CHAPTER 1

TRUTH

You do not have to prove anything. You do not have to provethat you are a man or prove your self worth. We are all worthy.Money does not prove your worth. Being born into a certain familydoes not prove your self worth. Being white, black, yellow or red, doesnot prove your self worth. Being Jewish, American, Irish etc. just tellswhat part of the world you came from or your ancestors came from. Itdoes not prove your self worth.

We are all on loan to each other from God. We are here to givelove, service and support to each other through out our journey in thislife. It is not by accident that we share our lives with family, friendsand acquaintances. All of these people are in our lives for a reason. It isimportant that we are there for those that need us but I must cautionyou. If you find yourself in a situation where you give and give and stillit is not enough, the truth is what you give is not what is needed. Donot give and give until you give yourself away. There are times when wemust put their problems into the hands of God and step away becausewe may be a part of their problem. Make them know they are lovedand valued by you. Also that you are there for mental support but thatis all that you can do.

This is a truth that is so important for everyone. Never allow anyoneto mistreat you mentally or physically. If they do not honor you, do notallow them in your space. No one can hurt you mentally or emotionallywithout your permission. Only you can give them the power to hurtyou and only you can take it away. Divorce yourself emotionally andphysically from people or incidents that cause harm to you. That is notwhat your life is about.

Are other people's choices being forced upon you? Everyone mustaccept responsibility for their own actions. After all it is their life, notyours. Why should you pay the price for their errors in judgment? Iftheir choice causes harm to them and intrudes into your life, do notaccept or allow this. Why should your life be unhappy because of theirwrong doing? If you want to help them, then make them see wherethey made their mistake and help them to understand they must takeresponsibility for their own actions. So long as it does not enter into yourlife and you stay strong and peaceful. Otherwise walk away. Your lifeand your choices are what is important and foremost. Sometimes youhelp others by helping yourself. How much help can you be to someoneif you allow your life to become troubled by other people? Ask God tocome into the situation to provide healing and bring peace. Don't youplay God. Believe me you could not do the part justice. Turn everythingover to God and get out of the way.

All people are the same. The difference is the degree of education andexperience. The more education, the higher the level of knowledge. If youseek to better yourself, you will use your intelligence and drive to furtheryour education, all the days of your life. Experience is also educational.Some people learn by doing instead of books and instruction. The bestis learning both ways but learn any way that you can. Seek knowledgeanywhere you happen to be. The place where you are vulnerable is yourlevel of understanding. Never be satisfied with what you already know.It is what you don't know that can hurt you.

I have never known one person that has not made mistakes. I don'tbelieve that perfect person exists. You must correct every mistake youmake as soon as you recognize the error. Because the longer you taketo correct your misjudgment, the harder it will be on you. One mistakeif not corrected will lead to another and another and another etc. Themore mistakes the more unhappiness and pain will be leveled on toyou. So you will know from whence I speak, what I call errors, mistakesin judgments, you call sins. If these mistakes are allowed to stand andmultiply you become more at risk to correct. Some people can't findtheir way out, they get into such a mess. They can't see clearly and don'tknow what to do. They think it cannot be set right. It is good to askfor forgiveness to make it known that you know where, how and whatyou did wrong. You must follow up with action that will make thingsright. Then and only then can you go forward in your life. There is noeasy way out. You cannot escape karma. You are held responsible foryour actions. You will make mistakes, we all do. Deal with mistakes,yours and others with love. Do the right thing.

What we believe is our own reality. If you believe something to betrue, then you make it real. Your internal reality is your truth and thatis what you are about. That is you.

You are the combination of all the choices and things that you havechosen to believe. It does not matter if you are wrong or that others donot believe, that is their reality and who they are. Anyway you are justas likely to be right as they are. Your truth is your truth, their truth istheirs. Weigh everything and look at it closely before you take it for yourown. One and one make two all around the earth.

If there is one message I would like to get across, that I feel willsave a lot of grief for many is this. What is, IS. What isn't, IS NOT. Weare inclined to see people and things as we wish they were, not as theyare. We would rather stick our heads in the sand and pretend. Playinglet's pretend is fine for children that know it isn't real but there is noplace on this planet for a grownup to hide from the truth. I don't carehow ugly the truth is look straight at it, call it what it is and spit in thedevil's eye.

Why do bad things happen to good people? My answer is, becauseit can. Why did this truly wonderful person get cancer and die? Becausecancer is an equal opportunity for anyone and everyone. Some peopleask. for it by smoking, drinking and staying out in the sun, knowing allthese things can cause cancer. And then again, others do none of thesethings and still get cancer. They get it because they can.

Why do innocent God loving people meet such horrible murderousdeaths? Because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time or theright place at the right time to be killed. Because it could happen anddid. Any and all bad things happen because they can. I don't ask why.I ask how can we protect against the bad things. My common sensetells me by making a conscious choice to guard against things thatcould happen in any given situation, the best that we can. But eventhen we don't always have the foresight to cover all bases and it canstill happen.

Our hindsight tells us, if only but nothing can bring back life that islost or cure a disease that is incurable. Nor can we restore sight to eyesthat are blind or make paralyzed limbs to feel, walk and work again asthey did before an injury.

Bad things happen...