Listen To Yourself: You Are Beautiful, You Are Strong, And You Are Amazing

"I have learned silence from the talkative, tolerance from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strangely, I am ungrateful to these teachers." ~Kahlil Gibran

Some people are just annoying. With some people your words will always go in one ear and out the other like they never existed—like they were never uttered—despite the common sense and logic you use to explain something to them. I am guilty of this, but I am far less guilty of it than I am a victim of it. I always try to listen to what people are saying to me, simply out of respect. If they have an idea that is better than my own, I may not be happy about it for a time, but I will do my best to think on it and reason with myself so that I can accept that others can be more intelligent than myself in certain things—in a lot of things, because, as Stephen Tyler said recently in an interview: "It took me until I was sixty, but now I understand; I don't know anything."


None of us really understands anything.


We will never understand what created our universe, we can only postulate. We can have faith in one of the many scriptures that were written by the hand of man, whether or not their hands speak with the voice of a God or gods, but we will never know for sure why we are what we are until the day comes that we pass on into a world where everything is understood beyond the realm of human life. We, as humans, will never come to a conclusive agreement on anything. As long as we are alive, everything will be questioned. The only thing we can do, is stick to the things we believe in—no matter how many people tell us we're wrong.


Because there will always be bigots and hypocrites telling you what they think, and they will be telling you what they think you should think.


If you ever remember anything that I tell you, this needs to be one that sticks in your mind. The only person in this world whose opinion matters is your own. If you think something is wrong, it probably is. If you think somebody is leading you astray, they probably are. If you feel scared, there's probably a good reason. And, if a person shows you who they are: believe them the first time. Especially if they show you they're a bad person. Very rarely will a person be a shithead just to protect you, or to save face, or because they're hiding something. Besides, if being a shithead is the way a person deals with their problems, you don't want to deal with them anyway.


At the same time, sometimes we lie to ourselves. Sometimes we see things where only a particle of dust floats. Don't let your fears keep you from doing anything. If you've had your heart broken: love again. Just love somebody different, and love somebody new, and, most importantly, don't let yourself end up in the same bad ending just because you project old fears onto your  new situation. You are capable of living a "happily ever after." Albeit, it won't be a perfect one—you are capable of being as happy as you possibly can be in your circumstances.


No matter where you are in life, you have the ability to work hard and turn your world into what you want it to be. You do not have to be an American to live the American Dream. (Secretly, it's just as hard to make your dreams come true here, as it is anywhere else in the world.) I've always found it stupid that a dream so magical as raising up from your position in life and doing what you love had to be labeled with a country. It's a dream we all share, because we are all human, we are all the same, and we are all born with the ability to succeed.


Remember, it's not how many times you fall, it's how many times you get back up, that matters. This is a truth that is common to all walks of life.


You are beautiful, you are amazing, you are strong. Nothing can stop you unless you let it, and nothing has power over you unless you give it. Take control of your own life, and don't spend time living in your own personal hells.


The only person who has to love you is you.


This Has Been,
~A Little Lonely Wisdom


"If you haven't forgiven yourself something, how can you forgive others?" ~Dolores Huerta


"Everybody talks about wanting to change things and help and fix, but ultimately all you can do is fix yourself. And that's a lot. Because if you can fix yourself, it has a ripple effect." ~Rob Reiner


"It ain't nothing to find no starting place in the world. You just start from where you find yourself." ~August Wilson