Cheer for Positive Change

The recent news of Michael Vick’s conditional reinstatement into the NFL has caused quite a stir. Public opinion on Vick’s return to the NFL is split it seems. While many fans are happy to have the talented quarterback reinstated, there are many others, including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), that vehemently oppose Vick being allowed back into the NFL.

For those of you who are not football fans, or perhaps have not heard about this story, I’ll recap. Michael Vick was the quarterback for the Atlanta Flacons. He was talented, and one of the rising young stars in the league. However, in August of 2007, the National Football League suspended Vick, for funding and participating in a dog-fighting ring. Vick himself was involved in the killing and torture of losing dogs.

Now as a dog lover, and animal lover in general, I would like to say that I find what happened more than a little disturbing. I do not condone dog-fighting rings, and I especially do not support the torture and killing of animals.

Be that as it may, Michael Vick was sentenced to a 23-month prison term, which is now over. He has been released, and he has paid his debt to society at large as imposed upon on him by the people society pays to make these decisions. It is time to move forward.

On Monday the NFL conditionally reinstated Vick, and he is free to sign with a NFL team should he find one willing to hire him. He is allowed to participate in practices and the final two pre-season games, however, he is not allowed to play in a regular season game until at least week 6, when the commissioner of the NFL will re-evaluate the situation.

With that announcement has come a wave of public outrage, with PETA leading the charge. Many people seem to feel because of what Vick did, he should no longer be allowed to play professional football. Some feel that these athletes and are role models, and that Vick no longer is able to fill that role.

Look, I understand that what Vick did was wrong. However, I would have to disagree with those who feel Vick should not be allowed to play in the NFL because of his crimes that he has laready served his sentence for. In my view, Michael Vick has an opportunity to be an example of making positive changes, and in doing so become an excellent example for others who have had made poor choices in their past.

I wonder what purpose all of this anger and negative energy really serves? I mean, if you are for animal safety, why not focus your energy on creating safe environments for animals. Perhaps put some time into saving the wetlands so that we don’t lose more species. What I can’t agree with, is condemming this man for all of his existence. What he has done, he has done, and no amount of anger is going to change that reality. Thus, the focus now, should be on how to protect animals in the future from these types of abuse. Not only that but on helping and supporting a man to change his life and make better choices in the future.

What gain is there for society if everytime somebody commits a crime, they are obstucted from ever changing their life for the better, and becoming a valuable member of society? I can see no gain. In fact, if this were to be the case, we would simply release people from prisons, only to have them commit another crime and go back. All that creates is more victims.

Now I realize that there is a high return to prison rate. However, I wonder if society has not created some conditions that make this likely to happen. Stopping a man from working because of a criminal background, means he is going to have to find some alternative way to live. It’s safe to say that unless someone can find a way to live on his own, it will come at another person’s expense.

I for one hope Michael Vick does make it back onto the football field. I also hope that he finds it within himself to make changes to his lifestyle, and become an example of positive change. It is my belief that the world needs more of these examples, if we are to give any hope to the kids that are struggling and perhaps heading down the wrong road today.

With so many people focusing their energy on anger towards this situation, they are only harming themselves, and bringing those around them down. Anger can not change what happened to those dogs. So why feel angry? Why not make your own positive change, and turn your anger into love for the animals and go do something that will make a positive impact on future animal safety?

Personally, I choose to hope for positive change.

You Are Appreciated

Thank you for being angry with me.
I learned to have understanding.

Thank you for robbing me and leaving me broke.
I learned to find happiness without money.

Thank you for isolating me.
I learned to love myself.

Thank you for turning your back on me.
I learned to handle rejection.

Thank you for the times you made me wait.
I learned to have patience.

Thank you for laughing at me.
I learned to be humble.

Thank you for attempting to control me.
I learned to stand for liberty.

Thank you for leaving me.
I learned to love someone else.

Thank you for the time you yelled at me, and slapped my face.
I learned to have self-control.

Thank you for pushing me down into that hole.
How else would I have learned to climb out of a hole?

Thank you for the time you told me I would not succeed.
You gave me just the push I needed to accomplish my goal.

I appreciate all of you that gave me opportunities to learn. You have been my teachers in this world, and I am grateful to have been your student.

Freedom Fighting

To live free, is to have complete control over your life. The alternative is to exist in a state where you allow others to take control for you. True happiness can only be found in breaking loose from the chains of restraint, and living in freedom.

