Disqus - Latest Comments for radioactivegrowth

Re: http://radioactivegrowth.tumblr.com/post/11529451476

radioactivegrowth — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 03:51:45 -0000

MAK daddy you are GENIUS!! The anger I've got under control. Other things...like dealing with C I'm still mastering. BUT if ever I'm tempted to reach out to/respond to C all I have to do is threaten myself with Nihari and BAM those thoughts will surely be banished. Seriously though. I've decided that if I'm inclined, I will find the nearest Nihari spot and either remind myself of the principle or condition myself to never want to engage again! thanks...

Re: Is the soul perfect or flawed? Do angels have souls?

radioactivegrowth — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 04:59:07 -0000

is this convo visible?

Re: http://radioactivegrowth.tumblr.com/post/10116089660

radioactivegrowth — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 00:55:45 -0000

What a beautiful comment! It's nice to hear from you :)

Re: God vs. Science

radioactivegrowth — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 13:33:31 -0000

Ask a real scientist about his interactions with God in the lab. I think you'll be surprised and happy to know that its under a microscope or in the middle of research that God makes himself so visible. The problem is that as humans we latch on to the sexier stories - the ones that defy the idea of God and that pit science against him. And those are the ones that sell - the big headlines, the "popular" authors. Media, media, media. I'd explain this better but my head is too cloudy right now. Back in the day, the guys who made all the important discoveries were also God's biggest fans. Dissing God is just a trend..

Re: http://radioactivegrowth.tumblr.com/post/8384143266

radioactivegrowth — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 01:08:14 -0000

Such awesome food for thought from everyone - thank you!

1. I like the idea of restoring balance, especially when you think of the bigger picture. Brings a little peace and comfort to know you can potentially stand in the way of never.
2. Language does limit, for sure. But the finality of loss as a concept - thats an emotional language that everyone feels. Even elephants (who have one of the most sophisticated mourning rituals amongst non-human mammals) understand the idea that they will never seen their kin alive again. You can't bring the dead back.
3. I think always IS forever, forever is just the superlative of always (think good, better, best:: sometimes, always, forever): forever = for all time, always = continues to happen (implicitly, for all time). In the same way, never is also a superlative - you can't get a stronger "no" than never.
4. Fantastic point about context. Never is a negative word, by definition, but not necessarily in principle. Definitionally speaking, it negates the part of speech its associated with (never pretty = NOT ever pretty, never stop = does NOT stop). Principally, I'm not sure that your argument works YET. Someone could very well become poor, or develop cancer at some point. As a human, I can try and promise you that harm will never come your way, but I'm human and that is a false promise. Can anyone ever truthfully dictate a never beyond God? Or as Nazneen said, are we limited, our only power here is to attempt to get in the way of a force greater than us?

Damn you, never.

Re: http://radioactivegrowth.tumblr.com/post/8384143266

radioactivegrowth — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 20:33:16 -0000

So insightful Narmeen! And while at first I almost dismissed it as a cop-out, I actually really love the reasoning: if only God is forever, then nothing else can be, because how can anything compare to the relationship we have and security we find with God? Love it! Makes me feel better about the forever lie. Never still hurts a little bit though... :)

Re: http://radioactivegrowth.tumblr.com/post/5413719047

radioactivegrowth — Thu, 12 May 2011 11:57:08 -0000

Oh trust me... You'll be FINE. If I - with no legit teaching background whatsoever - can have parents tell me 'I don't what you're doing in class but just keep doing it!!' then I have no doubt you're going to rock the socks off of whatever center you go to!!

Sent from Zahra's iPhone

Re: http://radioactivegrowth.tumblr.com/post/1062992109

radioactivegrowth — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 19:12:40 -0000

Being honest with yourself about what it is that you really want :)

If you're setting a benchmark, do you know why? Is it preventing you from getting to a larger goal? Do you know what that larger goal is? Do you still want that larger goal, or was that something that a different version of who you are right now wanted?

