The Art of Communication

How many of us actually like Precious Moments Figurines? Are you drawn to these figurines, which are characterized by the famous teardrop eyes?

As I was reading through 30 Stories in 30 days emails by Precious Moments, I was amazed by how Precious Moments Figurines have brought so much joy and touched the lives of so many people in different countries.
Just these brightly coloured sculptured clay models, coupled with inspirational titles printed at the bottom of them. What struck me most was the sheer ability of these figurines to send out messages of comfort, friendship, kinship, peace, love and hope. Some people use the figurines to mark certain milestones in their lives, and therefore are significant to them. Others collect these figurines because they provide an outlet of expression; when people can’t find the right words to express their feelings and they are able to relate to the inspirational titles on the figurines.
The figurines serve as a non-verbal tool of communication.

Take a look at this: Precious Moments' 30 Stories in 30 Days: Day 12

My mom has been collecting Precious Moments figurines since one of her sisters worked for Enesco in Illinois. When I was much younger, I remember my mom collecting all of the pieces for the nativity scene. As the years went on, my brothers, Brian and Daniel, and I would buy PMs for our mom while she expanded her collection.

I gave my mom the figurine "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words" because I have always drawn pictures and I am now an art teacher. Brian had a piggy bank full of his savings very similar to the one in the figurine "You Can’t Take It With You." "To My Better Half" reminds my mom of my brother Daniel because when he was little he would twist his Oreo cookies apart. My mom’s favorite, which represents all three of her kids, is "You Have Such A Special Way Of Caring Each And Every Day" because there is a blonde girl, a toddler boy with brown hair, and tiny baby, which perfectly represents our looks and age order. My mom told me the figurine looked like the three of us when we were little and so protective of each other.

One of my mother’s most significant PMs was obtained Mother’s Day 2005. The figurine is called "Lord I’m Coming Home" of a little boy baseball player running with all his might because he had successfully hit a baseball. Brian passed away January 13, 2005 in a tragic accident while moving from Salt Lake City, Utah to Denver, Colorado for graduate school.

Brian was a huge baseball fan and once I saw this figurine, I knew I had to add it to my mom’s collection. I gave my mom "Lord I’m Coming Home" only four months after Brian passed. When she opened the box and saw the figurine and the significance of the saying, I told her, “Brian wanted me to give this to you.” We both cried and when we finally stopped sobbing we felt at peace. My mom and I love how uplifting the figurine appears, as the young baseball player is running as hard as he can to obtain the goal of going on to heaven.

Once I started receiving the PM catalogue, I knew I had one more figurine to get in relation to Brian’s passing. On the one-year anniversary of his death, I gave to my mom "Until We Meet Again," a figurine of a girl and a boy, which we interpret as a mother and son, in sorrow saying goodbye. In between them lies a flat head stone with the word beloved and a cross. It is so hard losing anyone, but for my mom to lose a child has been extremely painful. Precious Moments figurines perfectly represent the real feelings and memories important to my family. Thank you.
by Renee MilneTooele, UT

Food For The Soul

People have different tastes in music. Some like classical, pop, rock. Others love jazz, R&B and dance. Sure, music transcends all language barriers and sometimes, act as an inspiration because we all interpret the music we hear in our own way.
For me, the first thing that attracts me to a new song would be the melody. The next thing that I look out for then, are the lyrics.
Why, you might ask.

This video above features 14 various female artists who performed the song ‘Just Stand Up’ live, on Fashion Rocks 2008. This song was created specially in support of Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C), a fund-raising foundation to further cancer research.
The first time I heard this song, it gave me goosebumps.
This is not just another ordinary pop song that talks about love. It is one that rallies artists to sing and gives courage to victims of cancer. The lyrics in the song speak straight to the heart.
The lyrics are communicative, cause they tell those stricken with cancer to keep fighting the battle and not succumb to it. We’ll never understand the pain and struggles that they have to go through.. emotionally and physically.
Through this song, we tell them that they are not alone in the fight against cancer. They need to find strength from within to carry on.

