The importance of words

I have this motto I live by: "Never listen to what a man tells you; Just watch what he does..."

I've always been a fan of actions over words, especially since I'm a debater, and I know how people can twist words to suit their ends.

However, of late, I'm realizing that words, sincere words, can have a great deal of worth too.

So for all those whom I have not yet told "thank you" to, I'd like to say "Thank you for being in my life, and helping to enrich it."

I've tried my best to show the people I most care about that I care about them, but just in case they really need me to say it too this is what this post is for.

Honesty is so much more refreshing

It's taken me quite a while to realize that the truth really does set you free. I don't mean for small things, of course, like telling your friend she has a bad haircut, or mentioning to the keynote speaker that his fly is open... nope. :) I'm talking about the REALLY important things in life.

The funny thing is, we spend so much time running away from the consequences of having to tell painful truths that we often end up with so many more unintended consequences... PLUS we're damn far from wherever we wanted to be in the first place. I guess it's really better to just be open and honest from the start, and let the chips fall where they may.

Of course, things COULD get worse for a while... but in the end, if the people you tell the truth to can't handle whatever it is you're saying, are they really the people you want to live with while tangled up in a web of lies? Put another way... if the only way certain people are willing to deal with you is if you hide who you really are with them, are they worth being with in the first place?

Honesty truly is the best policy. I didn't say the most painless... just the best.

Keeping a positive attitude

I will be more positive. I will. :)

What we need in the world is proportionality

I don't have a fancier term for it right now, but I have this particular philosophy with regard to relationships: proportionality.

I believe that the measure of what some act is worth is not so much any absolute value of the act (like price, etc.) but rather the intrinsic worth of that act to the person doing it, and the intent for which it was done.

For instance, a billionaire can easily buy a hundred diamond rings. So when he gives a girl one of them, just how special is that?

On the flip side, if a person of modest means (that's most people) decides to save up for months to buy a humble gold necklace... isn't that supposed to be worth a lot more?

I think part of the problems we have in life involves our unwillingness to judge people by the proportionality of their actions. Instead we seem to always want absolutes. All too often we hear things like "You only see me once a week," or, "You could have gotten me more flowers..." Whatever happened to, "I know this meant a lot to you, and took a lot from you, so I really, really appreciate it?"

* special personal note *
In any case, I know you're reading this, since you just told me you were, so I'd like to thank you for all the times you made the effort to do things for me, even if I sometimes didn't acknowledge them. I just hope you also realize how many times I really did do my best to do what I could. It may not have been much in the grand scheme of things, but it was a big chunk of what I had to give.
* end of special personal note *

Proportionality changes, mind you. As our lives change, so do our opportunities to interact with each other. So if it USED to be a big deal, but now more can be done but isn't, then suddenly that person you're doing things for is no longer really as important to you. However, the opposite holds true, if you had more time back then to do things for someone, but have since gotten more busy, doing the same thing requires greater sacrifice. So it should mean more.

Until I get a better name for it, it'll be this: Proportionality. It may not sound like much, but to me it means a whole lot.

Congratulations! :)

One of my ex-girlfriends just told me she's going to get married. :) I'm happy for her, and would like to extend her, and her future husband, all the best wishes in the world!

I don't know why, but when people you care about are really happy, it helps make you happy too. :)

Today is a good day.

500+ friends on Facebook! :)

New milestone for me... over 500 friends on Facebook as of this weekend. :) Coolness.... ;)

Why I don't tell people about my day

It's just the same routine, pretty much... over and over. :) I don't know whether to be happy that life has stabilized or be sad that life is an endless cycle of boredom.

Here's what my day usually looks like:

1) Wake up
2) Check mail, read news
3) Eat
4) Check mail, read news, work
5) Work harder
6) Eat
7) Check mail, read news, work harder
8) Keep working
9) Eat
10) And the work keeps on coming...
11) Check mail, read news
12) Go to bed

Repeat the cycle the next day

See what I mean? :)

If you must dream, why not dream big?

My grandfather has a fantastic philosophy on life. I was just reminded of it today.

One day, after telling my mom about all the great things he would do if he ever won the lottery, my mom responded with something like, "Why are you dreaming so much? You should be more realistic and focus on more practical things." (My mom's an accountant...why do they all seem like that? :)

My grandfather replied, "They're MY dreams. Why shouldn't I dream big?"

:)

I love my grandfather. His philosophy is perfect for me. In fact, I can honestly say it's helped to shape my life. I have ALWAYS dreamed big; always challenged conventional wisdom. It's what has helped me achieve what I have. I don't pretend to be perfect, nor do I always achieve what I set out to do... but can I say that I've achieved MORE in life thinking the way my grandfather does? Absolutely. :)

We all need goals in our lives. The size and scope of these goals eventually SHAPE our lives. If you want to lead a "big" life, live big dreams. :) You might be surprised what you'll find you've accomplished once you wake up.

Re-activating this blog

I've decided to start writing regularly again. I don't know... I guess I miss the whole idea of setting my thoughts down somewhere. All my work has really distracted me from some of the things I normally love to do, including writing.

I'll try my best to make this a daily thing. :) Fingers crossed...

Beware... the Vatican announces 7 NEW deadly sins

I'm not making this one up. There are apparently new sins to worry about (as if the world didn't already have enough sinning going on). Here they are, listed along with the "old" sins that Pope Gregory laid out in the 6th century.

THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS

Old

Sloth
Envy
Gluttony
Greed
Lust
Wrath
Pride

New

Genetic modification
Carrying out experiments on humans
Polluting the environment
Causing social injustice
Causing poverty
Becoming obscenely wealthy
Taking drugs

To be honest, I'm not so sure I agree with the "obscenely wealthy" sin. I look at people like Warren Buffett (this year's richest man in the world according to Forbes magazine), and the fact that he's donating 85% of his wealth to charity, and that he's a really simple guy who's lived in the same home for 35 years, and I just can't imagine him burning in hell.

We also have the problem of degree. I mean, littering is polluting the environment. Should a person who drops a candy wrapper (non bio-degradable...tsk tsk) be a mortal sinner too? (I'm obviously being a bit sarcastic. I know that's not what they meant.)

But I firmly, completely agree with the "taking drugs" one. I know some of my friends will oppose me on this, but I believe that this should be a sin. Ironically, this puts Catholics in line with Muslim teachings... which do not allow any of the faith to take "mind-altering substances". We Catholics just happen to be about a thousand years late.