My band is Mind Over Matter. Click on the badge below to check it out:
Want this badge?
It has a purpose--to give people a positive kick in the ass, to get off of it and get on with it, to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and take control of their own life.
Our lives shape who we are, but they do not have to shape who we become. My life has shaped my outlook, and understanding my outlook allowed me to change it. I can be very hard and black and white. A lot of that comes from my time as an officer in the United States Marine Corps, and from the fact that I was raised by a former Marine combat veteran who was a tough task master, but a wonderful father.
I can also relate all the shades of grey that course through life and existence. If I encounter someone who sees things too black and white—I counter with shades of grey. If I encounter someone who cannot put a finger on the delineation between right and wrong and good and bad—I counter them with black and white. I will be your favorite devil’s advocate because I want you to think. I want you to become clear on what you believe, and I want you to understand how your beliefs affect other people. I don’t necessarily care what your exact beliefs are, as long as you have not blindly accepted them, or got them from your favorite news coverage on tv.
I live my life in appreciation of the time I have here. There is cliché after cliché about life being short (and the joke that it is actually the longest thing we ever do!), but regardless of its length, I do not want to have regrets. In order to not have regrets, I do my best to live outside of my comfort zone—I am constantly stretching my self to learn more things—I always have my nose in a book studying something, constantly working toward personal goals and achievements, doing things that 15 years ago I never would have had the guts to do.
Life is about living and feeling alive. There are many aspects to that, and we often do not realize life’s worth until we are really, truly, deeply hurt. Often pain tells us we are truly alive, and far too often happiness, goodness, manners and gentility are taken for granted. Too many people wear facades and many don’t even realize it. This world abounds with fakes, and I believe most people wearing facades do it partially because they have no clue who they really are, and therefore cannot portray their own person. We live in a world of reality that lives within fantasy, and therefore most are completely shocked when reality strikes.
Too many people serve others with only themselves in mind, when it would be far better to serve themselves with only others in mind. The former is hypocritical. The latter is leadership by example. I have also noticed that people love to be helped, but there are a precious few who actually reach out to help others--the givers and takers in the world, one knows love, the other only lust.
Never forget that this is a world full of wonder and miracles—that somehow the stars and planets are suspended in space and fixed in their orbits…that somehow there is air for us to breathe, water to drink and (hopefully) food to eat. The seasons always come, the sun follows the rain and the flowers bloom—the snow coats the land and without help all cycles continue on. Even without us here, it still goes on. The acorn becomes the mighty oak, the tiny infant—the man. In the deepest reflection simply staring at the grass yields a sense of awe—we trample it, yet it goes on, we cut and it grows, it dies and then rebirths months later and, amazingly enough, when the grass breathes, it exhales oxygen. Everything we see so ordered in this world is made up of particles in ceaseless motion through space which do not pay heed to Newtonian physics. The mysteries in life are ubiquitous.
Live life with wonder and appreciate sacrifice. Learn the past and embrace the future. Within your heart and soul lies the highest vision of yourself—let it out, and this will world will be a better place.
