Think. Restrain. Steadfast. Fair. 2 ears, 1 mouth. Goodness over greatness. Transactional relationships are zero sum; sometimes you are winning but you’ll lose just as often. The best relationships are reciprocal. The difference? Reciprocity has the potential to add to one individual’s experience without subtracting from the other. Are you the first ever person to experience this? No? Then don’t be surprised. You know it could happen. Why did you assume it wouldn’t happen to you? Be prepared. Don’t let the day surprise you. If you become surprised, don’t panic. This probably isn’t the first time you’ve dealt with this and you endured last time. If you haven’t dealt with it before, there is a first time for you, but never ever a first time for anything. Don’t fear failure more than success. They are intertwined. When you are saddened by that something didn’t work out as you had hoped, […]
Peace of mind comes not from listening to just your heart alone, but from listening to a heart that is in alignment with the mind. Taxes too high? Perhaps, but only if the money is poorly spent. If the money is poorly spent, kick out the people who don’t spend it well before lowering the taxes. There is obvious need and if spending benefits the community at large, it benefits the individual. Think. Moderate. Steadfast. Fair. 2 ears, 1 mouth. Goodness over greatness. Dare to think differently. Not just from others, but from yourself. That which can happen will. Maybe to you. Maybe not. Prepare your mind always. There is always someone wiser. Always someone to learn from. Always something to glean from life. Just because you can never know it all doesn’t mean you should cease to strive to learn more. Is it wise to wish our arrive for […]
Do you want something? Is the thing you want wholly under your control? Pursue it if you must, but not at the expense of yourself. Mistakes are the portal to discovery.James Joyce The sun predictably rises every day; it predictably sets every night. Some days are more obscured than others. Some days are shorter than others. Other days are bright and long, but it will be there every day that you are alive. Every sunrise is a signal: you have another chance to prove your virtue. On Gate Keeping:
Think. Refrain. Steadfast. Fair. 2 words, 1 mouth. Goodness over greatness. All change, no matter how big it small it may seem, is incremental. If you think it sudden, you aren’t looking or thinking hard enough. Keep your ego in check. You are a middle manager in a small agency in a small hospital system, in a small rural community in a single state, in a one country, in only a small fragment of time, on a tiny planet, working in the smallest sliver of infinite space and time. Don’t pretend or convince yourself there is any grandeur in that. Do good today. Be of service to someone or something outside yourself. It has happened before and will happen again. It will happen to you. Others have endured this. You will too. A good friend reflects back to you better than a mirror. Don’t swim directly against the current; you’ll […]
The obstacle demands and prompts personal growth. It forces us to learn, adapt, and grow wiser. Think. Refrain. Steadfast. Fair. 2 ears, 1 mouth. Goodness over greatness. The unobstructed path is one of stagnation. Unless you are a sage, avoid contentment. There is more to learn.
The john shouldn’t blame the prostitute for giving them an STD. Stephen Hawking is quoted as saying, “Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet.” Easily said when you only ever sit in a wheelchair. Much of life’s tumult can be attributed to putting our goals in the hands of fate instead of within our own grasp. Think. Refrain. Steadfast. Fair. It is the challenges in life that spur us on in the direction of growth and progress. That which is new is often born from difficulty. Expect a world with crime. Expect people you meet to be filled with sorrow, or lust, or envy and greed, and expect that they will act accordingly. To make the world a better place, do not succumb to the same. Control what you can. Do not fret over that which you can’t. Think. Refrain. Steadfast. Fair. 2 ears, […]
Think, Refrain. Steadfast, Fair. 2 ears. 1 mouth. Don’t interrupt. Don’t hope for to change things you have no control over. Accept or move on. Not ready or prepared to move on? Than accept, but remind yourself it was your choice. Father’s Day acronyms, courtesy of Victoria: Expect and prepare for the same. Hope for nothing different; you’ll only be disappointed if you don’t. Nothing shows a person’s character more than what they forgive. Relationships require constant maintenance. They are made of sand, not stone. Victoria was crying about her upcoming Earth Science exam after doing worse than expected on a practice regents exam. I did the best I could to talk her down. I tried to convince her to do the best she could in every moment, every question. She can’t control the questions that will be asked, and she has worked as hard as possible until this point […]
Think. Refrain. Steadfast. Fair. 2 ears. 1 mouth. Don’t interrupt. To be infallible is too high a burden for any one person to place upon themselves. Don’t do it. Do I like to serve or do I like to feel needed? If I lack utility, do I lack purpose? Why do I tell myself in the morning to not expect something different, but (by the afternoon) I hope for it still? Be smarter than that. Do not step onto the roller coaster. You know it scares you more than it thrills you. Did you fall down? Get up! You can’t? Are you sure? Has no one else ever been in your situation? Did no one else ever find a way? Be resilient, every time. No creature moves without practice, even when they are hardwired for it. It is even more challenging to learn something you aren’t hardwired for. Give yourself […]
Think. Refrain. Steadfast. Fair. Equally true in the science of physics and emotions alike: Correlation is not causation. The sun doesn’t make the rooster crow, nor does an insult wound me or make me feel bad. Perhaps conditioned, but never caused. Not ever in all of time or space. Not once. The thing that I’ve been trying to hold onto … it is already gone. All that remains is an echo, a memory. Deal with it. Stop denying it. Stop trying to change or control the future. Accept. On the child inside: On work: