by Kenneth Justice

~Yesterday as I was sitting at Starbucks (writing my last blog post actually) and a customer who was in the middle of paying said to the cashier “ya know, you would be a lot cuter if you lost some weight”

huh?????

For a minute I had to make sure I had heard what I just heard; did a customer just tell the cashier that she was fat?

Did I wake up in bizarro world where all of a sudden it is okay to not only be a rude and obnoxious person…..but its also okay to go around telling people that they are fat?

Being within earshot of the conversation I leaned over and having  made eye contact with the Rude Ronny; gave him an earful of expletives calling him a son of a motherless goat.

I realize that people are becoming more and more rude. I’ve written about it repeatedly. I grew up in a conservative Christian environment so rudeness and personal attacks are something I have seen more of than I care to admit.

But come on now; isn’t telling a stranger to their face “you are fat” going a little too far??

What happened to a little bit of common decency?

I realize that our country has an obesity problem. I realize that our eating habits in the Western World are pretty darn poor. But does that then mean you and I should walk around being obnoxiously rude?

Rudeness and meanness are getting out-of-control.

I suspect it is connected to the dissatisfaction people are experiencing in their lives.

When I attended hardcore conservative Christian churches I noticed that my fellow parishioners spent a lot of time bashing non-Christians. Evangelicals love to spend Sunday afternoons talking about what is wrong with everyone else.

I suspect this proclivity toward focusing on the ‘wrong behaviors’ of others is connected to one’s own insecurities.

For instance, there are just as many problems in the personal lives of conservative Christians as non-Christians; conservative Christians get divorced, have secret addictions, dislike their vocation, and more.

Thus, when someone feel’s dissatisfied with their life; a way of not dealing with the dissatisfaction is to focus their anger and hostility toward others.

I mention conservative Christianity in this post because it was especially troubling for me growing up as my fellow Christians slapped the ‘god label’ on their rudeness;   Christians love to use the bible and theology to hide behind as they dish out their nastiness.

Thus, the conservative Christian hides behind bible verses taken out of context as they say, “Oh…I’m not being rude or judgmental, I’m just quoting God’s holy word”

It was especially difficult for me when Christian relatives, friends and church leaders tried to compel me to obey their whim’s and fancies by telling me I was ‘violating god’s will”…….as though they somehow had secret knowledge of Gods will for my life.

I recall one particular conversation with a christian relative who was trying to argue with me that god speaks to him; when I told him that people who hear voices in their head usually need psychological intervention, I’m sure you can guess that it didn’t go over very well.

Whether you are a Christian or Buddhist, an athiest or agnostic, I think you might agree with me that Western Society needs to begin practicing a little bit of grace;

The grace I am referring to is a simple way of letting things go; whether you think you are right or wrong, bite your tongue.

Show grace to others and don’t tell them what you think is wrong with them.

We don’t all have to be perfect.

In fact, it is in our perfections that we find a certain level of beauty.

Yesterday a friend of mine told me he broke off talking with a girl because she didn’t share his same political views. I tried to gently ask him, “is it necessary that every girl you date share the exact same political views?”

Why must everyone believe exactly the same way?

The only thing that I feel we should all agree on is that a cup of good coffee is a great way to start the morning, which reminds me, I think I’ll have another cup,

Kenneth

by Kenneth Justice

~ When I was a kid ‘waiting’ was one of the hardest things I had to deal with in life.

As a kid it seems that ten minutes is an eternity.

“Can I have desert now mom?”

“No, you have to wait till your little brother is done eating his dinner”

Ahhhhhhh!

Life as a kid could be tough……..

Oddly enough, as adults it seems we have created a society where having to wait is par for the course.

–> go to the bank and you wait in line

–> go to the grocery store and you wait in line

–> go to an amusement park and you really wait in lines……

Wait, wait, wait,

What are we all waiting for?

Personally, I have been waiting for my book to go through the final details of the publishing process….it has been a test of my patience!

I’ve also been waiting for my life to move on……

Last year I made some major decisions but because there are certain time frames I have to adhere to……much of my life feels in a sort-of-limbo; I have to wait for things to come to fruition.

I’ve heard it said that the British have mastered the skill of waiting. In the Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe, Arthur Dent says, “I’m British, I know how to queue”

We all know the cliches, “Good things come to those who wait”

But memorizing cliches doesn’t make it easier to wait!

I am human and more specifically; I come from Western Culture where we want what we want; now!

