Universal Destiny

The entire history of the Universe, every tumultuous, chaotic, and serendipitous event from the Big Bang to the present has led to this moment, a moment where you are now reading these words. Should you decide to leave a comment, please be nice. The Universe has been known to get cranky.

Random Thoughts - 20201227

Random Thoughts - 20201227

Peace On Earth depends on Goodwill Toward Men. If you can’t muster the Goodwill, you’ll never have lasting Peace.

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It’s easier to pick up a bad habit than a bad cold, and it lasts longer.

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If you always go for broke, get comfortable with being broke.

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Don’t do what they expect from you

Do what you do

Be totally you

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I’m at my best when I wing it. I wing it best when I’m prepared.

The Purpose Of The Journey

The purpose 

Of the journey 

Is not simply 

To arrive 

But to enjoy 

Being fully alive 

Copyright © 2019 Daniel R. South 

All Rights Reserved

Complexity And Simplicity

Describe an idea with crayons. If it’s a good idea, we’ll understand it.

Play a song on a guitar or a piano. If it’s a good song, we’ll be moved by it.

Tell a story using simple, direct language. If it’s a good story, we’ll connect with it. It will seem real to us.

Complexity is the result of incomplete, inadequate, or conflicted thinking. Simplicity is genius.

Copyright © 2019 Daniel R. South 

All Rights Reserved

What Matters Now

It might not matter one day, but it matters now. Do it with all of your heart.

Cynicism

Cynicism is the laziest response.

Rough Road

I dreamt that I was driving swiftly along a wide, smooth stretch of highway. Suddenly, the surface became rough and treacherous. I found myself navigating around potholes and patches of loose gravel between slabs of freshly laid concrete. Pieces of large metal signs lay along the side of the road waiting to be hoisted and set into place.

For a moment, I feared that I had missed a turn and wandered into an active construction zone. I wondered whether it might be best to turn around and make my way back to the highway. But then, I realized that I was on the right road after all. It just wasn’t finished, and I would have to find my way through it.

Copyright © 2019 Daniel R. South 

All Rights Reserved

Your Philosophy

Your philosophy 

Could be just what no one needs 

Think before sharing 

The Worst Moments Of Your Life

The worst moments of your life unfold when you aren’t given a choice, you aren’t given a chance, or when you weren’t given the truth.

Ten Ways To A Brighter Day

Get some rest. It always helps.

Put your stress on the back burner. Worry about things tomorrow. Procrastinate.

Break the pattern. Try something that you don’t normally do. You don’t need a reason. Just do it.

Take time for a walk. Stretch. Get some light exercise.

Talk with people who care. Avoid those that don’t.

Do something positive, something that helps others, something that moves you ahead.

Go outside. Observe. Watch the animals. Smell a flower.

Surprise someone in a pleasant way. Brightening their day will help to brighten yours.

Reward yourself with something soothing, delicious, or stimulating.

Have fun. Laugh out loud. Find the humor in all things.

Copyright © 2018 Daniel R. South 

All Rights Reserved

The Gifts Of Life

It’s tempting to focus on our challenges and to stress over the things that go wrong in our lives, but it’s important to acknowledge and appreciate that many things go right, as well.

For example, if you are reading this, appreciate the face that you know how to read. That’s not insignificant. Someone took the time to teach you that critically important skill. You put in the effort to learn and practice it, and as a result, a world of ideas and information are available to you.

There are other positive things that we can infer from the fact that you are reading this post. The first is that you can see. Sight is a precious gift that grants us the ability to appreciate our beautiful world in all of its splendor. You also have internet access, something that many people around that world are as yet unable to enjoy. Recognize the fact that you are in a country where internet connection is both widely available and not tightly restricted. Not everyone has such access. 

You are also alive. Count that as a blessing. The world is full of hazards and diseases. You have successfully survived these dangers; your peers have not all been as fortunate.

Consider as well why you were born in the first place. You had to beat numerous odds just to exist. Your parents had to meet, presumably when they weren’t attached to someone else. They had to feel some level of attraction for each other, and they had to get along, at least for a while, at least long enough to create you. Think about the odds against two people coming together at just the right time. Now extrapolate those odds to your parents’ parents, and their parents, and so on. 

The sheer existence of any one person is miraculous. A lot of things had to go right for you to be born and live in this world. Don’t get too upset when things go wrong in this precious life of yours. Life is complex. Among the inconveniences and the disappointments that we experience, a lot of wonderful things happen, things that we often take for granted. The more that you focus on the precious gifts that exist within your life, the less the inconveniences will matter.

Copyright © 2018 Daniel R. South 

All Rights Reserved

Be Honest With Yourself

Be honest with yourself. Realize that in the anonymity of your own mind and the loving comfort of your own heart, it is safe to process thoughts that you would not dare share with others. If you have the courage to face what bothers you, it can help to relieve your stress in those areas and move toward a more comfortable and peaceful life.

Of you have been wrong in some instance, harsh in an interaction with another person, or if you have not measured up to your own standards at some point in your life, you can admit those things to yourself. No one is watching. No one is listening. You’re safe.

The first step toward resolving a problem or improving a bad situation or behavior is to admit that it exists. Have the courage to take that step in your own heart and mind. See where it leads. Note what solutions may present themselves as you think about it. Experience the relief that direct acknowledgement of a troubling issue can bring. Admission is an important step toward growth and healing. Take that step with certainty.

Enthusiasm

If you are not enthusiastic about what you’re doing, why are you doing it?

The Important And The Banal

I spent thirteen days in self-imposed exile from television and the Internet. I got a lot of rest and gained what I feel are useful perspectives.

Time away from the norm is important. Doing the same things week after week is dangerous, mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Not much changes in the world when you turn your back on it. The ugly politics continue. The senseless killings keep happening.

What changes is you. When you have a refreshed perspective, you are better able to separate the important from the banal, and you are better able to avoid wasting time and emotional energy on the latter.

Get Ready

The shit that happens prepares you for the shit that’s coming.

A Point In Your Life

At some point, you realize that you don’t go to the gym or do Zumba just to support the other activities in your life. All of those other activities are there to help you get back in the gym or do some Zumba.

The Time Is Now

You could be dead in a year. The time is now. Get up off of your butt and do what you need to do.

No Other Action

I’ll be the person that I need to be. I shall say what I feel, write what I need to express, and do what I need to do. No other action is acceptable. 

Do What You Need To Do

Do what you need to do. Write what you need to express. Be the person that you need to be.

You Are What You Finish

You are what you finish. What you attempt and dream about and almost did don’t matter.