Love as Solid as Cement

"Love is the cement that solidifies the foundation of your relationship and makes it concrete.  If the foundation of your relationship is love, it will never fall through the cracks."

There is nothing that secures a foundation more solidly than cement.  That's why for generations, cement has been used in securing the foundation of many buildings, other edifices or great structures that are expected to last a lifetime.  Without love, a relationship is like a straw house built on sand; when even the smallest amount of pressure is applied, it will cave in or come crashing down.

Okay folks, get ready because I ain't going to pussyfoot around this one.  Love is the sum of truth, integrity and intelligence.  It's not two out of the three, it is all three combined.  If you are missing one of these elements, you DO NOT have love.  If you're a liar, you're not a lover.  If you're a cheater, you're NOT a lover.  If you're not intelligent...you guessed it...like it or not, you are NOT a lover.  In other words, if you lied to him, you didn't love him.  If you cheated on her, you didn't love her.  If you do stupid stuff to each other in the relationship, you don't love each other!

Many people are disgruntled with the whole concept of love because they don't believe it exists, but it does.  The problem is that most don't truly know what love is.  Love is not the stuff that happens over night, and it's never at first sight; that would be affection, or maybe lust--which actually has more to do with intense desire than sex.  I know that there are some who would argue that, but I also know many who would now agree, after having had their own personal experiences with the "at-first-sight", that it really wasn't love.  This world hasn't seen real love in a very long time--just variations of it.  Well, love is not one of those things you can chip off of and have it remain the same.  You can't take the part of it that you want and discard the rest.  Once you remove any of it's elements, it's no longer love.  The last few generations are guilty of that--probably starting with Walt Disney.  We looked at the happily ever after but never really paid close attention to what was going on in the whole story.  Her mother dies, then her father dies and she's left to live with a wicked stepfamily.  Now you know Cinderella had some issues that Prince Charming had to deal with that made him want to take her back to her stepmama.  I'll bet she didn't want to wash another dish, dust another piece of furniture, feed another animal or sew another garment.  And for the femme fatales out there, I'm not saying she had to do housework because she was the woman.  I'm saying that we don't know of any other marketable skills she had, so it's probably safe to assume that she didn't go to work outside the house right away.  That left her at home.  Well, she had to eat while she was there, didn't she?  Okay, maybe she went to live in a fully staffed mansion.  She did marry a prince, after all.  But even with that, she had to have had flashbacks of scrubbing toilets, washing dishes, scrubbing floors, etc., and I'm sure she went commando on the prince while it was happening--whether he realized what the hell she was screaming at him about or not!  Maybe while she was PMS-ing!  Oh, what her steps put her through came out on him at some point or another.  Let's just keep it real!    You know one kiss from a gorgeous prince didn't make all of that pain go away!  She brought major issues into that relationship.  

And that's just it.  We bring issues into our relationships that love has to be solid enough to withstand.  Therefore, there can be no cracks in the foundation of your love.  It has to be as solid as the cement and concrete mixture.  In order for a mother to love her child, she has to be more than just a female with a womb capable of producing children.  In order for a father to love his child, he has to be more than just a male with viable sperm.  Love is not like the aorta--a physical part of the heart.  Love is intangible.  Just because you have a heart that beats doesn't mean you're capable of love.  And it can get confusing at times.  People think they love because they've been told they do, but inside, they know they don't.  Love is not automatic; it's learned.  It's not A given; it IS given.  If it's not given to you, you can't give it to anyone else.  If you don't trust enough to love, you don't trust enough to be loved.  Love is not linear; it's circular.  It has to be reciprocated.  Love ain't love until you give it away, and you have to get it from somewhere in order to give it away.  

Love is the substance of all that's good.  If you have no love, you ain't no good.  No matter how good you want to be, good always begins with love.

Love will secure the foundation of a child and allow him to soar.  He will soar personally, socially, academically, athletically, etc.  Whatever he puts his mind to, he'll be able to do.  Please do not confuse loving a child with spoiling a child.  Buying a bunch of trendy things will never be as valuable as a hug given at a time when the child can't express what he's feeling.  The love inside the hugger will connect with what the child is feeling and cause the one who loves him/her to reach out.  We all know this one. We've all been in a spot where we needed someone in that moment to just know that we needed to feel loved.  

