I own the CD and the DVD sitting in my bedroom. And yet, the people who manufacture them still seem to yield control over them

It always comes down to who has the power. Corporate America argues if you want our product bad enough and you do so according to our policies. Corporate America is always ready and willing to step forward and proclaim… the amounthree the American public on the other hand…. Exclude easily say if you want our business then you change your policies…. But American citizens seem to be more willing to accept the policies of corporate America however seemingly seemingly or truly unfair unfair they may be whereas corporate America on the other hand is constantly fighting To change policy in their favor.

•Resources on this planet are being further depleted

•People are probably under the gun as far as creating new jobs for things we need even less now than the jobs that were being created 10 or 20 years ago producing services and things we didn’t need then

•The rich continue hoarding more than their fair share calm and there’s more of them than ever – All the name of what; “What’s the point in living if you don’t have the freedom to outdo your fellow human being?”

•Meanwhile: Ensuing generations are finding it harder and harder and harder to thrive -to find something worth living for themselves.

As it was told to me some years ago years ago, “There should be a cap on how much people can drain or suck out of the pool”. Say 10 million. Once they reach that limit they carry over into the sector of charity where they work to help the needy. And then somebody else steps into their old job and it makes a good living. Now you have 2 people making a good living-living well, instead of just one. And that person that reached the 10 million mark can train and pass on their skills as well.Pass them on out of consideration to their fellow human being and not too bad to a part of gold yeah it’s a part of gold they can never spend spend in their entire lifetime perit’s a lifetime. Not without being foolish and childish anyways.

It’s even worse for the people on top than it is for the people on the bottom – People at the top: in line with history, will fieel they are being attacked. That they’re freedom to exploit the system take the system to whatever degree necessary or capable April bull… is being being stolen right out from under them. It is this belief -that of the right to rape and pillage…. That is the real issue -Just because something is legal doesn’t mean it is sensible; right; in the best interest of… And while I’m there, I may as well add, just because something is illegal -doesn’t mean it’s wrong. 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♂️

I have an aunt and an uncle who want to give me some money as an inheritance. But neither seems entirely willing to let that money go. As painful as it would be for me, and for you who are in the same situation -If a person can’t let go of their money -then maybe it’s best just to keep it.

It’s like I was thinking the other day, if you’re gonna give stuff away to The Goodwill, The Salvation Army… Don’t just give away junk. Remember, the idea is to help people in need -not just to make more room in your drawer. Besides, there are a ton of people out there in the world who are right on the edge of giving up on humanity -giving up on HOPE!!!! A good deed on your part could do more than you may ever possibly know. 😉

Those people I hurt in anger whom I claimed to love -I am not so sure of now. Can it be possible to hurt people you love? I think more so when you love yourself more than you love them. The more you love others than you love yourself -the less inclined you are to hurt them even when they hurt you.

Now I know what previous generations meant when they said things like “…When Bob Hope, and Bing Crosby, and Elvis were still young” -It reminds them of the time when they were still young, full of life, able, filled with dreams of the future -hope for Tomorrow. We associate our timelines in our lives with music and with celebrity -I know I do. To me it now is,, “I remember when Sylvester Stallone was young. When Sean Connery and Roger Moore were still alive… When groups like Duran Duran were still young “. 😪

I remember when my aunt told me not too many years ago, “Rick, do things while you still can, while you’re still young.” 💪

My grandmother used to say, “Rick loves Rick!” I could understand her feeling that way given my outward behavior and attitude.. Looking back however, nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, I hurt myself more than any other person ever did -I hated myself! Most alcoholics addicts do to some degree or another.*

If somebody had done to me would I have done to me, what I had done to my family.. I probably would have killed them. But when it comes to ourselves most of us live with that shame, that anger, that hatred! Someone said a long time ago that “depression is anger turned inwards.” The self is a funny thing. In a roundabout sort of way it’s the same thing for ourselves as it is with others in terms of our attitude towards those we don’t like, those we have lost respect for. But in a different sense it is entirely different -We don’t beat the hell out of ourselves literally the way we would somebody else. But when we see ourselves in others -that’s when the hatred comes out. When we deny our sabotage our plans…. That’s when the shame and unworthiness come out. How do we explain people who are highly successful but loathe themselves deeply? I guess it’s like the white dog black dog in every man; the one you feed that day -WINS! It’s a very interesting thing, the idea that there’s 2 opposing opposing things inside of a man-both of which determine his life, his success, his failures. Whether he chooses to be a janitor or the president of the United States. Whether he chooses a woman that is good to him or a woman who is bad to him. And what about choosing to remain in a relationship that’s no good -there certainly seems to be lots of that going around. The hardest thing in the world for most people is to get to the root of the problem -where the solution also lies. That’s why they never reached the solution. You gotta go through the problem to get to the solution.. Just like you gotta go through a lot of bad people (sometimes); in order to get to the good ones. In the end, success boils down to 2 things:

•How badly do you want it

•How much is it worth to you

You may say, “But they’re the same thing” -“THEY PROBABABLY ARE!”

When I got to the steps and started working them with Granville, I noticed something:

•Unworthiness -So what happens when you follow the suggestions, good thing start happening in your life, and you don’t want them? You don’t feel worthy of them? Unworthiness is a huge factor in many an Alcoholics success in recovery. It’s probably the root of most failings. It’s my personal belief that until we resolve the issues between ourselves, nothing outside of us will be able to take root permanently. Not God, not the promises coming true, not a willingness to follow the suggestions…That’s exactly what I was for many many years-limbo; A living hell sober! Not too many people can make it through this trial.

