Patience, Pleasure and Love

Liberation Theology: Poverty

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 22:22:00 +0000

"A friend linked me" to this simple but fantastic interview with Father Gustavo Gutiérrez, "Remembering the Poor". Fr. Gutiérrez speaks briefly on the teachings of Jesus Christ as a liberation theology through the lens of poverty as an injustice. You should read it :]

Some ideas that it discusses(quotes are the words of Fr. Gutiérrez):

"There was a time when poverty was considered to be an unavoidable fate, but such a view is no longer possible or responsible. Now we know that poverty is not simply a misfortune; it is an injustice." ‎"An active concern for the poor is not only an obligation for those who feel a political vocation; all Christians must take the Gospel message of justice and equality seriously." - Let it be known, that this IS what Jesus taught. esus did not teach to do anything other than love others, and especially those in most need of our, and God's, mercy.
- "Matthew 25:34-45 (NIV)":
' The King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
- Whether you believe in a God, reincarnation, any form of enlightenment, or no god at all, this is real living. I do not claim to live it; even though I try. But those few moments in which I do, I do not wish to live any other life than that of helping those in need.

"In a rich and powerful nation, the challenge is to remember the poor and not succumb to ethnocentrism."

Inspiration:
"Remembering the Poor: An Interview with Gustavo Gutiérrez"
BenHammond.org

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Mark Twain Wisdom

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 04:40:00 +0000

‎"When I was younger I could remember anything, whether it happened or not; but my faculties are decaying now, and soon I shall be so [old] I cannot remember any but the things that never happened."

Mark Twain

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Dave Gibbons - Xealot(Trailer)

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 04:04:00 +0000

"God has not made me rich, but God has given me life, and that life is what I can give to people, and if I don't give my life to those people, there
is nothing else that's worthy of being given."

‎"Well, we're dead already, so we might as well give our lives for a just cause."
- That is, everybody will die. When will we stop being selfish? Nothing we take for ourselves lasts beyond our lifetime, no matter what. Everything we give to anybody else, however, can have lasting effects that we cannot comprehend, in our human condition.

Source Blog: davegibbons.tv/

Xealot(Full): http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=xealot&aq=0

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The Dad Life

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 05:19:00 +0000

Show the dads in your life, if you haven't, already!

Good stuff :]

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Prioritize Your Passion

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 15:34:00 +0000

Inspired by "This Is Why All Your Goals Are Bad For You" by Penelope Trunk.
"Start leading a conscious life" is key. I think the most important part of this post is Take action where your passion lives. However, what seems to be necessary to do that is to figure out what your passion(s) is(are). And what seems necessary to do that is to figure out what you enjoy doing as well as what is worth being passionate about. There are many, many things that we enjoy doing, but we unfortunately seem to enjoy entertaining ourselves the most. I think it is safe to say that the vast majority of the American population becomes passionate about goals that aim to allow them to entertain themselves and their family more.

Some good clean fun and relaxation is certainly imperative, and the amount of time needed is different for everybody. However, there has to be a cap on it, and leading one's life with that goal being the biggest is not very healthy. In fact that goal should be one of the smaller ones, if not the smallest.

I have "seem" in italics because in reality, entertaining ourselves has its uses, but it certainly doesn't do the job like maybe loving others or receiving love from others. What would be totally great would be to combine goals you are passionate about WITH goals to lift others up and help them reach their goals as well. In fact, over time I think we would find that the goals would not only merge smoothly, but they would begin to take on characteristics that don't reflect so much of the first set of goals. After all, doesn't helping other help us much more overall?

Related posts: "What the world needs now is love...", How Much Is Enough?

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Give and Then Give

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:56:00 +0000

GhostwritingUncovered.com posted her personality type that TypeAlyzer.com(no, that's not a type) derived from her website. I thought that was pretty neat; I wanted to check it out!

Now, I'm not a fan at all of Zodiac horoscopes, silly MySpace bulletins, or chain mail that tell you that you are exactly the same as everybody who has the same color eyes, birth month, favorite color, or car as you do. However, TypeAlyzer.com bases their analysis on what YOU have written on your blog. They have pre-written descriptions. Nevertheless, the description they shot back to me was strangely accurate:

"The gentle and compassionate type. They are especially attuned their inner values and what other people need. They ~~are not friends of many words and~~ tend to take the ~~worries~~ of the world on their shoulders. They tend to follow the path of least resistance and have to look out not to be taken advantage of.

They often prefer working quietly, behind the scene as a part of a team. They tend to value their friends and family ~~above what they do for a living~~."

The slash-throughs represent what I don't quit e agree with. I am a friend of many words. The problem is that I don't brainstorm before I post on here. I should, but I don't. I get an idea and I get so excited that I just want to write it and post it. The problem is I often forget to write down many, many things, or as I am writing I think of more and more and I can't organize it enough to stick them all in. It's a bad habit, especially for a future English teacher lol. I'll work on it.

I wouldn't say that I carry the world's "worries" on my shoulders, because I don't like the word "worry". Worrying says that you are irrational. If I was "worrying" about something, that would mean that I see a problem and want to fix it, but cannot see what I can do about it. The rational thing to do would be to try and figure out just what I can do. If I find that I indeed cannot do a thing about it, at least at this particular point in time, then I would stop fussing over it. I would not forget about it, but worrying will only waste time and energy and frustrate the worrier. Chances are, though, that if a worrier stops and thinks about what a possible solution is, they will be able to do at least something about it. They, alone, may not be able to solve the problem, but then most important problems are not solved by a single one of us.

Finally, I slashed "above what they do for a living". Now, I DO agree with it, but I felt that it needed further explanation. I plan on leading a very meaningful career. I won't begin influencing and being influenced once I get clock out, and why should I? Now, I know that many people are not so quite as free to be so picky. I only wish that those "in power"(we are really in power) wouldn't create the illusion that we have to find work, any work or we'll die. I wish they would quit exploiting us, but then, I also wish that the masses would quit allowing themselves to be exploited. If it came down to it, though, any one person is more important to me than a job, or food, or clothing, or shelter.

