I am turning 35 tomorrow, and I am considering this to be my middle point. The moment in my life when I am at the exact center of life. There are 35 years behind, and there are 35 years to go. I do not want to live beyond 70 to be quite honest. I have multiple reasons for the way I feel, but that is for a different blog entry.
I have come to the conclusion, from experience, that there are some really great aspects to life. Unfortunately, there are some really not so great aspects to life as well. You have the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, the hot and the cold, the dry and the wet, the light and the dark, and the truth and the lie. Having a correct perspective is important so that misery isn’t something that follows you every moment.
I don’t normally watch the Simpsons anymore, but I do appreciate some of the humor that has come out of the show. I found this little graphic of Homer and altered it to fit a middle age in America. He is wearing black socks, he is rotund, he has a family, he has a job, he has a house, he has lots of questions, he isn’t really sure where he is going, and he definetly doesn’t know where he will end up. Quite a classic American stereotype. Thankfully, I don’t feel like that fits me 100% even though some of those things have snuck up on me.
So on this birthday, in the middle of my life, I thought I’d share some observations and wisdom that I have learned over the years. Of course, this is from my perspective and who I am. If you do not like it or agree, well too bad. :-)
1) That is the first thing. People will always disagree with you on something. So you shouldn’t let it impact you. Everyone has an opinion and they think its right.
2) You can’t please everyone. It doesn’t matter who you are, what you are, or what you do. You will never be able to please everyone. There will always be people out there who like you, and there will always be people out there who do not like you.
There will always be someone out there that thinks you are a beautiful person, and there will always be someone out there who thinks you are butt, dog ugly.
There will be someone to think you are smart and someone who thinks you are stupid.
If you are an artists, there will be people who love your work, those who hate it, and those who don’t care.
If you are a teacher, you will have people who love to hear you speak, those who hate you, and those who don’t care.
The moral to that is not to worry about it. Live your life despite the opinions of others.
3) Everyone is evil. The question is to what degree.
4) Selfishness is the root of all evil. Every evil act can be traced back to selfish motivation.
5) Money will bring nothing but misery if you really want a lot of it. Be content with what you have and your circumstances in life. Then you will be truly happy and free from money and its misery.
6) If you don’t have enough money you will do without. If you have a lot of money you will have, but everyone else will want. Money will bring you many more “friends” than you actually have.
7) Money causes misery if you don’t have “enough” in your eyes. And money causes misery if you have a lot of it.
8) Despite the problems with money, it can make life easier financially. No doubt about that.
9) Everyone is addicted to something. The key is to recognize it. People can be addicted to food, sex, money, television, internet, games, sports, and on the list goes. I think people can be addicted to anything. Addiction is doing something that causes you harm and you do it anyway.
10) Money and power corrupt.
11) “Freedom” in America is an ideology. Unfortunately, its an illusion.
12) Freedom is the ability to do what you want and protect your right to do so. I’ll keep my guns and the’ll have to pry them out of my cold, dead fingers.
13) Absolute true freedom is impossible to attain. Especially when you live in a civilization. Even if you have a gun, those who want to take your “freedom” can just shoot you down anyway. Where is the freedom in that?
14)That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecc 1:9).
15) It does not matter who you are or what you do. You will die.
16) As you age, the human body will break down and start doing things it never did before. Your systems will wear out. You will experience mysterious, pangs of death as time passes.
17) Even if you beat up someone, that doesn’t make you better or tougher. You are just fortunate they didn’t have a gun. I’d like to see you puff up to that. You can die just as easily as the person you beat up.
18) Martial arts, boxing, or other training doesn’t make you invincible. It just gives you a better chance to survive in a hand-to-hand combat situation.
19) Luck doesn’t exist in my opinion.
20) God exists.
21) Every human being should trust and follow Jesus Christ. Without Him, His love, and the grace of God, you will be held accountable for the sinful things you have done. Sin is simply hurting other people and rejecting God. God is love, and He is also a God of justice.
22) We are eternal creatures. God will put evil, criminal eternal creatures in an eternal prison. There are lots of names for it.
23) Most people are more interested in telling than listening.
24) Life doesn’t have a “save” and “load” button.
25) By the time you figure things out, you can’t go back and change anything. So take each day at a time and make the right choices now.