•So what’s the answer to the riddle: Like Rocky said “It’s not a hard you can hit back it’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”. Unfortunately for me, and a lot of other people, I did a lot more of one than I did the other -for a very long time. 😕

We’re slaves too 💰 because we’re slaves to our own physical existence -as opposed to our own spiritual existence. Our spirits are not even slaves to God -and yet and yet we allow ourselves to be slaves to money, to our selves.

When we think about what people have done to us to hurt us -we get angry at them.

When we begin to think along the lines of what we didn’t do (could, woulda, should…) -our anger begins to turn away from them and possibly towards ourselves moreso.

Some say anger is a normal, healthy emotion. In the Bible, Jesus appears to have gotten angry once or twice (and not because of how He was being treated) which tells me -if our 💕 are in the right place spiritually, most earthly things shouldn’t provoke us nearly as easily as they have in the past (present…).*(**)

Anger like anything else survives off of a source -thoughts usually. “What we focus on -we give power to”.

It’s easier not to exhibit anger -when we are free from anger. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♀️,

It’s easier to “act” sane -when we “are” sane.

Anger seldom says “come closer”. Maybe though “come closer if you dare”. The ego usually speaks through anger when it can’t get what it wants, or; is in danger of losing what it has.

“Happiness is not getting what you want, it’s wanting what you have”.

“If every day were a 🌞ny day, the trees would die and the flowers would wilt -thank God for the ⛅, the cloudy days which bring rain and much needed relief from the 🌞.” I heard a man say this once at the end of an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

Judgement of others is always preceded by an opinion of others -try to avoid opinions of others.

Every time I choose to crack the door ever-so-slightly and peak in on one of my weaknesses, I almost invariably end up “walking through it”.

*Sidenote: A guy once told me, and I even remember where I was lol that’s how big an impression it made, “If you want to know the future -look at the past”.

**Some of us are seemingly addicted to anger -and that can be a hard habit to break.***

***Typically The (bad) habits that linger -tend to be those we hang on to willfully. The one’s we water, and prune, and add “Miracle-gro” to and of course -JUSTIFY.

I can do things and make a woman fall in love with me-but if it’s not me…

I can beat myself-or at least be where I’m at, and probably no woman will fall in love with me.

I think a lot of people struggle with what they want, what they need, what they think they won’t come with a think they need, Being themselves calm up being where they’re at – And accepting the limitations that go along with it.

Is it better to be (your) true (self) to yourself, and be alone – or to be someone else and not be alone?

The thing about this whole process is it can be a very long time to Come into our full selves potentially -a self that in certain respects garners as many of the things we value, and yearn for, and need in life. Most of us get into relationships many many years before we’re able. You say well how are we supposed to learn if we don’t… Well learning should probably start after we’ve learned something about ourselves -not during, not after.

And then there’s that crucial thing where we knowe need to decide if we want to make who who we truly are, who God intended for us to be -a priority versus What we need to do, once again, to get the things out of life we desire and feel we need.

At the end of the day of boils down to this: When we become the person God intended for us to be -we give up some things -and we gain some things. When we become the person we want to be -we give up some things -and we gain some things. When we choose the latter, we tend not to learn things like patience; we tend to gain wisdom and experience, more so through pain and suffering, theough being at odds with others. Let’s face it, we live in a now society – And more often than not, God doesn’t do now’s! God does principles and that’s how we are formed in his image – Just like a piece of coal becoming a diamond. While a crappy knife or sword is fashioned very hastily from a shitty piece of metal.*

Like I have often said:

“When we’re younger; we want to be older; when we’re older we want to be younger. When we’re young; we want to be able to do adult-things. When we’re old; we want to be able to do the things we did when we were young(er)”.**

*Sure, we can cheat by appearing to be something we’re not -as a man, get the girl we want… end up with heartbreak 6 months or 5 years later. People do the same thing with jobs-would ultimately end up cheating the employer and the public.

**When were young we don’t have the money. When we’re middle aged we don’t have the time. When we’re all we don’t have the strength. You see a lot of 60 something’s running around this town driving a Corvette. 😆

Be careful what you share with people-today your lover, tomorrow your enemy.

Man always has to form an opinion of something-that is when hes busy not bothering to form one at all where he should. Sometimes it’s best not to form an opinion-especially when it comes to our fellow human beings.

We put things out of our mind so we don’t have to look at them – But worse still, we put things out of remind so we don’t have to do anything about them – So we don’t have to sacrifice our own… There are a lot of people in this country who are. “Well-off”; and they’re still running around like there are few dollars away from poverty. People like my aunt and Uncle who grew up poor but have a wonderful life today – Still carry those memories of poverty which prevent them from giving of what they’ve been given to those truly in need. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my aunt Uncle roll down their window and offer a homeless person on the corner some change. And these are devout members of our Christian church. That is definitely not the Christian spirit. A lot of christians will do a lot of things but they won’t cut loose of their money.*

*Ypou can throw me in there too except for the part where I do a lot of things besides give my money -I’m ashamed to say I haven’t given much money -and I haven’t done a lot of things either. 😏