i have a grey hoody (picture below) and the hood which was white turned a bit yellow. how can i make the hood turn back white without ruining the grey hoody?
I have recently returned from a trip to South Africa, where I was born and spent my first forty three years in this life.
A week before I went there, serious xenophobic attacks broke out and sadly, many people met a violent end.
I was asked by friends in the UK whether I thought it was wise to go there, and my answer was yes, of course, because South Africa is a country with forty four million caring, loving, hospitable people, and one million people that represent our dark side.
The day after I arrived the Sunday newspapers were full of news about the consequences of the attacks. The focus was on people that had gone out of their way to help the victims of the attacks. Some people risked their lives and the safety of their properties to accommodate families that they did not know. Those people saw fellow brothers and sisters in need and did not even think twice about reaching out. Their main focus was to remove children from violent situations and provide shelter in areas that were already bitterly cold at night.
I read about one family that immigrated to South Africa twenty years ago. They carry South African passports and the children do not know another country or culture. They had lost everything - their livelihood, their memories, but luckily not their lives.
During the week in South Africa, I met many family and friends, and of course this topic was being discussed all the time. What struck me was that the discussion was about "them". "This has nothing to do with our world, except that it made us wary when driving to work." All the victims of the xenophobic attacks were black, and this touched a white world only in the sense that it was newsworthy, confirming what "we" "know" and think, and at times being inconvenient.
I often have to explain why it is important for me to love all people that I encounter.
"Yes, the Bible says that you must love your neighbour like yourself, but surely we choose our neighbours? Surely we choose the neighbourhood that we live in, based on our socio-economic status? And people that have a lower socio-economic status are in that sense not our neighbours? I mean, they smell and steal and kill, for goodness sake - don't be so na?. And when we go to church, we associate with people that believe and think like us. Of course we love them, but it is important that we associate with like-minded people. They are our neighbours, nobody else. We will love our neighbours on our terms, and we will continue to select them. I mean, just look at these xenophobic attacks. These people cannot possibly be our neighbours?"
Is this different elsewhere in the world? Sadly, no. In England the hoodies (young boys and men who wear jackets with hoods that cover their heads and disguise their faces) are "not our neighbours". The chavs (council house, aggressive and violent - as if any of us had a perfect life up to now!) are also "not our neighbours."
Even in one of the most civilised countries in the world, Switzerland, a Macedonian woman was recently refused citizenship for the third time. She has lived with her husband and worked in the country for thirty years, raised her children there, and speaks the language fluently without a trace of an accent. After appeals, the local government had instructed the local council of citizens to award her citizenship, but they flaunted this and turned the third application down, on the basis of "insufficient integration". Apparently she likes wearing bright colourful clothes and jewellery, and that is not the local custom. Do her neighbours love her?
I am sure you will find examples of this in every country and community in this world.
So who is our neighbour, and why should we love them?
I define my neighbour as everyone that crosses my path, simply because I am aware of them. It is a challenge to define everyone on this planet as our neighbour, simply because we have limitations to our consciousness. It is also practical for me to love the neighbour that crosses my path.
Some people come into our lives for short periods, for example shop assistants or fellow commuters that greet you because your face is familiar. They are there for a reason.
Other people share specific experiences with us over a period of time, for example colleagues at work, those people that you employ to clean your house or tidy your garden, or friends in a town where you only live a few years, or team mates in a sport that you play. They are there for a season.
Another group of people share most of your life, for example family, life-long friends, and your marriage partner. Where a marriage breaks up and there are children involved, the ex-marriage partner also shares the rest of your life with you, but in a different way. They are there for a life-time.
All of these people are my neighbour, whether they are there for a reason, a season or a lifetime. I express my love for them every time I interact with them. That includes when I think about them as well, because thoughts are actions that I have already experienced but not seen yet.
When we judge "them" for what "they" do, we join them in their actions by means of our thoughts. We do onto our neighbours what we will not want done unto ourselves, but by even thinking those thoughts, we treat ourselves in exactly the way we do not want to be treated.
Can we change or stop xenophobic attacks? Yes. By confronting the attackers and having an eye for an eye? No. What we can do is feel unconditional love for the attackers as well as for their victims. We can do that by understanding that we need to accept and love our own dark sides. Then we will understand that xenophobic fears and attacks are not about "them", but about each one of us. That will change the world.
About the Author
Elsabe Smit is the author of A Tapestry of Life and of the blog http://www.mypurpleblog.com , Spiritual interpretations of everyday life.