That is where the positive elements of spirituality (my faith in God) come in to play for me. Prayer, meditation, and having a faith in a sovereign higher power help to calm me. Because when I’m left to myself I start obsessing over how much I want what I want; now!

Another element in life that makes it difficult for me to wait is our way of life; everything in Western Culture is designed to reinforce our attitude of getting what we want now.

Take for instance how many people eat microwave popcorn versus stove-top popcorn…..we’ve become a society so obsessed with instant everything, that we can’t wait a few minutes longer to make kettle corn (which tastes so much better than microwave popcorn!)

Or consider these new fangled (I sound old don’t I) Keurig’s where you push a button and your coffee is made ‘instantly‘. It takes all of 3 – 5 minutes for my tea kettle to boil which I then pour into my French Press for awesome coffee……

Has our lives become so busy that we can’t take an extra 3 or 4 minutes to make really good popcorn or really good coffee?

What is wrong with us in Western Society? In other cultures they celebrate the joy of preparing the food, sometimes it is an all day event….

Yet here in Western Society we celebrate the joy of efficiency…..

to which I ask; WHY?

Why must everything be so damned efficient?

Why must everything taste below average because we aren’t willing to take the time to do things right?

Waiting can be difficult: I get that,

I have a difficult time waiting: I admit it,

But, I wonder if somewhere along the line we somehow got it into our heads that ‘waiting’ is somehow wrong….or detestable…..and we’ve gone out of our way as a society to eliminate as many forms of waiting as possible

And, as much as I get annoyed with long lines at the bank, grocery store, and amusement parks……I often end up having really good conversations with the people standing next to me……

Sometimes the wait is worth it…..

Like a good cup of coffee; waiting for my French Press is totally worth it, which reminds me, I think I’ll have another cup,

Kenneth

by Kenneth Justice

~A good friend of mine was recently fired after many years on the job……

although I wouldn’t say my friend ‘loved’ their job; it was their sole source of income and my friend’s life has been completely rocked upside down because of the situation.

What can you say to a friend when something like that happens?

There is little consolation in the face of massive misery.

When I worked in the jail and the rehab clinic much of my time was spent trying to console clients who were at the very bottom of the pile when it came to misery. You can’t sink much farther beyond incarceration.

The years I spent working in the human service field taught me that it is beyond difficult trying to console people who feel like their lives have come completely undone. Most of the time, the best you can do is offer them a shoulder to cry on……

Oddly enough……that is what this blog is about; a little consolation

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist or a psychologist with the skills of B.F. Skinner to realize that a large majority of  people in Western Culture are unhappy….

Our way of life here in the West is pretty strange when you think about it; there is so much to distract us from the things that matter most.

Piled on top of the discontent the average individual experiences in relation to their vocation and relationships is the massive level of disconnect people feel in relation to their religious community.

It often seems that so much of our life is spent trying to fill the void we feel from a lack of satisfaction in our relationships, vocation, marriages, religion, and more.

And so I began the experiment of writing a blog……trying to capture the pulse of what people are feeling;

–> the discontent of their vocations

–> the loneliness of not having a significant other

–> the anger of having to deal with religious hypocrisy

–> the disconnect in our relationships

–> the general dissatisfaction toward our individualistic way-of-life here in the West

Of course…..there are the joy’s in life we experience as well…..

unfortunately, with 50% of Western Society hooked on Med’s and 90% discontent with their vocation…….much of our feelings are void of joy at times.

But, there are little joys in life and we shouldn’t ignore them.

For me it is listening to Bob Marley music……I’ve been watching a 5-part documentary for the past week about Ziggy Marley and two of the other sons and I’ve really been enjoying it…..

For my friend who was fired, a little consolation came in the form of a newspaper story two weeks ago; the manager who fired my friend (unjustly I might add) was recently arrested and charged with multiple counts of embezzlement; the manager is going to go to jail for having stolen a couple hundred thousand dollars from the company.

Some call it Karma

Others quote Proverbs; “You reap what you sow”

In the end….whether this life or the next we will find consolation…..

And whenever I feel at a loss toward all the injustice and suffering in the world it is at that moment my faith in God kicks in and I have to trust there is a greater meaning to our lives that we don’t necessarily see at the moment.

We can’t all stand atop mountains every moment of our lives. But when we are in the valley we must remember what it felt like up at the top and be mindful of the beauty and inspiration that swept across us as we stood looking down….

