The cost of failure

I can't seem to wrap my mind around failure. It's seems strange to me that someone would just give in and quit. I'm stubborn as hell about things that are my passion and failure isn't a part of my vernacular. Beaten, bloody and bruised. Down for the count! Chants from the crowd to throw in the towel and save whats left of yourself! After all, self preservation and awareness is what has kept humans around for as long as we have been. That and the Grace of God. Yet, there are those of us that keep going. Refusing to embrace the mindset of failure.

We cut and run when friends need us the most. Hide when frightened by life. Change teams mid season because no one want to loose. Anything at all to keep up the appearance of success. That is failure.

Quitting is easy, making something work is hard and rewarding after the battle. Is it scary? You bet! No one likes to fight, we always choose the path of least resistance because that's just what we do. Changing that is hard work too. If you have always done something one way, it feels strange to make adjustments; feels uncomfortable too. We don't want to make the wrong person angry. I mean couldn't that ruin our lives? Actually, no. If what you are doing is right morally and honest on the inside, what can someone else do? Seriously; what can someone do to you that could ruin you as a person? Lie about you? Happens all the time. Beat you up? Even if I get my ass kicked, I will still let them know they have been in a fight!

So, why the rush to fail? Do we close our businesses because there is more competition or fewer customers? Or do we adapt to the market? Do we abandon our friends because you might get dirty and have to do some heavy lifting? Or suck it up and stand with them? I can only answer that for myself. I refuse to fail.

It may eventually kill me, but I will go out kicking and screaming! I will do whatever it takes to keep going. I will stand with my friends and do what I need to do to keep them standing, as long as they continue to fight.

I once heard that life is a series of storms, It's seems to be the case. You are either going into one, in the middle of one or coming out of one. Take time to enjoy the down time between them.

Savor the sweetness of victory. It is intoxicating!

The question is.... Why?

Why? 3 little letters, not even a compound word yet it has brought many a conversation to a grinding halt. A child asks it 36 times in a row and the answer finally comes down to; "Because it just is! Go ask your mother!" This word can make you feel as dumb as a bag of hammers and it has to me on more than one occasion. It probably will on many more occasions.

I'm facing a "why" moment soon and I really want a good answer to the question. I have none. I need one, not for myself so much but for the question that is posed. It deserves to be answered and hopefully it will be. What is that question? You know that I am fighting the urge to ask you why you need to know! I wont though. I don't know know why.

Ok, that was bad, but that word is like that. You can take a tense moment and bring on such laughter that the question is forgotten. Or such fury that you need to seek shelter. It is dangerous in that what if it really is answered? And the answer isn't what you hoped it would be? Tears have been know to accompany this tiny morsel of a word. The word we learn at an early age and soon uncover the secret of it's power. Has brought many a strong man to his knees, and closed many a sale for me. Yes, it's that lethal!

Be careful with it's usage. It's ruined marriages, friendships and engagements. Lost jobs and tumbled the high and mighty from their lofty perches. Driven wedges between siblings and has probably sent more than one innocent man to prison for a crime he didn't commit! In fact; it should be considered a controlled word, used only when needed and only then after careful peer review.

It can also be used to embarrass others. That's kind of fun, people always feel good about themselves after they make others look stupid. Throw the "why" question at the bore who pontificates for time on end and see where it goes. Just sayin'.

Time for me to ponder my "why", there really isn't a right or wrong answer to that question. It is a life altering result no matter how it's answered. See the power yet? No matter how I answer, my life will be different. How can that be? (not fooling me, that's "why" in dress clothes!) All I will say is it is a powerful little word and should be given the respect that you give anything dangerous; electricity, gunpowder, rattlesnakes...... You get the picture.

Christmas, a season of selling!

It was kind of strange; walking through the store and seeing snowmen and Santas beside the Halloween decorations. Seemed odd to me, it was 95 degrees here and not even November!

It really sucks that my Christmas has now become christmas. I hate that. When I was a child, the true reason for Christmas become clear to me. That reason is just as clear to me today, probably even more so. But it isn't clear to the rest of the world, the politically correct police have seen to that. And retailers are doing their part to.

Black Friday? Cyber Monday? Who comes up with this stuff? I haven't spent much time at the mall the past year, in fact maybe just once or twice. The Mecca for making nice with the retail gods. Pay for your momentary happiness for that one special day! Then return it for what you really want!

