Dont Change the World Essay Example for Free

Dont Change the World Essay Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled a prosperous country. One day, he went for a trip to some distant areas of his country. When he was back to his palace, he complained that his feet were very painful, because it was the first time that he went for such a long trip, and the road that he went through was very rough and stony. He then ordered his people to cover every road of the entire country with leather. Definitely, this would need thousands of cows’ skin, and would cost a huge amount of money. Then one of his wise servants dared himself to tell the king, â€Å"Why do you have to spend that unnecessary amount of money? Why don’t you just cut a little piece of leather to cover your feet?†The king was surprised, but he later agreed to his suggestion, to make a â€Å"shoe† for himself.There is actually a valuable lesson of life in this story: to make this world a happy place to live, you better change yourself your heart; and not the world. The Travelers and the Plane Tree Two men were walking along one summer day. Soon it became too hot to go any further and, seeing a large plane tree nearby, they threw themselves on the ground to rest in its shade.Gazing up into the branches one man said to the other: â€Å"What a useless tree this is. It does not have fruit or nuts that we can eat and we cannot even use its wood for anything.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Don’t be so ungrateful,† rustled the tree in reply. â€Å"I am being extremely useful to you at this very moment, shielding you from the hot sun. And you call me a good-for-nothing!†All of God’s creations have a good purpose. Islam teaches us that we should never belittle Allah’s blessings.

Surfing :: Informative, Expository

Surfing The intent of this paper is to introduce the reader to surfing. There are many things to learn about surfing such as its history, surf gear, and safety hints.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Surfing is a water sport that involves planing, â€Å"in a controlled way,† on the sloping portion of a wave as it moves toward shore. The most basic form of the sport is body surfing. It is done without a board. A person first swims toward shore â€Å"to equal the wave speed.† Then the person stiffens the body in order to â€Å"plane† on the front of the wave. Surfing is basically the same as body surfing. The only difference is, instead of stiffening the body, the surfer must stand on a surfboard.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the middle 1950's, surfboards were made of heavy wood. They were handmade and required alot of sanding and filing to make the boards smooth. Today's surfboards are manufactured in a factory using light balsa wood or fiberglass and polyurethane. An added benefit of using these materials is a great reduction in the weight of the boards.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Surfing is becoming more popular each year. For safety, new surfers must be good swimmers. Boards should be checked for cracks and slivers before each use. All surfers should check the water conditions posted at the life guard station before entering the water. Surfing should only be done during the daylight hours and when other people are present. A new beginning surfboard costs $50.00 to $70.00. A helpful device is a leash which attaches around the wrist with velcro to the board. In this way, the board will not drift away from the surfer. A good leash costs $7.00 to $11.00. Surfers might also want to

I Am Sam (Movie)

