Ron A Smith.com

We live in a world of instant gratification. Everything is geared towards you, making you happy and advancing you further. It’s easy to see then not only is this a self centered driven culture, it’s actually encouraged.

In life you are told over and over “you only have one life to live, you might as well do what makes you happy” and a lot of people are attempting just that. It appears though that making oneself happy and being concerned only about oneself are seen as the same.

It would make sense then why there is so much focus on “you.” The trouble and pitfall it appears is that we actually think we can fill this void of “happiness” as if there were a meter to indicate “total happiness.” I haven’t yet met a person who said to me “I’m full on happy, I can’t possibly have another slice.”

The pursuit of happiness is an endless race; never ending and always evolving. There is no satisfaction. People can be happier for a period of time but the need for happiness is always lurking close by. As soon as we accomplish something that makes us happy (food, sex, tv, sports, sleeping) we soon feel lacking and want the exact thing soon there after.

Knowing then that we will never fill this void of happiness says to me how important it should be when attempting to figure out what it is that actually makes us happy. Furthermore how dangerous it can be if we pick things that are destructive to us.

If we can take a minute and admit “I am a selfish person” and really understand that, it will probably help you see what you spend your time doing for the pursuit of happiness.

The more I journey on with life the more I am realizing and becoming disgusted with the time I spend on making myself happy. It’s not that self happiness isn’t important and shouldn’t be pursued, it’s just I see how sad some of the things are that I think make me happy. If we believe that we only have one life to live, it’s sad to know I spend so much time doing rather dull and selfish things with the sparing time I have.

On a brighter note I am finding that the more time I spend with other people; investing, partaking and being of service to, I receive the same sense of happiness that fills my otherwise selfish motives.

I guess what I am trying to say here is that finding, chasing and becoming happy isn’t bad. Not at all. How we try to attempt it is the problem. I think if we took sometime out of our busy, self orientated lives and actually invested in someone else asking the question “what would make them happy” I think we would quickly come to the conclusion that serving others makes you happy as well, if not more happy; with the added bonus that you took one step away from being a narcissistic prick.

What’s so dangerous about this breeded culture of selfish happiness is that there are roles in a persons life where being selfish cannot exist. Roles like husband, wife, mother, father, etc. Obviously you can see the dilemma. If a person spends their entire life making only them self happy and then become a Dad, can you really get mad or be surprised at that person when they apply their selfish ways to their newly appointed selfless position? Its not that they don’t have the capacity to be selfless and serve in that capacity, it’s that all they know is selfishness and that is a hard habit to break.

People who got an education will defend it to the end; placing it on a pedestal and proclaiming how it is so needed. Well I got me one of those “educations.” 2 Diplomas actually and 6 years later and I can tell you that it was a joke and a waste of money.

The thought of downloading information from a teacher spouting off over the course of an hour or so seems to me now absurd, lacking and a waste of time.

Firstly, with the way technology is I can download books upon books of information onto an ipod that 100 teachers talking for weeks couldn’t contend with.

Secondly, there is so much online content covering any topic that I can learn from the best. People are publishing in video at alarming rates. What better way to learn than to have a video that you can stop, reply and watch at anytime with the convenience you need.

The profession of teaching where it currently stands is dated and is in need of a MAJOR upgrade.
Education isn’t about memorization in this world. It’s about organizing, prioritizing and searching for the right information.

I work in the information technology field. Daily I run into problems that didn’t exist when I went to school. Where do I turn to? The on-line blogging community. People need to start embracing the internet as the best source of information.

Where I would like to see Teaching go:

I want to see teachers as people who inspire people of any age to think differently and encourage creativity.
I am not saying that teaching don’t do this as I met quite a few teachers who spoke greatly into my life.

In the Colleges and Universities there needs to be WAY more emphases on working hands on in the field. Becoming a Lawyer? Schools should be teaming up with active lawyers, letting them assist them in cases and really learning the field.

Schools need to start specializing, even at the high school level. I don’t need to sit in high school until 19 memorizing the periodic table and doing some lame math (over and over again).
Math needs to be practical. Let’s take this math question and apply it to a real life situation. Lets focus more in technology.

I went to my old high school a little while ago thinking I would see rooms more and more converted over to computer rooms. NO. They were closing them down. There were actually less there. I couldn’t believe it.

Black Eyed Peas have officially created the worst song ever.

People in America are finally quitting smoking. But what about the rest of the world?

And here is why the Lotto is really bad….

How many missiles/nukes does the worls have anyway? This article goes into detail.

14 Basic skills every man should know.

Is manual labour making a come back? This article says yes.

A diagram why cheap airlines are….. cheap.

How Power ruin powerful men.

Best Advice rich people ever received.

I just sent this to the Oberver for: Letters to the Editor.

Is it just me or are bouncers taking queues from the movie “Road House” with their teacher being Patrick Swayze?

The industry term bouncer presents an image of someone who will physically break up fights and forcibly eject undesirable patrons. Bouncers are often portrayed in movies as tough, thug-like scrappers who love to fight and it appears Sarnia has employed and embodied that persona.

There’s a common misconception that bouncers have authority to pick someone up and physically remove him or her from the premises for violating a club rule. It is believed that bouncers can use pain compliance holds, full-nelsons, choke holds, wrist locks, and arm bars to manhandle their patrons. This is generally not true. Simply stated bouncers cannot legally use force against unless they are taking someone into custody for a crime or in self-defense. When force is used it must be reasonable. That means no tackling, no punching, no kicking, no choking, no head butts, no piling on top, no hog-ties, and no pain compliance holds.

The authority of a bouncer, in most cases, is the same as any ordinary citizen. Bouncers have no special authority to physically eject a customer who merely becomes intoxicated or verbally obnoxious. As an employee of the nightclub, bouncers can only demand that the undesirable customer leave. If the customer refuses to leave your only legal recourse is to call the police.

“Back in the Day” when I bounced we were trained by a black belted marshal-artist who stressed the importance of self control, restraint and diffusion of aggressive situations.  Now I feel as though Friday and Saturday nights have become UFC episodes with the bar transforming into the octagon.

I stopped bouncing a few years back as I thought it was getting out of hand.  Bouncers began encouraging and gestured collusion.  Planned attacks were sometimes carried out to remove “ex-boyfriends” and other personal vendettas.  Very sad.

I understand there are drunks that get out of hand and require “removing.”  A bouncer does encounter undesirable situations however when did decency, restraint and professionalism get discarded?  Who are bouncing the bouncers?

Facebook is an entertaining place to show “good nights out” and more and more you are seeing pictures of 4 on 1 bouncer brutality; even pictures of 100 pound women being placed in the “chicken wing” by monstrous men.

There are a lot of good, honest bouncers out there performing a good deed.  It’s a shame that they appear to be a dieing breed.

I write this out of concern.  Brutality doesn’t diffuse anything; it only acts as a catalyst for more brutality.  If not a bouncer injuring/killing a patron; then a patron in retaliation injuring/killing a bouncer.

Take your pick.   

Amazing pictures of the fight occurring in Iran over the previous elections

The question of asking if being gay or not is challenged as the wrong question to ask in the first place.

The worlds weirdest Hang over cures

Dads aches are up for sale on e-bay

A message to all you vegans out there.

A cure for HIV. No joke – and it came from Canada!!!!!!

Awesome new documentary: Food Inc
Talks in great length about corporations and food. A must see!!!