Gothic fashion is a clothing style worn by members of the Goth subculture; a dark, often doleful, eroticized fashion and style of dress. Typical Gothic fashion includes black dyed and crimped hair and black garments. Both masculine and female goths sometimes wear dark eyeliner and dark fingernails. Styles are sometimes borrowed from the Punks, Victorians and Elizabethans. BDSM imagery and paraphernalia are also common. Some haute couture designers, particularly Alexander McQueen and John Galliano, have been related to the goth aesthetic.
Cintra Wilson declares that "The origins of recent goth style are found in the Victorian cult of mourning." Valerie Steele is knowledgeable in the history of the style.
Punk fashion is the styles of clothing, haircuts, cosmetics, jewelry, and body modifications of the punk subculture. Punk fashion varies widely from Vivienne Westwood styles to styles modeled on bands like The Exploited. The distinct social dress of other subcultures and art movements, including glam rock, skinheads, rude boys, greasers, and mods have influenced punk fashion. Punk fashion has similarly influenced the styles of these groups, as well as those of preferred culture. Punks use clothing as a strategy of making a statement.
Deliberately offensive T-shirts were favored in the early punk scene,eg the infamous DESTROY T-shirt sold at SEX, which featured a reversed cross and a Nazi Swastika. These T-shirts, like other punk clothing items, were regularly torn on purpose. Other items in early British punk fashion included: Anarchy symbols ; brightly-colored or white and black dress shirts randomly covered in slogans ( like "Only Anarchists are pretty" ) ; fake blood ; patches ; and deliberately questionable pictures ( like portraits of Marx, Stalin and Mussolini ) were preferred. Leather rocker jackets and customised blazers were early, and remain a common fixture of punk fashion.
Punk fashion has been intensely exploited at numerous times, and many well-established fashion designers - like Vivienne Westwood and Jean Paul Gaultier - have used punk elements in their production. Punk clothing, which was at first home made, became mass produced and sold in record stores and some smaller specialty clothes shops by the 1980's.
Double Shield How much will my Blue Cross Blue Shield Premuims Rise to pay for Obamacare?
Double? How much more will the doctors bills be now ? Since Obama has put a massive tax on Medical supplies? Will our doctors visits double in cost now?
A bare minimum of 20-30 % at the outset, and significantly and progressively more as time draws closer to 2014 when the insurance industry will fall altogether.
~Dr. B.~
Part One Hydropool Double Thermal Shield Insulation System Part One
Term Life Insurance | Safety Shield is Necessary for the Bread Winner
I am a happy and satisfied man today. Three years ago, I had put together all my family savings and availed of a housing loan and booked a 3 bedroom house for my family. I had got the possession of the house last year, but in the mean time the boom in the property market has resulted in the value of my house more than the doubling. It was the right decision taken at the right time of my life. At the age of 30, I am a proud owner of a beautiful house. I have to pay the monthly installments on the housing loan which I had taken for the house. Everything is planned and is going on without any interruptions because I and my wife are meticulous in our household budgeting. We ensure that the annual expenses are planned in advance-be it our daughter's school fees, parent's medical expenses or even a vacation. Monthly expenses are managed thrifitily, and the housing loan installment is paid comfortably.
We manage to save also. Everything is going on smoothly. But God forbid, should something untoward happen to me, is there a safety shield? My wife is not a working woman. A critical illness at a young age, an accident can suddenly turn the world upside down for her. How to pay the loan installment? How to provide for the daughter's career? How to take care of the parents? All these questions were arising in my mind? I need a safety shield to protect my self from the unforeseen. I can get it for a small amount per month. All I have to do is I have to invest in any of the good life insurance policy. I have to pay a small price for the well being of my loved ones and then relax in peace of mind for the rest of my life. I got all the information thoroughly from the life insurance agent and then I decided to invest in the whole term life insurance policy to save my family from the financial disasters.
Even you can plan in your life and invest in the life insurance policy and then you can also plan to but a good house for your family. If you already possess a beautiful house, then you can buy any other property or any other luxury which your family may need. Savings and planning's a must in everybody's life. If you know how to save and invest then it is very good on your part, but if you cannot understand to how to save and invest, then you must not hesitate to take an advice of any professional. There is no harm to share your problems with them as far as I feel. They will guide to proper financial settlements and you may understand their scheme and then you may be able to go according to their advice and you may succeed also. This way you will be able to save and invest for the future of your family and be happy for the rest of your life.
