or a girl or just 'a lot of money'.
No one I speak to says 'If I could do anything I wanted I'd find a cure for cancer' or 'I'd negotiate a peace deal in the Middle East'. And this reflects, I believe, the fact that most young people I know have very narrow horizons. Indeed, most young persons I know seem to live in worlds that are not much bigger than themselves.
...
One of the most depressing groups of young people I've encountered in the past few years has been at my oldest daughter's school. She attends a different government run selective high school. I won't say which one. NOT THIS ONE! When she fist started school there they asked her whole class 'what did they want to be when they finished school?', and almost every other person there, apart from her, said 'a lawyer'.
...
There was a time when we used to speak of the 'idealism of youth'. What's happened to that? When did youthful idealism get replaced by this 'I want to make a lot of money' mentality? Why do people who should know better want to make a 'lot of money'? Is it because you think you need a lot of money in order to survive? You don't! Is it because you think 'if I have a lot of money I will be really important and people will look up to me?' GET A LIFE!
...
Friends, I do not think that there is any greater tragedy in this community than a highly trained intelligent young person who has all the gifts and abilities necessary to really make a difference in this society, but who has no idea where to direct those gifts and abilities. It's like having a powerful loaded weapon and not caring where it's aiming when it goes off.
This is the tragedy: that most of our young people, I fear, drug-addicted and not drug-addicted, well educated as well as less well educated, winners as well as losers, live a life wherein 'my life is basically about me'. That's a tragedy."
David B. Smith

901/902 Reading Activity

Teenage gambling is becoming more and more of a problem with each passing year. Teenagers can gamble on video games with their friends, gamble online, and engage in poker games with friends. This problem is deepening as more and more teenagers engage in gambling in one form or another.
Studies have shown that gambling in teenagers is on the rise and that it does not seem to be slowing down. The glamorizing of poker games by celebrities on television has had a negative impact on teenagers.
These teens believe that gambling is the road to easy money and huge sums of cash. They believe gambling to be an exciting dreamworld that they want to soon become part of.
Gambling addiction can occur very easily in these teens because of the adrenaline high that happens while engaging in a gambling activity. Studies have also shown that teens can become addicted very fast, and that it is much harder to break the gambling addiction habit when starting at such a young age.

The effects of a teen gambling problem are as follows:
1. Cutting school, and having unexplained absences.
2. Poor grades that become worse and worse
3. Money problems and stealing money from parents.
4. Constantly needing money for poorly explained reasons.
5. Preoccupation with gambling and social isolation, except with gambling friends.
6. Engaging in forms of illegal behavior.
7. Use of drugs and alcohol.
8. Unexplained mood changes.
9. Poor sleep habits and hygiene.

So what do parents do when they suspect that their teenager has a gambling problem or gambling addiction? Because every situation is different, there is no "one size fits all answer". However, there are a few things that you can do.

1. Insist that your teenager visits a counselor or therapist. A specialist in gambling addiction will be your best bet. Your first session will be known as an intervention.
2. Make sure that your teenager has no access to cash or credit cards and keep your cash and credit cards locked up so your teen has no access to this.
3. Your teen will most likely not admit that he or she has a gambling problem or gambling addiction. This does not matter at the beginning, however. You are the parent and you can decide the intervention.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Teenage-Gambling-Addiction-is-a-Real-Problem

The Golden Rule


The golden rule is endorsed by all the great world religions; Jesus, Hillel, and Confucius used it to summarize their ethical teachings. And for many centuries the idea has been influential among people of very diverse cultures. These facts suggest that the golden rule may be an important moral truth.
Let's consider an example of how the rule is used. President Kennedy in 1963 appealed to the golden rule in an anti-segregation speech at the time of the first black enrollment at the University of Alabama. He asked whites to consider what it would be like to be treated as second-class citizens because of skin color. Whites were to imagine themselves being black - and being told that they couldn't vote, or go to the best public schools, or eat at most public restaurants, or sit in the front of the bus. Would whites be content to be treated that way? He was sure that they wouldn't -and yet this is how they treated others. He said the "heart of the question is ... whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated."

The golden rule is best interpreted as saying: "Treat others only in ways that you're willing to be treated in the same exact situation." To apply it, you'd imagine yourself in the exact place of the other person on the receiving end of the action. If you act in a given way toward another, and yet are unwilling to be treated that way in the same circumstances, then you violate the rule.

To apply the golden rule adequately, we need knowledge and imagination. We need to know what effect our actions have on the lives of others. And we need to be able to imagine ourselves, vividly and accurately, in the other person's place on the receiving end of the action. With knowledge, imagination, and the golden rule, we can progress far in our moral thinking.

The golden rule is best seen as a consistency principle. It doesn't replace regular moral norms. It isn't an infallible guide on which actions are right or wrong; it doesn't give all the answers. It only prescribes consistency -- that we not have our actions (toward another) be out of harmony with our desires (toward a reversed situation action). It tests our moral coherence. If we violate the golden rule, then we're violating the spirit of fairness and concern that lie at the heart of morality.

The golden rule, with roots in a wide range of world cultures, is well suited to be a standard to which different cultures could appeal in resolving conflicts. As the world becomes more and more a single interacting global community, the need for such a common standard is becoming more urgent.

http://www.jcu.edu/philosophy/gensler/goldrule.htm

1 March 2010

Today...

St David's Day is celebrated in Wales on 1 March, in honour of St David (Dewi Sant), the patron saint of Wales.
Who was St David?
St David (Dewi Sant was a Celtic monk, abbot and bishop, who lived in the sixth century. He spread the word of Christianity across Wales.
The most famous story about Saint David tells how he was preaching to a huge crowd and the ground is said to have risen up, so that he was standing on a hill and everyone had a better chance of hearing him.

St David's Day is commemorated by the wearing of daffodils or leeks. Both plants are traditionally regarded as national emblems.
There are many explanations of how the leek came to be adopted as the national emblem of Wales. One is that St David advised the Welsh, on the eve of battle with the Saxons, to wear leeks in their caps to distinguish friend from the enemy. Shakespeare mentions, in Henry V, that the Welsh archers wore leeks at the battle of Agincourt in 1415.

On St David's Day, some children in Wales dress in their national costume, which consists of a tall black hat, white frilled cap and long dress.

Story tellers

Today is Mardi Gras.
In this day people use to wear costumes, have a lot of parties and play tricks, in Carnival people don’t take anything seriously.
Well, I’m interested in knowing what the real Mardi Gras is like, I mean, the traditional Mardi Gras so…
... let’s go to New Orleans, the city which celebrates the traditional Mardi Gras! Now I’m looking for my brother’s new machine, it takes us to where we want! Oh, it’s right here!
(5 minutes later)
I am here in the street and I’m seeing the children playing and a multitude of people watching street shows, during all day and night! I can feel the joy and happiness on people’s face. The show is so much fun!
Do you know that the symbol colors of Mardi Gras are: green, yellow and purple? They symbolize faith, power and justice, respectively.
Carnival is one of the most popular parties in the world! And Carnival does nobody any harm!
(5 minutes later, back at home)
OK, I’m here again. I really enjoyed the experience to go to New Orleans in my brother’s new machine, it works! (Finally… AHAH!) Well, I think I will ask my parents to go to New Orleans on Mardi Gras every year!
What about you? What costume are you going to wear?
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