Listen...

And be patient with each other.

Resolve those issues in your life before heading out today...

Before you set out to resolve someone else's.

Live a little to learn a lot...

Apply that to the circumstances you'll face later on.

Let that voice you've stuffed away down deep have a moment today; and...

Listen.

Fear is natural. Don't be afraid of it...

Use those things you learned earlier to overcome it.

Love your neighbor...

They're friends that are closer to you than anyone else.

Stay true to what you believe...

It's what you've worked so hard for all these years.

Read between the lines...

The most valuable information sometimes hides here.

Read something you've never thought to read...

It may have been intended just for you.

Write it down...

You may need to those thoughts later on; but more importantly so will your neighbor.

Speak out...

If you feel you should then do it; and when you do people will listen.

Thank God for things you have...

Do not worry about the things you do not.

Listen...

To the music of the earth; an orchestra just for you playing the song you need to hear.

Join in and play your part...


--

-js

Here's a great question to reflect on from time to time...

"List at least 3 of your core values and why they are integral to your way of being in the various roles in your life."

~ Where did they come from?
~ Give examples of how you demonstrate them and, when you fall short, do not.
~ What are their opposites?
---------------

_Self - it is of the utmost importance that we value our _self at all times in all walks of our life (home, work, activities, etc.). Our sense of _self is what will lead us to and manifests true meaning in our lives, in turn manifesting meaning externally to the people and circumstances around us. _self provides us meaning.

_Purpose - in every action, in every word, in every minute of our acute attention, should there be _purpose. A driving force behind these moments is the intention, revealing the _purpose for the actions, the words, or the attention we give them. _Purpose makes it count, makes it real, and sustains it through doubt and wavering circumstances. _Purpose provides us decisiveness.

_Courage - have the _courage to do the right thing, to listen to your conscious mind and what it tells you. Use _courage to take risks. Use _courage to help shape our integrity. Use _courage to practice honesty. Use _courage to help shape our humility. _Courage provides us strength.

_Awareness - how can we affect things we are not _aware of? _Awareness is a deep level of understanding, a connection, a bond to the facts or fiction, that allows us the freedom to practice honest judgment. It allows us to peek into the future, understand the past, and shape the present. Being _aware is a tool that can free our attention to focus on _purpose or finding our _self's role or gives us _courage to act. _Awareness provides us freedom.

The opposites are as important to be _aware of:
_self-interest
_indifference
_ignorance
_fear

These values are a daily goal to achieve. Each day they play a part, or their opposites will. They bleed from home to work, friends to family, relaxation to struggle. They are all around us and within our reach.

Each day begins with the goal to uphold these values; in every situation.


-js

Birthdays are a time to take a moment and appreciate those who are in your life, and celebrate the beginning of a new year of discovery. They are simply a stop sign, for everyone to get together and celebrate someone special. They are fun. Each one more precious than the last.

What do I look forward to in my next birthday? The chance to grow and embark on a new year with those that are around me. I used to loathe them, now they don't bother me. I don't look at them as a time to eat cake or get presents, but a day to spend quality time with those around me, and and to look back on the previous year with insight on what I can work for next year.

Since we had our daughter, birthdays are big a celebration. Each year we enjoy seeing her celebrate and those around her loving it. She looks forward to them, so why shouldn't I? I do understand I get older with each passing birthday, but that's not so bad...it's all how you look at it.

-js

Her Dedication. No matter what; she is dedicated to being my mother. That dedication helped to make me what I am today. That's what mother's are for. When you grow older, and find your own path, it was and is that dedication that helped make you what you are, and helped equip you for what's to come.

A lot of energy went into making you, most of it by your mother. From inception to conception to birth through life...your mother invests more energy in each phase than any other. She thought of you first before she met your father, her body created you (with 'some' help), her body formed you for 9 months and gave birth to you, and she invested more time and thought into you than anyone else...when you were a child, a teenager, and even when you grew old to live your own life.

so, no matter what, even if you were just born...your mom has done more for you than anyone else.

so thank you mom...for a life of dedication.