Don't confuse love with biology.  It's more psychological because it involves the psyche or the mind much more than the bloodline, which is where most people get it confused, but that's another--a whole nother--blog.  We'll get to that one eventually.  Just know this...

...love is the sum of truth, intelligence and integrity connecting with the truth, intelligence and integrity in someone else.  If you claim to love but are lacking one or more of these elements, your love is not complete.  It will work for no one and no one else's love will work for you--not until you reach out and become complete in these areas and cement the foundation of your love.   

  

The Crown of LIfe

"The real crown of a king is not the crown itself, but the woman for whom he wears it." 

Listen up, Ladies and Gents: Kings are not kings because they wear a crown; kings are kings when they have queens to live for.  Wars have been fought over them, dynasties have been destroyed behind them, dynasties have been built for them, and whole empires have lasted because of them.  They are queens; not just women--but Q-U-E-E-N-S!  And before we even get started, the definition of queen is one born a woman, whose strength is her integrity, whose power is her truth, and whose foundation is intelligence.  Anything short of that misses the mark of queenship.  Because she's intelligent, she makes wise choices.  She thinks beyond herself in a global manner, which keeps her from being selfish, impulsive, self-serving, egotistical and controlling.  The fact that she's integral makes her naturally fair and just, considering all who will be effected by her decisions and choices.  She doesn't base her decisions on that which will only satisfy her in the moment.  Her decisions result in the strength and success of her family, her friends, her coworkers.  Because she's honest, everything she does can be trusted.  She is reliable, dependable, and has no need to cheat the system or take short cuts.  She is a woman of the one true God---truth, intelligence and integrity.  She is not religious, nor does she use platitudes to sound wise.  She is not "blessed and highly favored", but rather highly blessed and, because of her, her king is favored. 

Her wisdom is tried and true because she's been through some things--A LOT of things!  Her life has not been perfect; if it had, she would never understand you or what you need.  She bathes in oils at night (bubbles for this generation) to smooth out the rough edges of her day.  She cares for herself.  She cares for those around her.  She has someone greater than herself to answer to because that is what keeps her humble and away from the things that would destroy YOU!  She's real.  She's determined.  

She doesn't confer at the henhouse, or gather with the chickens!  She knows that their greatest wisdom is utter foolishness, so she doesn't bother to seek counsel from them.  She knows a queen from an everyday, average female and doesn't keep company with such.   She doesn't involve herself in scandal, but keeps her name clean.  She's not distracted by drama for she knows that the negative is always going to be there, it's presence just doesn't matter to her.

Her family is HER family; not an extension of her mother's.  She knows that her children are going to be different from her siblings and her because their father is different from hers.  She knows her mother means well, but so does she.  In knowing this, she keeps her mother a grandmother, not an extended mother.  In doing this, she acknowledges and understands that her children's father is a part of her life and the lives of her children--more a part of them than her mother.

A queen loves herself and sees herself as a spiritual garden.  Inside her are many blossoms that send forth an inviting aroma.  Her scent is sweet, and she smells it before anyone else.  Because she enjoys it so much, she's able to share it with others.  Whenever she comes around, others enjoy her presence.  When she leaves, they anxiously await her return.  She's beautiful.  She's majestic.  She is...

...a queen.

Gents, stop settling for females that are women in your minds because they have the right body parts.  Body parts can't help you when your inner strength is gone.  Ladies, stop thinking you're ready to be the crown of a man just because he chose to be with you.  Guys, find your queen for it is only then that your life will be worth living, but you have to be ready for her or you won't be able to keep your crown on your head for long.  Ladies, stop limiting yourselves at sassy and sexy.  You won't be able to crown your king with that, and if you can't crown your king...

...he can be nor more royal than a court jester!

To Think Outside the Box or To Conform...

"The world is now divided into two groups; those who soar through life at the top, and bottom dwellers.  The only differences between the two are higher order thinking skills (the ability and the courage to think outside the box) and the pressure to conform."


