Nimavenl - Nicole's Random Ramblings

Each of us Is all of us. I signed up for Chabad's Daily Dose emails a while ago and love reading them. These wonderful pearls of wisdom always make me think about life, humanity, religion, faith, God, the world, myself... They make me think about what truly matters in this life and in this world, about the difference between what is actually and truly important and what is only important because we (or the world) make it so. Your Daily Dose of Jewish Wisdom: A team, a society, a world is healthy when each member says, "If I don't add in my two bits, the whole system will fail." Not just any two bits, but the two bits that belong to you alone. No one is here just because everyone else is here. No system can function from the top-down alone. Because each of us—and everything that was created—has a spark of the Divine. So that each of us is all of us. A photo posted by Chabad.org (@chabadorg) on Mar 7, 2016 at 10:53am PST

While I'm not a self-help guru, a Professor or a researcher, I am a reader and a blogger - someone who sees a lot of articles online with titles like " Five steps to a new you" or " Six ways to change the world" or " Seven things you need to know right now!"  Most of the time, titles like that make me laugh. After all, the whatever-many steps that worked for whoever wrote the article may not work for me or anyone else. This blog post is entitled "How To Fix The World In Five Simple Steps" not because I believe that these five steps will actually 'fix' the world but precisely because titles like this one make me laugh. Because they make me curious yet also make me think Let's see what this author comes up with... These five steps may not fix the world, however I hope this article will make you think. Step One: What works for you may not work for another Realise that your system, *your* way of seeing the world, of believing, of ...

Reading about ongoing acts of terror and destruction around the world and people who use their interpretation of religious teachings as an excuse to hurt or kill others makes me wonder about humanity, makes me wonder if we are really as smart, special and evolved as we like to believe. With all we think we know, with all we've learnt about the world and about the universe, everything we've achieved in fields like science, technology and medicine, somehow many of us still seem to believe that it is right or just to kill living beings, to keep people as slaves, to treat others as property and hurt people for not following rules some believe are right. Last week, I wrote this post entitled Violence, Death, Destruction... in which I wrote about a number of horrible attacks that took place, attacks by people who support terror, brutality and injustice. Wanting to write about what's going on in the world yet desiring to write something positive and inspiring instead of a do...

As social media seems to explode about the Supreme Court of the United States of America's (SCOTUS) decision to legalise gay marriage in the US and Twitter can't seem to stop talking about how great the world is, I have to admit that there's this voice in the back of my mind that wants to tell Americans "Welcome to the club! Glad that you finally made it..." For a country that prides itself on its inclusiveness and democratic values, why did it have to take so long to legalise marriage for all people? The U.S. is now among nearly two dozen countries that allow same-sex marriage nationwide: http://t.co/GDlydLBCWW pic.twitter.com/awVwTfyHXi — PewResearch Religion (@PewReligion) June 26, 2015 As the above map shows, there are many other countries where marriage is legal for all couples, regardless of their gender. In fact, both of my countries - The Netherlands and New Zealand - have already legalised gay marriage. According to the data on the website, The...

In America, nine people were brutally murdered yesterday in a church in Charleston, North Carolina. Horrible, unbelievable. My Twitter feed hasn't stopped telling me about it, newspapers are writing about it, people are blogging about it. Nine people who were not fighting or making war or killing or maiming or hurting others. Nine people, present in a house of worship. Non-combatants. Just people. Like you and me. Now dead because one man wanted to kill them. Perhaps he believed he should, perhaps he thought it was his right, perhaps he was mentally unstable, perhaps he was a very disturbed SOB. I don't know. I do know that nine innocent people are dead because someone chose to kill them. Nine black people are dead, because one white man chose to kill them. It makes me so sad yet so angry to live in a world where people do this to each other. We are all human, all one huge and extremely diverse family, all one people. And yesterday one human being chose to kill nine of his fami...

Such a simple message... Yet so hard for so many... Different does not equal wrong or less. Different simply means unique and special!   Don't Hate What You Don't Understand! #imagequote #quoteoftheday pic.twitter.com/R7zjfZnJxm — The Quote Today (@TheQuoteToday) June 10, 2015

Very interesting video by The Journey of Purpose (TJOP)

These words were written thousands of years ago, in a book known and read by millions upon millions over the years - possible the most well-known book in the entire world. This knowledge is not something we only figured out yesterday, so to speak. How sad that humanity still doesn't seem to get this basic truth. “Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath . . .” — Ecclesiastes 3:19 (A Quote from the Bible / Tanakh) The heartbreaking effects that humans have on our planet | Mashable Providing a little more context: I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all c...

The UK's Daily Mail writes that actress Lena Headey - who many will know as Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones - is expecting a baby girl in about six weeks. On the website of Plan International USA , she  writes a guest blog post entitled " My Daughter " with some very inspiring words for her future daughter. As she's a famous actress known by millions around the world, her words reach a lot of people. They reached me and hopefully, through this post, they'll reach a few more people. "The ever-present abuse of social and human rights in our world keeps me consciously awake, grateful, and humble."  I got to know Lena Headey as Sarah Connor in television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles . She played the mother of John Connor, the young man who will one day lead the human revolution against the machines known as Terminators. Yes - that tough as nails Sarah Connor who stops at nothing to protect her son and with him, the future of humani...