And whose ethics are you compromising? Society's? Your family ethics? It's coincidental (or is it?) that you respond to this now - I'm teaching the topic of values to my tenth graders and I'll tell you the same thing I'm telling them:

Sometimes, when we try to think about our values, we think about the ones that we "should" have, without taking a look at the ones we are already using everyday. If our end goal is _______ (chances are it falls in the realm of personal happiness and/or spiritual enlightenment) then are our values, which tend to reflect in our decisions, going to help us in getting to that goal? Perhaps our values should guide our decisions, rather than simply being reflected in them.

1. Figure out what you really want (not what society tells you).
2. Figure out what values you will have to demonstrate consistently to help you get there.
3. Use those values to help you make decisions.
4. Set benchmarks for those decisions you know you will regret later when you remember to look at the big picture.
5. If you find yourself compromising your ethics, go back to #1, because you're not being honest with yourself.

We never do things that we don't want to do.

Trust me on this.

Re: A Sorta Fairytale - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?

radioactivegrowth — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:29:37 -0000

Fayyaz I love this comment!! You are so bang on...it didn't occur to me that it is when I am in doubt, or when I am saturated with signs and so unbelievably thankful that I am pushed toward my faith. If it wasn't for doubt, I don't think that I would have been this strong. Your comment about pathways reminds me of this quote that I saw on a friend's profile:

“There is a Native American parable about a grandfather who says, “I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is the vengeful, angry one. The other wolf is the loving, compassionate one.” When asked which wolf will win the fight in his heart, the old man replies, “The one I feed.” ”

I feel like in matters of faith, like you said, there are two pathways - for some, that doubt leads them down a path that reveals God if that is what they are looking for, in others it confirms what they want to hear: that He doesn't exist. I guess what matters is what you do when that doubt arises, what wolf you feed..

Thanks for the insightful comment - I miss that! I'll keep writing, you keep challenging!

Re: http://radioactivegrowth.tumblr.com/post/73010975

radioactivegrowth — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:24:44 -0000

lol don't tempt me - i would so much rather turn in 10,000 words of blogging than reporting on research :(

Re: Teaching by way of Experiential Learning

radioactivegrowth — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:50:58 -0000

I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My heart is racing :)

Re: http://radioactivegrowth.tumblr.com/post/413032302

radioactivegrowth — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:14:11 -0000

oh boy...
so you know how guys refer to hot women as "foxes"?
So like, when you marry a hot women she starts to not look so hot...and men sometimes refer to not hot women as "cows" - so how do you turn a fox (hot woman) into a cow (not hot woman)? you marry her...

get it? I feel like i just broke that down like a logic problem from 10th grade geometry. Even I don't find this joke funny anymore. :(

way to kill it for me, pants. (fake smile.)

Re: http://radioactivegrowth.tumblr.com/post/406756778

radioactivegrowth — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:44:12 -0000

Hey Aleena!

The fall back to reality never gets less sucky, no matter how many times I make the journey! Thank you for the readership and the kind words - you've got me blushing!! I've made it my goal to keep up with posting - it's good therapy when I make the time! Let's see what happens... :)

Re: http://radioactivegrowth.tumblr.com/post/398772675

radioactivegrowth — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:43:11 -0000

Well put, star.

I feel though, that it’s not so simple because, unless you’ve reached crazy levels of self-satisfaction (no one I know), you react to a situation because it matters to you. So forget the random guy on the tube who messes with you. Think about someone you care to sustain a relationship with. If they do you wrong (or right) and you don’t “react” you risk more than someone messing with your good mood. You risk a change in that relationship that you don’t want. If you don’t respond to Tommy’s gesture of good will, he might think you’re a stingy bastard and not stick his neck out for you in the future. You sort of have to respond.

