Surrender

You too are going to die, and that’s because you too were fortunate enough to have lived. You may not feel this. But go stand on a cliff sometime, and maybe you will. Bukowski once wrote, “We’re all going to die, all of us. What a circus! That alone should make us love each other, but it doesn’t. We are terrorized and flattened by life’s trivialities; we are eaten up by nothing.”

the primary lesson was this: there is nothing to be afraid of. Ever. And reminding myself of my own death repeatedly over the years—whether it be through meditation, through reading philosophy, or through doing crazy shit like standing on a cliff; is the only thing that has helped me hold this realization front and center in my mind. This acceptance of my death, this understanding of my own fragility, has made everything easier—untangling my addictions, identifying and confronting my own entitlement, accepting responsibility for my own problems—suffering through my fears and uncertainties, accepting my failures and embracing rejections—it has all been made lighter by the thought of my own death. The more I peer into the darkness, the brighter life gets, the quieter the world becomes, and the less unconscious resistance I feel to, well, anything.

Move!

We're so afraid to fail, because of the labels that will be bestowed upon us, by the people in our lives who had those same labels bestowed upon them!

F**k people! F**k people and their opinions and how they feel! Yes that includes your mother, your father, siblings, friends anybody who pissed you didn't please them.  Your only a failure because you failed THEIR expectations. I get so tired of people coming to me with the addiction of making f**king excuses!

A year ago to the day! My dream, my career was taken away from me!!! Did I lay down and f**king die?! No! I may have cried for a day or two, but I got my a$$ up and got to it. Dusted myself off, threw the 🖕 up at everyone who was there to watch me die, and give up and I went work, picked up where I left off kept cashing CHECKS, plural.

Get up! Go out. Put yourself out there in the universe. That business you been talking about starting GO! That band you wanted to start, GO! That investment you wanted to make, take the chance! Go travel, go find you a few mentors, a few people who success you inspire to have and learn some $#!+.

All you 18, 19, 20 somethings, 30 somethings, You have time! You not even at the halfway point of your life. All that life is short, your getting old, time is precious bull$#!+ we been fed by social doctrine, 🖕that! Time is valuable however, and you have plenty of it, but don't waste it!  There's work to be done, to get the life you want, whatever you want, so Move! GO DO SOMETHING!

Don't Look Up, LISTEN UP! Earth Is Speeding This Thing Call Life Up Right Under Your Eyes

We've recently had our shortest day ever on earth. I know no one is paying attention, ya know to the important stuff.

It brought about a conversation about death. Death is one of my favorite topics to discuss when talking to mates'.

Why?

When you bring up a discussion about death, the conversation gets real. It forces people to really put life into prospective. Think about it, You can't really bullshit the conversation, you have to either come real or run away.

Like when you think about it we hold on to loved ones after they pass on, for nothing but our own selfish reasoning. We mourn cause we'll miss them so much, how they treated us, and what they did or provided for us. Gone too soon? because they didn't get the chance to fulfill the dream we had for their life, or didn't get to tap the potential we put on them.

One of my favorite answers to mourners is, Death is not the punishment, it's the reward! While it may not be very comforting its just truth. 

The Bloom of Human Beings

I know I'm always talking about time and the abundance of it that we have. It kind of throws people because one the most common sayings is, "tomorrow is not promise' or one of the lines that reside in the realm of 'precious time'.

I think we reside so much time in that realm for multiple reason; The biggest being we're so afraid of death. Another being perfectionism. We have been so condition to be perfect in everything we do, which ultimately sets us up for failure, but cause perfection only exist in the mind, we're perfect at nothing.

Rather it be professionally, socially, in relationship. We fuck up. We get it wrong way more times, in a life time, than we get it right. Let's acknowledge that and then normalize it

Something that's not expressed to people enough, especially young people is that in life you don't reach full bloom until your 40's and 50's. We have little blooms throughout our young lives and early adulthood that prepares us for our big bloom. This is life, it all about preparation. 

United States of The Apocalypse

I think it's rather clear that in this country we can't agree on anything! Tolerance.. TOLERANCE! All people are asking for is tolerance! Damn equality, at this point,  black people can't get it we got that but damn not even LGBTQ+ People either.

As June comes to an end this has been the most contentious pride month I could ever remember. Just do a quick search of pride month incidents '22 and you'll see so much homophobia that you're head would spend.

The land of the free is what they say, but really who has the freedom? Who got the balls to say it? Clearly the Courts. The white American men is who!

Growing up black in this country, your kind of molded to expect the worst. Growing into the man I am today, America hasn't disappointed either, every time I think this is the peak of pissoity(I know it's not a word) something else is done that tops said level. 

Of course this week the overturning of roe didn't disappoint.

Before I get into this topic I wanna get it out there that I'm pro-choice. I think the fact that I have to put that out there is ashamed in it of itself but I know how things can get misconstrued And how outrage people can get.

I'm also not here to make any friends. So there's your disclaimer to some unpopular opinions.

I also won't get into the underline reason why I believe the ruling was REALLY made, check the statistics on abortion, and who gets majority of them, and you might my drift. 