About the image: The phrase at the bottom of it says a great deal: "Live and then give". It would be even better, though, if it was "Give and then give". It is absolutely wonderful if you are an organ donor. I am one, too. It is not, however, enough. It would seem odd to me if a person live in total disregard for those around him, but chose to donate his organs once he or she died. While we are living, we can also give to the living. While we are living we can save lives with our living words and actions. Once we are dead, then we can save lives with our dead-person words and actions(quotes, memories, pictures & organs).

Related posts: Prioritize Your Passion, Best Day of My Life, How Much Is Enough?, "What the world needs now is love..."

Does your online life reflect your real physical and mental self? If no, what are you going to do about it? If yes, does your real physical and mental self reflect truth? Do you save lives?

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Best Day of My Life!!

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:24:00 +0000

Okay it wasn't the best day of my life, but it was pretty darn wonderful. The only thing that has irritated me today is why I don't do this whenever I can! It's so incredibly fulfilling, satisfying, joyous, and beautiful! How can a person not praise the Ruler of this Earth out loud?!! I still can't quite grasp how wonderful I feel. I guess you're wondering what made the day so amazing(and it's hardly even over yet!):

Okay so I got up at 9:30. This is fairly late, but I still got so much done for others. Boy, God motivated me today! We got 4 or 5 inches overnight, and every time it snows I help a couple of older ladies who cannot shovel their driveways. I don't shovel the driveways though, I bring my snow blower :]. I still need shovels here and there though. So I went over to Mrs. Cox's house first. Mrs. Cox is such a kind lady. She loves to talk, and she's alone; so, I have to shut the snow blower down every time she comes out to take a peak at my work(really she wants to chat until she gets cold again). It's so nice. She's wise, and I can listen, nod and murmur in agreement, and put in my two cents here and there. She'll call me an angel a few times and shuffle back in(she has major back problems). Sometimes though, it's cute, she'll take her shovel and feebly move a few flakes around until I tell her she should let me do that.

I need to introduce Mrs. Cox's neighbor. She lives in a little, one-story duplex with a driveway which she shares with the other tenant. This driveway is tiny: Two car widths wide and two and a half car lengths long in front of two, side-by-side, one-car garages. Her neighbor is also older, but still very capable of snow blowing her own half of the driveway. The thing is, the neighbor doesn't have a snow blower. She often asks Mrs. Cox for hers, but when she uses it she only snow blows her half. Naturally, this doesn't sit well with Deloris Cox. Recently, Deloris told the neighbor that she couldn't use her snow blower(I hadn't come along yet; but i came that same day).

I received Deloris' information and called her to tell her I could clear her driveway free of charge. She was ecstatic and I went right over(she only lives about 10 miles away). I got there and the very irritated Mrs. Cox told me what had happened. Later, when she saw me doing the entire driveway, she asked me why i was doing hers(she is still a very kind lady, she was just insulted and angry). I told her that I just thought it was the right thing to do. I could tell that she agreed, but hesitantly said "Well, okay". So i finished up and went home.

A couple days later I was back, she was snowbound again and couldn't even get to her mailbox(If I was lonely and in my house all day the mail would be a pretty big deal to me too). So, once again I cleared the whole driveway. This time, though, the neighbor's middle-aged kids showed up just as I finished. I smiled and greeted them, wondering if they knew of the dispute. They smiled back(sheepishly :]) and went inside. A few times went by, and a couple of times I couldn't do the neighbor's half because cars were parked in it. Then i wasn't there for a couple of weeks. Mrs. Cox thought I went back in school and didn't call me for help. Also, there wasn't an especially large snowfall, so I thought that maybe she didn't call because she didn't need it, so I didn't call(shame on me).

Anyway, I went over today and saw plenty of snow on the little driveway. The wind was blowing across the driveways so that I needed to start on Mrs. Cox's side. I was about 15 minutes into the job when the neighbor began shouting at me. "Blow it the other way! What are you doing? Blow it the other way!" She had a very angry look on her face. I looked up, pulled down my scarf, and said "Oh I'll do your side too, don't worr-" She yelled, "Well I can't afford to pay you, blow it the other way!" before I could finish. I said "You don't have to pay me anything"(of course I wasn't charging Mrs. Cox either). She had hardly let me finish when she repeated "I can't afford pa--oh...", and walked back inside. Boy, I tell ya, I smiled so big inside. Not because I won a battle or anything, but I could tell how bad she immediately felt. It was wonderful! I smiled and was even happier to do her side, too.

Luckily, my technique brought me over to her side before her 4 grand kids hopped off of a school bus(I was surprised they had school). I watched them gazing at the pure, beautifully white snow and then stomping in the parts I hadn't done yet. They were ushered in by their grandmother. Once they were inside she came up to me to apologize about yelling. I just felt so happy. I was so glad she felt better; I could tell that she did. She even told me that if she could afford to pay me she would. I was touched, and all the more happy! I finished up that drive so quick after that! I even did the road in front of their house! I said bye to Mrs. Cox and drove off with a huge bubble of joy inside of me. I couldn't help but yell inside my car! "Woooooo! I love you God!" I slid around a couple of corners and out of the subdivision, on my way to my next errand.

I wasn't going to Mr.s Briggs' house, I'm doing her's tomorrow. I needed to stop by Wal-Mart for some deodorant and razors, so I headed over there. I had a huge smile on my face (I couldn't help it) and said "Hey!" towards everyone and only smiled bigger when they smiled back! I was walking so fast, hardly able to control myself.

I was driving towards my next destination when I realized I wasn't even a mile from my Aunt and Uncle's house. I turned onto their street in just a few moments and was super glad to find the driveway void of cars, but full of snow! 3 of their 4 kids are at their Universities, my Aunt was teaching at the moment, my Uncle was working, and the 4th kid was also at school. I hopped out, pulled the snow blower out of the trunk and whisked around the driveway, sidewalk, and front step. I kept imagining the look on their faces when they would pull in tonight! They would be overjoyed that they didn't have to come home from work and do it(their driveway isn't huge, but it's not tiny). I gathered up my things and drove off, silently wishing that they wouldn't pass me on an early trip home or something.