‘I Am Sam’- Assessment Sam is the main character in ‘I Am Sam’. He faces a number of issues throughout the movie, but the main hardship is to gain custody of his daughter. Sam’s role is a mentally retarded male, with a mental capacity of a seven year old. Sam’s daughter, Lucy, is seven and her teachers fear that Sam’s aptitude is holding her back because she does not want to be smarter than her father. Lucy loves Sam very much, however she knows he was not the average father, as she told her best friend that she was adopted.Lucy is taken away from Sam by the authorities and is only given visitational rights for a couple of hours each week while under supervision. Sam desperately seeks to gain back custody of Lucy. The approach Sam uses to muddle through this adversity, is trying to find a lawyer who can represent him in court. Rita Harrison Williams is a top-notch lawyer and informs Sam he can’t afford her. As a result, Ritaâ€⠄¢s work colleagues assume she would never do Pro Bono because she is too good for that, however to Sam’s advantage, Rita decides to prove them wrong and takes Sam’s case on Pro Bono.This is great for Sam because he gets a top-quality lawyer to represent him in court for free, this illustrates Sam would have never been able to afford a lawyer in the first place, as Sam is aware of this himself, saying â€Å"Yeah, because I make $8. 00 an hour at Starbucks. Per hour. It’s an hourly rate. † To a large extent, I think this tactic had benefited Sam as he had an excellent lawyer, which gave him a better chance to have some rights to Lucy.Rita knows Sam’s chances are slim for getting full custody of Lucy but in the end, with all characters coming to an agreement, Sam gets joint custody of Lucy with her adoptive parents which was of crucial importance both to the relationship between father and daughter and most importantly Lucy having a well balanced upb ringing and not being held back intellectually, emotionally or financially. Without Rita, Sam would have lost all his visiting rights to Lucy and this would have led to the destruction of Sam mentally even further.This is why I believe Rita had a significant impact, with such a successful outcome. This film has changed my views on parents with a disability and them having normal children. Sam realized he couldn’t raise Lucy by himself and yearned for Lucy to have a mother. Sam to Randy (adoptive mother): â€Å"If I tell you a secret, that I can’t do it by myself†¦ because I always wanted Lucy to have a mother†¦ Help. I need somebody. Help. Not just anyone. I believe that mentally retarded people are capable of giving loads of love to a child, they would cherish them heaps, but I don’t think they can give their child/ren the required thought mentally, intellectually or financially. If people with mental disabilities so desire to raise their child, they should be granted joint custody with another sound adoptive family, as in this particular film, thus I don’t know if a vast amount of adoptive parents in this day and age would be accommodating to this kind of arrangement.This movie also portrays to what extent a parent is willing to sacrifice their environment, security and finances both mentally and physically for their child/ren. This movie couldn’t really help me as a person, as I feel it does not relate to me directly, though the clear message I obtained was, there is ‘always a solution’ for an issue, so long as you ‘consider others involved’ and meet half way and ‘compromise’ so you achieve a ‘positive outcome for all’ parties involved, not just for ones self-seeking way.Sam also taught Rita the meaning of love and whether you could endure love single-handedly, however this was very apparent in the film as having a negative outcome if it was solely based on lov e alone. I would rate the movie ‘I Am Sam’ 7 out of 10 because I liked the ideas, morals and story line of the film, but it had some inauspicious aspects to it. The idea to base the movie on a mentally retarded man is unique and I admire plots that are out of the ordinary.However, the critical aspect of the film was, it’s predictability, most of the scenes/settings had a blue tinge to it (e. g. court room, place where authorities were keeping Lucy and Rita’s house) giving the movie/scene a colder, detached feeling, especially in the scenes where you were suppose to have happy tears, the plot was also a tad slow although it was an emotionally touching film, I’d imagine this film could have offended some viewers.Overall, I enjoyed the film and it brought a tear to my eye, though it did not keep me mesmerized, thus loosing focus now and then. I would recommend ‘I am Sam’ to someone wanting to watch a movie that will touch them emotionally or someone trying to ‘overcome adversity’, so they learn ‘compromise’, but otherwise it’s not really a film I would recommend to anyone for the sake of it.

