You know those days when you take care of everyone else? Never really caring for your health?

Well…

Sometimes you have to take care of yourself.

Don’t stop loving everyone else, just know that you matter.

Sometimes you have to believe in someone else.

Maybe all your life you’ve been your greatest advocate, but maybe today you should let someone else believe in you and be there for you.

Sometimes you have to stop and smell the roses.

You can get caught up in the hustle and bustle alone the way, but nothing is better than country scenery.

Sometimes you have to show someone you love them by backing away.

It doesn’t mean you stop caring. Just don’t give them too much of you. Let them have something to miss, something to desire.

I know it is crazy, but you can’t do the same thing all the time.

Sometimes, you just have to let life run its course while you enjoy everything it has to offer.

Sometimes, you have to relinquish control and just learn to love the little things.

Maybe not all the time, but sometimes…you just have to breathe.

As I am reading Thomas Jefferson’s first Inaugural Address, I question how the beliefs of this country have traveled so far from where our Founding Fathers started.  “But every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle. We are all republicans — we are all federalists.”  Somehow, these beliefs have escaped us and we remain combating one another on principles of social interest. Politics should be void of personal beliefs because no one’s personal beliefs should be imposed on another person.  The goal of government, as it was founded, is to protect the people’s right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”.  How that is attained is the concern of the person, not the society (as long as it doesn’t harm another person or impose on their rights). I can’t say that every President has performed proper and just work, but as we can see, we have strayed so far from the Founding Fathers that we are essentially lost.  How do we find our way back when no one wants to listen to what has been said? We fear tyranny and oppression, but we want to impose our beliefs on others. We question the motives of Communists and Socialists, but we oppress those who don’t believe in Democracy. How, if in any way, are we as a society better than the people we claim to threaten our freedom if we threaten their lives?

I think we have escaped the very purpose and intent of this country and it’s government. This current Presidential cycle is almost frightening.  I’m not sure how you can really support anyone. We question the religious views of our leaders (when that isn’t supposed to matter), their familial views, their cultural views, but no one is questioning political views.  With all of the dense jargon that is flying around, I have yet to hear someone tell me about the economy, in depth, or the way to ensure that we can prosper once again. Yes, the country is regaining strength, but the strength of the 90s is far away from us. I’ve heard more political leaders place blame than accept blame and offer plausible solutions. 

In 20 years, we will have books that define our generation and they will be based on more corruption, lies, broken promises, debt, and ignorance than that of the generations before us.  I see some people who try to raise awareness and get involved, but some is not enough.  As a people, we don’t know what is important to us anymore. We are blinded by the glamor and appeal more than the fundamental works.  This country has forgotten the importance of getting involved and staying involved. Instead, we rally when something major happens.  True, the founding of this country was far from simple. However, people managed to work out their differences because they were more open than we are today. Today, we rather fight one other than help one another and that is how we fail. 

I have said many times that we have to take care of what happens in this country before we can run around tormenting other countries.  If we want to spread Democracy, that is fine, but we do not have to force governments and start a war with people in order to achieve that goal.  Instead, we need to learn how to use our words instead of our defense strategies. In times of turmoil or when threatened by another country, we can band together as one nation, but when society needs to be saved from itself, we can’t find a way to do so. The Founding Fathers never intended for our liberties to be restricted or our voices to go unheard, but they did want to create a country where there would no longer be the oppressive nature of the old country.  Today, we find that oppression normal.  That 1% of the population seems to control everything, while the 99% bears the burden.  If that doesn’t sound like oppression, I’m not sure what does.  Let us not forget that we choose our leaders and just like Jefferson, Madison, Washington, and Franklin, they should be humble and know that their duty is to the people, the country, not to themselves or their party. Bipartisanship founded this country and partisanship will end it. Let’s get back to where we were founded, where chapter one of our journey began, where our spirit, which led us to have the strength to revolt against the King, manifested, where we find our roots as citizens and countrymen.

How would you feel if you saw Death at your door?

Would you greet him as an old friend or beg for more time.

There were three friends walking in the woods and as they walked, they noticed a shadowy figure. Death. He came and greeted them and assured them that it was not their time, but he granted them one thing of their desire only if when their time would come, they would come with no fight. One friend asked to be all knowing, omniscient. Nothing was wrong with this, so Death told him ok. The other friend asked to have the best weapons in the world. Death looked and gladly obliged. The last friend sat meekly and quietly. Death asked what he wanted and he replied “I wish to be invisible.” Death felt that this request was highly irregular, but granted the last friend his wish.

These friends went through their lives. The friend who wished to be all-knowing lived his life through what he knew. He thought that his knowledge was power, but it was the one thing that could kill him. One day he was taken hostage for his knowledge and subsequently he was killed. Death came and laughed. The other friend who wished to have the most powerful weapons in the world also lived his life thinking this would protect him. Contrary to his belief, he was not invincible. He was killed one day by a burglar he decided to rob the right house on the right day. He took everything he could once he left the man’s house. Death came for him that night and happily took him.

However, Death searched the world looking for the third friend. He could not be found. Now this is Death and Death can find anyone, but he could never find the third friend.  Finally, Death gave up and moved on to collect more people who he made similar deals with. One day, on that same road where Death met the three friends, he was approached by an old man. Death asked who he was and he told him. They shook hands and the third friend greeted Death as an old friend.

The moral of this story is do not wish and be greedy, but be grateful. Be humble. Live your life as if you control your destiny and never ever run from Death, but embrace him as an old friend.

I noticed one day that the sky was blue.

You might see that and think, well duh.

But let me explain.

For so long, I never realized that the sky was blue.

