Archive for the My View On Things Category

A More Level Playing Field

Sunday, March 18th, 2012
I believe there’s good among both the wealthy and the poor, but when some people simply want more money to add to their millions while others need more money just to survive, it angers me. I’m not angry at all wealthy people mind you. I wrote in a 2009 post calledEnough is Enough When Greed Comes Before Needs that there are wealthy people who give back by helping the needy. However, when I hear someone with great wealth say that people just need to work harder to make it in life, I think it shows they’re not in touch with the reality of today. I know people that hold down two jobs while also going to college in an effort to improve on their lives, but worry about how they’re going to pay their bills. We need a more level playing field to help those who not only want to better themselves, but who are also willing to work hard to achieve their goals. The part that really bothers me is that in some cases their goals may lead them to jobs that don’t pay enough to keep up with the cost of living. I have heard there are some jobs available without qualified people to fill them. I’m not sure what these jobs are, or what they pay, but as the often proclaimed “greatest country in the world,” we should be able to find a way to train people who want to work, and at the same time reward the businesses who hire them for these jobs. I know there are those who don’t want to work, and unfortunately many of them try to beat the system, but not all impoverished people choose to do so. And by impoverished, I don’t mean just those who are poor. I also mean those who are deprived of strength, vitality, and creativeness, which is another definition of impoverished. You may know people like this, or might be one of them. Today, it’s individuals and families making twenty to sixty thousand dollars a year, who are called the middle class. People that barely make ends meet and don’t have money for college, or who struggle financially with a college degree.  Now I understand not all people of the middle class struggle, and many are filled with strength, vitality, and creativeness, but there still has to be a way to help the less fortunate who want to help themselves. A more level playing field would be a great start. One that allows the more impoverished people of this country to have the same chance as wealthy people do to not only get an education, but also make the best out of it when they do.

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The Gift That Keeps Giving

Monday, January 16th, 2012

There are several things I get from helping others. Feelings of pride and satisfaction, greater happiness and content in my life, and a sense of purpose are at the forefront. As those who have read my book know, helping others began in an effort to stay sober. I was told helping others in their own effort to remain sober was a way to help myself, and that I would feel greater happiness and reward in life. This sounded selfish to me, but after a few attempts at stepping out from myself and offering aid to another human being, I began to see the reward. Not everyone I tried to help was responsive, and some I never saw again after talking with them at an AA meeting, but when a few people did respond and remained sober, it warmed my heart to know I had some small part in the result. However, this wasn’t the only reward. If there is one soul reason I continue to help others, it’s because it gives my life meaning. Even if it’s holding a door for someone with a smile on my face, I feel good knowing I’m doing something for someone else. Today, I know my life makes a difference, and I can say helping others has certainly made a difference in mine.

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End Of Our Innocence?

Sunday, August 21st, 2011

One of my favorite past times is watching people at various places as they walk along going about their business. I enjoy seeing couples holding hands, people talking and laughing, and I especially enjoy watching families having fun together. One of my favorite places to watch people is at an ocean front boardwalk near where I live. Just the other day I was there with my back to the ocean, sitting on a bench across from an arcade where a fortune teller machine sat outside, and doing just that. The machine actually reminded me of one that was used in the 1988 Tom Hanks movie Big. The movie is basically about a young boy who uses a fortune telling machine called Zoltar to make a wish that he was big. After becoming an adult, however, he’s still the same young boy inside that he was before. Anyway as I sat there, I saw people walking along by themselves and many couples too, but on this particular day families seemed more abundant. They came in all shapes and sizes, and some would stop and drop coins in the fortune telling machine to see what it had to offer in the way of fun. As I said, families are my favorite people to watch, but what I’m looking for in everyone is the part of them that helps me to love them. I call it their innocence, and as I sat there watching different families laugh and smile together at an amusement that by today’s standards is quite tame, I got what I was looking for. I’m not sure how innocent some of the family members truly were, but for the few minutes they stood in front of that fortune telling machine, I couldn’t help but to love them. It’s a much different world today than it was when the movie Big came out. At times people can seem immoral and even corrupt. But from what I saw in those families that day, it gives me hope that as a society we’re not at the end of our innocence just yet.

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We Don’t Need To Bleed

Sunday, March 20th, 2011

I read that this song is about the power of forgiveness. Before we can forgive anyone though, we need to stop fighting first. It seems so many people argue over things like politics and religion today and make no attempt to understand one another better.  Not only do we all bleed red, but we’re also all made of the same stuff. In other words, like some of the lyrics heard in the song say, we’re all one. The sooner people start believing this, the sooner our world will be a better place.

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