I think everyone needs to pay attention because this was a violation of Human rights, and although violating humans right have been going on forever when you talk about minorities, for some, this type of violation is new.

Americans is under attack. Let me repeat that, AMERICANS not America. This is just another example of the violation of our basic Human rights turned into our country's human wrongs. It used to be blacks, gays you know 'the others' that was just under attack in America. The big difference, and the reason why the ripple effect was much bigger this time in the overturning of roe, it's because this was officially a violation of all human rights, not just the others, and in America, that's when it matters. I'm just intrigued to see how White's handle being treated like minorities. but I think I know how that's going to go 🤔

https://youtu.be/kpOzJhv1zjI

https://youtu.be/kpOzJhv1zjI

Gabe Kapler protest the anthem. Okay and....

Coach Kepler sitting out the anthem. Lol hey skip I get what you trying to do but it's not the same. First you using a protest that not only already been used, but was arguably the most controversial one since Jim Crow. Secondly and most importantly YOUR WHITE! This 'merica skip, and an ugly truth about this 'merica is you don't live under the same standards, laws, or even rights here that me or one of your black players do.

Do you remember the name Bruce Maxwell? Yeah probably not. Well he was the only player kneeling during 'kneeling peroid' Like him this will be talked about for a few days and no one will even acknowledge your doing it, then you'll get bored and you'll stop, just like Bruce did.

I think the most comical part of this all is you decide memorial weekend in Cincinnati to start it! CINCINNATI! I think there some irony in that decision, I'm not going to even elaborate on that, but hey good choice of the. Location to start it. 'A'
for effort, it's more action than most will take. ESPECIALLY IN CINCINNATI 

Another Mass Shooting

I think the problem with these shooting and these slaughtering of our neighbors and our kids is, we all live in this theoretical state, meaning if it don't effect me directly, we mourn for a min, just make our post, say T's and P's, share a post and move on with our lives. If somehow we lived in the state of constant relatable reality, then we are forced in a state of taking action and doing something about it. 

Why can't Robb elementary school, be C.O. Harrison where my 10 year old goes to school? Why can't the supermarket in Buffalo, be the krogers my mother and I shop at it? And like the Asian church, remember Dylan Wolf? It wasn't that long ago he walk into a church and killed multiple blacks in Bible study, also something I was raised up doing every week at first Baptist of Hazelwood, why couldn't that have happen to us?

Numbers don't lie! Statistic say it's closer to you than you know, but unfortunately humans lead there lives in a way that is not proactive, it's reactive. We react the same way to these events, at least till it happens to you.

Where's Weirdo? Calling Out To All You Interesting People

There's that saying; if your the smartest person in the room, then you need to find a new room. Well I think that go for interest too. If your the most interesting person in a room you also need to find a new room.

I love interesting people! Interesting is defined by the individual, I'm speaking most about dialog and mind set, people who thinks differently than I do. Over the last few years my journey has made me a bit of weirdo is the realm.

In my search of interesting, I have found myself connecting with people, that social doctrine would tell you is cray-cray or weirdos, but be that as it may, I've enjoyed the process of leaning into other people's weirdness. Leaning in Keep's life interesting, and most importantly it teaches you range, range in your own thoughts and the able to be ability to see things from a lot of different angles.

So I challenge you, this week. Seek out someone who seems a lil off, rather that be at work, your local hangout, your neighbors, wherever. Someone who's thinking and view point and some peaks your interest and just talk(more so listen) and ask questions. It maybe uncomfortable, but I promise you it'll be fun and you'll leave that experience had learned something 😉

What is success?

Real success. This is something that only you can define for yourself.

Maybe real success looks like owning a small business, taking a new course, learning a new skill, or living with more purpose. The point is that whatever you want to do in this life, you can do it with confidence, ease, intelligence, and success. You really can. And more than anything, your version of success doesn’t have to be perfectly planned. The rules were created to be broken. Don't be afraid to be creative, bold, and honest with yourself about what you want. Abundance is yours to claim.

A bit on TRUST.

Trust is a minefield, especially in the contest of other people. No matter how you try to tip-toe through, the chances of getting across is very slim.

In order to make survival a certainty,(and limp away only being hurt, cause you will be hurt) you don't trust that someone is going to betray you, instead you just trust that you'll be able handle it when they do, and that you'll be able to walk away!

That's a massive key to it, stop worrying about if you can trust people, maybe you CAN'T, only time will tell! That is a pointless waste of your energy and mental fortitude to worry about.

My baby brother is 30! 😳

For the sake of your card, I have to keep this short, and let me tell you, that's a challenge.

As an elder brother you are gifted the responsibility and blessing to oversee the health and well being of your younger sibling, and man do I have the best one!

Ivan it's still unreal to me that your even an adult, let along hitting 30! As unreal as it seem, God have to killed adulthood.

The Man you have become, The father you are, The brother you have always been, has been nothing short of perfect. The courage, your drive, your bravado that you lead your life with makes everyone who has the blessing to know you, very lucky. However, not as lucky as me who gets to call you my brother.

Happy birthday! I love you, thanks for being unapologetically exactly who you are, can't wait to see what the future holds for you and your family. Keep making us proud!