Accidental Good Sense

I have been fortunate enough to work with people who are having a hard time for several years now, and some of them were kind enough to point out what I had said in that time that made a difference to them. They also flattered me by saying I should share my accidentally uttered wisdom. I am that chimp with a typewriter you have always heard about, according to 'my guys.' All of these are my own original words.

So here goes, now.... JUST SHUT UP AND LISTEN!!!

1. If you show strength of character by doing the right thing only when others will admire you, and demonstrate honor by being true to someone or something you like, or telling the truth only when it makes you look good, and model integrity by refusing an unearned or unfair benefit you didn't want anyway, that doesn't prove anything... You have character when you do the right thing even when others won't notice, or will hate you for doing it...honor by telling the truth always, even when it comes at a cost for you or those you care for, and being fair with someone you don't admire or even like...and integrity when you refuse an unfair or unearned benefit or advantage you want more than anything in the world.
2. How much better it would be if we thought of what was best for our life and found pleasure in the effort of doing that, rather than convince ourselves that what gives us pleasure without effort is the best thing in our life.
3. If you try to polish a turd the best you can hope for is a shiny turd and a really nasty rag...a bad decision will always be a bad decision, no matter how much you explain it.
4. RESPONSIBILITY = CONTROL: This is the formula for a good life. Hoard the blame for all of your problems. Be responsible for everything in your life, then you can control your life. When you allow others to take the blame, or when you place the blame on them, you can't fix anything anymore, and others have control over you.
5. Strength is being able to admit to a weakness so you can do something about it. Be strong enough to admit to any problem and to ask for help in solving it.
6. You can't tell a child, "Do as I say, not as I do." If you take a sponge and dip it in a septic tank, then sqeeze it out over a drinking glass, it still ain't drinking water.
7. There are no "shades of grey" for right and wrong. Unfortunately the right thing to do is usually not the easiest, and the easiest thing to do is usually wrong.
8. If you decide you are going to do something you would lie to your mom, or your kid about, it will always be a wrong thing to do.
9. God pays well, but He does not overpay. If you think you deserve better than what you have, look at yourself, don't blame God.
10. Being proud of overcoming any addiction is like being proud that you stopped squeezing a hot coal when you know you were an idiot for picking it up in the first place.
11. Don't insist you hate that you were addicted to. Nobody ever got addicted to shoving razor blades up their butt. You get addicted to what feels good to you.
12. My son asked me how God could allow so much bad to happen to us if He loved us. I pointed at my dog, Bruiser, and said, "I will always take care of Bruise. I keep him in a fence so he can't get lost or get in trouble. I take him to the vet right away if I think there is any problem at all. I feed him, and I let him sleep on the couch. I will never put him out and will never expect him to be to useful, other than being Bruiser. Do you think I love ol' Bruise more than I do you or your brothers?" Thankfully, he said, "No." I kept on, "My dog is my dog. Y'all are my children. You have to be strong enough to have your own life, and trust yourselves enough to make your own decisions. I try to be good father, so I allow you make mistakes and worry all the time. God is the perfect Father and worries even more. We are his children, not his dogs."