-js

my wife is...

love. happiness. enthusiasm. instinctively mother. determined. strong willed. steadfast. respected. opinionated. intuitive. natural. accurate. relevant. passionate. simple. creative. dedicated. valued. a rockstar (that's a quality, right?). my soulmate.

"Instead of promoting the individual's liberties, necessarily, we are looking at what's good for people as far as these values are found in the bible."

joshua blakes
regents university law graduate

here's another graduate that you may recognize from the news.

it's good to know that these folks are out there thinking about the future of what my liberties should look like. this i believe is so much part of the problem...

Men often oppose a thing merely because they have had no agency in planning it, or because it may have been planned by those whom they dislike.
Alexander Hamilton .

i highly suggest checking out bill moyers' piece on pat robertson and the religious right. It's a good piece that presents a lot of good facts and honest perspective.

-----------

free minds & free market.
always thinq4yourself.

 

-js

Awesome video, check it out...



-js

thinq4yourself...

some days i wake up with fire in my belly at what we, a democratic nation, have let our home-grown politicians get away with in the name of 'freedom'. war after war on shadows, CIA funding of terrorism, new world order domination, and of-course, the GOP's very own Chancellor .

this land is; our land. what would happen if we all knew more of the truth? how many us know more of the truth (due to your pure dedication to seeking out the truth)? how much more truth have you found than you neighbor? than your best friend? than your colleagues? than your parents? than your spouse? than your kids? than your local newspaper/radio show/news channel? than your congressmen?

what are we doing with that truth we spent so much time seeking? who are we infecting with it. how many truth converts can we make claim for?

propaganda is not truth. left-right rhetoric is not truth. politics is not truth. what is truth is facts. if more of us knew facts, unbiased, undisputable facts, of the history of our nation, and its intentions home and around the globe...being a republican or democrat wouldn't matter much anymore. being human would. saving humanity would.

(cross-referenced from thinq4yourself@wordpress)

i'm sitting here watching Bush's press conference from yesterday (dvr'd) talking about the war, bin laden, and all the usual rhetoric in between. Actually, he's patting himself on the back (and threatening the reporter's children BTW) for all the peace in the middle east, and how it's because of him and is crafty war that bin laden hasn't partnered with iraq and others to promote a more effective world terrorism campaign. what really gets me is that this press conference announced the fact that the newly elected majority didn't have the staying power to put a goal-driven system of withdrawal in place. republican, democrat, bush-fan or not...bush and the uber-conservatives are still using the difference in idealism as the fuel and justification for the war...that somehow it is our responsibility to help them rethink their ideology to how it suits us (and our f$nan$al gain).

[oh, if you're an ubercon, please just listen...and learn; facts won't turn you into a total goober.]

and how does that get votes? i can't get through a day without hearing from multiple people (republicans, democrats, young, old; people who just aren't afraid of to have their own opinion) that we need to get out of this war...so why is no one listening to these stellar americans? because bush threatened to veto it? because the elected president said so? what a bunch of wankers...

he's right...votes win. and, as i see it, these votes are still not completely in line with the american people's wishes..to pull out of the war, reform education, healthcare, and social issues in this country. stop antagonizing others outside our borders and help the people that live within it. some fear that doing too much at once is deadly. when did this approach ever win? one step at a time...and the first step is to send them home. someone please bring them home, anyone!

that it's a new day, a new beginning, the beginning of tomorrow. everything has led up this point; and the birds are singing inspiration and the sun radiating energy to kick it all off...

that I wake up...

that I wake up with whom I do...

that I wake up inspired...


-js

(cross-referenced from thinq4yourself@wordpress)

thinq4yourself...

you are not alone. you do not have to feel alone. open up, talk to someone, talk to me. do not focus all of your attention on everything surrounding you...instead consciously make the decision to look for the comforts in the fact you are not alone; look for what's good in this darkness. seek out friendship, do not wait for it to seek you.

(cross-referenced from thinq4yourself@wordpress)

Peace...
a state of harmony. the absence of hostility.