26) Every single choice you make today will affect tomorrow. Life is built on individual choices. Each day impacts the next. Each day impacts the year. Each year impacts the next. Each year impacts the decade. And time is always moving forward.
27) The most important people in life are your family, friends, and co-workers.
28) You spend more time with co-workers than you do with family and friends.
29) The best business is to make as much money as possible with the least resources and time.
30) Democracy isn’t the best system of government. But it is the best in the world when you are dealing with evil human beings.
31) Capitalism isn’t the best economy. But it is the best in the world when you are dealing with lazy, evil human beings.
32) Taking the time to enjoy life is extremely important. Before you know it, life will be over (thank goodness).
33) Cracking yourself up with your own jokes is great. especially when no one else is laughing.
34) Not caring is very liberating.
35) I don’t care if people think I’m wrong about Jesus. But for their sake I hope I am.
36) A good meal and good beverage can be better than most things in life.
37) Sugar is good, but they might as well put a skull and cross bones on the label of every product with it. Or a Mr Yuck sticker.
38) Truth is real. Everything else is a guess, an opinion, or false.
39) Drugs are bad. I don’t care if you do them as long as you don’t hurt other people.
40) Anything that takes away your self control is something that shouldn’t be done.
41) The problem with Capitalism is you must have money to make money. Even when you play Monopoly you start off with money.
42) Celebrities are celebrities because people care. The sad part is celebrities are just normal people like everyone else. They stink, they consume, and they excrete, they die just like all the rest of us. Get over it.
43) Sometimes the best thing to do is shut up.
44) Living without patience is akin to pouring alcohol on a paper cut. And you do it to yourself.
45) Peace and quiet are better than all the treasures in the world.
46) 18 wheelers should have their own highways. I am sure they feel the same way. Just ask a driver.
47) No one should be left behind. That goes across the board from birth until death.
48) The life cycle of a human being starts at conception. That cycle will continue until interrupted by death. In the USA, from 1973-2009, your mommy decides if you live or die. Good thing your mommy made the right decision.
49) I don’t care what you do as long as you don’t hurt me or those I care about. No need to shove your lifesytle down my throat and try to make my children and I believe its right.
50) Criminals don’t care about laws. So why have laws about guns?
51) Every creature has the right to defend itself and its offspring. Try to pass a law against tooth and claw. Then try to enforce it and see how the bears and lions react.
52) Clothes, money, cars, houses, physical appearance, nor anything else makes you better than anyone else in this world. Get over yourself. You get food stuck in your teeth like everyone else. Then you smile and people notice.
You sit on the can and grunt like everyone else. When you get old you will be having your diapers changed, just like everyone else.
53) We had the “great” generation that lived and fought in WWII. Then we had the stupid generation that rejected all those “great” values and became dirty, immoral hippies.
54) The purr of a cat and a wagging tail of a dog… animals never withhold their love. Even if you are the ugliest person on earth.
55) Men and women want the impossible from each other.
56) Women want the attention unless they think you’re ugly. Then you are just weird and give them the creeps.
57) The media says that men should be in touch with their “feminine” side. Society wants to take away the male masculinity. The sad part is, that isn’t what women want.
58) A woman wants a strong, powerful man. They want to feel safe and secure with their man. Women want their men to look good and care about his appearance as much as they care about their own (but they don’t want to know). They want a man who is in control, and desires her above everything else in his male world. She wants to be his Helen and Venus.
59) If you are not the man a woman wants, your attention will be like a little, loyal dog who wags his tail when his owner comes home. Your flowers, calls, poems, or anything else will just annoy her. Some girls will laugh about it with her friends.
If you are ugly, you will just be weird and creepy. If you are not careful you will be a stalker.
If you are the man the woman wants, all of that is desirable.
60) Men are hairy. Real men have hair. A woman wants a hairy man. If she says she doesn’t she hasn’t ever been with one to know what she is missing.
61) A woman won’t yell, scream, and beat you down until after you accompany her to the alter.
62) A woman wants her man to be successful and have money. That way she feels secure.
63) If a woman says, “I’m pregnant” and indicates that you are the father your response should be, “I am so happy! I am the luckiest man in the world!!” Followed by a dance and a jig, throw in some happy, enthusiastic “yahoos” and grab her in a massive hug. Smile and laugh and be jovial. When you go outside away from her you can cry and curse.