Next I headed to Waubonsee, the community college I attend, to pick up some books and supplies from the bookstore for my brother. I received a generous scholarship from AT&T, whom my dad works for. The scholarship is good for tuition and/or other school-related costs. I got all of my books($400+) and then got my brother the 5 subject notebook and 2 folders he asked for. I then proceeded to pick out 2 more folders, 4 Lefty notebooks(he's left-handed), and a nice black portfolio(he's a business major), and 4 sweet .05 mechanical pencils(the ones with the super good, twisty erasers that last forever). I was so excited!! I couldn't wait to see his face! The total was $500+ and I still have a couple hundred more on the scholarship(it's $750 per semester)! So if he or a friend needs anything, I can get it for them!

Then I stopped by the gas station, filled up the car(it was empty) and made sure the gas can I had in the trunk and the snow blower were topped off and headed on home to write this! In a few moments I'm heading to the bank to cash all sorts of bills and coins that I raised for the local food pantry(which reminds me, a family I know wrote a $100 check and put it in the bottle. I also know that they CANNOT afford that. I'll have to thank them in person. I'm excited about that too.)! Then I'm going to take all of this energy and go to open gym(we're getting ready for the upcoming alumni basketball tournament) and have a heck of a lot of fun! What a day!!! Oh it feels so wonderful to help other people!

I know a lot of this sounds like I'm just proud to be doing these things, but it's not that. And I want to share this on here to show others just how amazing it is. What I have to do now is continue this behavior, make it a habit. Volunteer, people! If you do already, keep it up! Help others, even if it's just snow removal for those unable to do it. You would not believe how grateful these ladies are. They feel so unsafe not being able to get out, and nobody helps them! there are young and able neighbors all around them who just don't get the job done. Mrs. Briggs often mentions how she has grown to hate the snow. That is so sad! I can't blame her, but God didn't make snow to be a nuisance! He made it to give the season of Jesus' birth a pure, clean, beautiful look. Plus, these lonely ladies have company every time I help them out. And I love being with them! It's so wonderful.

There are so many opportunities to show love to others. As I have said in other posts, everybody could use extra love in their lives, so we MUST give it! It is hardly a sacrifice! I never feel this incredible looking after myself all day! No matter how well I do on a test or how much money I make in a day, I NEVER feel like this! I want to encourage you all to go out and do things. Anything. When I got up at 9:30 I was feeling a little selfish(I hadn't gotten into bed until about 4AM, my fault anyway). But I knew that I really wanted to help out. And now look where I am! Make the initial sacrifice, and you'll get back a million times more.
Luke 6:31
"Do unto others as you would have them do for you."
Luke 6:38
"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap."

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How Much Is Enough?

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:02:00 +0000

Inspired by/copied from Waving or Drowning?

Get The Giving Tree At Amazon.com
or read it in video on YouTube.com.
"And so the boy gathered her apples...
cut off her branches...
cut down her trunk...
and the tree was happy...
'I have nothing left to give...I am sorry...
[But] an old stump is good for sitting and resting.
come, boy, sit down.
Sit down and rest.'
And the boy did.
And the tree was happy."
How can we know if we are giving enough? C.S. Lewis has the perfect answer to this universal question:

"I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am
afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other
words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc. is
up to the standard among those with the same income as our own, we are
probably giving away too little…. There ought to be things we should
like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditures exclude them."
- C.S. Lewis -
On the other side of the coin, how can we know if we are giving too much? Oh that's simple: it's impossible to give too much. Unless of course you think Jesus, the epitome of love, gave too much. The work of loving others is never finished, and why would we want it to be? How in the world would we be fulfilled if we could not love others? If we all were perfect, we would be like God, Himself. So, since we're not, we all need love all of the time, and God sure wants to see us dole it out. So if none of us are perfect, and the job of loving sacrifice is never done, then how can we ever give too much of anything?

It is humbling to consider whether or not I give enough. I have to admit that I do not. I know, I just said that nobody ever can; so, I also have to admit that I hardly TRY hard enough. That is the real question. Whether or not we TRY too much.

Are people in need around you? Could you do a little more of something, anything, to help them out?

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"What the world needs now is love..."

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:48:00 +0000

A recent post on Notes to Self has called to mind (although it should always be there) the fact that love heals everything. Love even keeps things from needing healing. Love does everything we want it to, when you and I show it, at least. If we don't we had better hope that others are, or we'll be about smooshed pretty quickly. What I'm saying is that if people aren't helping other people, if there are no relationships in which we can lean on others (literally or figuratively), then what do we have? Kids have to lean on parents, friends, grandparents, teachers, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers. Parents have to lean on spouses, parents, friends, coworkers, teachers, babysitters, mail deliverers. And each group named has to lean on a million others.

(If you have your sound up, "Give Me Your Eyes" on my playlist would go great with this post. Of course, "Lean On Me" by Bill Withers does too, but that's not on my playlist lol.)

Unfortunately, not everyone has enough people to lean on. In fact almost nobody does. The world isn't perfect, but you know what, all that means is that we have work to do. People out there need to be picked up. Yeah I know, YOU need help too. "Who's gonna pick me up," you're probably thinking. Well, if you're thinking that, you probably don't have enough love in your life. How does it feel? I guarantee that once we all start worrying about others, we'll find that the loads and loads of problems we once had seem like nothing. Probably because they're mostly gone.

We'll always have problems; nobody is perfect. Together, however, is the only way we'll ever be even close to perfect. I think we all can admit that we can't do everything on our own. So, if you were standing in a room with me and everyone else, and everybody admitted at the same time that we need help, wouldn't you want to help the people next to you?

Plus, there's always the God who sent Mr. Jesus who never stopped talking about love. We can always lean on him; I think he knows a thing or two that might help.

Love is where it's at, right?

