What Matters Most In Life

  Life is short, too short, we don't think about that much, it's not something we ponder on a daily basis but it is a very real concept that regardless of us acknowledging it or not, guides many aspects and decisions we make in our lives. The more one is aware of death and the eventuality of it coming the more one can truly begin to live. Being aware of death doesn't mean living scared of what tomorrow might bring or giving up on the world and doing nothing, being aware of death means living life to the fullest everyday, waking up and facing life head on with new expectations and the readiness to pursue your dreams. Being aware of how little time we all have on this Earth opens our eyes to the things that truly matter, the things that will make our lives grand and allow us to live a life worth re-living.

   Family is the first thing that should pop into your head as we engage this topic, family is one of the most important aspects of life, it's a beautiful, complicated mess that brings rewards with it that nothing else in this world can bring. Maybe some of you don't have a biological family but have built your own group that serves as a family, people that love you and will forever be there for you, these people make life worth while. These are not the people that you don't have fights with, no, these people know you, they lived with you, they understand who you are and love you deeper than anyone else in the world loves you, so yes, there will be fights.

    There is no true friendship either in family on between close friends that is ever truly real without at one point there being a sharing of hatred between you two. At one point a decision had to be made, hearts were hurt and prides were shattered, and both of you were thrown against a wall and told to make a decision, fight to make this friendship work or give up and break this friendship forever. In family 9/10 times you have no choice so you forgive the other person and through this process you grow closer, conflict brings people together, even personal conflict, but with friends outside of family this forgiveness isn't mandatory hence why when it is done both friends share a love and respect for one another that is unique in it's own way, a respect that will last a lifetime.

    It is through truth that real relationships are made, this might seem like a simple concept but it isn't, most friends aren't honest with one another. You might have thought before "man, my best friend and I have never had a really big fight", yeah well, when honesty is not part of a friendship you definitely won't fight. Truth here is meant as one person being honest with the other about his or her own feelings, this is not about offending one another but being able to call each other out on your flaws, true friends help each other grow, that does not happen without a few fights along the way. This is the same concept about family, true growth comes from families helping each other grow, this is why one fights with parents a lot, because till you find a friend that call you out on your crap it is your parent's job to make sure you know you are not perfect, its not an easy job to say the least.

    Look around yourself today and acknowledge the people that have been there for you during your life, guiding you, inspiring you, challenging you, helping you grow, and tell them thank you, thank them for being there, most people never get a chance to thank their close friends and family for always being there. It's not a malicious sense of non-gratitude that causes people to not be open, it's just a sense of not seeing what's in front of you, not recognizing the blessings within your own life. So hug your family and tell them you love them, phone your close friends and do the same, sit down with them and have heart to heart conversations about life, for life is short, and this, in the end of the day is what matters most, loving the people around you, and living in a lifestyle of love.

  Love from your humble blogger,

The Importance Of Personal Growth: Close Friends

    There is an illusion permeating school hallways and college campuses that you cannot choose who you become friends with, thus indoctrinating the populace as to who can be friends with who, who you are supposed to be close with and who you are to shun and so forth. There is some truth in this statement, in that you cannot choose specific people to be friends with, as in you can't force people to like you and want to be around you, but you can choose a type of friend or people group that you would like to be around, thus placing the responsibility of the friends you choose on you and not on "how the universe works". With this being the case there are characteristics of good friends, these are the characteristics you should seek after and thus by doing so surround yourself with people that will help you grow:

   A Dose Of Reality

     You cannot be friends with everyone, even if you think this is the case we assure you that there is someone out there that does not like you, its a good thing to understand this for by doing so you come appreciate the people you have around you more. In this same light there are groups where you will not fit in, we are not people conditioned to fit with everyone, thus when choosing a group remember that you should seek those people that are similar to you or have similar interests. If you find yourself in a group where you have nothing in common with everyone and are the one being singled out, then there is a good chance you are part of the wrong group of friends. Don't fret though, there are many groups that fit you, this is another truth, there isn't just one group that fits you there are many groups that you may choose from and learn from, for everyone has multiple interests, generally it takes 3-4 interests to get a friendship going, not always but its a good scale to follow.

    Honesty

    If your friends cannot be honest with one another then you are not truly friends, this is a core definition within friendship, the ability to be honest to each other and still retain the friendship. This is honesty with love, not hate, so caring for a friend, be it a form of encouragement, sympathy or simply worry, honesty is an important aspect of good friendship. Honesty is a crucial part of being able to be yourself, thus if you cannot be honest among your friends then that means that you cannot be your full self among your friends, and if you can't be yourself around your friends generally there is something wrong there. Honesty does not mean being harsh or mean to those around you, honesty does not mean revealing all of your thoughts, though honesty is an important aspect of friendship one must always remember that complete honesty is brutality, if you know a comment will hurt someones feelings then don't say it and be a good friend. Honesty is a tough thing to find, so when you do find it make sure to keep those people close for they are worth more than gold.

   Loyalty

    There is no point being friends with people that cannot be loyal to one another, it undermines everything that a friendship is to its core. When you seek a close group of friends you seek to find a group of people that you can be honest with, that you can share the best and worst of yourself with, a group that will love you regardless of what may take place, and thus loyalty becomes one of the most important aspects of friendship. This is also one of the most rare qualities found within people, a harsh reality is that the majority of people out there will always put themselves before you, that you at some point will be betrayed by someone close to you, this is an experience in life that all go through, thus further highlighting the importance of not only seeking loyal friends but acknowledging those friends, holding them close, for loyal friends are worth more than every gem in the world. 

