New Chapters in Life.

New chapters in life come around quite often it seems. Starting from the time we are born till we die we will experience many new phases. Some of these chapters are fun and exciting while others are troublesome and disenfranchising. We control some of them and at times others dictate the way the chapter moves.

I am starting a new chapter in my life at this time and am really excited about it. When you put your all into some things and it feels as if you are coasting along in the manner it is supposed to, bumps happen. Some of the bumps can be awful hard, but determining the reasoning behind the bump is always intriguing. This chapter is not due to my making but in all actuality it may be. I had fallen into the old story of complying to the needs of others and forgetting the needs of myself. Learning from the past chapters was neglected. You always need to keep the real you fresh by recalling your past but growing or you lose touch with who and what you are. Allowing others or circumstances to alter you over and over will or can create chaos in your life. It may then be time for a new chapter to begin, not only for you but for others.

Our lives are full of chapters that make up our story. It begins at the time of our birth and continues till the day we die. Some chapters last a short time while others last for many years. Books have conclusions that complete a story with no loose ends, but life is not always that way. Life's conclusion will happen at death, with some loose ends maybe, but the thing about life is, as should be with a good book, that with each chapter we grow and learn from the previous chapters to complete a good or even possibly a great life. So here I go, looking to start the next chapter, learning from the past, building to a fantastic conclusion.

Why Blog? and what keeps you from it!

For the past few years I believed I was happy in all areas of my life. Growing in God, men helping me to be the man I should be, and a woman by my side. The first two are still there by me but the woman is not. Truth is I am better off now than I was when I believed I was happy. She is a good person but not the right one for me. Giving all I could with nothing given back is not how to live happily.

I started blogging, for me, over 4 years ago, but for a year I was stifled. I had a block keeping me from my blogging. Looking back I was prohibited from speaking out or writing out in public. It was as if everything I wanted to say had to go through a channel that dictated what I said or did. Control was given up on my part for, what I thought, were all the right reasons. When you give this up it is not necessarily a bad thing but you should make sure it is for the proper reasoning. Perception comes in now. Am I seeing things as they really are? Having perception is a necessity in order to say the right thing at the right time in order make it meaningful to others (my definition). Maintaining control in what I say is important so that I say what is coming from inside me and not being dictated by anyone else.

Now what am I attempting to say by the previous two paragraphs. All aspects of a persons life has to be running on the same path. If any one of them is out of sync it can cause you to be completely off kilter. Having perception is not enough either. Control alone is not good as well. Maintaining control while using perception in life to share and give to others while receiving in return is a must. Allowing God to have the ultimate control, a band of warriors to help you to be the man you should be, not allowing a woman to dictate based on her needs alone is my recipe to ultimately be who and what I can be for others. Sharing and giving to others in ways that are useful and helpful to others. This is what I want to be to others and blogging as I do is one way that I am able to do this. If all you do is help one person all your life then you have accomplished something but dare to be more to so many others.

You Have the Right to Remain Silent.

I was in a conversation the other day that was actually pretty eye opening. There were a lot of words going back and forth but not much communication. But there was one statement that jumped out at me. Basically what was said was you have the right to say what you want to.

So I thought about this from a law enforcement point of view. Everyone is entitled to or has the right to remain silent. For many defendants or accused it is best to keep your mouth shut. Why? The more you talk the more the truth comes out. Interrogations when done properly can get the truth out with conversation. But when the talking stops the truth is hidden.

So let us use this in communication with others outside of law enforcement. If you have any form of relationship with another person communication is of the utmost importance in order to keep the relationship strong. When one person fails to communicate something is being hidden in most circumstances. In essence one may be lying by withholding.

You have the right to remain silent, but if you are remaining silent in a relationship the relationship is almost sure to fail. Talking will, for the most part, produce honesty and truth. The more you talk the easier it is to say the truth because when talking truth you do not have to recall what you said before. You recall the truth you speak the truth. Telling lies and continually talking will produce inconsistencies that bring out questions and therefore exposing the lies. So keep quiet and do not share your thoughts with those you are in relationships and eventually others may question why you are hesitant to talk. Speak the truth and do not worry about what you say because when you speak truth questions get answered and problems get solved. Say too much and you better make sure that you are telling the truth because the lies will eventually show up. Do not be afraid of the truth because speaking the truth is more forgiving than withholding or lying. To tell the truth keeps trust within any relationship or friendship and allows the continuation of the friendship but if you allow lies, deception, or withholding to enter, failure of a friendship is eminent. 

Is it possible to stay friends with your ex?

This is a pretty interesting and complex question if you ask me. In order to clarify we have to ask what would be considered an ex. For this I will use ex spouse or ex boyfriend/girlfriend. There are many factors that come into play when considering the ability to maintain a friendship after a relationship has ended. One is how did the relationship end, another is are there children involved and how about mutual friends, and for the purpose of this I will add parents or a parent of one that has become a good friend of the non child.

