Life Is Full Of Stuff.....

Life is full of stuff... good, bad, and just everyday stuff. It doesn't matter what it is as long as you take that step and get through it. The key is to hold tight to the good for it will see you through. Let go of the bad for it only drags you down, but learn from it first. And pay no mind to the everyday stuff that makes no real difference. And smile often, love for real, and find peace. ♥

 We all cope with life differently. Some people worry about every detail of every day in every way. They go insane over the smallest hitch in the works. They get old really fast. Some people are so laid back that their only view is up. They don't even think of the important steps we need to take to move forward so there they sit. Some people cruise forward at a good clip but miss too many of the important side roads that would make their life better, brighter, or just plain happy.

No way is totally right or wrong. The true "right" path is a blend of every path, a balance. It's like the stew of life. You need the meat ~ family, faith, wisdom. You need the potatoes ~ work, community service,  world affairs. You need the healthy stuff, the veggies ~ doctors, exercise, mental health days. But none of that would be much with out the spices you add to make it taste good ~ fun, pleasure, sunshine, and gumdrops (yeah, I know, but since we all like different spices I went generic and silly... deal with it)

For the Life Stew to taste right, to be good, it needs a bit of everything in the right measure. Balance is the key, the goal, the key ingredient to a happy life. Now, how do you find that key?  The simple answer is you already have it. The complicated answer is that you may have it but now you have to find it. To make things even more complicated, I have to point out that no one can tell You how to find or use the key. Every self help book claiming to have it is full of cow patties. They can give you suggestions, you can take them and there is a maybe kind a chance that they will work, simply because no one is you.

You know what you have to do. You know what you want to add to your life. You know what you need to take out of it. You know what makes your heart smile. The key can be found in mixing all of that together and finding the balance of the good, the bad, and the little doesn't mean anythings. YOU know, even if you don't like to see it, feel it, or deal with it.

It's worth a moment's pain, off kilter feeling that dealing with getting everything in order will bring, to have that contentment and peace that balance can bring. As a bonus, if all that is ok with-in you, the day to day crap that life throws at you will be less to clean up. When it flies you will know what to duck, what to deal with, what to throw back, and what to laugh at.

Life will never be so perfect that you will ever forget every pain, but it can be perfect  enough to allow that pain to pass quickly and quietly. Life will still have pitfalls, pot holes and even a mountain or two, but you will see more of the wild flowers, stars and good things that line the road even as you overcome the latest obstacles. You will also find that it is easier to move through life with a lighter load of unnecessary garbage being towed along. 

So what makes you smile till your eyes twinkle? What in life gets your feet tapping and your mind laughing? What makes IT all better? That's what your life needs more of. 

So what ingredient turns your life sour. What person, place, or thing (what Noun?) makes your life harder just by being there? Do you really need it? If not, then find it somewhere else to be. If you do, how can you turn it sweet? 

What just is? What part of your life can you not do much about but deal with it? You do what needs doing, what you can do to make it work, then let it go. Don't worry about it. Don't hold on to it. Don't ignore it. Just deal with it and move on.

These questions are simple, much simpler then life, but if you apply them when you can, answer them honestly, and deal accordingly, then you will find that balance that makes life so much easier.

I never claimed to have it all worked out and anyone who says they have is full of the same cow patties that fill self help books. If you are honest with yourself, do the best you can, and follow your own moral path then you will be closer then most. Life will still be rough sometimes but I can promise that you will be better prepared to deal with it. You won't always remember to hold tight to the good, learn from the bad and let go, and to just deal. It's a human thing. But you will still come out on top because you will feel it click back into place when you get around to remembering.

Find love, find contentment, find peace......

Are On-line friendships Less?

The world is different these days. We can know people who live on our block and half way around the world with the same degree of intimacy. There may be lack in physical touch or such, but really even that has been worked around. 


So how should we look at the people we call friends but just know in the box? Are they some how not worth as much just because we haven't flown out to meet them or didn't go to high school with them? If they are sad, hurt, confused are we supposed to click our tongue, say "that's too bad," and move on to the next friend? Or should we say, "what can I do?" 


The reality is that we sometimes share as much if not more of ourselves with our on-line friends. Time isn't an issue because we leave this message and they get back with us when they can and then we get back to them when we can... we can give more because we can do it around the day to day life. 


We notice things about our friends on line, like changes in their type of "speech" as they write, the content they share, and how well it is all put together. We may miss this in a friend we just meet up with for lunch once a month. 


What is our obligation to the on-line friend? Do we owe them the same concern, love, and understanding that we would a friend who lives in the same town? Do we wonder about them when we don't hear from them? 


Time and energy put into any friendship gives it a level of importance. There are folks in your everyday world who could fade away unnoticed and others who you would cry a river for. But what of your on-line friends? We hold some as close as family so why would we not give them the same level of concern and importance as such?


Let's go back to a time when phone calls were scarce, there was space in the west, and people had to write letters to family and friends. Did the people then care less about each other because of the distance? They couldn't offer as much support or know as many details as the family that can now send and receive in a days time what would have taken months then.


On-line friendships and made family ties are as important as the friendships you had in high school. You invest you heart, your time, and sometimes your money in the people you find important connections with. They are no less your friend then the lady you meet for lunch. You also have oblications to them just as you would any other friend.


If you see a friend in need, in danger, or struggling then you offer what help you can. You take them a bag of groceries, you ask if they need to talk, or make some other move to help them. Really, if you are a good friend then it doesn't matter if you know these people just in the box but that they are your friend in the truest sense of the world. And true friends reach out, are there for each other, and look out for each other.


What is of real concern, is how easy some people can shut off that love and friendship. With a click of a button you can take someone out of your world forever. At least in the physical world you have to put a little more effort into it. Some things that can be worked through aren't for the simple reason it requires more work then hitting a delete button.


The world is changing. How people interact is changing. The need for friendship and love is not. Hold tight and honor your friends no matter where you met them. Treat them how you want your friends to treat you. Show concern, laugh, enjoy your friends because it is so much better then being alone.


Be thankful for the people in your world.