I'm back!

My aplogies for the recent lapse in posting... I was out of town for a week. But that's not a good excuse. No excuse is a good excuse. The old cliche of "where there's a will, there's a way" is true. If we want something bad enough, we can get it. Hence my apology. I enjoy doing this blog, but I let excuses and considerations stop me. I wonder why people are so suceptible to being stopped from accomplishing the things they claim are important to them. Is it laziness? Is it fear? Maybe. And maybe it's an innate drive to expend as little energy as possible. Considerations give us an escape from having to move. It's so much easier to flap our mouths about what the world should look like and what we want to achieve, but then lay on the couch instead. For me, it's a daily struggle to pursue the things I proclaim as my goals. Dreaming about them requires less effort. And in not trying, I can trick myself into thinking I didn't fail. In fact, not trying is the worst kind of failure. So... it's come to this... if you speak it, work to make it a reality, no matter what "it" is. And, if you find yourself on the couch, get up! After a short while, you may find yourself back there again. It's ok. Get up again! That's the daily struggle of life. I'm back... you can expect regular posts from now on...

Ronald Reagan v. George Bush

I could never be accused of being a Regan fan, but I was actually moved by his passing and the televised services last week. Even if you hated his policies, you have to admire the man for his strength of will. He was bold, he was determined, and he was not easily derailed. Most of all he had integrity, well, as much as a man in his position could have.
Compare him to George W. Can anyone in their right mind imagine the same stately procession when he passes? No. At best, Bush is a pawn for Cheney and others. At worst, he is their co-conspirator, albeit a really stupid one. What scares me most is that we continue to believe his lies and rhetoric. I'm tired of our taxes turning into bombs. I'm tired of our patriotism being coopted for the sinister plots of our ruling elite. The current administration has failed miserably. They have not found any WMD, they have not caught Osama, they have not "tamed" Iraq, they have not caught any suspects in the anthrax case. All they have done is imprison a great many foreign nationals in Cuba and Iraq. Those people have rights too. They also have families who are as pissed as you and I would be if our relatives were taken. Then we wonder "why they hate us". Reagan wasn't loved, but at least he earned some measure of respect, even from his opponents. It's hard for me to imagine even Bush's own party having much respect for him. Unfortunately, the way American politics work, they're stuck with him. I'm afraid we will be too for another four years.

Fear

Over the years I've lost some wonderful opportunities because I was afraid to take action. I feared the outcome would not be what I hoped for. But the silly thing is that in not taking action, I ensured an outcome I wouldn't want. Recognizing this dilemma, I've tried to become fearless. But that is not possible. Fear is natural. It's a defense mechanism. The right approach, instead, is to be courageous. Acknowledge that fear exists, then move forward anyway. This is true in every area of our lives. To become courageous, we must first admit the fear, then make a choice to act in spite of it, then go ahead and act. One, two, three. Step two (choosing to act) is probably the most difficult. And there more there is at stake, the harder it gets. So don't think of what you might lose if things don't go as planned. Think instead of all that you will gain if they do. Optimism is the biggest fear killer there is.