In the beginning of any switch or change or especially at the start of a personal rebuild or transformation, often, the toughest or most intimidating idea is where do we begin? Where do we start and how? There are self help books and coaches and gurus that can say what to do, but yet, this always leaves the same resounding question: How?
Is this even possible?
Monthly Archives: October 2020
I’m Being Called The Tattooed Minister
I have written about a lot of different things throughout the years. I’ve told you my secrets and my dreams. I’ve told you about my past and the hopes I have for my future. And for myself, I have spilled my thoughts on different pages to either rid me from my demons or restore my angels so that I could find some kind of sanity. One could say this is part of my plan. This is my therapy. This is my voice and my true self without any window dressing. But more, this has become a connection between us that has led me to more introductions than I could have possibly believe.
Continue readingLife Vol. 1: That Thing Called Serenity
This is not about religion or God, so please, hold your judgement. Hopefully, I am able to make my point clear at the end.
So let’s see.
There is an idea that has been reduced to a simple prayer, which is a prayer I have been saying for about 30 years now. They call this The Serenity Prayer, which is a popular one amongst the 12-step communities.
Others know this too, which means the prayer is not just synonymous with recovery but then again, one of the truest ideas I’ve ever heard (and remind myself of) is everybody is recovering from something.
From Bedtime Stories For The Insomniac: A Moment On A Rooftop
I take this up to the roof sometimes. My thoughts, that is. I head up to the roof of a building, which is high above Lexington Avenue.
I look out at a sea of tall buildings and a skyline, which I depend upon. I see this place as my quiet refuge. I take to the roof, which is high above the street and high above the speeding cabs and the pedestrians in masks because, well, everyone is wearing a mask these days. at least, they are supposed to be.
Find Your Truth
One of the greatest things to know in life is to know who my friends are. Then again, and adversely, one of the best things to understand about life is to understand who my friends aren’t.
This is helpful. It is even more helpful to realize that if we look, people will always show us who they are. There will be people that say and not do and then there are people that will do and never say. There are those that have the need to talk behind your back and there are those that will never defy the old classic rule, which is never betray someone’s trust.
Continue readingBe Your Own Hero
There are times when we find ourselves too deep in our thoughts. Our ability to overcomplicate and overthink the easy things is amazing to me. We wonder and we worry. We wait in expectation and predict futures. I swear this is true.
I swear we have a way of being our own worst enemy. We are toughest on ourselves. We are overly critical. And sometimes, we forget one unavoidable fact, which is beating us up or punishing ourselves is far from productive. And with that being said, still, I get it.
Continue readingBeing Grateful
I can recall a time when I was in Disney. Of course Disney in itself is a miraculous place. Ever been?
They have rides and reasons to believe in fairytales. They have displays that are inspiring and heartfelt. They have “It’s A Small World,” which has been around for as long as I can remember. They have Minnie and Mickey, Goofy, and Donald.
This is supposed to be the happiest place on Earth. And I suppose it is. I suppose it would have been happy for me if I was there with different people.
This IS Where Overthinking Comes From
The truth is there is no easy way to have a hard conversation. Life comes with challenges and so do we. We have our thoughts and opinions as well as concerns and fears. In fact, life can be uncomfortable sometimes. There is no point in pretending otherwise and there is no reason to act as if this is not true. More to the point, there is nothing wrong with being honest about the challenges we face.
Continue readingFrom The Boys: A Brief Moment of Nostalgia
I’d have sworn it would always be this way, our youth, the summer, the waterfront and the early mornings after the long nights, driving home into the sunrise and then finding my way through the door to crash for a few hours. I’d have sworn I could always do things like this. I thought I would always be able to run forever, as fast as I could, and I could live my life on the edge.
I’d have sworn this was the truth and that age was only something that happened to old people. And me, I swore that I would never grow old. I would never let that happen. Not on my watch.
I would never lose the rush or the need for adrenaline. I swore I would always have the feeling of life at the sunset and the bars down by the waterfront. The lights were bright. The music played and I was an entirely different version of myself.
Continue readingA New Lease On Life
A word is a unit of language. Words are the way we communicate. Words have meaning however, words that say one thing can often mean another. There is the connotation and the denotation of a word, which is the difference in the way we associate the meaning of the word.
The denotation is the actual meaning of the word and the connotation of a word is the association of a word in addition to its actual meaning itself. I know what the word happy means to me. I know what sad means. I know what the word love means to me and adversely, I know what hate means.
I know what the word family means to me, and still, I remember a class of mine at the homeless shelter. I asked the classroom to give me their definition of the word “Family.”
A mumbled voice from the back of the room spoke out and said, “Broken promises” because this is what the word family meant to him.
See what I mean?
The Written Addiction 