     Superiority

    This is the most overlooked aspect when choosing friends, and no we don't mean you be superior to your friends, we mean finding people that are superior to you, people that have qualities you lack, that have strengths you do not possess, and surround yourself with these people. By surrounding yourself with people that are better than you you will grow and mature in ways that you would not have been able to had you chosen a group of people that are exactly like you or are inferior to you. This superiority can mean different things, it can be a skill, a social presence, a good student, someone that has more drive than you, or someone that is more patient than you, learn from all of these people and you will grow. When it comes to how you will face the world you do not grow the most through a mentor, or a through teachers, the majority of your education is passed down to you through your friendships, these are the people that will shape you and help you evolve, thus seek after people that are better than you.

   Character

     Due to the fact that you will be shaped by the people you surround yourself with, it is important for you to seek after people that have good character. A truth of this world is that you cannot escape being influenced by those around you, another truth is that it is easier to destroy than to build, it is easier to do that which is wrong than to persevere and seek after that which is right. Thus be wise when choosing friends for it will matter when it comes to your personal growth, surround yourself with people of good character and you will grow in a positive light, surround yourself with people that lack character and you might destroy all chances of ever being able to grow. Personal growth is important, not only for your career but also when it comes to living a good life, a life worth re-living, thus seek after those friends that will be truthful with you while being loyal at all times, thus aiding in your growth with wisdom, and helping you evolve in a positive light.

    We hope you surround yourself with great friends that will love you till the end.

Love from your humble blogger,

Reflection, Action and Honor

    What does it mean to honor someone? What must one do to truly demonstrate that they honor a great figure, or a movement? These are questions generally glossed by, generally ignored for some reason, and thus the case is made that many times when people think that they are living a life of honor towards a person or cause they are actually not. It is not their fault though, in a sense they are responsible on some primary level but when one is never taught how one should honor another he/she should not be held responsible for not knowing how to go about doing so. We've broken down what it means to honor, and hope that this might be helpful to some and encourage others to live a life of honor.

  Reflection

     We celebrated Dr. King this past Monday, within this celebration we remember all that he did, his struggles, his speeches, his fights, and his death. We pause from all that we do and reflect on who the man was, thinking about his flaws, his strengthens, and learning from them. Reflecting on something while honoring it means that you not only gloss over information about a figure, no, you truly meditate on a person, on his/her life, on their accomplishments, and learn from them. In doing so you honor their life, you honor their memory and hard-work. Reflection becomes a tool of honor only when you reflect on the past in order to improve yourself, only when you sit down and think "what would this person want me to learn from them?", this is what it means to meditate and honor a past life.

    Reflection can take place many different ways, one could simply buy a biography of the person you wish to honor and learn about that person's life, one could watch a video, read a magazine, study a history book and so on as well. The mediums that we have available to us now-a-days are many, thus there is little to no excuse as to why we should not know who these revolutionary men and women were. To truly honor someone is to know who they are and were, meaning, knowing who they were as a person and knowing what they are to the people today, knowing both who the 'man' or 'woman' was, in order to better understand what the 'movement' or 'cause' of today means.

  Action

    The first part of honor is simple, reflection, most people accomplish this task easily, though true honor does not end there, true honor has action accompanying it. Action is a simple term that carries a heavy meaning with it, to honor someone through action one must understand what actions would be considered honorable toward that person or cause, meaning, one must meditate on it first prior to acting on it. The previous paragraph might seem like a repetition of the previous few but the repetition is warranted, it is due to that fact that we have many who seek to honor another without understanding what that person thought or believed, this usually only brings trouble and unavoidably becomes a clink in the armor of the movement. Thus we implore you, prior to seeking to honor someone, please take the time to understand who that person was first.

     Action does not mean drop everything and fight for the cause, action does mean living for the cause, meaning, devoting your life to the cause. Some of us cannot drop everything and join a protest movement right now, in fact if we all did so society would not be able to function, this is not the only meaning of action. Action can also mean just upholding a cause, standing up against racism, fighting against inequality, with your words, with actions, with reprimanding people, with just taking a stand. The world is not changed by the big things, though they help, it is the application of those big things in the small ways a society functions that brings change. In short, by taking a stand and being the difference you become part of what is truly going to change the world, thus truly living a life of honor.

   We challenge you to not only celebrate and reflect on Dr. King's life, but to also take action and raise awareness to racism and prejudice, the small things are the things that impact the world the most sometimes, so never think that a small action by you will go unnoticed, no action ever goes unnoticed, this is a simple rule, all actions bring about change, be it good or bad, thus we urge you to live a life of honor, seeking to bring about a better tomorrow for the generations to come. Reflect on what was, in order to bring about a new and better now, this is what it means to honor.

Also if you have not heard of the "SOPA Act" please follow this LINK and get acquainted with it. This is a cause that is happening now that we must all fight to prevent. Google has done a great job summarizing everything and providing you with good links, sign the petition at least, every little bit helps. For those that are unaware SOPA is a bill attempting to censor the internet, so please follow the LINK and sign the petition against it.


We hope you all have a good rest of the week, remember to smile more and be kind to those around you.

 Love from your humble blogger,