Martin Luther King

 Martin Luther King

"Darkness Cannot Drive Out Darkness, Only Light Can Drive Out Darkness"

Martin Luther King

The world is in darkness. Wars, Dictators, famine, Antisemitism, ETC. The United States is in darkness. Hatred, anger, Antisemitism, the far left vs. the far right (there isn't anybody in the middle anymore), Racism, ETC.

What about the darkness in the United States right now. Will we be tearing apart families from their children? Will we be separating the haves from the have nots? Will we be giving rich children a much better education by sending them to private school vs. poor children who have to go to public school which will be denied public money? 

Will we be threating to taking over Canada by economic threat (how is that different from Russia taking over the Ukraine by military threat)? Will the Oligarchs, running the country, move Democracy into the darkness? Will racism rise in the country? Will women's rights be the thing of the past? Will Gay marriage be eliminated?

I'm a LIGHT person. I see the Darkness, but I choose to stay in the Light. I believe in America. I believe WE can change the course of Darkness to Light. As long as we have the right to vote, We can see the Light in the future. I believe if voting rights are taken away from us, we (all of us Americans) will use Every Means to stop the Darkness.

What about You. Are you a Darkness person or a Light person?

Who Do You Trust

 Who Do You Trust

Trust is one of those very important words the definition of which is:

 "assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something."

A relationship is built on trust. Spouse, friends, relative relationships can only be honored if there is trust. Many divorces are caused by the lack of trust. Having friends or family you're not sure you can trust are not truly friends. Having trust in yourself is critical to your happiness.

Insecurity happens because you don't trust yourself. Not trusting others can lead to insecurity. Some say: "don't trust anyone." In my opinion, not trusting anyone is being paranoid. Not trusting anyone will put you in permeant unhappiness.

Sometimes you just have to trust someone. For example, if you don't trust an employee will get the job done, you will find yourself micromanaging the task. Employees hate micromanaging managers. Micromanaging leads to a lot of stress. It will shorten your life.

I live my life by trusting anyone I first meet. I tell them I trust them, but if you lose my trust, you will never get it back - no do overs. Living my life this way is less stressful and makes me happy.

If there is someone you're not sure you can trust, you have two choices: 

Choice One, don't be with that person, don't hire that person or tell that person, employee or company you don't trust them. 

Choice Two. Trust and test. If it's a person, do what I do (see above). If it's someone you hire to complete a job, trust them to do a small part of that job. If they succeed, trust them to complete the rest of the job.

Remember, even if you have trusted a person or a company, you can always recover if they lose your trust. Just don't let yourself become stressed out because you're worried they will become untrustworthy. 

Make America Great - I wonder

 Make America Great - I wonder

Well, here we go. Will he Make America Great - I wonder. As you know, I'm a left of center Democrat. I'm also a positive energy person. Sooo, I choose to not get down on anything until it all plays out.

To that end, I asked my wonderful Joyce to create a one year list of all the things we care about. Next to those items, in one year, we will put a check if that item has gotten better - the same - or worse. Things like the economy, women's rights, investment in education, etc. are on the list.

Sooo, let's see what he's done so far:

*  Drill Baby Drill. This could be a good thing in the sense that America has so many oil reserves it could become a world power in oil and only use foreign oil if necessary. This could also lower the cost of gasoline. 

The downside is the President and his right wing congress don't believe in Global Warming. We have already seen what Global Warming has done to California. It's only going to get worse not better.

* Creating a Presidential military. He has pardoned some of the worse organizational people in America that don't believe in Democracy as I know it. However, by doing so, he now will have his own army. Also, he has sent a message to the American People that it's OK to do bad things that are against the rule of law.

I can't see how that will Make America Great.

* Immigration. We have too many people coming into America illegally. It has to stop. Having a military presence on the border will help and could be a good thing. However, he also wants to deport immigrants that live in this country. He also wants to deport children that have been born in this country.

In my opinion, this could be a bad thing because by doing so the cost of labor in this country will go up significantly. That means, in example, building a house will cost a lot more (if you can find the Americans to do those jobs). Who is going to cut my grass.

* Having Billionaires and family help run the country. Will this be a good thing or a bad thing? Many democrats believe this will lead to the haves having a great life and the have nots will not. They believe it will lead to a Russia like government where there is one figurehead (some call him a dictator) at the top and Oligarchs getting all the favors. 

I choose not to get depressed about this. Sure, the threat of us losing our democracy is very real, but I choose not make myself unhappy because of what might happen. I believe in America. I believe Americans will revolt if this starts to happen. We are a strong people and will never give up our democratic ideals.

It's interesting that his speech didn't mention tariffs or women's rights. I'm sure that's coming soon. In the meantime, don't let him depress you. Get your one year chart together and see how it ends up.

Focus On The Donut Not The Hole

 Focus On The Donut Not The Hole

Today, I read a quote by David Lynch (who died yesterday). He said, "Focus On The Donut Not The Hole." David had a tough life physically. I believe his quote was meant to remind us that our focus should be on life not on the things that will end our life.

With my bad back, I sure can relate to his quote. However, many people are so focused on what's wrong with their life they forget what's right with their life. I read Dear Abby every day. I can't believe that most of her letters are about what bad others are doing to them. Abby's response is sometimes OK, but I think sometimes she should tell them to "GET A LIFE" or "WHAT'S IT YOUR PROBLEM."

If you really care about someone who always complains about their problems, it's your responsibility to remind them about what are the good things in their life. Telling them about "YOUR" problems is a double negative and will never lead either one of you to happiness.

Sooo, when you're getting dumped on by your friend remind them of a great time you had together or just change the subject and tell them about the fabulous ham sandwich you had for lunch,

Focusing On The Donut Not The Hole Will Make You A Happier Person.