Greetings all! Here’s the latest round of weekly musings:

1. It’s hard having faith in a system that’s broken.  Or if not completely broken, a system in need of major rehab.  While there may be people in positions working to fix the system, resistance, backbiting, partisanship, and corruption prevent change from taking shape.  One day… Just maybe one day this won’t be the case.
2. I hope I never get to the point where my personal interests take precedence over all, especially when they are to the detriment of those around me.  Sometimes you need to take a step back and think about the short-term and long-term impact of what you do and the effects it may have on others. 
3. When only you and those like you are winning, everyone else loses.  We can’t win when self-serving and party-serving interests take precedence over the needs and interests of the larger society.  Until we get back to “WE THE PEOPLE,” everything will fail.
4. There’s an “unwritten” code or script in life that many of us follow.  Within this code or script lies expectations about the type of life we should live, how and where we get educated, the field of work we go into, who we love/marry, the type of community we live in, etc.  Now there’s nothing wrong with following this code/script…as long as it provides you with the life you truly want.  The big “Oops!” or “WTF!” moment for many of us comes when we realize that following the code/script hasn’t fulfilled us (at all).  A gaping, persistent void will figure prominently until we feed our souls what it’s been missing and revive the dreams that died on the way to PC, cookie cutter living.
5. College isn’t for everyone.  Marriage isn’t for everyone.  Having children or parenting isn’t for everyone.  Corporate America isn’t for everyone.  Christianity isn’t for everyone.  Everything isn’t for everybody.  Just because it’s working for you doesn’t give you the right to force it on to others or expect everyone else to do as you do.  Just live and let be.
6. Confidence is a light that shines through.  When it’s peaking, everyone can see it.  There’s a certain assurance and glow about you.  Everyone can see it, feel it when it’s dim too.  Oh, the difficulty trying to convince others of anything when you don’t have the confidence or belief in yourself. 
7. You cannot fully embrace/accept the love you need/want or be able to successfully sustain any romantic relationships unless you truly love yourself.  The inability to love yourself makes it virtually impossible to love anyone else (at least in the way they need or deserve to be loved). 

Here’s the latest weekly musings:

1. Not sure there’s a harder sell than making others believe in something when you don’t believe in it yourself. Persuasion/buy-in often fails without conviction, confidence, and universal appeal.
2. The more you accumulate in this life, the harder you’re going to have to work to maintain it.  So many of us are out here living lives we don’t want to live and working ourselves into an early dirt nap each day just to maintain things we don’t need. When our world suddenly changes and all these “things” we’ve accumulated go to the waysides, then what? “Things” don’t make us. But they will break us if we place more value in them than living a happy, healthy, and fulfilled life.
3. There’s something about the simple life that becomes more and more appealing the older I get. I’m striving for it. A simple life doesn’t mean a boring life. It means living within your means. It means striving for a stress-free/drama-free life. It means living to truly love yourself and not looking for value and esteem in superficial and materialistic things. The simple life means being happy and content. It means counting on your joy through it all and having success on your own terms. The simple life means balance.
4. Change is inevitable. There’s nothing any of us can do to stop change. We may be able to place roadblocks in its way or try to prolong the shelf-life of the traditional ways of yesteryear. But change will eventually take shape and form just the way destiny intended. Governing bodies, institutions, organizations and people have all been forced to change with the times. Our modern world is no different. Embrace it!
5. Maybe some, not all, of us forget that celebrities and public officials are human too. They’re everyday people with more high-profile occupations. Putting the obvious differences aside, they have the same basic needs as us and often experience the same things we do. (Don’t let the “celebrity life” fool you into thinking otherwise.) So it makes no sense that we put them on pedestals so high even they can’t compete with themselves. And then we want to shame, blaspheme, and condemn them when they do things that we don’t agree with. Our society gets kicks out of building people up and tearing them down. Just think about how it would feel if their shoes were on our feet.
6. I imagine if love were a tangible commodity that it would sell out each time it hit the shelves. Marketing campaigns would be out of this world. Businesses would face fierce competition year after year, as the industry and consumers would determine who creates and sells love the best. I figure love as a commodity would always be trendy, never going out of style. Because it’s something everybody wants. Sadly, we fail to realize that love is always in our midst.