What would happen if all the pieces of your car transformed themselves into tires?  Your steering wheel no longer wanted to be a "wheel", but rather a tire.  Your seats no longer wanted to be used to hold people because they didn't get as much recognition as the tires because, unlike the tires, they are located on the inside.  The doors dropped to the bottom of the car, no longer providing protection, but instead, tried to turn themselves into the rubber necessary to be seen as a tire.  Your cd/radio/mp3 player stopped playing music when you turned it on; it would only spin and spin around real fast--like...well...tires.  What would happen if your car parts stopped doing what they were created to do simply because the tires, which were Goodyear Radials, were getting all of the attention?

I'll tell you what would happen.  The real tires would become Pirelli's!  That's what would happen!  They would become resentful of all the other parts trying to be them and would ultimately raise the standard for good tires as high as they could, just to keep the other parts from being taking over their domain.  Not only that, your car would become an absolutely useless piece of machinery.  The other parts would no longer be what the car needed in order to be operative!  Get the picture?

Well, this is what happens in a society where people choose to conform.  People choose to conform in order to be seen as acceptable as others decide as what's hot and what's not.  Has anyone ever stopped, first of all, to question who these people are?  With all due respect to all involved, as a woman, I've always wondered how gay men ended up at the top of the fashion industry for WOMEN!!  How are they telling us what looks great on us or what makes us beautiful?  They are not even attracted to us, so how is it that so many of them are the foremost experts in that area?  A man once told me that it's because a man knows what makes a woman sexy better than a woman does because he's a man; he's the one she wants to be attractive to.  Maybe it's my naivete, but I've just never felt real comfortable with people with gender issues being in a position to tell me what's right for me.  Now before you go calling the anti-gay police on me, understand that I'm not criticizing anyone for being gay;  I couldn't care less about that.  I'm merely stating that, in my mind, gay men setting the standards of beauty for straight women is just one of those things that make me go "hmmmm?"

Because of the pressure to conform, there are people in our society who wear a certain brand/type of clothing because they think they're supposed to; they don't necessarily like the clothes, it's just what everyone else is wearing.  There are parents who raise their children in a certain way or even feed them certain foods because they think that's what the upper crust does.  People send their kids to expensive schools, worship God in specified ways, patronize certain businesses, listen to specific genres of music, speak certain vernaculars, play certain sports/instruments, pay outrageous prices for items that can be bought at the dollar store for cheaper (i.e. rubbing alcohol), go broke trying to live in neighborhoods they know they can't afford, etc.  In other words, it's the old fashioned concept of "keeping up with the Joneses".  Has anyone ever stopped and taken a look at what the Joneses really go through?  Are they happy?  If not, you probably shouldn't try to keep up with them.  Look at their character, not their possessions!  Anyway...

These are the bottom dwellers.  Even if they live in fancy neighborhoods or drive nice cars, they end up  dwelling at the bottom of the fancy barrel because they really can't keep up with people who are truly living their lives in ways that free them up to be themselves.

On the other hand, there are those who live life abundantly because they mind their own business, set their own traditions, raise their families according to what works for them, eat what they like, study and worship where they want, go to the dollar store if it's close by, etc.  Are they careless or frivolous?  No.  Just free.  Freedom is the beauty of being okay with having your own constructive thoughts.  It comes with lack of conformity and higher order thinking--thinking outside the box.  Are they the ones responsible for the degradation of our society because they don't follow societies rules?  Of course not.  They are the ones that keep us from having to conform to old, antiquated, outdated rules of etiquette because they possess the skills of higher order thinking that allow them to know when something no longer makes sense by current standards, and then do something about it.  They are not rebels for going against the grain is not what they are all about.  They are innovators; not rule breakers.  They are President Barack Obama, Colin Powell, the late Steve Jobs, Tyler Perry, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, James Cameron, Whoopi Goldberg, Danika Patrick.  They don't succumb to the pressure to conform and follow the crowd, so they end up paving the way for others who look like them to break out their own gifts and talents and use them for their intended purpose.  They are pioneers and engineers.  Why?  Because they asked one of two questions:  "Who said?" or "Why not?"