Another cup of coffee calls me,

Kenneth

~by Kenneth Justice

My grandfather is an avid horse fanatic. He was born and raised in the hills of   the Appalachians and has told me countless times, “I could ride a horse before I could ever walk”

…..although, with his charming Southern Twang it sounds more like, “I cood rid’ a harse fore I could ever walk down yarn street or pull up mine britches”

My grandfather has told me countless times that you can take an animal out of the wild but you can’t take the wild out of the animal……..and the older I get the more I realize how much truth is captured in that well known colloquialism.

Some things in life are just out of place;

–> Bengal Tigers should not be house pets (If only Siegfried & Roy had known this)

–> Pastors and Priests should not get secret massages off of Craig’s List (Sorry Mr. Ted Haggard)

–> Toddlers should not play ‘learn how to walk’ next to a freeway

and,

–> If you’re a grumpy person you should not talk to me until I’ve had my first morning cup of coffee

I bring this up because recently I have had to deal with a particular person who is out-of-place……and because this person is out-of-place they have been ruining a lot of people’s lives.

Do you know the type?

–The woman who works in customer service at the Post Office and has dealt with one too many cranky customers

–The man who wanted to be a police officer but has been relegated to working as a parking meter attendant

–The barista at Starbucks who hates coffee

–The vegan chef who works at Ruth Chris Steakhouse

Lot’s of people are out-of-place and when you and I run into them they make our lives a living nightmare.

You can paint a pig’s toenails, cover it’s snout and mouth with rouge and lipstick and put pearl’s around its neck…….but its still a pig

I don’t mean to bash pigs…..but no matter how you dress them up they still look out of place on Sunday morning during Mass

If you’ve read my blog for any length of time you’ve hopefully formed a picture of myself that involves the idea that Kenneth is a pretty laid-back individual….

Although I do not smoke pot, my idea of a good time is to sit back on the porch, turn on some Bob Marley, and enjoy the evening summer breeze…..

When I have to deal with people who are meddlesome, gossips, slanderers, and the like……it makes me feel like I’m reliving my childhood years when I grew up with the crazier side of Evangelical Christianity; the kind who preferred gossip over meaningful conversation and honesty.

Life can be trying at times….

People can be really difficult…..

But there is a light at the end-of-the-tunnel and we can see it if we squint our eyes really tight…..it is there……its just hard to see at times.

I can smell the aroma of my next cup of coffee brewing,

Kenneth

P.S. [to the marijuana users in my audience; I am not against pot, I actually lean towards legalization, I'm just not into it personally]

by Kenneth Justice

~Do you ever experience those moments with people where you realize someone has been talking for a few minutes……and you have no idea what they just said because you were completely zoned out?

Yesterday, I ran into a coffee house acquaintance I hadn’t seen in awhile and before I realized it; she had gone into a nearly 10 minute update on the ins-and-outs of her on-again / off-again relationship…..and I hadn’t heard one word she said.

Of course, this particular acquaintance has broke-up with her boyfriend so many times and come crying to me in the past that I can imagine what she may have said;

“I finally realized the relationship was unhealthy”

“But I just missed him soooo much”

“I’m better without him”

“But I need to be with him”

For a split-second I felt guilty for having zoned out….but a quick sip of my coffee and the guilt subsided….

I wasn’t trying to be rude toward this acquaintance and fortunately I knew the right buzz words to to pick up the conversation as though I had been deeply invested in her monologue,

“So, do you think you and the boyfriend are moving in a positive direction now?” I asked

I really don’t mean to sound sarcastic or rude toward this young female acquaintance of mine….but I have slowly become more and more aware of a new addiction that young people are experiencing; Addiction to love……and it is one of the addictions in life I hate the most. 

I earned my Certification in Chemical Addictions Counseling a few years ago and I am becoming ever more convinced that the same types of addictive behaviors people express towards chemicals like alcohol and drugs…….are also the types of addictive behaviors they are experiencing in their relationships.

A lot of young men and women have love addiction.

Whether it is because as a child their parent(s) were alcoholics, un-loving, or simply just s****y parents, these children grew up in environments that were not conducive to the necessary nurturing they needed and now as adults; they are addicted to feeling in love.

One of the key components of love addiction is that these people value their boyfriends (or girlfriends) more deeply than they value themselves…..

This is why they tolerate unhealthy relationships; because they don’t have a healthy respect for their own self.