The First Great Awakening By George Whitefield - 1709 Words

The First Great Awakening As stated by one of the fathers of the First Great Awakening, George Whitefield â€Å"True conversion means turning not only from sin but also from depending on self-made righteousness. Those who trust in their own righteousness for conversion hide behind their own good works. This is the reason that self-righteous people are so angry with gospel preachers, because the gospel does not spare those who will not submit to the righteousness of Jesus Christ!† (AZQuotes.com). The First Great Awakening was a movement away from the Roman Catholic Church which is part of the reformation. It was initially led by George Whitefield, Johnathan Edwards, and Martin Luther who started churches as early as the 1300s. The First Great†¦show more content†¦His thoughts were that the Bible should be the only rule of faith because money and political power were destroying the church. One great act Wycliffe did for the Christians in England was to translate the Latin Bible into English. This act enabled the Christians to then be able to read the Bible. The continuation of Wycliffe s beliefs was upheld by John Huss, who was trained in the priesthood. Huss became the dean and eventually the institution head of the University of Prague, in the capital of Bohemia. The people of Bohemia did not agree with the Roman church; therefore, when Huss preached most of the Bohemians agreed with his views. Due to pressure from the king of Naples and Huss s discontinued belief in indulgences, Huss was excommunicated, jailed, and eventually burned at the stake. After the loss of Huss, the next major change in the timeline was the Renaissance. The Renaissance, which is the revival of learning, was during the 1300s. The Renaissance s move to Europe is when the learning became more about the characteristics of religion. The focus on learning helped leaders to look at the background of the church. The leaders learned that the simplicity of faith in the past had been riddled wi th traditions that didShow MoreRelatedReligious Revitalization Movement : The First Great Awakening1658 Words   |  7 PagesReligious Revitalization Movement, The First Great Awakening The First Great Awakening, was a religious revitalization movement that came through the Atlantic region, and even more so in the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s, forever impacting American religion is widely known as the most important event for American religion during the eighteenth century. The First Great Awakening was inspired by an English Methodist known as George Whitefield along with other ministers, when many peopleRead MoreAnalysis Of The First Great Awakening1219 Words   |  5 Pagesfrom late 17th century to early 18th century, the First Great Awakening was a period of religious growth throughout the British American colonies from approximately 1720 to the 1740s. This awakening was led by many religious figures such as John Wesley - a founder of Methodism in the Church of England, George Whitefield - an Anglican who preached throughout the colonies from 1739 to 1740, and Jonathan Edwards - an Apologist of the Great Awakening who led the revival in Northampto n, MassachusettsRead MoreAnalysis of the Great Awakening and Revolutionary Thought1655 Words   |  7 PagesAnalysis of the Great Awakening and Revolutionary Thought In the 1730s and the 1740s, religious revival swept through the New England and Middle Colonies. Through these revivals, the colonists came to view religion as a discrete and personal experience between God and man which, â€Å"undermined legally established churches and their tax supported ministers.† (Henretta, P. 112) Joseph Tracey was the first person to describe this period of revivalism as, ‘the Great Awakening.’ In 1841, Joseph TracyRead MoreThe Great Awakening By Jonathan Edwards And George Whitefield Essay937 Words   |  4 PagesJonathan Edwards and George Whitefield had an indirect impact on the American Revolution due the Great Awakening. The Great Awakening was a revival of a person’s personal spirituality sparked by Whitefield and Edwards; which de-emphasized the church. The revolution preached similar messages regarding criticism and tensions of authority. Without these two men, the American Revolution would not have happened as early as it did, if it all. George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards were both two extremeRead More The People, Words and Effects of the Great Awakening Essay2789 Words   |  12 PagesThe Great Awakening was an event that occurred in the early 18th century characterized by fervent and enthusiastic worship in a series of revivals that spread throughout the American colonies. This event was noted for the growth of the Christian church and the promotion of traditional Puritan views on the issues of election and salvation. The success of the Great Awakening rests in the pluralistic, ecumenical, and sociological efforts of men from various theological backgrounds, yet espousing aRead MoreThe Enlightenment and the Great Awakening.1534 Words   |  7 PagesThe Great Awakening and the Enlightenment were two historical events that shaped the thoughts of people and religion in America. The most important factor in both of these events is the common theme of reason behind the movements. The Great Awakening began about the 1930s and reached its climax ten years later in 1740. What exactly was the Great Awakening? It was a wave of religion revivals sweeping through New England that increased conversions and church membership. The beginnings of the GreatRead MoreEssay about Great Awakening912 Words   |  4 PagesThe Great Awakening was when religion was sweeping throughout New England with more conversions and church membership. This spiritual awakening took place from 1735 up until 1745. (Brief Outline Notes on the Great Awakening, 1735-45 ) Most of this had taken place within the American Colonies, especially New England.(McCormick, pars. 9) . The Great Awakening had many causes, however the consequences benefitted many. Many people were moving farther and farther away from religion, the GreatRead MoreFirst Great Awakening2076 Words   |  9 Pagesan interesting topic and one that can be explored at great depths. Revivals of the past, if looked at through the right lens, can awaken hope and desire for God to move again, even in the darkest times. Revivals show us that God is still very much active and interested in His people. The Father desires that we would know Him as a real Person and who loves to make Himself known through His Son Jesus. I wrote my paper on the First Great Awakening mainly because I am from New England and I have a passionRead MoreCauses Of The Great Awakening799 Words   |  4 Pages 4. Explain the causes of the Great Awakening, and describe its effects on American religion, education, and politics. Over time people felt that religion was dying, and not many people really had one or practiced one, people felt that they needed to revive religion and this was known as the Great Awakening. This Great Awakening started with the fundamentals of religion, and tried to bring people back to christianity. John Edwards was like the leader, he was the head preacher and explainedRead MoreJohn Wesley and George Whitefield View on the Doctrine of Election2537 Words   |  11 Pages INTRODUCTION John Wesley and George Whitefield were two very influential men in the great awakening. Though the impact of both of these men was felt far and wide during the great awakening; their view on the doctrine of election could not be more at odds. Justo L. Gonzalez in his book The Story of Christianity spoke about the dynamic nature of Whitefield and Wesley relationship. He stated, â€Å"Wesley and Whitefield worked together for some time, although slowly Wesley became the main leader