People don't smile. It's a season of misery for most, the one time of year where you are going to spread comfort and joy even if it kills you; by god! I think I will pass on that this year.

I don't need much these days, I've learned how to do a lot with very little. That's good, because a lot doesn't exist in my world these days. Tough economy, everyone says it, I feel it. And before you say anything, it's not sour grapes! It's a reality that exist in my world that Christmas is a time of celebration, not for spending more than you earn for things you give that no one remembers.

Tell me, what did you receive last year? What did you give to who? I can't answer that myself and I have a decent memory. I remember a few things but not everything. I choose this year to do; rather than give. I will give of myself to someone who is in need. I'm not sure how I will do this, I am after all the worlds biggest skeptic when it comes to hardship. I've heard all the stories and seen all the fallout. Thing is life is hard for most, harder for others. And as John Wayne once said: "Harder if you are stupid!" Not ever meant to be fair.

I think it was God's plan to make it like that, well, maybe not at first. But we screwed it up and made it like that. Think about it, the first thing God did was give Adam a job. Yes, we were supposed to work. Adam had a cushy gig too! Tend the garden Adam. But like all men, he got "lonely". Enter Eve. We know how that ended. Adam got fired, never regained his status and we are all suffering from it. But, we are still required to work, just like God, who made us in His image. The same one that made the world in 6 days THEN rested! We still screwed things up so enter Jesus. The one perfect man to walk among us imperfect men. Came as a living testament and sacrifice to the love God has for us, even as flawed as we are. He wont ever give up on us.

So, we once again take a sacred Holy day and make it something other than what it is to be. We make it a sale! Put a price on happiness! Stand in line on certain days for a couple trinkets that will last a season and be outdated or broken. Having no money puts things into a perspective that I have lost sight of over the years. I want nothing to do with the christmas of today. I want Jesus to be invited to His own birthday party.

I don't have anything to give but myself. If I can spread cheer and happiness by smiling or helping someone with something, then that is my gift. I will hold the door for the person behind me, drop what I have in the kettle. Small things. That will be how I celebrate this year. The joy of the season will be in my heart, not under the tree.

I still love the movies, the music and the fellowship this time of year, I wish it would last all year long, but on Dec. 26, it goes on clearance and piled on the curb outside in crumpled paper and empty boxes. Life goes back to normal and the dept. stores count up the wins or losses. We talk of how "next year", it will be different. And it will be, I see a pre Labor day christmas sale in the near future.....

Last year I used Father Christmas by Greg Lake as the lead in, this year I think "Where are you Christmas" is apropos. Merry Christmas!

Life begins, again

They say you get one shot at life. Well, I don't know who "they" are but that's not true. It is true that opportunity may show up once in a life time, but you can change your life at anytime for the better or otherwise.

Case in point, I just got a part time job at Wal Mart. Yes, I will be the old guy in the electronics dept. I'm tired of being in debt and having nothing at the end of the month so the decision was made a while back to supplement my income and invest all that into debt reduction strategies. After which, a new Harley Davidson Softail will grace my garage. Time will pass and I don't see this situation fixing itself. So I am changing things for the better.

I have a dear friend that has embarked on a new adventure. A complete lifestyle change is waiting. Uncertainty is gripping the edges and threatening to pull the desire for betterment apart thread by thread until it's nothing but a tattered dream. Yet, she soldiers on. I have seen a dramatic change in her over the past few months. She knows the danger of her decision and the fickle nature of people. She keeps going. She is willing to sacrifice all she has just to be happy and not live in a cage where everything is decided for her. She is what I call a Strong Girl!

Change comes everyday, I once wrote about it and sometimes it is thrust upon you. Some of those changes hurt. When my friend, the Strong Girl, decided to make a change, others were thrust into the chaos of change they had no say so in. It will be interesting to see how they adapt to it. Strong Girl is thriving. Fighting like a true warrior. Learning and applying the knowledge to life. She will do well. She still worries about others, and that is good, but living a life in a ditch just to make someone else happy isn't making the most important person happy. Yourself.

Remember, you can't make someones else happy. You can set the table for happiness but it's up to them to sit down and enjoy it.

Fight on Strong Girl!!! I look forward to seeing you continue to grow and become more than what you ever thought you could!