The reason I have a difficult time dealing with people who are addicted to love….is that these people are often in greater denial than an alcoholic or drug addict.

And lets be honest; people who are in denial can be difficult to deal with….right?

I hate denial……A lot;

–> Relatives who treat you like s**t and refuse to realize how annoying they are

–> Co-workers who are busybodies but think they are awesome employees

–> Managers who have no people-skills but think they are ‘all that’

–> Religious leaders who fail their people but think they are god’s gift to humanity

So to all of you people living in denial, how bout a cup of coffee this morning with a shot of truth instead of creme and sugar!

Personally, I like my coffee black,

Kenneth

by Kenneth Justice

~One of the things I find fascinating about people watching is that everyone looks like they know where they are going……

In fact, when I step back and look at Western Culture, it seems like our entire society is constantly moving……somewhere…….

The question I woke up with this morning is something I’ve asked myself many times before; where are we all going?

One of my concerns as a psychologist is that I’m seeing a lot of people moving, moving, moving…..but not considering the ramifications of the choices they are making.

A lot of people never ask, “Should I do this?”

they only ask, “Can I do this?”

Do you see the difference between those two questions?

–> ‘Should I do this’ is a great question……it allows us to weigh the consequences of our choices……

–> ‘Can I do this’ is a way of merely asking whether we have the ability to do something:  it doesn’t allow us to reflect on whether we should do it!

“Can I slap my spouse in the face?” –> Well you ‘can’…but you shouldn’t!

“Can I rob a bank?” –> Well you ‘can’ try….but you shouldn’t!

“Can I be a nasty b***h to my friends?”  –> Well you ‘can’….but you probably shouldn’t!

“Can I clone myself and make my clone my slave?” –> Well, if you’re a scientist that knows how to clone humans, you ‘can’ in the sense that you have the ability…..but ‘should‘ you? That is a whole other story!

This past week the United States has been abuzz thanks to a whistle-blower who is holed up at a hotel room in Hong Kong; this ex-NSA employee told us the Government is tracking our texts, phone calls, and even our social media interactions……

I personally have nothing to hide…….but I wonder who came up with the decision to track all of these things?

Did the head of the NSA realize the ramification’s of  what they did?

Obviously they ‘have’ the ability to track all of us…..but ‘should’ they? –> I will leave that to you to figure out.

Not everything in life is a clear black-and-white ethical issue.

Whether or not to slap your spouse in the face is pretty clear cut; don’t do it!

But a lot of the ‘can’ and ‘should’ decisions we face are entirely in the grey area; They are not right-or-wrong choices.

–> ‘Can” you take the new job? Well, you can, but its up to you whether or not you should.

–> ‘Can’ you move to a new city? Well, you can, but its up to you whether or not you should.

It’s up to you and I to make those decisions for ourselves……they are not right-or-wrong decisions. There are implications connected to those choices…..but ultimately we have to do what we feel the most comfortable in doing.

Sometimes our family and friends make us think that every decision is a right-and-wrong moral issue……but that simply is not the case.

A lot of people try to make non-moral issues into moral issues. This is where many religions go askew;

“Drinking alcohol is  a sin”

“Using tobacco or marijuana is a sin”

“Dancing is a sin”

“Being friends with people outside your religion is a sin”

“Disagreeing with your religious leader is a sin”

Religions often make non-moral issues into moral issues…..and the water gets muddy……life gets blurred…..and people get confused.

As with most things….I don’t have all the answers….and sometimes I leave a subject with more questions than answers,

but at least I have the solace of holding my cup of coffee at the end of the day and sipping the nectar of the gods. Thank God Starbucks is brewing Sumatra for a second day in a row!

Kenneth

~by Kenneth Justice

Change, Change, Change…..

Some people love change,

A LOT of people HATE change

A new house, new job, new friends, new scenery, new clients…..

Every element of our lives is connected to change at some point and how we deal with change says a lot about who we are as people.

Alcoholics and other addicts are among those who struggle the most with change. Having worked in county jails, rehab clinics and other levels of human service I have seen firsthand the havoc addicts wreak upon their lives and the lives of those around them when they cannot handle change.

Addicts tend to lose control of their emotions when change begins to take place around them……because they have never had a firm grip on their emotions in the first place…….

Addicts who realize they are still struggling….are among the most successful at moving forward in life.

Addicts who believe they have recovered when they really haven’t……are among the least successful in moving forward in life.

