Help Me!
My busy work season is winding down. I work from February to July to get 2 weeks of work done in August, which brings in more than ¾ of my income for the year. It is both a relief and sudden calmness that I totally enjoy. While I still have work to do, the next month or two is the perfect time for me to recharge my batteries to do it all over again next year. It went a little smoother this year, probably for two main reasons. First I am getting more efficient and gaining experience with every year that goes by. I learn new ideas that make my work life easier. Secondly, I was able to keep working on my running throughout the busy weeks and that relieved most of the stress that I usually take on. I sometimes worry too much about whether or not something was going to go as planned or not. While I had a couple of sleepless nights, most of the time I got good rest despite the long days and volume and importance of the work I accomplished. Exercise will do that for you.
It is also football season now, the weather cools down, the leaves start changing, college basketball season is fast approaching, and anticipation of the holiday season starts gaining momentum. Fall is probably my favorite season followed very closely by spring. I can do without January and February, but over the years I have found ways to enjoy those months as well. I get a couple of weekends where work sends me away and I get busy because of the preparation time needed. That passes some of the time. I also have done some skiing in the past and have grown to like that sport.
While I try to look ahead to feel good about the moment and the favorite activities the near future brings, I find myself needing to use the future to get through the day sometimes. I often wonder why I let negative people bother me as well as simple things that don’t go as planned. I should be happy about myself regardless of what others may say. There are a lot of mean people out there that can’t stand to see someone happy. It gets harder and harder to keep on grinning and to keep myself from responding to the negative comments. Of course being human, I let a few comments fly from time to time that I regret saying as soon as they leave my lips.
I have been 100% loyal to my only wife I’ve ever had for the 21+ years that I have been married to her. I can honestly say I really have not ever even been tempted to stray. It’s just that I don’t think of ever doing that, not to my wife, my family, or me and my morals. Oh, marriage is hard work because you have two people with different minds that are forced to deal with one way in many situations. It’s not always pretty. Also, I think certain women are attractive, but I don’t ever get tempted to take it beyond the visual attraction. In the past, even before I was married, I had always seemed to look at someone at first glance by the way they looked. If I was given the opportunity to get to know someone, as in co-workers or new friends, I always noticed that the really good people turned more attractive to me than the initial observation, regardless of their physical make up. As I got older I felt happy with myself for that. I’m sure many other people have noticed that they do the same thing as well. So why am I not just brushing off judgmental and evil people? Why do I get tempted to say things back that may hurt them just because I let what they said to me get through and hurt me? If only I could think differently in those situations just like I don’t let temptation to stray in and ruin my marriage. Evil finds your weakness and exploits it.
I also get frustrated by politics, one view or another. I hear people just saying something just because they heard someone else say it. It may not even make sense or, in fact many times, is an out and out lie. Hearing junk that people just say without thinking of its impact bothers me. When I am able to sit down and talk face to face with someone, regardless of their religious or political views, and they talk to me like they are genuinely interested in what I have to say, they become a friend to me, even if it is just for a few minutes that I have with them and even if I never see them again. I especially love talking with happy people that have a great sense of humor. They lift my spirits up and make it easier to smile and give me hope for the future of mankind. This is what I strive for everyday. I try to smile at people and say positive things to even strangers. It doesn’t always work out, but it is my main mission for each day. That is why I love running races. I meet new people even if just for that day. Runners seem to be generally happy people who enjoy life. There are a lot of common personality traits among runners.
I also have a spiritual relationship where I communicate with God and try to get deep with Him and enjoy everything that He has created. I am not saying I am a perfect Christian, nor do I believe I should brag about how good or bad a person I think I am, but I make this point to share that I get frustrated when I fail at anything. I feel like I have let Him down. I should be extremely happy that I have been given the opportunity to do what I have done so far in my life, to meet the people I have met, to raise a son I am very proud of. What more can I ask for? That is what I hear Him telling me, but I don’t always listen.
Life has been an ongoing lesson and the effort to fail as infrequent as possible. When I make those rude comments back at the person who was just rude to me it feels like I lost. What I need to try to do is be even happier back at them to show that evil is not going to win; turn the other cheek, as I believe we are asked to do.
I cannot overcome those limitations alone. Nor do I think anyone else in the world can. We need each other. We need someone to reassure us that we are on the right path. We need to say as many positive things to each other to drown out the negative, evil words that are being broadcast all over the place from TV sets, radios, to people on the street, and even in your own houses.
