Well, a new year, full of new hopes, dreams, resolutions...well folks, I'm here to tell ya. We start off every year this way, excited. It's a new day, a new dawn, a new year. Things WILL be better. Then somewhere after a few months, we start falling off that high of hope, the humdrum kicks in, and we go back to mediocrity and the same old same old.
I hope and pray that this doesn't happen, and I hope we can all keep the positive notes going.
To date, since January 1, there have been tornadoes in Arkansas, birds falling from the sky, fish dying by the hundreds of thousands, both of those events happening in Arkansas. (Oddly, Arkansas is really close to the center of the US...could this be a sign??) Worldwide, Tranwrecks, massive earthquakes, shootings and killings, assassinations (ironically I find it humorous that a Pakistani leader was killed by his own Punjabi bodyguard...NEVER piss off your security guys, folks!), bomb threats, all sorts of things.
I think the mainstream media needs to stop reporting on all the bad things, and find something good to report about. Think about it. What's the last good thing you remember the news reporting? Me? I have no idea. But if we're force fed dull, doom and gloom, you're going to breathe it in, and exhale it right back out. You'll believe in it.
Our economy is worse, and I see no sign of improvement. It's gotten so bad that a very good friend of mine whom nobody would ever think or imagine him doing poorly has just about hit financial rock bottom. I know it happens to a lot of us. Me, it seems to happen every other month or so...but I've become use to it. I'm just a normal person. But this guy...this guy is awesome. He's so very humble, he literally does anything he can to help anyone. He goes out of his way to help people, and never asks anything in return. He SHARES his religion with others, not forces it down your throat and tell you that you're going to Hell if you don't believe in it.
He was recently let go from a management position because a high school student in his employ did not clock out before 10 pm, which is part of the child labor laws. It was an honest mistake, but upper management had to come down hard on him because of the rules and laws. This left him unemployed. The state will not give him unemployment. He does not qualify for assistance. It makes me sick because every day we come across people who are too lazy to get out and do something for themselves, walk in to state and federal assistance offices and walk out with a smile on their face and a check or some other kind of handout in their hand. If this is fairness in democracy, I'm disgusted.
I'd give anything to help this friend, he's been there for me and my entire family so many times that I've lost count. And he's never asked for anything in return, other than just my fellowship, which is given freely, at no cost. Ever. I cannot monetarily help him due to my own dire straits, but I can get the word out, and ask that those people who follow my lines keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
2011: Here's to hope and promise. Just do your best to keep on going forward, remember those you love, and those who love you. Remember those who go out of their way for you, and make sure you return the favor. Look for others you can help, no matter in what way. If you can be there for them, do so. Even if it's just a pat on the back, a hug during hard times, or a stupid joke to put a smile on their face. It helps more than you know, and kindness starts in small acts.
Happy MMXI.