I have had relatives and friends who haven’t had a drink in decades……yet still struggle with the very same things they struggled with when they were drinking two bottles of Jack every night……….

However, change can be difficult even for those of us who are not addicts

I’ve noticed a trend among bloggers; many men and women who begin blogging do so out of a desire to see change in their lives

–) some bloggers want to change their careers and become full time writers

–) some bloggers want to use blogging as a way to seek emotional growth

–) some bloggers want to make new friends and new acquaintances

So, whatever the reasons people blog; many people do so to enjoy some element of change to their everyday life

Change can and is good!

I am always amazed at the people who struggle with change…..

because if we are going to be honest with ourselves; a lot of people need their lives to change!

and it is right there that we find the irony; the people who need their lives to change the most are usually the people who are the most resistant to change!

I have been exploring exciting new opportunities for myself because I enjoy change……

I embrace change….because I think change is a good thing.

I don’t want to act like a bratty child my entire life.

I want to continue growing in my emotional and intellectual faculties and in order to do so; I must experience change.

BUT, some things don’t have to change, like my morning cup of coffee.

This morning I am brewing Sumatra and I see that I’ve come to the end of my current cup and am in need of another,

Kenneth

by Kenneth Justice

~Let’s get straight to the point…..people lie.

Having worked in the human service service field with addicts…..I’ve seen and heard a lot of lies.

It gets old

Lies are even harder to deal with when they come from family and friends….when your sibling, cousin, uncle or <gulp> parent lies to you….it can leave you feeling betrayed.

When your boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse lies to you….it can leave you disillusioned.

When your religious leader lies to you……it can wound your faith in God

I’ve been lied to a lot in my young life

What more can I do other than to move on?

Many people who lie are not looking to be forgiven because they aren’t looking to apologize.

In fact, many liars refuse to admit that they even lied in the first place.

I don’t hold it against people when they lie. How can I? Since nearly every single human on the face of the earth lies; I’d have to stop talking to everyone if I excluded liars from my circle of friends.

Of course, many lies are a matter of convenience; we lie to to save someone from embarrassment. If we knowingly see that someone goofed up and has egg on their face, we might say, “it’s okay, don’t worry about” even though we may actually be thinking that it is a much bigger deal…..

Surprisingly enough, I am less concerned with people who lie to me; I cannot control the behaviors of others.

However; I can control whether or not I lie to myself.

So much of becoming an adult and embracing maturity is about being honest with ourselves; admitting our own weaknesses……

Too often we look in the mirror and think we are God’s gift to humanity.

Far too many of us think that the problem with the world is “other people”….

Guess what Charlie, the problem with the world is ourselves.

I used to work for a manager who micro-managed every single element of the workplace right down to the number of Bic pens each person was permitted to have at their desks……..

~It was really frustrating to work for that manager and as I look back at him now, I realize he was never able to see his imperfections. He believed it was necessary for him to micro-manage everything and everyone because he viewed himself as ‘superman’ the guy who could do everything…….he had to have his finger and nose sniffing around in everything.

People who are like that are also called ‘controlling’.

Controlling people are all over the place…..they are everywhere we look

Controlling people do not see themselves for who they really are; they lie to themselves.

I don’t want to lie to my friends…..I don’t want to lie to my readers….

And I especially don’t want to lie to myself

So here is the unadulterated truth; I’m going to have a cup of coffee right now,

Kenneth

by Kenneth Justice

~Have you ever seen the cereal commercial with the bird that says “i’m coo coo for cocoa puffs!”

I’ve been feeling a lot like that bird lately; jumping up and down, twirling around in circles, and flapping my wings sporadically yelling, “I’m coo coo”, “I’m coo coo!”

I’ve made a lot of decisions in the past month and my life is moving in a very different direction………thus,  it is important that I keep my eyes focused forward…..on the goals I want to obtain.

But for one moment recently I looked backwards and wondered, “Maybe I should of just stayed where I was”

Isn’t that how life is?

We make pro-active decisions to move forward, to move in a different direction, to do something different with our lives…….

but then for one slight moment; we look backwards and begin to question EVERYTHING!

Like the story of Lot and his wife….she looked backwards and paid the price!

Had someone yelled in her direction, “DON’T LOOK BACKWARDS”, “KEEP MOVING FORWARD” she might have made it……

That is what I keep yelling at myself, “Don’t look backwards!”

But, it is difficult

It is a natural tendency for many of us to question ourselves

Change is difficult for many of us to adjust ourselves towards…….life is easier when we know what to expect….

