Today I want to talk about diversity. In the last 6 years I had the chance to experience it first hand. A trend that I’ve been noticing lately happening around me, is that people take diversity for granted or do not really understand it. For many people diversity lies in the color of the skin, speech, culture or in names of exotic countries they’ve never heard of.

There’s more in embracing diversity than accepting one’s skin color, culture or speech. It’s also about being open to different ideas and ways of thinking. I believe diversity lies in thought, in the way people come up with their ideas, in the way they express themselves, in accepting the fact that no two people are alike.

Sadly, people fear what they can’t understand and most people fear diversity. I see this everywhere around me, people labeling one another, labeling countries and cultures, labeling ways of thought, rejecting unconventional thinking, fearing the unknown instead of embracing it. To emphasize this, below is a video that I strongly relate to this post.

I think that “The only thing we need to fear is fear itself.” (Franklin D. Roosevelt).

Over and out,
The Lion.

Why? Because I get the coolest feeling walking down the street, listening to my favorite tune on my super phone, having my black sunglasses on, singing along with the tune I’m listening to. On the way to work I look for peoples faces and expressions. Some are worried, some sad, some bitter, some happy, some laughing. It’s gonna sound stupid, but I try to give a genuine smile to the worried, sad or bitter faces. Sometimes I get a weird look back, but most of the time I see their faces light up, lips stretching, worries and bitter disappear and I get the same genuine smile back. How is this possible, that something so little as a genuine smile can make worries, bitterness, sadness fade away? By giving away so little, I’ve lighten up someone’s day, perhaps only by a brief moment, but it’s something. It’s like building up my happy mood on my way to work and it’s sometimes helping me go trough a hard day.

You might wonder why I started this…

Not so log ago, I decided to go see a friend of mine. He was very focused on something he was working on the computer and didn’t see me walking in. When I was a few feet away from his desk he became aware of me. He raised his head and I saw something I would normally take for granted, would not even notice: from the focused strained figure, his face lit up as he was recognizing me, and smiled. I can’t describe the feeling but it was like all was moving in slow motion and the poor illuminated room radiated from his smile. Everything shined for a moment as he stood up an rushed to shake my hand. He was happy to see me, I triggered his reaction. I’m 26 and it took most of my conscious life to learn why we smile, to realize how powerful and meaningful a smile is.

The society we live in teaches us to take a smile for granted. It teaches us that a smile is just a smile, a simple social rule, feeling and meaning less. A smile is just a smile …

No! A genuine smile is a response that is triggered by a deep reaction in the person standing in from of you, it’s offered because of real feelings and emotions and is not to be taken for granted. A genuine smile is more powerful than worries, anger, sadness. It offers you comfort, it reassures you that you’re loved, that he/she genuinely cares.

That’s it’s for today. In the background is one of the songs I listen on my way to work. I hope it brightens up your day. And here’s a genuine smile from me :D.

The Lion.

Bellow is another piece of my favorite music. I’ve discovered it quite recently while I was surfing the net. I think it’s the masterpiece of Peter Doherty, a singer that was quite unknown to me till recently. Open “Lion’s Radio” and scroll down to listen to it. Enjoy.

Peter Doherty – Music When The Lights Go Out
Is it cruel or kind not to speak my mind,
and to lie to you rather than hurt you?
Well I’ll confess all of of my sins
after several large gins but still I’ll hide from you,
hide what’s inside from you.

And alarm bells ring
when you say your heart still sings
when you’re with me.
Won’t you please forgive me?

But I no longer hear the music
Oh no no no no no

And all the memories of the pubs
and the clubs and the drugs and the tubs
we shared together,
Will stay with me forever.

But all the highs and the lows
and the to’s and the fro’s,
They left me dizzy,
Oh won’t you please forgive me
I no longer hear the music
Oh no no no no

Well I no longer hear the music when the lights go out,
Love goes cold in the shades of doubt
The strange fate in my mind is all too clear.
Music when the lights come on
The girl I thought I knew has gone,
And with her my heart had disappeared…

Well I no longer hear the music
Oh no no no no no
All the memories of the fights and the nights
and the blue lights, all the kites
We flew together,
I thought they’d fly forever.

But all the highs and the lows
and the to’s and the fro’s
They left me dizzy,
Oh won’t you please forgive me

But I no longer hear the music
Oh no no no no no

Music when the lights go out
Love goes cold in the shades of doubt
The strange fate in my mind it’s all too clear.

Music when the lights come on
The girl I thought I knew has gone
And With her my heart had disappeared

Well I no longer hear the music
Oh no no no no no
And no longer hear the music

The Lion.

Although I have this song since last year I never thought of putting it in my blog. It’s one of my favorite songs, because of the message it sends out. The song’s I’m talking about is: Walters & Kazha – The War Is Not Over. Just start “Lion’s Radio” and scroll down.

Walters & Kazha – The War Is Not Over

I slowly walk into the night around
To see how dreams of people die
They gently fall from windows all around
And crash against the ground like glass
And I’m so sorry I’m so helpless in this angry world
If only I could change it for one day

The war is not over everyone knows it
It’s just a reason to make us believe
That someone’s the loser someone’s the winner
To make us believe that’s the way it should be
But I don’t wanna believe

In the story they all tell this fairytale has gone to far
I take a step and dare myself to be free
To see how beautiful we are that everyone can be a star
If only we would start believe in dreams
Believe in who we are

The Lion.

Last weekend I found out that no matter how hard I try to look at people in this way sometimes it’s just not working. People will let you down, sooner or later. It’s unbelievable how vanity, pride and anger can compromise a person. People you helped develop, you believed in, close friends do sometimes things beyond your comprehension. They can’t even explain their actions to themselves. And in this process they use for target practice people you care about, people guilty only of being close to you. Is it fear, lack of character, pure evil or what? I don’t know. It’s always hard to move on and still be able to interact with these people. I for one cannot hate another. I believe that hate only tears you inside up and noting good can come out of it. Also the person you hate, doesn’t care or doesn’t know about it. Loose-Loose situation.

It still takes some time for the initial feelings to wear off. I’ve been trough this a million times and every time it’s the same as the first time. And every time everything changes. Nothing is the same anymore. You will remember it every time one of these people asks you for a favor or in the strangest moments. I hate the way we remember these things! I’ll move on, as always … the faster you pick yourself up, the faster you get back on track. I want to be there for my friends, the ones I hurt unwillingly. Bellow are beautiful songs that help me a lot in these moments. I’m always listening to the lyrics. They’re everything to me. If you want to listen to them, open “Lion’s Radio” at the top of the page and scroll down.

• Lee Ryan – Jump
• Hanson – Believe

Cheers,
The Lion.