More Random Thoughts

Here are a few more random thoughts:

• Judgment sticks evaluative labels on people that create fear, but real love peels them off.
• If you have a question about whether to say, do or buy something, don't.
• Professional critics are better at finding fault than at giving praise; so are amateur critics.
• We chisel our own epitaph by the way we live our lives. The human ego is an addict; it gets hooked on overindulgence or deprivation of self.
• Be careful how many rigid stands you take on issues; one day you may have to eat a bouquet of previous opinions.
• Never make a decision because of past regrets or future anxieties; let peace guide your decision process.

More Random Thoughts

Here are a few more random thoughts:

• There are three stages of friendship: first, we see each other's virtues; next, we see each other’s faults; then we just see each other.
• The people who irritate us most are often shouting, "Will you please notice me?"
•  Many times what we call communication is talking at someone or talking about something with them; no, communication is sharing our feelings, longings, and needs with another person.
• Only when you trust a friend or a peer are you able to occasionally express anger at them without fear of losing the relationship.
• Never trust a person who says, "I don't care what people think." They will lie about other things as well.
• We love other people best when they are busy themselves; we love ourselves best when we are being ourselves.

  

Some Random Thoughts

Here are some random thoughts that have come to me recently:

• When it comes to a choice of being right or being human, always choose to be human.
• People are uninformed more than they are wrong.
• If I have to ask myself if I am hungry, I'm not.
• Examine your lies and they will tell you in what areas and with which people you feel inadequate.
• Only when you accept your faults will you be able to accept your virtues.
• People who try to make general statements that cover every exception are demonstrating their shallowness.
• Profanity makes the mistake of fixing the other person's attention on words rather than thoughts.
• Perfectionism is a slow death caused by the fear of making a mistake.

High School Basketball Game

When I was a junior in high school, my peers talked me into playing basketball for the first time. I was tall, but gangly and awkward.

In one of the first big games, I faced a 6'9", three-sport All American named Randy Mahaffey. He later went on to be an NCAA All American, and spent several years in the NBA.

To say I was outmatched would be a huge understatement. Half-way through the second quarter I became frustrated and balled up my fists for a fight. Randy looked at me and said, "Calm down, Jackson," and proceeded to lope down the court.

The coach took me out of the game. His first words were, "I just saved your life, son."

I learned that day that truly strong people – people who are secure and have nothing to prove can walk away from a fight.

Theories

Never get too sold on your own theories. After all, theories are just theories, not realities.
Everyone who knows me well knows that I'm full of theories. People who think manufacture theories. At least that's my theory.

The problem with theories is that they are inevitably proven to be false - or at least to have exceptions.

What do we do with our theories when they do not prove to be fact? Some of us stick with them. We preach them, propagate them, and push them on other people even though in our heart of hearts we know our theory doesn’t work. It is a form of intellectual myopia.

And why do we engage in this mental dishonesty? Because we are afraid of developing new ways of thinking.

Do You Believe in Miracles?

Do you believe in miracles?

Let me tell you about a genuine miracle. It is the fact that you are alive. You woke up breathing this morning.

You did nothing to deserve birth. You had no right to live even a single minute. Your life is an undeserved, unrepayable gift.

You have likely had a friend your own age die. Why are you alive when he or she is not? It is not because you are more deserving. Your life is a gift.

You may die tomorrow, and that is okay. We will all die one day. But today you are alive. You have the privilege-the grace-of being here for another day.

And that, my friend, is a miracle.

Some Ideas

Here are some ideas that have floated through my brain recently:

• Accepting responsibility is not the same as accepting blame.
• No single person who was ever born was a mistake.
• Never underestimate the human capacity for selfishness.
• Habits are changed by additions not subtractions.
• Marital sex is a form of relational laughter.
• Getting even is a lazy form of grief.
• Live as if everything you do and say will eventually be known.
• There is a time to make things happen and a time to let whatever is going to happen just happen; know what time it is.
• Make your peace with the fact that when you go to your grave the things you care about most will be unfinished