If, for example, you are one who truly believes in love, and happens to have the gift of song, but has been raised in the church from birth, that doesn't mean you have to use your gift to sing gospel.  ("Don't forget your roots, Boy!  That worldly music is the devil's work!")  God is love and because people don't realize that true love can't be true love without Him, believers don't tend to leave the confines of religion.  As a result, folks who don't believe in love end up turning the music into sleazy sex songs.  Unfortunately,  the generation that grew up on them don't know anything about love--and they are having kids who are having kids.  Do the math.  That's three generations of no love, no God.  We need some folks who want to bring love and loving back into the music industry and who better than someone who really knows and desires God/love?  But if you still see God as some troll in the sky who will kill you for not getting life right, you won't understand this.  So let's move on before I mortify you by saying that as believers, my man and I still like to get our swerve on to music and the thought of playing gospel while in the throws just doesn't seem right.

If, in your circle of friends, you're the one who sees out of the box, meaning that you think constructively different from all the others, and you snuff out what you think/imagine, dream about, in order to stay with the crowd makes you a bottom dweller.  I'm sure lots of people told President Obama to try real hard to dream about a different career.  If you haven't seen The Lorax, you should.  You'll see what those who put you down for being different will do when your different way of thinking is finally recognized.  Every pioneer who paved a way thought differently.

If you are one who wears clothing because of the logo or the designer, you may be stifling your own creativity.  Maybe you're meant to be the next Vera Wang, but you're never going to get there if you don't take the chance to be who YOU are in spite of what others may think.

Many great surgeons, auto mechanics, engineers, hairdressers, filmmakers, musicians, athletes, etc., started out in life as "weird" or "different" in the eyes of their peers, and I'm sure it wasn't easy for them as others pressured them to conform.  But those very people who jeered at them or teased them before they blew up were the very ones bragging the loudest about knowing, having gone to school or grown up with them.   Every truly successful innovator has that story to tell.  I Ching said it best: "Before being used for greatness, one must first appear a fool before the crowd."

If you think differently from others, assess your thoughts.  Maybe you're different because others around you are dumb!  Maybe you NEED to be different.  One of my favorite sayings is that "stupid is the new common sense."  Harsh, but true.  Kids are not being taught things that matter anymore; they're just being given expensive things.  Kids lacking knowledge about the things that matter grow up to be stupid adults.  Look at the number of young children with iPads and smartphones.  Then look at the apps that are being downloaded onto them, or check the data history to see what they are looking up these days.  You'll find it's not pretty.  And just so you know, my five year old plays on an iPad every chance he gets; I just don't give him that many chances to use MY iPad.  To play on the iPad for him is a reward for good behavior, so guess what.  He works real hard at being a good kid.  He never, on the other hand, uses my smartphone.  He's five.  Who does he need to call?

Are you a bottom dweller/follower or an innovator/thinker?  Oh, you're definitely one or the other--by default!  Get to know yourself.  Ascertain which you are.  If you're not meant to be that, change it.  It's simply a matter of conforming or thinking outside the box.  If you know which you are and feel that it is right for you, then do YOU loud and proud.  Just don't step in anyone else's lane.  Do you, but don't get run over!

How Valuable is Pretty?

"The bad news is that beauty is NOT universal; no one person is pretty/handsome to everyone.  The good news is that it doesn't have to be."

Mirror, mirror on the wall.  I know I'm the fairest of them all, but if I tell somebody that, they'll shoot me.  So let's just keep that between me and you.  Ah-ight, Mirror?  We're going to keep this one on the low, right?  Hahaha.  That's what Samantha Brick should have said.  Folks are mad and in an uproar over what the woman said, but she was just speaking her mind.  Now most of us know that most of us have things about ourselves that we like a lot; we just play it down so that others can compliment us in those areas, right?  From our butts to our hair; our eyes to our lips; our hands to our feet, there's something, and that's okay in it's place.  Rule of thumb, Samantha, you don't ever let it come out of your mouth.  If  you want to be complimented publicly, you let others do that for you.  I understand "affirmations", but those are the things you say to yourself  to give you the boost YOU need; you don't write a column about being "too pretty", publish it for the world to read, then expect others to agree with you!  There are four known things that will get you egged or targeted in some other not so gracious way, if you speak them aloud without knowing your audience: your wealth, politics, how right your religion is, and your beauty.  These subjects are taboo unless you're being subjective.  You can talk about the wealth, politics, religion, and beauty of others, but you must leave yourself out of it unless you want to drum up some haters.