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A Big Misunderstanding and BIG TIME Exploitation

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:10:00 +0000

I was on Yahoo! Answers when I saw the question: "Why do people often blame the poor for their own plight?" I answered it; I like answering meaningful question. Or I should say, I like answering questions(some aren't, in themselves, meaningful) with meaningful answers. My answer was relatively simple. By that I mean, I did not cover all that could be discussed in an answer to that question. However, I think it is adequate:

"I witness this phenomenon as well. Really, they just don't understand. They don't understand what it is like to be unavoidably thrown into an unfortunate situation. Because it hasn't happened to them, they assume that they could easily avoid it. They just have no idea. I'm sure there are some people who had plenty of control over their life, but the vast majority of those living hard lives have been put in that position by our greed and profit driven, capitalistic society. Especially our health care system.

I highly recommend the movie SICKO. It depicts just how greedy the protectors of our health care system are. Most Americans have no idea. They accept the system as normal, when it it inhumane and socially unacceptable.

Similarly unfortunate events occur outside of our borders to do the same thing to citizens of other countries. In nearly every unavoidable case, it has probably been because of some form of greed(for money, power, etc.).

The solution: American citizens need to be educated on just what the wealthy people who run our country (not just the congressmen and President) are doing to its people. Capitalism is about a few getting rich, and for what? What we need is a system not centered on ripping people off. Free education, universal health care, etc."

Here is a link to the question itself. The answer above me is actually a great example of what many people think. Why do people...?

What do you think about people living in unfortunate situations? It is always their fault? Is it usually their fault? Again, I strongly recommend SICKO for anybody, regardless of your view on this. The book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins also sheds a great deal of light on the true America.

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All over the place with this one.

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:41:00 +0000

I want to talk about something that I disagree with. I sometimes hear somebody talk about forcing themselves to do what is "right". They talk about self-discipline, constantly reminding themselves that they shouldn't do something. This can work, but usually it doesn't. In my opinion, it works when we have already (and remind our self often)learned that it is the "right" thing. What I mean is, if we don't know WHY something is right and that we need to be doing it, it will be increasingly difficult to tell ourselves to do that thing. It is the same way for making oneself not do something that is "wrong". If I don't have enough reasons (either learned by myself, another person, or the Holy Spirit) not to do something, I'll eventually do it.

For example, I start dating a girl, and my mom tells me not to go into her room, it's inappropriate. Okay, that's fine, right? I grew up having a general feeling that certain things are right and wrong without having to really know why. My mom is telling me that this certain thing is wrong and I trust her judgment, therefore, it must be wrong. Now, let's say my girlfriend had a much smaller house than I do. It's not small, but smaller, and designed differently. Their kitchen, dining room, and living room are all combined into one very large room. The rest of the rooms are bedrooms, bathrooms, a laundry room, and storage (my house has many rooms to be in). When her sister or brother is using the T.V. in the living room, we can sit at the dinner table or at the kitchen counter. Or...we can go into her room (she has a T.V. and a computer in there). Now, here's the other thing. Let's say my girlfriend and I are adamant on not doing anything sexual until we are married. Well, that sounds like a tall order, but we were going to do it (although, our reasons for that decisions were similarly non-existent; we just knew that we should wait). However, at this particular time(the beginning of the relationship), I did not associate not going into her room as being inappropriate for any particular reasons, let alone helping us to stay away from sexual activity.

I had disobeyed my mom on many occasions and gone into Sammy's room before, but I often felt convicted about it, and would go on periods of abstaining from doing so. At the same time, I began to notice that it was far, far easier to do things like make out and touch each other in her room. It was not until Sammy and I became addicted to sexual acts(although never sex) for me to realize why my mom told me not to go into her room. Needless to say, we failed at our goal of purity. It very soon became a rule that I not go in there under any circumstances.

Since then, that rule has been broken and reinstated dozens of times. We are over being addicted, and we have better balanced our relationship. However, each "time" causes me to yearn more and more for sex. After 25 months together today, we are DEFINITELY not having sex until our wedding night. I mean, if we KNOW we are going to get married, can't we just wait? And if we don't KNOW, which we don't we just think we probably will, then why risk it with someone other than our future spouse? So, we will abstain from sex until we are married, yet I feel an increasing want to do it now. This is sufficient to keep me out of her room (at least for most of the time). If only my mom had warned me with a WHY, instead of a simple command.

NOW, the it is about self-discipline. I have to remind myself of the real reason why my mom told me not to go into her room. I have to remind myself that it is important. I even have to remind myself WHY it is important.

Do you have any idea what I am saying? Because I am tired, and I hardly do.

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Blagojevich Allowed To Go Ice Fishing

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 14:55:00 +0000

My new haircut feels great. I got up at 7 this morning to go visit Mrs. Thorp. I'm keeping it long for the winter, the first time I have ever gone in to see her and kept it long. She was happy; she likes it long.

On the way home I was listening to the Awake With Jake show on WCPT - Chicago's Progressive Talk. A guest was referring to a past case in which a government official facing indictment was allowed to reach into his frozen campaign funds in order to pay for his lawyer. This guest also said that Mr. Blagojevich is being allowed the same privilege.

Now, regardless of what, when, and how he did anything, doesn't this seem a little unfair? Apparantly this is allowed under the 6th Amendment to the United States Constitution. The amendment guarantees counsel for the defense of the accused. That is great; everybody should have that; I agree. But why is he allowed to delve into normally frozen funds in order to pay for a fancy lawyer? Shouldn't he be appointed an attorney like anybody else? Why does he get to dig into his frozen assets? This seems like yet another privilege that a rich person with power in America gets to create and enjoy.

What do you think is fair in this situation?

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Like A Storm

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 05:42:00 +0000

Sometimes I daydream and wonder what it was like in the hundreds of other times in mankind's history where political corruption ruined a state, even an empire. People may or may not have thought the world was over. If they panicked, they eventually found out that it was only a passing, unfortunate situation. Like a terrible thunderstorm, while in the midst of it, chaos is everywhere and one wonders if it will ever cease to be so insane. When the storm fades, moves on to another part of the world, things are often more beautiful than ever.

