Recently, a US Army Intelligence Analyst was accused of leaking more than 70,000 secret military documents. He is only 22 years old. Apparently, he sank into depression after a failed relationship and wrote this (in reference to his job) on his Facebook page, “[I am] not a piece of equipment”!

This leak of secret memos and war files is mind boggling. He has single-handedly endangered the lives of countless serving soldiers and Afghan informers. Those people whose lives he put in danger are working a job, trying to make the world a better place – free of extremists; many of them young like him.

Yet believe it or not, there are actually supporters of this young man’s actions. No, I’m not talking about supporters of religious extremists; not haters of freedom or democracy. Normal people, proponents of freedom of speech, who have become activists and apparently stopped accessing their common sense. They claim it is a good thing because the leak has exposed many Afghan civilian deaths that were covered up by the military.

In my opinion, ‘civilian’ deaths are not covered up during war. They are cataloged and handled and released after the war. I would also like to state for the record, it is not an unalienable right for the media to have access to everything during a war.

For the majority of us, conflict is something we desperately try to avoid. If war broke out where I live, I would immediately pack up and move; across the country or across the continent. Even if I had to live in a tent or a truck bed or a cave, I would leave. This is my survival instinct kicking in.

I’m just saying- civilian deaths means the civilians didn’t listen to their instinct and leave! Or maybe they weren’t really civilians.

Either way..I think we can all agree, it is TIME to imagine an alternative to war. But how do we stop them from trying to kill us so that we can stop trying to kill them; before they kill us, before we kill them?

It has to be a solution that we can all embrace and visualize; something we can actually imagine working to resolve conflicts. Earthlings will have conflict, so it can’t be a Polly-Anna solution. Although “Visualize Peace” and “Pray for Evolution” are my favorite bumper stickers; We Need a Vision.

Perhaps it should be something that uses a point system instead of counting deaths. Something where the agreed upon score wins. The winnings are agreed upon before the competition begins, say, “If my side wins, you stop brainwashing your youth. Stop teaching them that being outgoing is wrong. Stop teaching them that mistakes and failures are bad. Stop brainwashing them to believe christianity or judiasm or islam or hindu or budhism is the problem.”

Oh wait! How about we do that anyway – voluntarily??

While it is obvious that religion has started more wars and massacres than any other cause, it is also obvious that our rituals and beliefs are an important part of being human.

A 23 yr old recently left a prestigious job due to mental and emotional anguish. The office was full of passive-aggressive and attitude abusive employees. The week before she quit, she kept yelling “I am not a robot!” and drew an adorable little rectangular robot in her journal. She was very stressed out.

Sounds similar to, “I am not a piece of equipment!”

I only wish the Military Analyst had listened to his gut and talked to a trusted friend or therapist, instead of leaking classified documents. Comparing the two Generation Y-ers (aka Millenniums or The Echo generation, born between 1981 & 1999), some would say the girl leaving a prestigious job may have messed up; but, I say the guy who leaked military documents has truly messed up his life, permanently. She followed her survival instinct, whereas he ignored his altogether, and chose revenge.

Hmmm…  Wonder if these two Generation Y-ers have anything else in common? Studies have found that these newest adults of Generation Y are looking for balance, equality, and growth. They want a job that stretches them, a boss who gets to the point, and a life with meaning.

And they are sensitive; feelings are important. They have big hearts and big dreams. Their lives are on display for all their friends to follow. They are technologically more educated and more informed than any other generation before them. Sounds like their parents, mostly Baby Boomers, did a relatively decent job. The military would benefit greatly from studying these findings.

The positive outlook held by Generation Y-ers describes how I strive to be:  Balanced; treating others as equals – as I’d like to be treated; And living a life of meaning.  Seen from this angel, they are much more enlightened than most.

The Last Airbender by M Night Shyamalan.

Such a long word, shy-am-a-lan. …anyhoo.  The Last Airbender is a truly decent film. Honestly, 3D movies usually bring out the kid in us and this one is a lot of fun. I recommend you see this movie if for no other reason than 3D movies are an interesting feat of technology.

The Last Airbender is a blend of motion and thought, history and tradition; only it’s the history of another universe. The metamorphosis of a group of people was never more welcomed than in this story.

The talents of air bending, water bending, earth bending, and fire bending are sprinkled among the inhabitants of this place. The fluidity of their movements is similar to one of my favorite things: Tai Chi. Since seeing this movie, when I practice Tai Chi I wonder which element I should attempt to move, besides myself.