Let me start with a simple one, children. Oh you laugh at this and actually I do too when saying simple. This would be the most complex actually but with that being said it is the most simple. You are either going to work together or you are not. Personalities of each will have the greatest impact on the ability to either get along or not. Short and simple with my kids mother it took over ten years before I could even stand to be in the same room with her. Talking on the phone was almost an impossible feat. Now that our kids are older and we have grandchildren it is now possible for us to tolerate each other.

I will combine mutual friends and non parents in this area. Basically here mutual friends will most likely follow the one they were friends with in the beginning. If you actually met as a couple then it may be a bit more difficult but the answer would be who are the friends closer to, making the decision on its own. If you are to keep the other out of any conversations you may maintain a joint friendship and there is even the possibility that you can share time together with the friends. This all depends on how the relationship ended. Now concerning parents of the ex. Easy answer is the parent will always migrate towards the child and if the end of the relationship was awkward or there were bad feelings and such you can count on not getting along with your ex. The relationship with the exes parent will most likely end soon but again much goes into the decision. There is a slight possibility that a mutual friendship can be maintained.

Now the final area is how the relationship ends. Simple enough if there is abuse and or mistrust you will most likely not be able to continue with the friendship afterwards. Mutual agreements to split can go either way. I would suggest that if there is a chance to reconcile the relationship you may stay in a friendship. If there is no way and you are both in agreement you may stay friends but there will be a time when you want to move on towards another relationship so the ex will have to slowly disappear from your life.

So let me answer the question as to if it is possible to stay friends with an ex? I have exes that I am friends with and some that I am no longer friends with. The ones that I am no longer friends with out number the ones that I am able to maintain or rebuild a friendship with. In my opinion the best way to move on is to try not to maintain the friendship unless there are children involved. With children you must try even harder to overlook the past and keep things reasonable to maintain a way of getting along. More power to you if you are able to keep up a friendship with an ex on its own with no baggage to go along with it. If at all possible I will attempt to stay friends with the family members of an ex but over time it may end. For myself, feelings toward the other could interfere with any relationship I may want to start if I keep holding on to a friendship with the ex. Many things go into the decision if there is a possibility to maintain it but overall I would say, end it and move on.

Make it Count

I had a friend recently give this as a thought for me to focus on. MAKE IT COUNT. They asked, what does this mean for me? It did not take me long to understand after having gone through some personal heartaches that my understanding of this needs to be fully taken advantage of and made to count.

How do I make it count. First I must share what I have learned. People from your past are not the way you remember them as, just as I am not the way I was. We all grow into who we have become now. The person I knew from before had become more self centered, money oriented and status driven. The things they learned growing up spiritually became stagnant and they have not grown past the beliefs they had when they were younger and less worldly consumed. Yes, still knowledgeable, but not advanced. To gain knowledge and information regarding the current you must seek out and learn from others. This person does well in business and sees the advancements in learning from others to gain an advantage in business but when it comes to God and Spiritual matters, one or two times a month at church and then using that same information to teach others is not growing as well as we can. Personal study and prayer are not an advancement either because what you do is take what you read and apply it to what you learned from your past. So therefore you are not getting new vital information from others to assist in your growth.

Next I took what I thought of the person and used it as a guide in all my relationships creating a false outlook on my expectations. Now that I have been seeing things from a new direction I am now able to look past and forget that expectation and move forward.

How do I now make it count? Pretty good question. In order to make it count, first I need to make sure I continue to stay connected to my groups. To be around them and continue to learn and grow and not become stagnant myself. I have to forget any expectations from my past and concentrate on the here and now. No comparison can be made with any one person and bestowed on another. To do that is unfair to that person and to yourself as well because it is unattainable. Moving forward my goal is to forget any comparisons and accept anyone I enter into a friendship with for who THEY are, and allow the friendship to grow out of its own persona, with no other expectations to any comparisons of anyone from my past. I have to MAKE IT COUNT for what it is.

Good things happen....

Interesting few weeks for me. A few good things happened just to let me know God was still there. The first was when I went out with a friend of mine we were walking around some booths and one was a gun club. I have not shot a gun pretty much since my retirement and was looking to do some shooting. Well joined http://www.governorsgunclub.com/ and was entered into a drawing for a 9MM SCCY Industries gun. Guess things were falling in proper order as I have me a new 9MM.

Next I had an issue with some paint chips on my Mustang and after going around a bit with the dealer and a program I have with them they have been fixed, no charge of course.

Third, with my hearing problems I finally went back to the ENT to get some hearing aids. Part of the cost was covered but I still had a decent amount to come up with.. well low and behold God came through again and the out of pocket cost was not as bad as it could have been.

Then finally as I am on SS Disability I have to go through a review every three to five years. Well I get the letter telling me they are reviewing my case. I sent off all the information they asked for and waited. The other day I get a letter back from SS saying that no further review was needed. Praise God. He accepts me as I am totally. That is what love is.