But here's the deal: how much of what she was saying was farfetched?  A lot of what she had to say was on point, however, she shouldn't have related it to herself.  The best way to get people to hate you is to flaunt your pretty; no one likes arrogance or vanity in others.   Ask---well, I don't even want to say her name, but you know who.  I avoid mentioning her name because it's just so taboo to me.  I'll say this much, though:  her first and last initial are the same, and her claim to fame is her "pretty".  You know who I'm talking about.  Every woman wants to be pretty, unless she's a little warped, but there really is a cost that comes with that.  It is sometimes called "the curse of a beautiful woman".  If you're truly pretty, there are a few things you need to know so that you can handle the pretty without the pretty handling you.  First, there will be women who will hate you with a passion and feel entitled to "knock you down a peg or two."  They are mean and vicious, and don't ever stop to think about your feelings at all because they don't think you have any.  Secondly, most men will feel the right to use you as a notch on their belts, for having been with you will give them a societal award sort of like a boy scott patch.  It will give them bragging rights--and they will brag--and those they brag to will give them the reward they so richly desire--regardless of what the bragging does to you.  Thirdly, not many people will take you seriously because the pretty can be too much of a distraction for them.  There is a tendency to think that every good looking person only wants to hear how good looking they are.  As a result, their words are often not taken as seriously as they should, hence all the sexual harassment and hostility in the work place.  And finally, there are those unfortunate situations where the distraction becomes such an obsession that it can lead to stalking.  Communication with many begins and ends with your pretty.  But these were the kinds of things Ms. Brick spoke about in her article.  All true, but where she went wrong was when she made her pretty the target of everyone else's opinion.  Ladies and gents, 100% GUARANTEED: if you publicly declare yourself "pretty", you are going to bring a judgement on yourself that you will not be ready for!  It's as if you declared yourself beautiful and everyone else--and their children---and their parents---and their siblings--and their dogs---and their cats---UGLY.  People will take this personally!  Don't do it unless you're one of those people who feel that any attention is better than no attention at all!

Judgement is never easy, but if you draw attention to yourself, it's inevitable.  If you flash your car, folks are going to criticize you for what you should have bought instead.  If you flash your money, there's going to be a buzz about how frivolous or wasteful you are, and what you should be spending "all that money" on--which is ALWAYS going to be different from what you're doing because the folk think they can spend your money better than you can.  If you talk about the success of your children, someone is going to find out about the one little mistake your child made that he/she didn't tell you about, and blow it up to panoramic size, just to make it juicy enough to discredit your child/children any and everywhere they can.  If you brag about your pretty, people are going to capitalize on the one feature of yours that's not so becoming!  Pretty is not universal.  One man's pleasure is another man's pain.  One man's trash is another man's treasure.  It's okay to think you're beautiful, but you'll get into trouble if you expect or demand others to feel the same.  Truly, being pretty is overrated.  It doesn't pay the mortgage nor does it make the price of groceries disappear. Sure there's the case where some guy gave a $250,000 Aston Martin to this woman because he thought she was beautiful, but what was the intangible cost?  What did she have to do in return?  Did she have to put herself in a position to be salivated on by him?  Did she somewhere in her mind feel she owed him or had to alter her life/behavior to keep him from taking it back?  Somewhere, you can rest assured, there was a cost.  How much of her soul did she have to sell to get that gift?  Did she become spiritually enslaved to him?  The point is that nothing in life is free.  There's even a cost to following Jesus, so I know she had to give something in return.  Maybe she gave first--whether she knew it or not!  Even so, it takes a lot of mental work to be pretty--which is what Samantha Brick was trying to say.  Being pretty is not what makes you a target, though; it's what you do with your pretty that can ignite a  hellfire that you may not be ready for.  If you feel entitled because you're pretty, you're going to bring on judgement.  If you're pretty and you don't demand attention or certain reactions from others, you'll be okay.  Your best bet is to turn your "pretty" into true beauty.  The way to do that is to use the time that pretty people spend promoting themselves to work on your character.  Pretty can never be beauty if it's only on the surface.  Allow it to go deep, take root and branch into something that will leave a legacy of goodness from within your heart and soul.  Otherwise, you will only be talked about in conversation that is designed to rip you apart.  Samantha Brick, you brought this trouble on yourself.  Good luck with it!