Nature in Yellow | Nimavenl Nature is beautiful. Each and every day. Each and every way. Just as we all are. Each and every day. Each and every way. Period. Our world is such a beautiful and amazing place, yet too often we disregard the beauty of nature and of humanity in favour of fighting, squabbling and making war. We oppress people and try to rule their lives, some we even try to kill because we don't agree with their ways, their thinking, their religion or simply because we don't like the colour of their skin. Will we ever learn to love, respect and cherish our fellow human beings, simply as they are? “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” ~ Nelson Mandela

It scares me how little we care about what we are doing to the only home we have. We Blew It: A Time Line of Human Impact on the Planet http://t.co/eOKSYaJ5A1 pic.twitter.com/cveFm9XXI8 — VICE (@VICE) May 8, 2015 We fight. We argue. We use. We abuse.  We waste. We pollute. The next day, we do the same thing. All over again. Will we ever learn to care about the future of our planet and the human race?

Only weeks after a 7.8 magnitude quake struck Nepal, another 7-pointer (7.3 this time) has hit the same region. The first quake caused a lot of damage and thousands of deaths. It was felt not just in Nepal but in surrounding countries as well. The second earthquake earlier today has, according to news reports, caused at least 30 40 57 66 deaths and injured hundreds thousands. No doubt the numbers will continue to rise. As the hash-tags #NepalEarthquake and #prayforNepal trend on Twitter, I can't help but think of what the poor people of Nepal must be going through. After losing so much (and so many) already, people in one of the world's poorest regions again go through agony, suffering and heartbreak. Everyone has lost a relative, a friend or a neighbour, or all of them in #Gorkha . http://t.co/e1XjISSAee pic.twitter.com/Sr096cyjSP — Nepali Times (@nepalitimes) May 11, 2015 Having lived in Napier, New Zealand for several years, I am no stranger to earthquakes...

I took this photo of white flowers / white buds on a tree branch a few days ago. It was a warm and sunny day, the sky was a gorgeous blue and there was just enough wind to provide a pleasant breeze. A perfect day to stare up at the trees and the sky, to enjoy the beauty right there and all around me. I walk past this tree almost daily however rarely stop to actually look up at the beauty above. How much beauty and how many happy moments have I missed, walking past without looking up? White flowers can have different meanings depending on country, culture and context - purity and innocence, perfection, or death and mourning. A quick online search for the symbolism of white flowers tells me they are "Often associated with innocence, humility, and reverence" ( Teleflora ) as well as purity, honesty and perfection ( Flower Shopping ). Today all those meanings feel appropriate. As The Netherlands remembers those who died in World War Two , I am drawn to the diary of a young girl...

Today there are elections in The Netherlands. We vote twice today, once to elect new members of the provincial councils and once to elect new members of the water boards. Today people will vote about the future of the country, about how we want our country to be, who we want in government, who we want in power. Today we speak out about what matters to us by voting. As I sit here writing this I am still trying to decide which party to vote for in the provincial council elections, which is why I haven't been to vote yet. When it comes to the water boards, I know exactly which party I will vote for and why. In case you're curious, I'll be voting for Water Natuurlijk because their vision best matches my own. To read about why water boards exist in The Netherlands, check out DutchNews.nl's excellent article " Why you should vote for your local water board? A dijkgraaf explains all " which really does explain the importance of water management in The Netherland...

Women are special, amazing, delicate, strong, powerful, mighty, dedicated, loving, caring, compassionate, intelligent, brave, honourable, beautiful, smart, kind and yes - they are  heroic fighters too! Tomorrow is World Women's Day, a perfect opportunity to speak up about women who inspire me. " International Women's Day (8 March) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. In some places like China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria, International Women's Day is a national holiday. "  Source: International Women's Day website Brave Kurdish women are battling those trying to eradicate them, theirs and their way of life: ISIS and others who think and believe as they do. This year, World Women's Day starts in Kurdistan, which means it feels very right to look to Kurdish women as women the whole world can be proud of and look up to - women who stand up for what is just and right, who fight f...

Have you ever smiled when hearing a favourite quote or instantly liked someone because of the book they happened to be gushing about? Language connects us and words are powerful. The way we use them says a lot about who we are as people and as a society. Personally, I'd love to live in a world where insulting or belittling others is unncessary and hurting others using words is a thing of the past. A world where people talk to each other, accept and respect others as they are and do not feel the need to try to change people just because they don't happen to think or believe as we do. I am very much in favour of free speech and believe it is extremely important that people are able to honestly say (and write) what they think or feel, without having to fear for their lives. However I also believe that it is important that we respect others as they are, without belittling them using words or actions and without the need to insult the choices people have made in their lives or be...

Some days I wonder if humanity is doomed to fail at being human and humane. Some days I wonder if Europe is gearing up for a do-over of the nineteen-thirties and nineteen-forties. Some days I wonder if our entire world will end in flames and fumes, dust and rubble. Some days I wonder if some trigger-happy madman will nuke the entire world to Kingdom Come. What are we doing to each other? Will we ever stop trying to kill and hurt other human beings? Will we ever learn that true world peace will only happen when we all learn to live together, when we learn to respect our fellow human beings and understand that our way may not be their way?