Allowing someone else to have control of your life is the same as voluntarily living in prison. Every time you accept someone else making decisions for you, you allow them build another wall in the prison that keeps you locked in. Unless you can be happy living in a prison, where your choices are made for you, you must decide to fight for your freedom. You must decide to be the one in control of the boundaries of your life.

If you are not in control of your life, who is? Better yet, why are they in control of your life? You are the one who must live with the feelings and consequences of the choices made in your life. So it only makes sense that you should be the one making those choices. Freedom is what allows you to control your own life. It is a conscious choice you must make in order to ensure that you are deciding your own experiences, attitudes, and behaviors.

In order to be free, you must be somewhat defiant. You must be willing to stand up for your own beliefs, values, goals, and choices. Your choices may not be the ideal choices for others, but they are certainly the best choices for you. Even if a choice does not produce the desired result, you will have made your own mistake and not someone else’s. This way you are learning lessons, and growing based on what is important to you.

Imagine a goal you have for yourself. Perhaps it is having a fancy sports car, your dream home, or going on an exotic vacation. Whatever your goal, it is yours and it is something you want. If someone were to tell you that you could not have that goal, they are trying to take away your freedom to have your goal. They may not be doing it intentionally, and perhaps they simply do not see a way for you to achieve you goal. However, if you accept what they say, you are surrendering your freedom to them.

Many people have been in a relationship their parents did not approve of. Usually the parent’s intentions are good, as they are simply trying to protect their children. However, they are also attempting to control their children to live in accordance with their ideals. If you listened to your parents and did not have relationships that did not meet their approval, you not only gave up your own freedom, you also very likely were not happy about it.

You see, when you are making your own decisions, you are making your own mistakes, and you are winning your own victories. You are literally growing into the person you want to become, and having the experiences you wish to have based on your decisions. When you are in control of making your own decisions, you can be happy, because at the time you are doing what you want to do. The outcome does not matter.

This is your life, and one day it will end. When it’s all said and done, will you have been a passenger in your own life, or will you have given yourself the freedom to sit behind the steering wheel, and control the gas pedal?

The Values of Goals

Living our values, and achieving our goals are essential to our happiness. Yet how many people are actually doing both, if either of them?

Simply stated, our values are what are important to us. It could be love, freedom, trust, health or anything else that may be important to you. They are your beliefs about what you need in your life to make you happy.

Alternatively, goals are the things we want. Goals are what drive us to move forward in life. In order to achieve a goal you must move from your present state in order to reach the desired state.

Many people set goals. Which is in itself a positive action. Be that as it may, in order to be successful in achieving your goals, I believe it is essential to find the value that comes from achieving the goal. A goal with no value behind it is an empty goal that will be difficult to obtain.

In order to find the value behind a goal, you will need to ask yourself what it is achieving your goal will get for you. That seems simple, however, you have to continue to ask yourself this question with each answer in order to see a pattern, which will bring you to the core value behind a goal.

I’m going to use a personal example to illustrate this. I have always liked to write. For years I thought I would become an author someday. I didn’t really know what I would write about or how it would come to pass, and I certainly didn’t know what becoming an author would do for me. I simply knew I liked to write.

Years passed by, and I stopped writing altogether for a time. Sometimes I would think I would like to start writing again, and that if I applied myself I could become an author one day. Yet, these thoughts became more and more fleeting. What once had been a goal had become a forgotten dream.

Goals are really dreams in action. For me the dream began to fade, as I had not given it the action steps to move forward. I believe the reason I did not do this for so long, was I did not take the time to understand the value behind my goal. Without seeing the value, it just didn’t seem important enough to put into action.

So what was it that writing would get for me?

It would give me a creative outlet.

What would that get for me?

It would give me a chance to share what was inside of me.

What would that get for me?

It would give me the ability to help others.

What would that get for me?

It would give me a feeling of inspiration.

What would that get for me?

It would give me confidence to creatively communicate.

What would that get for me?

It would give me the ability influence others.

What I see when I look at these questions and answers, is that for me, the core value was communication. I had a strong need to connect with others. Writing was simply an outlet for me to live my value.

In order for me to achieve my goal of becoming an author, I needed to realize the core value of communication.

What happens when you realize the value behind a goal is you can then begin to live in accordance with your value, which will set you on the proper path towards achieving your goal. If your follow your value, you will ensure that you achieve your goal in a satisfactory way.