I find it fascinating to see how freaked out Americans are.

The simple fact is: the world carries on. Our lives carry on regardless of the financial situation of a country or even our own family. Sometimes I wish we could all just be broke. The distractions would be gone. Then it would be all about food, water, and love.

What do you long to see in this world?

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Silly Plastic Bags

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 21:51:00 +0000

I'm not a whimp! Why do I need this little bag to carry my sandwich to the car(I don't get oil and vinegar)? Every time I go to subway (a couple of time a week in between classes) they shove my sandwich and some napkins into a plastic bag and I slip a couple fingers through the tiny hole and walk out to my car (I eat at the school). Well I stopped taking the bags! I few times ago I just politely said, "I don't need the bag." Well, I don't, do I?

I don't think I do. It is one thing, anyway, if I am walking back to my car, and back into the school building to sit, eat, and chat with some friends. Maybe some people wouldn't like to carry their sandwich in-hand all that way. I don't really mind, frankly. It isn't that big of a deal. It is another thing entirely when a Subway shopper takes their sandwich in the bag and walk 10 feet to a booth and takes it out again!! Right? lol. Whether you're a tree hugger (whatever that means these days) or not, do you really need a bag for a single sandwich? I can tell you from experience, they are not hard to carry, even with one hand.

What do you think about Subway's plastic bags? What do you think about plastic bags in general?

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Parking Lot Patience

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:04:00 +0000

I attend Waubonsee Community College(WCC) in Sugar Grove, Illinois, USA. Because it is a community college, everybody commutes to the campus. In fact, many students drive from one side of the campus to the other if they have classes on both ends. This activity is especially frequent when it gets colder (like now). Oh and there is fairly limited parking at WCC.

Everyday, before every class, there is a little competition in the parking lot for the closest spot. Cars whizz up and down full rows, and the drivers crane their necks to glimpse an open space first. As time goes the competition moves further and further from the building, but some extremely hopeful drivers can still be seen scanning the rows nearest to the building. Does it seem right that two people can go from having great conversation and laughing together in class to holding animosity towards each other over a 9x18 foot piece of pavement? Would you feel proud of yourself if you aggressively sped up to and into a parking space to beat another driver only to get out of your car and see that he parked one car over? Now how do you feel walking into the building with them near you? (I've seen it happen; it's funny [and kinda pitiful] when it's not me who stole the spot.)

Today, for the first time, I parked at the edge of the parking lot and happily fought the chilling wind and snow over the next 500 feet to the building that my next class was in. I survived. Now, I'm not saying you always have to park at the very edge of the parking lot. I did because there were probably about 10 spaces left in the whole thing, so I thought 9 other people could have the closer ones (mine was the only space left in the last row). I worked on my patience(which could be a lot better) and thought about the people's days that might be made all that much better.

It felt good knowing that other students would be happy to get a close spot and not have to walk as far. I mean, I have no trouble walking. I have long legs, plenty of layers on to keep warm, (I don't even get cold super easily) my skin doesn't instantly dry out like some people's can, so why can't I assume that someone else needs those other spots more than I do? Well I can, because I love people! And I will keep assuming that people will gain something from such an act! I was patient and felt pleasure(the joyous kind) in a parking lot! :]

Would you park a couple spaces further from your grocery store so that someone else can have a shorter walk? Or do you think helping people in this way is a bit extreme?

And a couple unrelated, humorous parking/parking lot vidoes from YouTube: An actual story: Andrew's Parking Rage + BBC Coverage of the Rage Malcolm in the Middle clip: You Don't Have To Take That Tone

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Being Old Rocks!

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:56:00 +0000

I find it so fascinating when people are irritated or made uncomfortable (to say the least) by the idea that they are old. What is so bad about being old? At many of our jobs we swear by written and unwritten rules of Seniority, but we dread reaching our XXth birthday. We should be proud to be old! If a 35-year-old parent knows soo much more than his or her 11-year-old child, why doesn't a 55, 60, or 87-year-old know that much more than the parent? Old people are wise, they've been around the track many more times, they know things that younger people just don't, and often can't.

In Andy Rooney's old age, he released a little list of "I've learned..." quotes. One of them was "I've learned that the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person." Being old has to rock! Then you'll know everything! And you can just sit back and chuckle at all of the young people running about doing silly things with their lives (but hopefully you'll take a break to steer one or two a little straighter). I mean, will looking X years younger really make that big of a difference in...anything?

An amazing thing that old people can do in particular, and without even trying, is humbling people. I get do disappointed with myself when I'm engaged in a conversation and I forget that the others in the discussion probably know as much or more about the subject than I do. I tend to forget about this until after I say something stupid. I can just imagine the elder people smiling inside while they listen to me. They probably think things like "Haha, I wonder why he thinks I don't know this...oh yeah, he's 19!" or, "What can I subtley say or do so that he'll feel so silly later." At least, that's what I think they should be thinking after I'm make a fool of myself. My fellow blogger, Robert, posted something along similar lines the other day. He describes his feelings much differently, but I identify with his words extremely well in Down!, Ego, Down!

But you know, I said I get diappointed with myself, but really I'm glad. Sure I feel like an idiot, and I sort of carry on with my tail between my legs (thats me humbled), but it's all part of learning. We have to feel less than 100% great in order to figure out how to deal better the next time that happens. Personally, I am excited by the idea of being old and super wise. However, that doesn't mean that I will forsake the time that I have until then. Who knows if I will make it past tomorrow... (My post about death: To Live Is To Love)

What do you think about growing old? Are you looking forward to solving many of life's puzzles, or are you too worried about your face and Social Security? :]

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Christmastime Is Here!!

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:33:00 +0000

You know what song I keep wanting to sing? "Christmastime is here!!" from A Charlie Brown Christmas! Today I went out in our yard and clipped various evergreen branches for my mom's annual vase arrangements. Oh the smells! The crisp, chilly air (don't worry i was bundled up), my cat chasing nothing through piles of dry leaves, the evergreen branches, Christmas is coming!!! Oh I can't wait! The other day my mom and I hopped on amazon.com and bought our favorite version of A Christmas Carol (with Alastair Sim, the old school one). I haven't seen it in a while, but we both agreed that it should be part of our collection.