I let the people who surrounded me choose the color of my sky.

All of the drama and the lies…

That’s what clouded my perception.

For a while I only saw shades of gray and then one day I noticed the sky was blue.

Not because I just had an epiphany overnight,

But more so because I learned to surround myself with positivity.

I’m not trying to say everyone was bad,

I’m just saying that they were bad for me.

There is a certain right to life that I never had.

I had to find my right to life.

I had to find my thirst for life.

I changed my life. I changed my surroundings.

I changed myself.

Sometimes, a personal change is necessary.

Something was wrong in my life.

I changed it.

I decided to surround myself with new people, new friends.

They taught me something new.

So one day, I was walking…

For so long it seemed as if my head was down.

Then I looked up and I noticed that the sky was blue.

The sun was shining and the sky was blue.

The grass was green.

Everything seemed perfect.

Nothing seemed distorted.

I finally realized that the beauty of the universe depended on my perception.

The world is what you make it.

On the cloudiest days, I see sunlight as clear as day.

Let’s think about this.

Loyalty knows no bounds. I am so sick of people saying how “down” they are for you and the second it gets rough, BAM! They run. Why do we continuously surround ourselves with people who know nothing about us or who don’t support us?  I’m not the best person on this Earth and I have made an incredible number of mistakes, but that means nothing. I try to support my friends and family in all that they do.

You see. I’ve been in the craziest situations in my life. I allowed things that most people wouldn’t.  Today, I am still fighting. I manage to support people at their worst. Does that mean I’m great, no! It just means I can tolerate a lot of things.  My goal is to get other people to learn how to tolerate. Think about all that you’ve been through and think about how you could have made a situation better by tolerating or being understanding…

My current situation is gorgeous. I’m learning; I’m growing. I’ve made mistakes, but with every mistake, I try to make myself better.  This is something we should all work on.  Some people think that if we simply voice our support then it is true, but we have to do more than that. We must learn how to truly support people in this world. If you can’t support someone, how do you expect someone to support you.

Learn and grow.  This is something you have to do the older you get. You have to learn and you have to grow as you learn. If you just let life happen and never learn from what happens, then you are essentially useless to yourself and everyone else around you.  Life is beautiful; our actions are not. We must be able to have the ability to support, to learn, to grow, to progress. There are some things which we cannot change and some which we can. If we choose wisely, we won’t have the desire to change anything.

We fight for peace.
Probably one of the most contradictory statements I have ever heard.
If I am fighting, how am I promoting peace?
Well I’ll tell you.
They tell me that I’m promoting Democracy and freedom,
But how do I know that everyone wants this Democracy and freedom?

I fight for peace.
I pray and I reach out.
I go on missions in other countries, but not to force my practices on others.
I do this, to more or less, promote the idea that if there is something you want, you can get it.
I help people.
I don’t want to kill people.
If I promote the preservation of human life, then I promote peace.
If I promote peace, then perhaps you will to.

You fight for peace.
However you do this, that is your business.
Peace is something we all deserve.
Although unattainable, we see that it is at least a universal desire.
If you want peace, then find a way to achieve that peace.
What is more important than peace in the world is peace within one’s soul.

If another civilization is a threat to our freedom,
Then so are we to theirs.
We have the burden of learning.
We learn everyday, but whether we choose to use this knowledge is something different.
I have a need for peace.
You have a need for peace and so does everyone else.
That is what makes us special.

We all have a common need and desire.
Some people thrive on disorder and chaos, but the majority would rather peace and order.
If we all start to move towards a common goal, then maybe we will reach it.
It is something about the thrill of the chase which makes it all worth it.
Murder in the name of peace is not justified,
But peace is necessary for life.

We are necessary for this life.
Our posterity depend on how we can come together.
Without peace, without order, without us
Everything that has been fought for will have been done in vain

One second you’re sitting there.

Then it hits you and you realize that you’ve wasted so much time.
Wait, don’t stop yet.
When you think about it, life is just beginning.
You thought you had done all of this greatness and then there it goes…
You fail!
Not saying you fail completely, but you lose something in you.
Your heart, your passion is gone.

One second you’re sitting there.

Then you realize everything you have done nothing to be remembered.
Out of all of your many trips and tips, nothing will last.
Forever, we see, ends when we die,
But only if you leave nothing behind.


Myrna Lou once said
“Life is not a having and a getting, but a being and a becoming.”

If this is true, then maybe we should stop trying so hard.
All we see is the money and the materialistic things and then…
WHAM! It’s gone.
When you die, your money will fade.
This life, oh this life, will teach you something.
What you have is worth nothing,
But who you become…
Who you are and who you become is so much more important.


One second you’re standing there.

No longer do you sit and wait on life to happen,
But you stand for something greater.
You move to become who you are destined to be.
While you stand, you learn, you become.
We may stumble, but at least we stand.
Standing proves that you can move forward.
That you can become more.
You can be bigger and greater than you have ever been before.

One second you’re running there.

Your legs move,
They work just fine.
You have come so far, so don’t turn back now.
We find ourselves in the midst of darkness and then there is the light.
The light that proves the darkness is worth it.
Some days we have to sit, stumble, and fall.
But somehow that is the only way we can become.

You’re there.

No matter what happens in this life, you can become.
It is the forward progression which makes our lives possible.
Myrna Lou was right.
Who we are and who we become is our lasting legacy.
From sitting, to standing, to running, to achieving.
You have to go through something to accomplish everything.
Everything you ever dreamed of is possible.
Focus on who you can become instead of what you can get.

Forward progression makes anything possible.
From sitting, to standing, to running, to achieving…
This is how you become.