Insidious Adaptation

It isn't that we have such great lives, and that man as a whole is not living in his own squalor, but it's the fact that there is a reprieve offered. There is a way out of suffering, out of heartache, there is a peace that can be found here on earth that few really allow themselves to see. One could argue that man has a desire to suffer, living in destruction, to harm one another to then receive harm. We know that if people are suffering in the world that even as calloused as we have become, saturated with news of horrors unheard of in our own life, that we still hurt because others hurt. We can continue to distance in our minds of the suffering of other people, but we hurt, or we distance ourselves from the reality of it. When we start, in one way or another, to distance from the reality of human suffering, we all suffer. Think about when you read a memoir about some horrors a man or woman has lived through. We read these things as stories, yet there is a thin strand of re...

This world is oftentimes like a piece of gum. When the gum is taken in, it is so sweet and fills the mouth with flavor, for nothing is like a good piece of mint gum after a meal. This gum however, becomes a burden when we chew it for too long. Yet, oftentimes the obligation to continue chewing past the pleasurable part keeps us in misery. We hold on to the movement of this formless wad between our teeth, and yet all flavor and thus pleasure is gone. We think to put another in, and then another, for if two tastes good, imagine three. The pleasures of this world, the promises to satisfy our needs sadly fall very short. I only say sadly because that after all is where most people waste their time, me included. Yet, we know the truth inside that we are meant for more than this world, that we have a higher standard, and that we aren't born good. We are sinners who fail to do the right thing, think the right thing, and perform to at least some kind of moral compass everyday. We know ...

A choice to change isn't exactly where the change starts is it? Like isn't the choice to change just acknowledging a change needs to occur and the reason for a change is what is being addressed? Is the reason for change because of a consequence, because of something so significant that it can no longer go unnoticed? Take weightless for example, many people claim they need to change their diet or lifestyle to lose weight, but then instead of taking out what they must already recognize as the problem materials, by way of recognizing lifestyle choices, they go too far and want a restrictive diet plan. Doesn't it make more sense to start with acknowledging why the change in the first place? After all, the holidays are a time where it becomes socially acceptable to eat more indulgent foods therefore putting on weight in a lot of cases, especially if the rest of the year you were working on diets only to let it go at the end and do it all over again the next year. Isn't start...

"Trick or Treat." "Yes, good, say that. We knock and we say that." My coaching is weak, I don't think I ever said "trick or treat" when I was a kid, probably just a "hello." But us fathers want our children to be better than us right? So, the follow through, the delivery, that is what has to happen here. Let's see if she sticks the landing. ... "Look at them run up there." A few houses in and a neighbor and new friend of our daughters are together, no longer needing an adult to guide, but convince each other this is safe, this is what we do. "Did you say thank you?" I ask my daughter, "Thank you." She says to a now-shut door. "Sweetheart, let's say thank you to them." "Ok." The walk from one house to the next started slow, apprehensive, turned into a slight jog for the children, then a run from the house almost going into the street. A few falls, a couple crash...

It's too bad... When the principals of America, based on Christianity, are now defiled with corruption. There's not even anyone to blame. There is the devil, he finds this stuff all very fascinating. There are people who have inundated the devil in their life, by way of a justified purpose. There are people who continue to remain on the outskirts, not wanting to choose sides. There are the rights the lefts all of which have their flaws, man and sin and all that. It's when we look to the wrong of the other side more than we spend time on promoting our own that I find fascinating. Offense wins games. To go on the offensive, is to be active in an attempt to score, in an attempt to win of some sort. Defense protects, tries to stop the other team from scoring. However, what side is it that continues to devalue the opposing team completely? What game is that where we stand on the sideline, send out a tweet or make a meme not to promote anything, but to defile the other ...

On a September day in 1985, a joker was born. A humorous attempt at being liked, not to serve others with his humor, however to receive their admiration for it.  jest·er ˈjestər/ noun HISTORICAL a professional joker or “fool” at a medieval court, typically wearing a cap with bells on it and carrying a mock scepter. synonyms: fool , court fool, court jester,  clown ,  harlequin ,  pantaloon ;  More a person who habitually plays the fool. It is the intent of man to which we can measure their success. If a man wants to be rich to hoard riches, then that is who he is. If a man's wants a business to grow a business and provide for many employees in a work environment he influences, then that is who HE is. A person who makes themselves a fool for another to laugh, noble. Where as I, at my most-selfish, most ignorant to the needs of those around me, wanted you to laugh at me, for that showed you notice...