And yesterday I woke up to see little patches of snow on the ground! Oh that was enjoyable; that means sledding seasons is near! Except, I don't like it when it snows a bit and then melts. Or if it is too cold to melt it just sits on the ground and you can still see the grass. And my mom made backlawa yesterday! She only makes that for the holidays. It's an Arabic dessert, similar to backlava. Sweet and salty and cardaminy, mmmm. I love the Christmas season, I love people, and I love Jesus.

What do you find yourself looking forward to when the Christmas season is approaching?

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Candy Courtesy

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:54:00 +0000

A Vending machine talked to me today. I was strolling down a hallway at Waubonsee, and I caught the marquee out of the corner of my eye. I glanced at it and stared as "HAVE A NICE DAY" rolled across its petite digital display, perfectly timed for me to walk by. Now, I have seen this before, but I had actually been using the machine then. This time I wasn't even paying attention to the lonely thing and it wanted me to have a nice day! Awww...

What really bothers me is that I have passed by the same machine so many days before this one, and I totally left it hanging. I thought it was pretty funny. I'll have to be honest with you; it actually brightened my day lol. Although, I must disclose that it didn't totally "make my day", or I'm afraid you'd assume that I was having such a bad day that only a box full of candy and chips could cheer me up.

Ironically, I had cookies, Wheat Thins, and gummies for lunch (but from Jewel, they were Buy 1 Get 1 Free!!).

What would you do? Respond verbally, ignore it, smile, or be offended?

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Universal Health Care: WHY NOT???

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:14:00 +0000

To me, it seems that it is much, much easier for a million people to pay 1 cent each than for 1 person to pay $1,000,000. It also guarantees that everyone is covered. Dozens of countries around the world have universal healthcare or some form of it. Shouldn't we?... I have recently viewed Michael Moore's SICKO. I recommend this movie to everybody. In it he showed us the wonders of universal healthcare. Even if you had to wait in line, wouldn't you, for free healthcare? Besides, not everybody has to. In many countries with national healthcare systems there are hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies as many as there are Starbucks! And in England, you can get any amount of any drug for $10 at the pharmacy! And upon leaving the hospital, they PAY you for the transportation costs in getting there.

One woman who developed severe respiratory problems from working on and near Ground Zero after 9/11 went to Cuba with Michael Moore where she cried when she found out that she could purchase an inhaler for roughly 5 cents instead of the it costs her $120 here in America. She mentioned that she has to buy them twice a month, and because of her problem she is unemployed. She also has a family to feed, but she has to suffer in order to live under our healthcare system. People literally die in our country because their treatment is not approved.

Also in England, the healthier a doctor's patients are, the MORE he gets paid! That is incredible, but oh so logical! Should i really be amazed by these things? I'm ranting, i know, but i'm angry. It is just a horribly, sad, greedy, manipulative, exploitive situtation. I hate it.

The Huffington Post: Universal Health Care Saves $$

What do you think about our healthcare system compared to national care?

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To Live Is To Love

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:27:00 +0000

My high school science and math teacher died yesterday. She had gotten in a car accident a couple of weeks ago and was reportedly recovering nicely. Her son, who flew in to visit her in the hospital, even went home because she was doing so well. I have not heard why yet, but she passed yesterday morning. I will miss her, that is certain. She was a great teacher, and I am very critical of teachers. She taught me a lot that the curriculum did not require her to. She was a wonderful woman.

It reminds me of the summer of 2006, though. A 15 year-old friend of mine died that June. Many of my friends who knew him, and I, were on a mision trip in Oklahoma when we heard about it. We were singing "Blessed Be Your Name" by Matt Redman before we got the news. Ironically, some lyrics in the song are, "You give and take away, you give and take away, but my heart will choose to say 'Lord blessed be Your name!'" The following is the second half of a paper I have just finished writing. It is long, but it tells how Stan died, and my many thoughts on the matter of life and death.

To Live Is To Love The music faded and more eyes started to open and peek at the rest of the room. The song stopped, and I watched the screen for the next song sheet to go up. Five, ten, then thirty seconds went by. The next sheet should have been put up. I craned my neck to see if anyone was bending over the old projector. More of the kids began to peer up at the front. Then, the door to the front right corner of the room opened, and Doug followed Tom as they slowly made their way to front and center. Then Tom very kindly said, “Could everyone please sit down where they are.” At first, I thought, “Oh, they just have something to tell us, no big deal.” Tom did not usually speak that kindly; though, and we still had another song to sing. He also kept looking down, and Doug would not stop biting his lip. I could not help but think, “Why is a forty year old man biting his lip with such a troubled look on his face? What could be bothering him that much?” Something did not feel right when Tom began, “Kids, everyone”, he paused, “Doug just received a phone call from someone back in Big Rock. I’m not sure which of you knew him, but Stan Janik is dead. We’re not sure how.” “What?” was all I could think, at first. I soon realized that I was not dreaming. However, I had never experienced the death of anyone very close to me; I took a long time to make sense of what I just heard.

I was with him at a birthday party only days before the trip. We talked and played volleyball in Cassie’s back yard; he was laughing and being awesome as usual. Stan was not my best friend, but I knew him fairly well. He was also younger than I was, but I respected him above my other peers. I admired the way he cared for everyone, regardless of his or her “coolness” rank. We all identified kids who were overweight or had poor socializing skills, but Stan actually talked with them. In my eyes then, he acted as if they were as good as the rest of us; he was just being nice. In his mind, I am sure now that he was not pretending that they were equal. When I did not understand just how equal we all are, Stan set a great example. He easily fit in every “clique”, but could not have cared less if none existed. The cynical notion that he was “too happy” was the only negative attribute anybody could claim that Stan had. His words during conversations or in P.E. were positive and encouraging, especially when others failed to be. “Hey you can’t get ‘em all!” he would say when he saw that someone was embarrassed after making a mistake, or “That’s alright, mine was way worse than that!” Unfortunately, I did not appreciate his value until he was gone.