The fear-factor was low so it’s a good movie for families with mid-size kiddos. I mean-think about it – if Aang the Avatar can manipulate water and air then it doesn’t leave much guess work, right? – Of Course He’s Gonna Win the Battles.

I AM however, bummed that he didn’t win the war – in this movie anyway. But at the same time, I look forward to seeing how Shyamalan puts it all together.

Either way, the message in this movie is clear – run from you responsibility and you could change everyone’s destiny. Deny your destiny and it will come face to face with you again and again until its acknowledged. Naturally there are other messages: um…like… don’t kill the moon goddess spirit thing; don’t fall in love with Power -or moon goddesses; and don’t be too hard on your kids – mistakes and failures are NOT a bad thing!

What I like most about The Last Airbender is the use of so many different races and blends of earthlings; beautiful earthlings… Which lends a richness to this movie that is easy to fall in love with. The main actors are quite talented, creating characters that are compelling and believable.

I absolutely adore Cliff Curtis. I love that he is native New Zealand Maori and that he played a native Maori in the movie Whale Rider. (And I love the movie Whale Rider more than Cliff Curtis.) But in The Last Airbender he plays a fiery character whom we love to despise.

The Last Airbender captures the spirit of acceptance, gratitude, and availability. Don’t judge! Each of us would benefit from catching these spirits. What, like they’re contagious? All I know- the last airbender is, himself, contagious: Strong and Real. …That is, until we leave the theater…

Hello. Welcome!

This blog is dedicated to finding positive. Some of us are naturally positive and some struggle to stay positive (even with the help of medicine – hey, whatever it takes!) This blog is for all. In these pages you are invited to join the search for positive ways to stay positive.

Positive comes in every shape, color, and dimension.  Here we’ll share positive thoughts about the world, offer positive advice about life and relationships, explain the positive sides of science, technology and spirituality, and embrace positivity where ever it may be found.

What is your positive?

I challenge you to find it. I challenge you to join the positive movement that is taking place in your heart and in all hearts. I propose that we have entered a new reality; one that is being catapulted by the great information age. An open awareness is happening. It is real and it is time.

As new ideas propagate across the internet almost instantaneously, five hundred new users connect- EVERY SECOND. The information age accelerates knowledge, knowing accelerates wisdom, and wisdom accelerates our rate of development as a species. This is unprecedented!

In Patricia Evans book “Controlling People”, she feels that the force which compels us is Human CONSCIOUSNESS (being aware of yourself), seeking to know and experience its own connectedness (to everything else). Our human brain is hardwired, compelled even, to connect with others, to believe in a spiritual realm, and to question everything. We have the gift of imagining what’s next – whether it’s the next sandwich or the next quantum particle.

As two or more people are reading these same words, anywhere in the world, they connect at the speed of light. Then, by sharing beliefs and opinions they connect emotionally and spiritually.  But I propose that we share a physical connection as well, half-way across the planet, due to the world of quantum particles.

My favorite quantum particle is the electron. Electrons revolve around Atoms. Atoms make up everything. Since our electrons are constantly spinning and swapping and shifting and sharing, they create connections between all things.  Many of us can feel this connection.  When we connect with an online community or forum that we agree with, our electrons make happy dances, and it actually tickles our insides!

This is the same mechanism that triggers a feeling when you KNOW someone is thinking about you, because you and that person are sharing electrons. Electrons are everywhere. You share electrons with the desk beside you the same way you share electrons with the human in the other room. But the human can experience a thought about this connection, the desk cannot. That doesn’t mean the human will, just that we are capable of it.

Realizing that we are connected to all-there-is via our electrons is comforting. So with the added benefit of strength in numbers, I say lets explore this connectedness! Let’s think about this connectedness, because we can. And because thought is energy, which is – once again – an electron.

Visualize that we are all connected by the particles and electrons flowing from the creation energy, the big bang vibration, the white light. Our connectedness extends with this energy to the ends of the universe and beyond. See this with your mind, as a thought. Be conscious of it. Know that thinking about positive things connects you with positivity everywhere!

The time to find positive is now. This is not a dress rehearsal. This is all you get. Your own conscience is observing your life. Your conscience desires to be followed. I suggest you follow your conscience; follow your heart; and be utterly true to yourself. With this thought, this knowledge, you are powerful. You are the catalyst for change in your life.

And with this power, each of us can initiate The Prime Directive here on earth. Each of us owes this planet our lives. Yet at the same time, this place wouldn’t exist if we were not observing it. (Yes, it’s the tree falling in the forest.) And as the observer of your life, it is within your power to find positive ways to interpret things that happen to you each day.

Come On! The glass is halved. It matters not from which direction.