64) A woman will utilize her feminine charms to manipulate and use a man. That is the nature of the beast. So don’t be a naive idiot.
65) Being single has a lot of advantages. Being married has a lot of advantages. The sad part is both have disadvantages.
66) Fartherhood is about self sacrifice. You helped make the child, so don’t even start your complaining.
67) A parent’s selfishness destroys the live of their children.
68) Do to others as you want them to do to you. – Jesus
69) Always treat people with respect and dignity. Its the least we can do for each other.
70) The earth is a prison planet. If I had a rocket, I’d launch myself into space and ride it into oblivion.
71) Women are gatherers, that is why they love to shop. Men are hunters, that is why we hate gathering.
72) Women enjoy shopping, until you start shopping for man items.
73) Everyone is nice to you when you have authority.
74) The mark of a bad boss is when the boss doesn’t know what you do.
75) A humble person accepts responsibility when its his fault. The arrogant person will blame others.
76) Old school management is concerned with how you sit in your chair, how fast you walk in the hall, how unorganized and cluttered your desk is, and what time you get to work.
Progressive management cares that the job gets done and the employee is happy.
I’ve found that a happy employee is much more efficient and willing to do the job, than the employee who is beaten down and taken advantage of. After all, I’m the employee.
77) I know how to do my job, so let me do it. That is the reason you hired me.
78) The bad employee is the one who is always concerned with what everyone else is doing. That is the one who gets mad because he/she is “doing more” than everyone else in the office.
I’ve found that is the employee who does his/her best to not do any work.
The bad employee is the one who is always criticizing everyone else in the office. Mainly to deflect attention from their own deficiencies.
79) The loud mouth is despised from the office to the dinner table.
80) People who think they know it all usually don’t know anything.
81) That government is best which governs least. – Thomas Paine
82) The best thing a woman can do when a man makes advances that are unwelcome. Is to politely tell the poor fellow that she has zero interest and never will. Repeating that a few times may be necessary. And escalating it to less than polite may become necessary.
The key is CLEAR communication.
83) NEVER get romantically involved with a friend’s love interest.
84) Friendship and loyalty go hand-in-hand. If you are not loyal, then you are not a friend.
85) A man needs a wife and one true friend in life.
86) Some men who are leaders of the church are more concerned with pleasing other men rather than pleasing God. Some are more concerned with money than anything else.
87) Some men who are leaders in the church are true servants and love Jesus above all else. Some really do love the people of Christ.
88) Many people would rather believe in a God of their own making, rather than the God of the Bible.
89) Many Christians distort or ignore the Bible’s plain, textual teachings to fit in with their own tradition or what they want to believe about God. They reject the plain truth of the text by doing so.
90) Not everyone who claims to be a Christian is one.
91) Being a Christian means you love Jesus with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, and all your strength. He is the most important aspect of your life, and you follow and obey Him. Even to the point of sacrificing everything in your life and losing your life for Him. Everything else is secondary.
92) Loyalty is unbreakable for a true friend. Distance nor time will detract from the friendship.
93) Serving and helping other people is crucial in every person’s life. Learning about self sacrifice and acting on the behalf of others is something that God wants from each of us.
94) Righeousness means to do what is right. Doing what is right is honorable.
95) Don’t believe what everyone tells you. Everyone lies.
96) Race is a man made category. We are all human beings and descended from Adam and Eve. Ask any geneticists. DNA points back to one man and one woman.
97) If you hate someone for the color of their skin or the way they look, you are wrong and that is sin in God’s eyes. Jesus loves and died for those who believe in Him from every tongue, tribe, and nation.
98) Mean people are mean people. Doesn’t matter what color they are.
99) God shows His kindness and mercy to all people no matter who they are, or even how evil they are. He sends His rain on them all. Why don’t you?
100) God is the sovereign over the entire universe. He does what He wants and He does with the human race as He wishes. He is not obligated to anyone, nor is He required to do anything. His Word and decisions are the way it is. God is the truth and the reality of this existence. After all He is God. Who are you to tell Him any different?
Daniel Silas
Hold the Line 