Toilet seat? Is that really a thing?  I have not had to worry about a toilet seat placement at any point in my life. I have not been corrected, but maybe one time. One time, most recently, my wife reminds me that I need to leave the seat down so our daughter can get up on her own to pull her little seat on top of the adult toilet seat and prevent her little cheeks from falling in the water. One time.  Arguments over money? Like, blaming the other person? Like, complaining that they are using it all?  Any discussions of finances on my end has never been on where my wife spent money. There have been a few between us about career choices, decisions, new jobs, and what this meant for bills, however accusations have never been my forte, nor have I ever felt that from her.  Blame, resentment, despise, contrite...you exist with those feelings?  Why the heck would I have married someone who I would hold a deep resentment for? Why would I want to be wi...

Infidel- as a noun, a person who does not believe in religion or who adheres to a religion other than one's own. I don't get it.  As I sat in the court room, looking at the judge, prosecutor, county attorney. I couldn't understand the "vibe" I was feeling in relation to the well being, of a convicted man. When one gets a taste of the privilege, of a situation they think ought to be more prestigious, more enlightened than their own, there is no place left to go with expectations, but a crashing downward spiral as reality rears its ugly head. "Well, we could discuss the instance where the guy said...." I cannot give details, for these conversations were something, "privileged" however, the depth of text was lacking. The feast turned into a Country Buffet line of which there was no meat, only a plethora of cheap breads, followed by frozen, sweetened-milk, (definitely not ice-cream) for dessert. I expected to come into this back court...

The browning effect ( maillard reaction)  is the caramelizing of meats through the pressure of heat. The more heat, the more brown, the less heat, the more time the browning takes. That savory, crisp of bacon as the pork’s own fat heats up and stores energy, encasing the meat in its own boiling oil, browning it to perfection. The same with a steak, burger, and better be a hot dog or brat, for the boiled versions of these are just upsetting.  Dad, be like...."Burgers are done."  What isn’t as savory and pleasing to Umami parts of the palate is friction of another kind. The kind of friction that only a vague relationship of acquaintances can create. It is not just the pressure in performing when it comes to a coworker or the stress in a passive-aggressive email, but the constant friction of a negative environment. When the comments aren’t direct, but in someone’s tone, or the words like chisels, carving the now-hardened exterior. When the gifts of celebration are so va...

Look at her, miserable. She probably hates it here.  “Why can’t I find a place where people want to work?" Uh, scratch that.  When you are sad, everything is dismal. As though the very paint that paints the world is that of a flat brown and any color attempted to paint over it, pale, flat as well. The picture exists, it forms the same structure after all, but there is no vibrancy. What is lacking is the essence of flavor, the subtle aroma of fresh smells and exciting possibilities. Sadness makes anything negative seem possible, takes away a compliment, and instead of trying to get out, the self-defeat prevents much of what little effort is had. I can only write these words by being in the state of sadness, an extreme, acute, feeling that comes and goes. Possibly from over exertion, or some dietary restriction, which happens. All to often the sadness is remedied through my spiritual connection with God and what he wants for me, but this one lingered longer, maybe long enough...

Risk it all, for the likelihood of getting caught is small, right? What drives a man to even ask? Is it God, his principals, long-standing beliefs he would die for? Is it a self-sacrifice where the whims of desire fall short to convictions? Or, is he driven strictly by selfish desires, fueling the mind to feast on something that it was never meant to. Lust doesn't always look like this... This isn’t to say that good men don’t have wandering eyes or minds, but that they become aware and know where that goes. The good men are humble enough to admit fault and do something about it. The good men are able to understand that it is painful and a lot of work to stay convicted and live according to these principles, however it is everything they stand for and to give in, means giving in on self. A man without his beliefs is nothing at all. It isn’t the wandering, nor is it the environment, but the possibility that lingers. Looking at a woman on a magazine cover, beautiful, sultry, pre...

Explosions erupting all round, the central nervous system kicks in, this must be battle . The physical feeling of impending conflict, its fight or flight. The worst part, the mind knows, the conscious intellect reminds the physically-stimulated body that things are OK and this is not a "battle." It is the body's familiarity with explosions associated with impending death of self or loved ones that a soldier must endure while children run around laughing and a father with beer in hand lights another one. Light it up Johnny! This is what the Fourth of July might mean to those who served so we could celebrate. This is PTSD as reported to me and this is what America tends to forget. However, the blanket way in which we refer to mental health has become an overlooked nuance. "I was anxious last night." Much different than, "I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder." "I was feeling depressed." Much different than being sad. "He'...