“If the mind keeps thinking you've had enough

But the heart keeps telling you don't give up

Who are we to be questioning, wondering what is what

Don't give up

Through it all, Just Stand Up.”

Moreover, the star-studded cast helps SU2C to garner attention from the public. With greater awareness, more people can band together to further promote this cause to treat cancer.

I have always thought that music holds the key to memories, and emotions. How true.
Music moves.

Hey, beautiful!

Nowadays, with advertisements like that, we think of the models featured in them as the “ideal” image of how women should be like.

Are you someone who is like that? Now think again.

The reason why, is because we perceive women who look beautiful, slim, have flawless skin, to be the most successful in life. This distorted perception comes mostly from the media. From magazine covers to dramas, many people tend to believe that celebrities have perfect bodies and lead glamorous lives. To live up to this expectation, some people take drastic measures to lose weight, which maybe detrimental to their health. The pursuit to attain this "ideal" image is endless.
Yet, we all know that whatever we see in magazines is not an accurate portrayal of how majority of women look like. A standard, that is almost impossible to attain.

“Better Skin. Better Style. Better Shape. For a Better Me.”
And not forgetting their Mission: To help people of the world develop a stronger sense of self-image and confidence.

Clearly, this advertisement tells us that being who you are simply isn’t enough. You need to have clearer skin, a more defined figure, in order to step out into the world today. Simply because someone else looks good, you need to look good as well.
But why can’t we be comfortable just who we are? Is it really necessary to lose those few pounds so that you can fit into that skirt? Or to lose sleep because there are one or two pimples on your face?

There needs to be a change in current definitions of feminity. We do not measure one’s self-worth by the way one looks like. In this case, education would play a very big role in alleviating the emphasis placed on the “ideal” figure. With the amount of advertisements one is inundated with everyday, education can change the way one perceives the messages of these advertisements.

We do not have to be passive consumers of these slimming advertisements which tell us that it is wrong being ourselves. Instead, we can write in to newspaper columns, call in to radio stations, to stand up and speak up against this “ideal” image. First, by learning to love ourselves for who we are, then can we understand what it means like to love others.

Get that Book!

In our well-connected world today, it is possible to keep in touch with and communicate with people from all over the world with much ease. Mention online communication tools, and one would immediately think of MSN Messenger and Skype.
Online networking sites, such as Friendster and especially Myspace and Facebook, enjoy worldwide popularity. According to estimates, more than 530 million people are using social networks worldwide. Many have already hopped onto the bandwagon of getting a Facebook account. It is not hard to understand why.

So by now, many should have heard of Facebook. If you haven’t, then you are missing out on a chance to reconnect with your long-lost friends or old school mates. Or even an opportunity to maintain your connections with your clients and customers. And possibly, as a campaigning tool too.

Not to be left behind, some companies have turned to Facebook to market their product, which appeals to vast majority of the Y generation. One example would be Victoria’s Secret. Through advertisements and forums, Victoria’s Secret can promote their products and widen their customer base. These advertisements, can then work on the emotional aspect of wealthy ladies, also known as pathos.

Facebook can be used for multiple purposes. It is at the basis, an interactive model of communication, where one can leave a message on another person’s wall in virtual space. It is also a two-way process, because the receiver can then reply through the same means, resulting in a series of messages.

Not only that, one can also explore their friends’ profiles, look through their photo albums and comment on them. It is therefore easy to find a like-minded friend sharing similar tastes in music and hobbies. In this way, Facebook helps to converge lives.

Moreover, on Facebook, you get to set your own privacy settings and decide how much you want to share with friends. There is a status feature that allows you to announce to your circle of friends, your current activity or feeling. And in doing so, it acts as a platform for self-expression.

Yes, but how long more can the Facebook frenzy remain before the fad runs out?
As such, it can be considered a very useful tool of communication, only if used properly.