Adding Inches To My Pythons - A 2016 Goal

2015 draws to a close. Lots happened this year. I honestly don't remember what all of my resolutions were 360-some days ago. At this point, I'm not sure it matters. The past is just that.

So, what is this year going to bring? A new job. Perhaps a new residence. Maybe even a new truck. That said, here are a few goals I have:

1. Be an awesome team player
2. Provide insight others may not see that is worthy of everyone's time
3. Willingness to learn from everyone's mistakes, including my own
4. Settle for nothing less than I deserve due to impatience
5. Accept that what I do get is indeed what was meant for me after plenty of hard work and perseverance

Also, other personal goals include:

1. Learning the drum basics
2. Getting involved in veteran homelessness, though I'm not sure how or where I would be best suited to help
3. Having more get-togethers with those I hold near and dear with no shortage of laughter, love, and appreciation

Can I be honest? Daily routine has taken its toll on me. I need a change. Who is with me? I came to this realization when I was doing some work for a client of mine and came across two quotes searching for the right inspiration for their project:

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough

In the end, we only regret the chances we didn't take

So what does that mean? It means that if I'm not satisfied with my life as it is, it is no one else's responsibility other than my own to make it that one life to live. This is something that is a HUGE misnomer in our society. We are quick to point a finger at someone else for our own discomfort or lack of happiness. The fact is, if I'M not happy, I must go out and change MY situation. Not my neighbor, or my pops, or my high school buddy.

We all have something in our lives that we aren't pleased with. Perhaps a lack of education to get a dream job. Maybe it's taking the first step to getting a new job and getting out of a toxic company, which seems to be tougher than it should. It could even be confronting someone to find a way to improve communication, or even coming to terms with ones-self that you treat others disrespectfully and decide to seek professional help to improve your relationships. If it all seems overwhelming, find someone you can trust who will be honest with you, even if it is an unbiased 3rd party, and talk things through. 

Regardless of what it is, be thankful that it is 2016... you have 366 days to work it through. I know I'm looking forward to the extra day to add inches to my Pythons. 

In all seriousness though, pick a problem, figure out how to solve it, make the change, and repeat. Don't regret those chances you thought may have been initially too risky to take. Perhaps it is exactly what you need. Don't be afraid to fail. Don't think you have to fix everything all at once either. Make milestones of your most important items, set dates, and manage your progress. Forward movement, no matter how small, is better than sitting on your duff.

I truly wish you a happy and healthy 2016. Thanks for reading. All 3 of you =)

An Unhappy Post

In the U.S., I have found the following facts regarding yearly deaths from four common sources that plague our news outlets. Feel free to click on the links I have provided:

Opioid deaths - tens of thousands

Alcohol deaths - tens of thousands

Suicide - tens of thousands

Gun deaths - tens of thousands

I'm not sure what to say. They all have fairly comparable numbers. I want to dive into this a bit. Talk it through.

It's an Epidemic

We all have been a part of someone's life that has ended far too quickly due to heroin or other opiates. Only they can choose to get help and stay clean.
Opiates: Illegal unless prescribed by a doctor. Prevention plans have been put in place to seek help and defeat drug addiction.

"Rethink your third drink"

How many of us have honestly driven home when we should not have? Honestly. If you read the stats on the MADD site, you may be astounded. Only YOU can choose to stay sober while operating a 1-2 ton vehicle. It is not someone else's responsibility to ensure you follow the rules. And like opiates, only you can choose to get help if you realize that this is a problem, and only you can choose to stay sober moving forward.
Alcohol: A strict limit has been set for legal driving while partaking of alcohol. Prevention plans have been put in place to seek help and defeat alcohol addiction.

"Permanent solution to a temporary problem"

I think many of us have been impacted by suicide too. Family. Friend. Ourselves. Life is tough. I'm not saying that it isn't. I've gone through divorce, splitting time with my child, living in my brother's basement, looking for a job. All at once. And that is nothing compared to those who may have been abused, seen war, have been drug and alcohol addicted, or any countless other things that impact our minds, bodies, and hearts. Only we can choose to overcome the thought, though. Only we can choose to get help, whether that be through counseling, prescriptions, meditation, or something else.
Suicide: No possible government regulation, but prevention programs have been set in place for those who seek them.

Cultural Control?

The debate of the year - gun control. Tougher laws to get guns. Removal of guns completely... I don't have the answers, and neither does anyone else, but Will it stop the violence? We cannot see the future, and yes, we can do our best to compare ourselves to other countries. Let's face it though: we are not them. We live in a society that is afraid of their own shadows. A place that cannot talk freely to one another for fear of racism, sexism, religious beliefs... IN A LAND THAT IS BASED ON FREEDOMS! A land where whites weren't supposed to be better than blacks, Christians better than Muslims, straight better than gay. A society that is so afraid to relinquish any further freedoms as, in many ways, we are already in a police state - traffic cameras, telephone, email, drones, satellites - that we many grit their teeth and hold on for dear life. Where everyone keeps asking for more, and nothing is being balanced. Where the popular vote doesn't matter anymore. Where politicians seem to regularly do what is best for them and their 'sponsors' rather than what is good for those who voted them in office to begin with. Where left cannot agree with right, and where the center is never heard.

Listen, I'm in the same boat as all of you parents: I don't want my son to die due to gun violence. To have to hide in a closet and be barricaded in a room among other defenseless children and staff. I cannot even begin to fathom what the parents of all of these events have to deal with every day. But do we take the guns away from the good people, the ones we probably don't hear enough about that defend their homes from killers and robbers, or their neighbors, or our children? The ones who go through all of the steps to be put under microscopes? And if we do, what is stopping the guns from entering our country like the opiates and other drugs from Asia and South America? As we have seen time and time again, the bad guys don't necessarily follow the laws. There isn't a single one of us right now that can state that either way is right.

What is it I'm trying to say? We are all human. We all have fear. We are passionate. We are all flawed. Maybe we do need tighter restrictions - screening for mental illness and depression as a basic example. This will not stop those who want to do harm to others though. Do we stop selling nails and ball bearings and pressure cookers to stop another Boston Marathon bombing from occurring elsewhere in the nation? Or fertilizer? Or stop flights from happening? Or close our borders? Or, as in a few of the topics above: end alcohol consumption (it didn't work in the past), and stop the drugs from entering the country (wait...).

You are right. Guns weren't made to start fires, or open a can of tuna, or even wipe your nose when you have a cold. Their soul purpose is to injure, maim, or kill. That fact cannot be denied, whether it be human or inhuman. The thing that scares me most is when the cards all get put on the table, and only the 'bad guys' are left toting firearms when they tell the law to suck a big one, what are we going to do? Hope law enforcement gets there in time? This isn't meant to be argumentative. These are real concerns.

This country is in a sad state of affairs. There are no right answers. People die every day,and the rate at which it is happening seem to be gaining speed. Almost like a butterfly effect. Walking hand-in hand are conjecture, hate, and fear. I can state my own beliefs, but that isn't going to fix the fact that we need to start finding solutions.

I just hope we find them soon.

Be safe everyone. Count your blessings. Share love. Find facts and don't believe the first thing you hear.

"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success." --Henry Ford

Peace out.