Dominica Island Blog: Sharing Every Dominican Moment with the World

Lightning Storm, or Maybe It Was a Single Bolt

Written by Chris in Ramblings No Comments →

Photo by: Getty Images

In the recently concluded Olympic Games in Beijing, the United States Sprint relay teams appeared to be struck by a lightning storm or perhaps it was a single Bolt that made them so nervous that they found it difficult to come out of the paralysis. Could it been Usain Bolt and his two world record which nobody will be breaking anything soon?

It’s funny how some of the sports editors got all creative when headlining Bolt total domination.

“Bolt flashes to double gold”

“Lightning Bolt Strikes Twice!”

If I had the opportunity to headline one I would maybe suggested something like “Bolt Screwed US hopes for a Gold” but they probably would not have used that one anyway.

The reality was so shocking to those who consider themselves the best in the world that I wouldn’t be surprised if many American heads were to roll and the face of athletics change forever in the US. I hope the dope testers will be on guard because some athletes might take it seriously when they would have recalled the words of Malcolm X “by any means necessary.” Who knows, maybe what they have jailed the likes of Marion Jones for, will seem like Childs play in times to come as some try to recapture top position.

I too was amazed by the 21-year-old Bolt, even though I can’t say that I found anything impressive about his dancing following his record breaking victories, but when you have done such great work as a minority – the critics will have their say.

Meanwhile, the Jamaican women did their bit to keep the heads of the already breathless US sprinters under the water by dominating their rivals to the maximum. I believe it’s only a matter of time before some of the other countries in the Caribbean get to show their talent in various other disciplines and get the confidence to believe they can really come up against those who say they are the biggest and the best and still come out ahead. We have to do something quickly to make the people of this country believe that they indeed can be among the best in the world.

If it happens tomorrow, it would not have come soon enough as there are some people in the Caribbean that still find they are being treated as second-class citizens in their own little part of the world.

If you do not think this statement holds anything serious then just ask the media practitioners in Antigua, where they rank when it comes to police offering information to them as opposed to their British counterparts in relation to the recent killings of a British couple.The Antiguan Police Commissioner has got to show he has got more nuts than he has fruit and tell these English guys to cool down because they’re in his jurisdiction - but that’s a entire different story.

Anyway, I would like to take this opportunity to Congratulate Usain Bolt, the 2008 Olympic Games 100m and 200m Champion.

What’s Wrong With Dominica? Not a Damn Thing

Written by Chris in Ramblings 4 Comments →

It struck me recently that a lot of people think they know what’s wrong with Dominica, and it also struck me that most of the time they’re all wrong.

Seriously take some time to observe — almost every political and religious group, every opinionated person, every publication with an opinion, has said at one time or another they think is wrong with Dominica.

On one hand, UWP thinks that we’ve become a state fill with corruption headed by the ruling party, while the labour thinks that it was poor leadership by former political parties like the UWP - why Dominica is in this present poor economic situation. Others think that abortion is the problem, others think it’s declining morals, and others say it’s infidelity.

Other things that are wrong with Dominica, depending on the group: the media, young people, environmentalists, white people, foreigners overrunning our country, the Establishment, poor people, Pirate sector businesses, lazy people, evil people, BBC Caribbean, the Internet … the list could go on and on.

So what’s really wrong with Dominica, in my opinion?

Not a thing.

You heard me! What’s Wrong with That?

Nothing’s wrong with that, actually. That’s how most people are, and I don’t think I can change that, nor would I want to. I thought it would be an interesting discussion, though, because I think the difference between what people think the island should be and what it has become can cause unhappiness. If you’re one of those people who want the country to go back to how it was during your childhood, or during your parents’ generation, and it isn’t likely to do so, you’re not going to be happy.

The same goes for any of our ideals — do you have an ideal spouse? An ideal child? An ideal friend, mother, co-worker or roommate? It’s very possible that you do, and also very possible that in reality not all meets these ideals. That might cause you to be unhappy with them.

So I guess it’s clear to say that whenever reality doesn’t meet ideals — and it rarely does — we become unhappy.

So What’s the Then?

I’m not suggesting that you, or anyone else, change your view-of-Dominica. If you, or anyone else, is happy with that view-of Dominica, don’t change it.

But there is an alternative, and I’m not saying it’s better. It’s the view-of Dominica I try to have: instead of having an ideal, stop looking for perfection. Accept our island as it is, and love it for what it is. Accept people as they are, and love them. Does this mean that we should give up on trying to make positive changes in Dominica?

What would be the result of this alternative view-of Dominica? Well, I think people would be happier, if only we didn’t see Dominica as a fundamentally flawed or corrupted place, and began to see the good on the island. This, however, is open to individual interpretation, and your own experience is likely to be different than mine. Go ahead…have you say.

Unblocking Habitual Anger

Written by Chris in Tips For Life 2 Comments →

Nearly everyone of us knows someone who always seems to be Angry at everything (the world)? You might just know someone but just never really took time out to observe this persons behavioral pattern. While growing up as a young boy, I realized that my mom - a single parent at the time, would get angry every time she would come back from work. She would begin to go on-and-on, complain about every single thing, and eventually became apart of her life. It became to the point that if she wasn’t angry at someone or something she wouldn’t feel right about herself.

Sometimes when we feel anger, it is coming from a deep place that demands response and expression. However, anger can also become a habit, our go-to emotion whenever things go wrong. If you look at today’s society, more and more we are seeing habitual anger manifesting itself in people’s emotions. Often this is because, for whatever reason, we feel more comfortable expressing anger than we do other emotions, like sadness. It can also be that getting angry gives us the impression that we’ve done something about our problem. In these cases, our habitual anger is holding back both our ability to express our other emotions and to take action in our lives.

If it’s true that anger is functioning this way in your life, the first thing you might want to try is to notice when you get angry. For example, you could notice that it is always your first response or that it comes up a lot in one particular situation. If the pattern doesn’t become clear right away, you could try keeping a journal about when you get angry and see if you can find any underlying meaning.

One of good things about keeping a journal is that you can explore your anger more deeply in it—from examining who in your family of origin expressed a lot of anger to how you feel when you encounter anger in others. This kind of awareness can very well be the medium to your transformation.

Anger can be a powerful partner, since it is filled with energy that we can control and use to create change in the world. Anger is one of the most energizing emotions, and it can also be a very effective cleanser of the emotional system. However, when it becomes a habit, it actually loses its power to transform and becomes an obstacle to growth. Identifying the role anger plays in your life and restoring it to its proper function can bring new energy to your emotional life.

What role is anger playing in your life?