Let’s get right to it…the latest weekly musings!

1. While there are times when we won’t always be up and happy, it’s during the times we’re down when we should empower ourselves with hope. If we can’t find it within ourselves, look to the inspirational and uplifting journeys of others who made it through. This may be just what we need to hold fast and securely to our hope.
2. When our elected officials are unable to compromise on bills that impact the very people they represent and they let their personal interests impact their ability to fight for what’s right, you have to wonder who they’re really standing for? Do they forget why they’re in office? Do they forget they stand for all and not just the people and organizations they keep in their back pockets?
3. I have to admit that I’ve often been caught off guard and amazed by the level of hatred, intolerance, and ignorance expressed in comments to political news articles in the weeks following the election. I probably shouldn’t be. But one thing’s for sure—this nation is not as progressive as it’s oft proclaimed.  There’s still a long, LONG way to go.
4. Loving someone is easy. Maintaining a relationship with them—not so much. What should keep the relationship strong are the very things which brought you together. This, along with the desire and willingness to see the relationship (and each other) prosper and grow.
5. Sometimes we have to ask people what they want (outright). Forget the guessing games. If we were mind readers we’d be in a different realm. We’re able to proceed confidently when we all have an understanding of the purpose and mission of why we’re here. Otherwise it’s bullshit.  When time and money are at stake, bullshit deserves no seat at the table. Unless it’s a bullshit convention, bullshit should never be allowed a seat at any table.
6. It’s a shame (for others) when you do your best to give people what they want (and then some) and it’s still not good enough.  No matter how good it is they’re never satisfied. What strength and fortitude it takes to deal with this on a regular basis (especially if it’s at work or at home). Realize it’s not always you, sometimes (or a lot of times) it’s them. Just don’t let it ruin your confidence or self-esteem. Don’t let it change you. Don’t let it stress you out. It’s all part of the process of learning how to work and deal with people.

My apologies for the delay, but here are the latest weekly musings:

1. If you lose the battle, always remember to bow out gracefully.  Don’t continue talking trash in your defeat.  It will only cast a dark(er) light on your character.  May even make your supporters question why they ever rooted for you.
2. Laughter is an infectious tonic that can bring light to any situation.  It’s one of the Creator’s natural cures.  Try it.  You’ll feel so much better.
3. While it can be hard maintaining a positive outlook, even when everything around you is suggesting otherwise, you’ll be better for it.  Believe it.  The power of positivity (and faith) will help you conquer ANYTHING!
4. Our relationships give back what we put in them.  It may be easy to blame our partners for what we aren’t getting, but remember relationships are joint ventures.  We always have to check ourselves first before we have the audacity to check our partners.
5. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day are everyday, not just on the days specified by the calendar.  We sometimes break our necks to go out of our way on these particular days to show our families and friends how much we love and care for them.  Some could say it’s a bit foolish.  We should strive to show our loved ones what they mean to us every day of the year, not just on holidays and special occasions.
6. Instead of waiting until New Year’s, maybe we should try making changes, resolutions, and setting goals on our birthdays.  What better day to commit to life changes than on the anniversary our birth?

Until next time, enjoy your week!

Without further adieu, here are the latest weekly musings:

1. Tolerance is limiting.  It leads to a dead end road.  It means that total understanding, respect, and empathy are not possible, because one is not able or is unwilling to embrace that which is different from oneself.
2. You’ll be amazed at how much better you feel and how much the world opens up to you when you get out of your own way. 
3. Rejection is unavoidable.  If you’re “lucky enough” to have yet to experience it, don’t worry… It’ll happen.  It’s foolish for any of us to think that we’re so good or so untouchable that everything belongs to or is meant for us.  Not so.
4. Unless you have a plan or recommendations on how to make life as we know it better, STFU!  We can be so quick to complain when things don’t go the way that we want them to.  Complaining is useless.  If you want to make a difference, you have to collaborate with those than don’t share the same beliefs or ideals as you.  By doing that, we can get the change that will benefit everyone—not just you or those like you.
    
5. Sometimes the best opportunities are those that come about by accident or those that we create ourselves.  We have to be open to all possibilities.
6. Love manifests from within.  It’s so easy to be led astray when you can’t find it within yourself.  Stop looking out, and start looking within!