What I do feel strongly about is, no matter what religion or political party you belong to if any, what spreads the word the best is how you act. Every day you are spreading some kind of word, good or evil. Setting a good example makes it easier for everyone else to be positive. The next time you are driving let someone get in front of you during a traffic jam or open a door for someone and watch that 9 times out of 10 that person does the same thing to someone else, and that person to the next person, etc. Spreading good is what it is all about. Let’s drown out evil and negativity.
It is also football season now, the weather cools down, the leaves start changing, college basketball season is fast approaching, and anticipation of the holiday season starts gaining momentum. Fall is probably my favorite season followed very closely by spring. I can do without January and February, but over the years I have found ways to enjoy those months as well. I get a couple of weekends where work sends me away and I get busy because of the preparation time needed. That passes some of the time. I also have done some skiing in the past and have grown to like that sport.
While I try to look ahead to feel good about the moment and the favorite activities the near future brings, I find myself needing to use the future to get through the day sometimes. I often wonder why I let negative people bother me as well as simple things that don’t go as planned. I should be happy about myself regardless of what others may say. There are a lot of mean people out there that can’t stand to see someone happy. It gets harder and harder to keep on grinning and to keep myself from responding to the negative comments. Of course being human, I let a few comments fly from time to time that I regret saying as soon as they leave my lips.
I have been 100% loyal to my only wife I’ve ever had for the 21+ years that I have been married to her. I can honestly say I really have not ever even been tempted to stray. It’s just that I don’t think of ever doing that, not to my wife, my family, or me and my morals. Oh, marriage is hard work because you have two people with different minds that are forced to deal with one way in many situations. It’s not always pretty. Also, I think certain women are attractive, but I don’t ever get tempted to take it beyond the visual attraction. In the past, even before I was married, I had always seemed to look at someone at first glance by the way they looked. If I was given the opportunity to get to know someone, as in co-workers or new friends, I always noticed that the really good people turned more attractive to me than the initial observation, regardless of their physical make up. As I got older I felt happy with myself for that. I’m sure many other people have noticed that they do the same thing as well. So why am I not just brushing off judgmental and evil people? Why do I get tempted to say things back that may hurt them just because I let what they said to me get through and hurt me? If only I could think differently in those situations just like I don’t let temptation to stray in and ruin my marriage. Evil finds your weakness and exploits it.
I also get frustrated by politics, one view or another. I hear people just saying something just because they heard someone else say it. It may not even make sense or, in fact many times, is an out and out lie. Hearing junk that people just say without thinking of its impact bothers me. When I am able to sit down and talk face to face with someone, regardless of their religious or political views, and they talk to me like they are genuinely interested in what I have to say, they become a friend to me, even if it is just for a few minutes that I have with them and even if I never see them again. I especially love talking with happy people that have a great sense of humor. They lift my spirits up and make it easier to smile and give me hope for the future of mankind. This is what I strive for everyday. I try to smile at people and say positive things to even strangers. It doesn’t always work out, but it is my main mission for each day. That is why I love running races. I meet new people even if just for that day. Runners seem to be generally happy people who enjoy life. There are a lot of common personality traits among runners.
I also have a spiritual relationship where I communicate with God and try to get deep with Him and enjoy everything that He has created. I am not saying I am a perfect Christian, nor do I believe I should brag about how good or bad a person I think I am, but I make this point to share that I get frustrated when I fail at anything. I feel like I have let Him down. I should be extremely happy that I have been given the opportunity to do what I have done so far in my life, to meet the people I have met, to raise a son I am very proud of. What more can I ask for? That is what I hear Him telling me, but I don’t always listen.
Life has been an ongoing lesson and the effort to fail as infrequent as possible. When I make those rude comments back at the person who was just rude to me it feels like I lost. What I need to try to do is be even happier back at them to show that evil is not going to win; turn the other cheek, as I believe we are asked to do.
I cannot overcome those limitations alone. Nor do I think anyone else in the world can. We need each other. We need someone to reassure us that we are on the right path. We need to say as many positive things to each other to drown out the negative, evil words that are being broadcast all over the place from TV sets, radios, to people on the street, and even in your own houses.
What I do feel strongly about is, no matter what religion or political party you belong to if any, what spreads the word the best is how you act. Every day you are spreading some kind of word, good or evil. Setting a good example makes it easier for everyone else to be positive. The next time you are driving let someone get in front of you during a traffic jam or open a door for someone and watch that 9 times out of 10 that person does the same thing to someone else, and that person to the next person, etc. Spreading good is what it is all about. Let’s drown out evil and negativity.
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