Your Patriotic Duty

"No, really.  Did you just say that out loud?"


WARNING:  Graphic analogy.  Read at your own risk!

I hate to be so crass, but some people's thoughts are like boogers: you know they're in there, and as uncomfortable as they are, getting them out should be a strategic, clandestine, and private affair.  But some folks just go for it right in front of you, making you quite uncomfortable.  No seriously, have you noticed that people these days have an opinion about everything, and those who voice their opinions the loudest are the ones who really should excuse themselves from the crowd to find a nice quiet, private place to deal with their thoughts and return when all is under control?  Why don't people plan what they are going to talk about, thinking first about how uncomfortable what they are going to say may make others feel?  This list of do's and don'ts is written to the big mouths who make it obvious that the only time they really think is just before they open their mouths and cog up the stupidity that drives the rest of us crazy.  Maybe this will help them to understand how annoying what they say and do really is!  It's also dedicated to those poor souls who have to live, work, or play (as in sports) with them and have to listen to their nonsense all day long.  I feel your pain!  I'll try to keep it simple to make sure it doesn't fry the brains of those who demonstrate daily that they only have a few good brain cells left:

 1.  If you don't understand how government works, please don't talk politics!
 2.  If you can barely make ends meet here in America, stop talking about what you will do for the starving citizens of Africa if/when you win the lottery.  You know you're going to spend all that money on Y-O-U and Pookie 'nem.  Stop lying to yourself.  Trust me, it does not make you look humble.
 3.  If you don't play the lottery, stop talking about what you'll do when you win.  In case no one's ever told you, you can't win if you're not playing!
 4.  If you are playing the lottery, stop apologizing to Christians for doing so.  We're not into your business that deeply.
 5.  If you feel good about yourself because you go to church weekly, don't expect an apology from those of us who don't.  We don't owe you an explanation nor do we feel badly for not having the same routine as you.  We're mature enough to worship in the way that's right for us.  Judge ye not that you be judged by the same measure!
 6.  Don't buy a Chanel, Coach, or Michael Kors bag if the purchase is going to leave you struggling to eat/pay bills for the rest of the month.  Rule of thumb: if you don't have at least half the cost of the bag to put in it, you probably shouldn't be carrying it!
 7.  Unless your apartment is a penthouse, don't buy a high performance vehicle.  Luxury/sports cars are made for garages, not parking spaces!  Your transportation shouldn't cost more than your dwelling.  Really, it shouldn't.
 8.  If you can't afford the insurance, tires or maintenance on a Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, etc., perhaps you should drive something a little more economical--like a KIA.
 9.  If the only use for your computer is surfing the web, or if your typing skills are limited to using only one finger at a time, buy a PC.  The more expensive MAC computer should not be used as a status symbol or a starter machine.
10.  If you're having trouble paying your utility bills or feeding your children, the iPhone is probably not a good investment for you.  If your monthly cell phone bill were a lot less expensive, your children would be able to eat more and have more light as they try to read at night.
11.  Cold cereal is NOT dinner.  If you have young children, the best meal for them is a well balanced one.  Feed them something nutritious so they can get a good start in life.  There's something to be said for fruits and vegetables!
12.  Having to look at too many colors at one time tends to over stimulate the senses.  Please limit the number of colors you put in your hair if you want to be taken seriously!  Also, figure out which hairstyles you like, and wear them ONE AT A TIME!
13.  If you're going to follow someone, make sure you know where they're going, and if there is where you want to be!
14. Children aren't free, and growing up without the bare necessities is so hard for them.  The math is simple: if neither of you work and you're not independently wealthy, you can't afford to take care of a child.  You might want to rethink your plans on that one.  And finally...
15.  Just because you like it doesn't mean it flatters your waistline!  If you're a size 18, 16's and below were not made for you.

Of course this was all done in fun, however, if the shoe fits...But seriously, the state of our country, including the economy, didn't get bad all by itself.  As citizens and consumers, we helped to destroy it more than we realize.  Yes, we are all guilty to some degree, but we can all do our part in helping to put our country back on it's feet by being and buying smarter.  The best way to do that is to exchange and entertain conversations that are constructive and encouraging as we live within our means.  Living beyond our means and entertaining stupidity, which stunts mental/emotional growth, has damaged our nation greatly, and it's up to us to do whatever we need to do to repair it.  Think smart.  Be smart.  Live smart.  It's your patriotic duty.