My eyes sank with a puzzled thought, “He’s…dead?” I did not understand it. I could not grasp the idea. I searched for some sort of answer. Instead, the overhead bulb blew, and along with it went any chance at rationality. Now the only light that was coming into the room was through the open door. The adults told small groups to split off into the other rooms to pray, but I did not want to go out there yet. Thankfully, my group was in this room. Still in utter disbelief, I lapsed into another dimension. My brain was nearly jammed, hardly capable of focusing. I lifted my heavy limbs and slogged towards the wall opposite the exit. I collapsed onto the swamp-colored carpet under the big windows. The brick sent a cool chill down my back. It woke me up a little. I turned my head to the right and noticed that I was several feet away from my group, but I stayed against the wall.

I stared down at the floor with my eyebrows furrowed. I tried to think logically. “Okay Stan is dead. But…why? He was such a good kid. I mean I know people always say that, but he was! He made everybody smile. He was always laughing, or playing some fun game, or making somebody feel better. What good is he dead? This doesn’t make any sense. His parents must be devastated. Why would this happen? He’ll miss the rest of his life. All of the people he knew will have to go on without him. I’ll never talk to him again.”

I found out why people cry when someone close to them dies. The injustice was overwhelming. I could not handle the fact that so many bad things would happen because of this. I thought about how people could become depressed. Mr. and Mrs. Janik would be heartbroken, their only son, and a huge part of their lives, was gone forever. I could not see how it was fair, why it should happen, so I cried. When I heard the news, my eyes had sunk in blank sadness. Now, I was miserable about everything. My heart sank to the floor, and my face fell into my hands. I cried and cried and cried. I was so distraught I could hardly focus on what exactly was so sad anymore. It was all just bad, bad, bad. “Nothing good can come from this,” I kept thinking. Every time I recalled a reason for my crying, I cried even harder. I imagined Stan’s parents sitting side-by-side on his empty bed, weeping. I thought about Ryan, Stan’s best friend since their early childhood. Whom would he hang out with after school everyday? I became overwhelmed with grief for Stan, others, and myself. I fell into a stupor as my heart sank through the carpet, through the concrete even, and the tears kept rushing down between silent sobs. I felt so bad it seemed as if the world was over. I thought nothing could be done to fix this upheaval in my heart.

I cried for about two hours, and I was exhausted. I did not think I could cry any more. I overheard the group to my right talking about how he died. By that time, they had received more information. They said he had just come back from the gym and went to his room. His parents said nothing out of the ordinary happened. He said “Hey” to them and went to put his bag down. His dad, Stan Sr., went in to ask him how his workout went and found him laying on the bed, Stan’s his heart had stopped. He was born with an enlarged heart, and nobody ever knew. I felt like crying again, but I could not any more. My head was so gloomy with depressing thoughts. My eyes were open, but they were cast downward and out of focus. I imagined his dad going in to see him, expecting to see him sitting on his bed and looking up to smile at him when he walked in. Instead, he saw him laying to his side with an expressionless face. This was his only son.

I thought about how young he was, how quickly it happened. He was so healthy. I cannot ever remember him being sick. When he had his shirt off for soccer practice, it was obvious that he was in great physical shape. He also ran harder and longer than anyone; nobody could match him. I found myself sometimes observing that he went unnecessarily fast towards the ball because he would overrun it. That is just how much energy he had. He never wanted to stop either. He was never glad that a long grueling practice had ended; he made jokes about running another perimeter. Everyone else moaned and trudged to the parking lot.

Nobody could have predicted that the most energetic, positive kid in school would go so quickly and so soon. “Oh man,” I thought, “If Stan could go so suddenly, I could too. I’ve always heard that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, I guess it’s really true.” I was shocked. The only way I could express this new feeling was with a wide-eyed “Whoa.” “I could die on the way home…man, I might not even wake up tomorrow…” This was big. I was not ready to go. “No way, I don’t want to die yet. I don’t even know if I’ll make it into Heaven.” I was not a horrible kid, but I sure was not as loving as Stan had been. Then, it came to me: “All I need to do…is obey God. All He wants us to do is love the people around us and give him praise. Life is just that simple.” The guilt made sense now. It was God’s way of letting me know that I hurt someone. All of my past feelings of remorse and regret flooded into focus. I did start crying again, but because I was ashamed. I realized how selfish I was. I had wounded so many people. I was mortified. I definitely needed to make some changes. I broke down and told Him how sorry I was for everything, all of my cruel words and deceitful actions. I stopped crying. “That’s it!” I nearly exclaimed aloud. “That’s why Jesus is our savior. I’ll always be imperfect. As hard as I try from now on, I’ll never be able to do everything that God wants me to do and not do everything he doesn’t. But that’s okay, because Jesus died so that we can always be forgiven. I just have to believe. Well I believe!” I told God that I would try my hardest to do what is good. I told Him that I wanted to put my focus on Him and other people. I realized that He just wants us to be happy; so, if I do what he says, then I will be happy, and I will be helping the people around me to be happy too. Because of Stan’s death, I realized that I needed to change.

Life had meaning now; it is more than “me, me, me”. Through Stan, God taught me to obey Him. In the same moment, when Stan’s heart stopped beating, true life passed into mine. Stan’s passing showed me that we are here for a time, we love and do what we are meant to do, and we leave. I do not know how long I will be here for, so I must act each day as if it is my last. Yes, it was unfortunate that Stan had to leave so many people behind, but it was his time. He did what he was made to do, and he did it well. God felt that Stan deserved to come home to Heaven. I see this now. To this day, I am inspired by the death of my friend, Stan Janik. “You give and take away!” The words from the worship song came true. His physical end sparked a spiritual beginning for me. After that trip, I discovered my favorite Bible verse: “All things work for the good of those who love God” (Romans 8:28). Stan’s life and death gave me hope in a more rewarding life through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. I am now motivated to humbly love others which also makes God happy. I will strive to be a better person for others’ sake until the end of my life. Some day, because Stan did his job, I hope to reside in Heaven.

