Jesus Christ. Where to begin. . . First thing you gotta do is listen. Just listen goddamnit. Dipshits and know-it-alls are jabbering away every which way you turn and while a good portion of it is bullshit some of those dipshits are fucking geniuses and some of the know-it-alls are just that - they know it all. Your brain, your intuition will tell you which is which and who is who. So you gotta listen to yourself too, if that makes any sense. Some people say that you gotta listen to your heart, follow your heart, do whatever it is your heart tells you. Now that, my friend, is a load. If my years have taught me anything it's that the heart is good for nothing more than pumping blood, and sometimes it doesn't do that all that well. Your head is the key. Your goddamned brain. You understand? I can't believe I have to waste my breath explaining that the brain trumps the heart but such is the world I guess. You keep your heart on the back burner and listen to your mind, your intuition, and your half way home.
Oh, and shut the fuck up for awhile. The mind is always trying to get its two cents in but most young folks are too busy running their mouths to let it soak in. Fucking go for a walk. Hop in the car and drive to some distant town and don't talk to anybody for three days. Don't worry about missing work or who's gonna take your kids to school or any of that shit. Just get off the grid for a bit. It's important. What's that they say? Sometimes you gotta step away in order to come back. Something like that. Anyway those are wise words. Give your head time to say what it has to say. I guarantee it won't tell you to worry about what your gonna have for dinner, how big of a TV to buy, or whether or not to refinance your home. Go fishing, it will probably say. Ha!
You can't be afraid to piss people off, to disappoint those that count on you. My daddy was one tough SOB but I'll be damned if he didn't provide for his family and break his back day in and day out at his own expense. He died a sad man although he'd never be man enough to admit it. Now I grew up thinking that's what a man was. I lived my days toeing the line. Went through two wives and five kids, same as him. Doing whatever it took to keep them happy and taking whatever shit it was they'd toss my way and tried to turn in into ice cream instead of tossing it back. Well fuck that. I realize now that both my daddy and me were bonafide pussies. My daddy died with no enemies and not on ounce of joy in his heart. And now here I am at the end of my life staring at the same goddamned fate, still afraid piss people off. What I'm saying is that there is no difference between what a man should be, what a son should be, what a woman should be, or what a daughter should be. We're all people made of the same blood and guts. Simple as that. It does you no good bending over backwards, making sacrifices for your family when they don't bend back in return. Sure they'll be tough times. Times when they think your being selfish, times when they think you're putting yourself before something they'll call "the greater good". You tell them to look in the mirror. If your family is worth a damn they'll come to understand that they signed up for this shit for life, through good times and bad, just like the vow says. I guess what I'm saying is that spending your life trying to keep the path of of those the Lord's deemed as yours fixed to the bright and shiny isn't your sole responsibility. That shit works both ways. And you'll learn that forgiveness is a beautiful thing while apologies are hollow, vacant utterances. Because when you piss off those closest to you and refuse to apologize, forgiveness is the only thing that'll mend that tear. It's a force more powerful than hate, more powerful than love. I'd go so far as to say forgiveness magnifies love. And love is something that starts with #1, with yourself.
What else.
Save your money. Fucking kids walking around with phones that hold a million songs and tell you where the nearest movie theater is where you can spend $10 to see a blue alien robot eat a goddamned car. Your gonna need money later to survive. You're gonna need money for lawyers, for doctors, and for land. A comfortable pair of cotton pants, a warm shirt with a pocket, and a house with a working fridge and shitter is all you need. Buy that and save the rest for when you need to battle the bills in the mailbox. Life ain't cheap. The body breaks down and your enemies will try to milk you for all you got. Keep a leg up by taking walks by the lake, spending time at the library. That shit's free. Oh and you'll need shoes I guess. Get some good sturdy shoes.
I'll end on this. I know I mention God and the Lord and maybe I shouldn't. Religion ain't nothing anybody can speak to with certainty in my opinion. I've read the Bible. I suggest you do the same. Beyond that I think it best to let the trials life throw in your direction and the people you meet along the way determine your credence in terms of the afterlife and the meaning behind it all. Who is anyone to say how every man, let alone any man, can be saved lest he lived every man's life, seen what he's seen? That goes for St. Peter and whoever Mohammed's right hand man was. I will say that adopting a certain belief out of fear of the repercussions of the alternative is a coward's way to live. In fact I can't call that living at all. I guarantee that whoever is running the show doesn't see any honor in that. Pure chicken shit. I'll leave it at that. I'll leave it all at that.
Order dessert.
Get a dog.
That's about it.
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