If I continue to let this guy I know yell at me, it’s not a situation that doesn’t reverberate into the rest of our interactions. Depending on my reaction to his yelling, the future of our relationship will change, i.e. if I sit there and take his yelling and don’t respond, despite the fact that it makes me upset, then he will think it’s okay to continue to treat me this way even though it absolutely is not. If I respond with yelling, he might decide that I’m not someone he ever wants to talk to again. He might also realize being yelled at doesn’t feel good and consequently, learn his lesson and stop yelling at me. Either way, my reaction, or lack there of, will potentially cause a shift in his thinking/our relationship. Your actions send a message, but what message do you want to send? Is it more important to stick to your guns and not react while knowing that you are risking long-term damage to your relationship?
I’ll be honest – if someone doesn’t treat me right, I will without warning, sever ties. I won’t treat that person to his or her own medicine – why spend negative energy on someone who doesn’t do me right? I’ll just drop the connection and I won’t look back. But in my moments alone, I will question my behavior. Was it worth the loss of that relationship? Next time, should I just give in and “react” – should I compromise my values for the sake of not burning a bridge?

Re: http://radioactivegrowth.tumblr.com/post/377365301

radioactivegrowth — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:10:42 -0000

RK did not create those words (I asked the same thing) but hey - some credit goes to finding them and putting them on that card!! And btw, she still does have a blog. I'll let her pass on the info.. ;)

Re: A Sorta Fairytale - The "List"

radioactivegrowth — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:10:00 -0000

Mmm unfortunately, Chicago is not where I will be transitioning to, and it has certainly never been the cause of heartache, nor has it ever even inspired a "transition list." Indeed, Chicago is no transition - it's home and hands down, hands down my favorite city in the world - no convincing necessary, buddy. The problem is Houston, where (when you've been born and bred in a city like Chicago) it's hard to find anything to be excited about. When you're depressed, even a "disappointing" list like the one above is something to be elated about - and that's exactly the point. But don't worry Mexican food is definitely on the list (see #9 and #10) - Clark St or otherwise, London just doesn't hold a candle. And you're right - Obama is definitely a HUGE plus that's missing from the list!!

Re: Teaching by way of Experiential Learning

radioactivegrowth — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:08:25 -0000

oh i have missed you my love.

And definitely agree 100% with Nadia!

Re: Teaching by way of Experiential Learning

radioactivegrowth — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:33:58 -0000

I totally didn't get it until i read the explanation and then thought about it...hard.

Re: Random Acts of Rebellion

radioactivegrowth — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:44:54 -0000

get out of here! that's awesome! I took it down because I wasn't feeling it - but I guess you were? :) Writing publicly is hard for me - I always feel self-conscious and worried that it's not cool enough or well thought out enough and that post in particular needed some more time to sit with me. It's in the queue for tomorrow though...I was hoping I'd feel better about it by then and your comment helps :) Thanks for THAT, my dear Erum.

ps Gusto is a fabulous word! I'm looking forward to a blurb about how these last 10 days go for you. My friend's father said: The first 10 days you drag, the second ten days you crawl, but those last ten days, you fly. What a feeling! :)

Re: Teaching by way of Experiential Learning - A Postsecret that very much could have been mine…

radioactivegrowth — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:12:47 -0000

I love this one! Echo echo echo!!

Re: Teaching by way of Experiential Learning - I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in...

radioactivegrowth — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:10:45 -0000

feeling this one...and grabbing it from you.

Re: Teaching by way of Experiential Learning - The final Sound Cafe for students of the IIS- I...

radioactivegrowth — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:02:19 -0000

thanks for returning the favor ;)

Re: Now That Is Sexy

radioactivegrowth — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 21:24:05 -0000

I know I know - there is a danger of developing keloids. I'm trying desperately to keep looking at pictures of infected piercings every time the urge comes along. If nothing else, I'm hoping that at the end of all of this, I will have mastered the art of will power. Although, according to my track record, cravings don't go away until they are satisfied..