Wait, let me think

From a paper written by Jackie Spinks, 40 years old, homeless since age 20:
"Next to a high IQ, freedom is the most over-rated quality any sociologist ever extolled."

Anyone have any thoughts? Emotions, even?

The capacity for thinking and honest reactions is far under-used - perhaps stifled - in far too many of us. When was the last time you honestly felt intrigued by something you read or heard spoken, by a teacher or otherwise? And when was the last time you didn't let that feeling sink into your gut and dissolve, whether it was because of the work involved in pursuing it, fear of your gut reaction being wrong or, more commonly, misjudged if you expressed it, or simple laziness? Some of us think and examine our own opinions more than others. I'm the queen of doing what needs to be done to please the authorities; trying to make everyone happy; feeling a rise in my center but pushing it down to get 'more important' things done, but where's the fun in that? Why not question values and assumptions? Find out more about the billions of people in this crazy world whose lives are as important to them as mine is to me? Even if it means getting an hour less of sleep!
This is why I have always admired Kiry, (among many others, but she's the first one who comes to mind.) She does not subscribe to some group that automatically makes her feel the way she feels and do the things she does... and think the way she thinks... "She's a hippie, of course she says that." While I'm sure some people glom onto the hippie/liberal you-name-it culture just to be part of a group, I am convinced that her convictions and political intelligence comes from her heart and her willingness to explore what intrigues her.
I am NOT saying that I feel everyone should be involved in politics. I'm simply saying we should chase after being alive! When something affects us, interests us, outside of our daily lives, it's a reminder that we are very much an integrated part of this world that is pulsing with life at every moment. Pursue it! (she cried to herself) In writing or in thoughts, others' or your own, for as long as it continues to interest.

If this quote evokes anything in you, say something. If it doesn't do anything for you, wait, and allow yourself to react when something does.