But for many us; change is necessary in order to get us from where we are to where we want to be.

“Kenneth, where do you want to be in 5 years?”

That is a question I asked myself over-and-over for the past few years…..

To be honest with you……I always knew in my heart where I wanted to be….but it took awhile for me to be honest with myself; to admit it!

I knew it was going to take a lot of change to get to where I wanted to be……

I also knew it was going to take a lot of hard work, long days, difficult decisions, and having to deal with a few people that would initially make my life difficult…..perhaps even miserable

But once I came to terms with where I wanted to be in 5 years, I took a deep breath and said to myself, “Okay, this is it……lets get the ball rolling”

~change is necessary in order to get us from where we are to where we want to be~

–) For some people “looking backwards” has to do with a relationship. They finally broke away from an abusive spouse or a dysfunctional relationship but when they got a little bit down the road they look backwards and question themselves, “maybe the relationship wasn’t as bad as I really made it out to be” they thought…..

–) For others “looking backwards” has to do with dysfunctional friends and relatives. They made the decision to no longer put up with the B.S. that these people hurled at them……but for a moment they look backwards and think to themselves, “maybe I’m making too big of a deal at the way they treat me”

Don’t look backwards!!!

Today is when we want to begin ‘righting the ship’….’steering it back on course’

~change is necessary in order to get us from where we are to where we want to be~

Change isn’t easy

Finding out what we want out of life; is not easy!

but a good place to start is asking yourself, “Where do I want to be in 5 years”

Once you’ve asked yourself that question, get yourself a good cup of coffee, sit down, take a long sip……and just breathe……

Actually, I think I will do that right now…a cup of coffee sounds good,

Kenneth

by Kenneth Justice

~Okay, so its Monday and the weekend is over….how are you feeling this morning?

If there is any clearer difference between Western Culture and other societies it is the way we have subdivided our weekends from our work weeks.

For many people; they work all week to get to Friday

Is it healthy to live our lives as though they are entirely designed around weekend activity?

I have one particular client who gets the worst case of the Monday Morning Blues that I have ever seen in my life; he spends his weekends tending to his tree farm (a hobby of his) in Northern Michigan, but on Sunday night he travels back down to Metro-Detroit to work for the week…

By the time I see him each Monday afternoon you would think he just got back from a funeral; he hates having to be back to work

In the past month I have had no less than 3 thousand emails and comments from readers who are not happy with the current course of their life…..

–) Many want to change careers but aren’t sure how or what to do

–) Many simply want to earn more money to enable them to accomplish more with their life

–) Others enjoy their career but feel its time to move to the next level but don’t know how to make it happen

–) And others just want to quit altogether; they’ve worked for many years and are tired….but they need a source of income

Last week one particular comment led me to the following realization;

If you want something to change in your life…..your going to have to get it done all by yourself

Barring a few exceptions, for most of us…..we are on our own.

When I was younger I went through a lot of daily motions as though one day a cherry pie was going to fall from the sky and land in my hands unlocking the keys to all my dreams and desire……..

The cherry pie never came

It wasn’t until a few years ago that I came to turns with the stark truth: If I want change to come to my life…..I have to make it happen

It wasn’t easy for me to accept the truth, for some reason I stubbornly clung to the idea that if I just kept being faithful in my work, career, family, relationships……..that everything would work out in the end and I’d suddenly find myself living in my dream world.

Why did I grow up thinking that way?

I suspect there are a couple key factors

1) I was raised in a religious atmosphere that placed a lot of emphasis on hope

Hope is great…..hope is important……but hope doesn’t send cherry pies hurling through the sky packed with a million dollars

2) I watched a lot of movies and read a lot of novels

Movies and novels often portray fantasy and adventure stories that are just not realistic.

A Tom Cruise look-a-like spy is not going to walk to our cubicle and suddenly thrust us into a life of intrigue, mystery and action packed adventure.

If we want change to come to our lives…….we need to begin making changes to our lives

We must be proactive……instead of reactive

You see…..for most of my life I was reactive; I just responded to the daily elements of my life and muddled my way through

When I realized that I wanted change to occur…….I had to start being proactive; I had to start making conscious decisions toward change

It hasn’t been easy

I am still not quite where I want to be

But I feel like I am getting closer

Fortunately, I have had the nectar of the gods beside me on this adventure… which reminds me, I think I’ll have another cup of coffee.

Kenneth