It's amazing how many twists and turns there are in life. We've all traveled our own roads, some more shaky than others, some more fine-tuned than others, some completely designed by others, some completely spontaneous and unknown but no matter how we got here, I think we need to remember without all of the rough patches, challenges, torment, loss, disappointment and "failures" we couldn't get to this point. Like everyone there are parts of my life I will never tell anyone, things that no one would believe I experienced anyway but I did and those dark little secrets helped mold me into who I am. I'm the kind of person that finds it difficult to let go when people hurt me - not because of the hurt but because I painstakingly go through each moment and wonder, what did I say or do? Sadly, 9 times out of 10 it has absolutely nothing to do with me, I was simply the dart board that took all the blunted, sharp throws. Disappointment is a tough one - it's that word that parents use to utterly drive their point home to their children that not only are you in "trouble" but you've also now tainted your parents idealistic notion of who you are. It's a crappy technique but it works every time. Still when people disappoint you, you start to understand. I have a hard time accepting ignorance and bullsh-*. There is no need to be hurtful or mean and there are certainly no reasons to choose to be blinded by life. Tunnel vision is highly unsuccessful which can of course lead to heavier topics like religious fanaticism or racial arrogance or political disfigurement but for now I will stick to the topic at hand. What I mean is this - the whole notion of "telephone" ... the game we play as a child that proves that once information gets passed around, the truth is utterly lost and creative plagiarism takes hold. It's a dangerous games adults play and unfortunately, the end result is never sunshine and rainbows so ... here's the point - be honest, be kind, be unique, be creative, be UNDERSTANDING, be EMPATHIC, be selfless, be free to be, OPEN YOUR MIND, challenge yourself to be an extraordinary person. Don't fall into life's trap of irrational thought. Don't believe everything you hear, find out for yourselves. Don't talk about others because in the end, someone is talking about you and much like the teachings of Buddha: put goodness out and you will receive goodness (I'm clearly paraphrasing but it is part of the teachings) ... you reap what you sow. Sow well!
