Values

The five values that I thought I have and should use are:
· Adventure
· Money
· Being liked
· Trust
· Fun

I think that these values are important in the following ways;

Adventure, is useful to have in your life because it could mean stepping out of your comfort zone and doing this can help you achieve things that you thought you couldn’t. I have done so in a sporting situation (soccer), I was asked to play up a year for the first time and I didn’t really want to do it at first because I didn’t think I was good enough. But my Mum kept telling me I would be fine as long as I played my best, so I did and I got commended by the coach and the players at the end, which made me feel really good. In the end, I kept on playing with them for the rest of the season, as well as my other team.

Money, you should give as if you expect nothing in return, especially money to poor people or to God, for instance, because in the long run, even though you don’t realise it you can receive many things in return, such as happiness, joy or even sometimes tangible things. In my life, I like giving money to people in need and also to God (tithes and offerings at church) because it makes me feel good and that I have done something to help someone.

Being liked, it is good to have close friends because (I think) you can always talk to them if you have any problems, if anything good happens or even just for a chat. One person that you might want to like you is your ‘boss’ because if he knows that you are reliable, he may give you something you need or want, such as a pay rise or a promotion.

Fun, it is important that you allow time for fun in your life, including times of stress because it can help you relax and calm down over any problems that you may have. In my life, I find that if I am stressed about something, such as an assignment for instance, I go outside and play for a while. This then calms me down and I can go back inside and get back to working on the assignment without as much stress.

Trust, it is important to have trust in people and also for people to have trust in you because if you feel that you need to talk to someone about things, you know that you can trust them and that they would not tell others, if asked not to. In some cases, it is good to be trusted by your teachers because then you would be allowed to do things that others aren’t allowed to do, due to a lack of trust by disobeying orders, being disruptive or doing things they shouldn’t.

So, by having these values, people will think much more of you, you will feel joyful and happy and things might even go your way, you never know.

Sacred and Profane - Events in the Media

The two events that I have chosen are the Victorian bushfires, news report found at http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/national/nation-mourns-bushfire-victims/2009/02/22/1235237427907.html and the argument that whether female muslims should wear their burquas into banks/stores or not.

On the 14th February 2009 bushfires had started to strike many towns in Victoria, in this tragic event lots of people died trying to save their homes and others trying to escape. But many also survived by listening to the warnings, gathering important things and leaving to go somewhere safe prior to the fires.

After more than a week of bushfires blazing through towns, people began searching other people’s burnt down homes for valuable items and stealing them.
If you asked me, I would say this is utterly disrespectful for the people who are suffering from this terrible event. These thieves obviously do not have a soft spot for people in distress which is just awful. These thieves would be stealing (for some families) the only things to remember their lost ones by.

Please view this video of Today Tonight before reading this part of the blog.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHvKtvDudgk

Do you think women should wear burquas in shops and banks? ......... Well I don’t!

Sorry, but I think that if they come to live in our country they should abide by our laws, especially if women who go over to their country have to abide by their religion, which is pretty much their law.

I think that any staff at banks/stores should have the right to ask the mmuslim women politely to remove at least their face covering, so that they can tell who the person is. But if they refuse to do so, I believe that the staff can ask them to leave (politely).

I can understand where the staff are coming from with this argument because people wearing burquas can easily hide and steal objects underneath their covering. This is the only reason that they are asking the women to remove their burquas.

But coming from a female muslims point of view, this is a sacred thing to them and also a law in their country. If they are seen with skin showing (other than their eyes), it may 'turn on' men which could then lead to sexual assault. So it is understandable why they seem to wear the burquas in other countries aswell.