What do you think?

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Stranger in the Stall

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:44:00 +0000

Ok, so my mom had a little car trouble yesterday. Something ended up being wrong with her battery or starter, and it was unreliable. It had to be sent to the shop. After that only 2 cars were left for use, and both my mom and brother needed one all day. I only had 1 class today at Waubonsee Community College so my brother dropped me off at 7:45 AM.

My class wasn't until 11 lol. So I had some time to spare. I headed up to an open computer lab and hopped on a computer. Before i gave a 10 minute presentation in class I wanted to use the restroom. Upon opening the bathroom door (don't worry, nothing gruesome was there; the facilities are very clean) I noticed that the lights were out, but only for a moment. They sensed motion and flicked on within a couple of seconds. As I did my business I wondered how long they stay on for without detecting any motion.

How weird would that be if you walked in and someone had been in here for so long, and had purposely not turned the lights back on, that you turned them on with your own motion only to realize 3 minutes later that there was somebody in the stall next to you. I thought this and immediately looked for any feet anywhere else on the floor. I was relieved, and I chuckled to myself. :]

Have you been in either place? If not, what would you do?

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Lights & Ladybugs!

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:22:00 +0000

Lately my family seems to purposely walk through the house and turn every single light on! Why do we need a light on if we are not in the room? Or, if you are in one half of a big room, you don't need both halves of the room lit up! I epecially notice this when I go to bed. A few years ago I basically moved out of my room and onto a 19 inch thick air mattress in the basement. Oh yeah, its goooood. My computer is down there and so is the T.V. if i want to catch a Seinfeld episode before I nod off. The stairs come to the floor about 6 feet from my head, though; and the light that always seems to be on in the kitchen shines down on my face. Until a couple days ago I would lie down ready to close my eyes after a busy day, and there it is, the light again. I'd have to get out of my comfy position, climb the stairs, turn 1 or 2 lights off, descend the stairs, and snuggle back under the blankets again. Now, I check to see if it is on before I get in bed. Low and behold, I'd turn it off, hop in bed, and 3 minutes later someone would walk in and out and leave it on again!! I swear they do it just to spite me! lol My goodness.

Our laundry room is connected to the basement. We have weights and a washer and dryer in there along with paint, tools, the furnace, and water heater. Our cats' beds are also in the laundry room when it is too cold for them to be out at night. The room is closed off by a door, but there is an inch and a half gap between the bottom of the door and the floor. Somebody alllways leaves that light on too. You'd think they would at least consider that the cats want to sleep in the dark too, if not that reason, how about the fact that there is no need for the light to be on once you leave! A slim streak of light seems to find my eyes from under that door every single night lol. Oh boy it irritates me lol. And those are just the lights that affect me when i sleep. They leave the hall light on, the outside lights on...we live across the street from a farm!

And the ladybugs!! They're everywhere! The creep in every autumn! I had to flick one off of my alarm clock as i was setting it last night! lol I don't find them so irritating though. They're kind of funny, and they don't really bite. I just flick em and hear them tink off of something.

Anyway, I am a believer in learning from everything. So, now that I have vented, I will take this light thing and use it to become a more patient person. Sound good? I think so too. After all, if I can't get something good from it, what am I doing to myself? Probably just making myself angry and causing more stress. Right? Well, toodles!

Can you relate? Or are you the one leaving lights on at your house! :]

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Be Active In Your Life

noreply@blogger.com (Timmy) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 14:39:00 +0000

The first half of No. 5 Tuesday, April 3, 1750from Samuel Johnson's The Rambler. The Rambler is a periodical published by Samuel Johnson every Tuesday between the years 1750 and 1752. In his articles he discussed ideas on things like morality, literature, society, politics, and religion. The bold portions were written by Samuel, and the rest is my paraphrasing. Feel free to offer your own interpretations. You can leave a comment or e-mail me at iitimmytii@aol.com

“EVERY man is sufficiently discontented with some circumstances of his present state, to suffer his imagination to range more or less in quest of future happiness, and to fix upon some point of time, in which he shall, by the removal of the inconvenience which now perplexes him, or the acquisition of the advantage which he at present wants, find his condition of life very much improved.”

We are all always dissatisfied with something going on in our lives. This is understandable. In fact, this is an excellent attitude to have so long as we look upon each problem in a positive, progressive manner. However, we often neglect constructive thoughts and actions in order to focus on a point in time by which we suppose that our discontentment with will be all better.

“When this time, which is too often expected with great impatience, at last arrives, it generally comes without the blessing for which it was desired; but we solace ourselves with some new prospect, and press forward again with equal eagerness.”

All the while, we concentrates on that time arriving, ignoring solutions as they bob under our noses. Then, when this better time finally comes, it is rarely what we expected. We didn’t put much effort into actually solving the problem. Somehow, we imagined that we could will the dilemma away. So, we comfort ourselves with a fresh suggestion. We simply focus on another point in the future with a new, more profound enthusiasm that things will be different.

“It is lucky for a man, in whom this temper prevails, when he turns his hopes upon things wholly out of his own power; since he forbears then to precipitate his affairs, for the sake of the great event that is to complete his felicity, and waits for the blissful hour with less neglect of the measures necessary to be taken in the mean time.”

It is by chance if things work out with this method. It is foolish to believe that we should remain happy by refraining from positive thought or action. Rather than put so much energy into wishing something gets better, we must focus on how we want things to be, plan a rational solution, and carry out a mission towards our goal. Under the first method, we would waste away and direction would be hard to come by. If we surrender control over our lives, happiness can only come by luck. We must be active in the solutions to our problems. They lie within us. Either we must provide them, our we have to realize when they have been provided for us. Either way, we cannot simply wait for things to fall into our laps. From girlfriends and boyfriends to jobs to money to friends to spouses to family, we have find a way to fix things.

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