Define Rich

"Rich is not what's in your bank account; it's what's in your memory bank."


What if the earth as you know it crashed today.  Say it flew out of orbit, and smashed into a galaxy that turned most of the land into water.  The only dry land available is where you were standing, give or take a few miles.  There are other people there with you, but not anyone you know, because the crash shuffled everything around.  Though you and the others around you took flight when the earth went out of orbit, you landed relatively safely, but not in an area familiar to any of you, nor with people you have ever seen before.  Who would you want on that strip of land with you?  Describe five to ten people you'd hope to see in that space with you.  The description can be physical, spiritual, mental, or emotional.  Go on, describe.  You can even get a writing utensil and a sheet of paper to help you with this.  I'll wait...

...

...(some of you may need a little more time than others.)

...

...(still waiting.)

...

...aw, hell.  I don't have that much time!  We've got to move on!  If you have at least five people, you're off to a good start--unless they are five people who are designed to satisfy your taste in mates and you just want them there to fulfill your lustful pleasures, whatever they may be.  If that's what you've done, you're probably a useless hunk of protoplasm just taking up earth space.  You're an undisciplined creature of...no, just kidding.

On a more serious note, who is sharing the island with you?  What are they going to get from you being there?  What will you remember and be able to contribute to the rebuilding of a new society?  If, for example, all you had was money, you're going to remember how to make money, but who, other than you, would that benefit?  Remember that the grass roots of capitalism is barter/trade.  In other words, the Utopian society that existed long before money exchange and greed took over.

If all you remember is your family, that's nice, but you're going to be grieving for a long time.  Too bad for you.  As wonderful as it can be to have a supportive family around you, in a situation like this, you're going to have to let them go in order to appreciate the fact that your life was spared.  Yes, I know that this would be difficult for some, but you'd be surprised at what the will to live induced by sudden disaster/tragedy of the masses will yield.  And yes, that's hard to fathom in a make-believe situation, but humor me for the purposes of this exercise!

Do you remember anything that was really of value to a successful society existing on the first earth?  Perhaps you might want to recreate those things.  Do you remember what you attribute to the destruction of the society we currently live in?  Go all the way back to the origin of that thing--like what really destroyed marriage, family, community, the educational system, government, church, faith, in God we trust, and all that other stuff America as a superpower was built upon?

This is your society.  How are you going to rebuild it, and who is going to help you in the process?  What/who would you leave off?  Is your answer a personal bias/prejudice you haven't really thought through that would ultimately lead you back to the society we currently live in, would it make things worse, or is it something you've truly given depth of thought?  Be careful of your answers.  If they are not wise, your society will eventually bankrupt.  What memories do you currently have that make your thoughts rich?  Or do your riches begin and end in your bank account?  There's much more to life than dollars.  If you don't think so, find a rich man willing to be honest about it, and ask him.

Rebuild your society.  All that you left behind is now the underworld.  But they didn't really die.  They're just underwater learning to swim under excruciating circumstances.  That means you don't have time to waste.  They are going to catch up with you soon, so you'd better make sure your society is built like a rock.  (If this is too morbid for you, you're thinking way too deeply.  It's just an exercise designed to put a little something on your mind.  Have fun with it!)

Go For It

"Go on.  Shoot for the moon.  Why not? Even if you miss, you'll still be among the stars."


If you could do anything without failing, what would it be?  Well, now is the time to go for it.  What do you have to lose?  Because so many things in our society are having to be rebuilt, now would be the time to take a risk and learn something new.  No, you don't have to quit your day job; just spend some time reinventing a part of yourself.  Do something new.  Set yourself free.  You may just see that the tiger/tigress in you is capable of doing much more than your normal timid self has limited you to!  Be daring.  Be dazzling.  Be free.  The world is in need of something new.  Why can't it be you?  But this time, don't tell anyone who you know will put a damper on your idea.  With your last opportunity, you told too much to too many people.  Maybe you still have the desire to do what that was.  Hopefully, you still have that dream.  Make your dream a reality.  Inside you, a star is waiting to be born!