The Road You Should Never Want To Walk

It's a dark place. It's a lonely place. It's a dangerous place. It's a place you'll never admit you actually wanted to be. It's the kind of state of mind you have to fight to be in to accomplish what you're wanting, but it's also the kind you'll look back at and realize that nothing is worth being in that place again. Or is it?

You may ask why on earth I would ever want to go there again and my answer for you is simple: it is the only way I have found that has actually made certain endeavors of mine be successful. And to do it again, I have to go back to that place in my mind. Will I like this? Hell no. But the end justifies the means. It's so much easier when you're not doing it for yourself, because you can make excuses to yourself and let yourself get away with it all the time. The difficulty and the motivation come when you're being held to the higher standard of someone else's approval. Someone who won't let you off so easy.

This is where the lies have to come in. No one would be that harsh on you, but you need to believe they would be. One must imagine that the person you care the most about would be sorely disappointed or angry or disgusted if you do not reach this goal you set out to accomplish. Only for a time. Self-destruction does not need to last forever. Simply for a season until you can get yourself back on track. Is this healthy? In almost every single way, no it is not. But it gets me what I most want, satisfies me about the one point that's made me the most unhappy.

You have to get absolutely fed up with the way things are in order to even BEGIN to want to change. Some of the time, this requires a little exaggeration on your part. Now, I'm not saying that lying will necessarily make you happy. But sometimes getting yourself worked up about something is the only way you will have the motivation to change it.

It's important to be happy with yourself and if being unhappy with yourself will take you to being happy with yourself, then one should allow it for a while. And after it is all said and done and you are successful, you will feel so much more confident in yourself, knowing that you can do whatever you set your mind to.

Home of the Brave Will Never Mean More Until It's Your Life

Freedom:

Some would tell you it takes a unique and intriguing science, with all of a country's best brains running this great machine of laws and defense that keeps us free. Others would say we are free by accident, "no thanks to those camouflaged yahoos running around blowing off everyone's heads". (To that opinion, I say go to hell.) And yet others live in oblivion, taking for granted their daily lives and routines.

This is not just another "blah, blah, blah be thankful for your freedoms" post (many of which will make an appearance today). You may have your opinions about our country, what we're doing right and doing wrong, who's really running everything, and whether we're making a difference other parts of the world. I don't take an interest in politicking of any sort, so I may not be able to give you the most polished or politically correct answers to your questions.

But what I can give you is information--cold, hard facts that you will not be able to deny. On July 4, 1776, a document was signed to give us the freedoms we have today. It has been manipulated and changed many times, many ways to define what people think freedom really is, but most of those basic freedoms still stand. Blood was shed from 1775-1783, 1861-1865, 1914-1918, 1939-1945, and 2001-present for the citizens of our country to still be able to claim and defend those freedoms. The military forces who have given their lives for their defense of freedom were human beings, mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, sisters, brothers, grandmothers, grandfathers, granddaughters, grandsons, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, neighbors. And we need to remember that they were not nameless people--they had lives and people who loved them.

And all of those mothers, fathers, etc. are still fighting, still putting their lives on the line for their loved ones, for honor, pride, and freedom. However you see our freedoms, government, country, military, remember this--freedom has never been free. Someone had to pay the price for yours.