What I realized by becoming aware of the core value of communication, was that I needed to stop thinking about becoming a writer, and start writing. How could I possibly communicate, if I did not write?

In fact, it was that very question, which led me to become aware that I would like to also become a professional speaker one day. That was another goal, which was set with the value of communication behind it.

By realizing the value, I created this blog, and I joined groups on the Internet that had other bloggers with similar interests. I began communicating with them (living my value) and learning from them. These steps have led me to becoming an author of this blog, and I am now in the process of finalizing the editing stage of my first ever ebook (more details on that coming soon).

If you are having problems achieving goals you have set for yourself, I encourage you to figure out the value behind the goal. By knowing the value you will be able to satisfy your inner needs, and keep yourself motivated to achieve your goals.

Meditation for Focus

Have you ever had one of those days where you felt as though your thoughts were scattered all over the place? No matter how hard you try to focus yourself on the task at hand, you simply can’t stop seemingly random thoughts from popping into your head. You can’t seem to get yourself into a project that you were previously enjoying and doing effortlessly.

I think everyone can relate to having one of those days. Your thoughts are continuous one after another, all seemingly with no real connection or meaning. This type of experience can be frustrating. You can be left feeling out of control, and certainly for those of us who like to remain in conscious control of our thoughts this can be very confusing.

If you are like me, when you have these experiences, you not only want them to stop but also to know why it is occurring. Is there a connection to these thoughts? Perhaps a hidden meaning your subconscious mind is trying to reveal?

When I recently had one of those days, in an attempt to better understand these seemingly random thoughts I decided to write them down. I reasoned that if I made a list of these thoughts I may be able to find the connection or meaning. For almost a full hour I simply wrote down everything that was popping into my head.

When I had finished writing my thoughts, I took some time to study the list. I came to realize that I had not come any closer to finding any real connection or meaning in the thoughts. I had simply produced a rather long list of seemingly random thoughts. Sure there were some interesting thoughts, but they certainly didn’t relate to the article I wanted to focus my attention on.

Realizing that this approach had not solved my problem of not being able to focus my thoughts and energy, I found myself back at square one. I needed to try a different approach. I decided I would meditate on this issue and ask my intuition to guide me. Certainly at a conscious level I was unable to understand what was happening.

I sat back in my chair and I closed my eyes. I asked my intuition to help me understand why I was having all of these random thoughts, and sort them out for me so I could regain my focus on my article. I then simply let my mind drift wherever it wanted to go for a while.

My thoughts again started racing. I noticed the sound of a lawnmower outside of my window. I could hear the sounds of children laughing and yelling, and a dog barking. I brought myself back to my article, and whispered the word “focus” in my mind.

Again I let my mind wander. I thought of the spaghetti sauce I had made the night before that needed more garlic. Then about the squirrels that lived in the tree in my back yard. I could see them chasing each other around the massive trunk. Then thoughts of a date I had years ago with an old girlfriend. Slowly I brought myself back to the article, again whispering the word “focus” in my mind.

This continued over and over for almost twenty minutes. Then as I came back to focus on my article again, I began to see a thin, gold wavy line of energy moving continuously upward. Again I mentally whispered the word “focus”.

I was now able to sustain the focus on my mind on this perpetual line of energy flowing behind my closed eyes. Nothing else at that point was apparent. My mind was quiet now. This focused state lasted maybe 10 minutes before I slowly brought myself back to consciousness.

As I did come back into consciousness I felt disorientated. I had to familiarize myself with my surroundings again. It was not unlike the feeling after awakening from a deep sleep and not knowing where you are for a moment.

I then tried to see if now I could get a meaning from all of those seemingly random thoughts I was having in the first place. Yet nothing seemed to present itself. It was as if they were simply gone.

Had I released the thoughts from my mind in the flowing line of energy I had seen in my mind? That didn’t seem to be a reasonable explanation as I could still remember what many of those thoughts were.

It seemed to me, that perhaps there was no real connection or meaning behind these thoughts at all. I decided that it was completely reasonable that I had simply been overanalyzing the situation.

I came to the conclusion that my mind simply needed some time to properly absorb all of the information in my conscious mind, into my subconscious mind. By trying to force myself to focus on my article I was only adding more thoughts, and feelings for my mind to digest.

Taking a half hour to meditate cleared my mind and allowed me to refocus on my article. Perhaps the real lesson was that sometimes we need to slow down in order to move ahead.