Some Of The Things I Have Learned In Past 38 Years

• Regardless of how great or horrible your family members can be, they are your family. Learn to love them unconditionally because when your world falls to shit they will be there for you when no one else will.

• Family isn't always blood related. It's about loyalty, dedication and heart.
  
• Love yourself first and foremost. If you love any one else more, 99.99% of the time the return on your investment will be at a loss.
  
• Your children shouldn't fit into your life. Your life should alter to fit your children and their needs. Too many people make this mistake and it's costing our world it's most valuable resource.
  
• Never settle, especially in love. You will lose respect for yourself and feel cheated. Demand the best for your life at all times.
  
• So far as we all know you get one shot at going on this ride. Life doesn't offer a dress rehearsal. Give it everything you have and tell fear to fuck off and die.
  
• Always give your all. If you can't give something your all then decline to take it on. Nothing is worse then trying to take something on you can not put your heart into.
  
• More grief in this world could be avoided if people remembered to use the two letters smack dab in the middle of the alphabet: NO.
  
• Be honest. No matter how much the truth hurts. Deception hurts even more because it shows lack of respect in addition to breaking trust.
  
• Don't let people bully you. Intimidation has no place in this war torn world of chaos.
  
• People are selfish, insecure creatures. Don't pay any attention to their actions and let it have even less effect on who you are. Just like a public toilet: avoid the shitty ones that are a mess and regardless of how nice they may seem hover at a distance to avoid disease and germs they may carry.
  
• Sex and love are two completely different beasts. They do not need one another to exist in a person's life. And they don't always live in the same house but when they do it can lead to complete bliss or a story out of a horror movie.
  
• Chocolate produces the same endorphins that falling in love does. I prefer chocolate. While chocolate can be messy and resemble poo at times it is a lot less inconvenient then love and the shit it produces can be confined to a bowl.
  
• There is an upside to everything because there is meaning in everything. Sometimes we do not know what it is, but it does have meaning and purpose. Even if it is just to allow us to appreciate the good parts of life. If the sky were always blue and sunny, could we ever appreciate a nice day? Would rainbows exist? Would flowers grow? Sometimes the rain clouds give way to growth in life but at the very least they give us prospective to enjoy what is truly beautiful.
  
• God truly is an elephant in a dark room: A Christian may touch his tusk and say he is hard and smooth. A Jew his skin and disagree saying his is rough and dry and a Buddhist may touch his tail and find him to be soft and fluffy. They are all correct but they spend more time arguing over who is right and wrong rather then celebrating the fact that they all found God.
  
• Most human beings prefer to be led then to lead. They like not being in charge because they are insecure and loath responsibility. But yet most live their lives based around greed (accumulation of wealth and objects) and trying to control their world. It is quite a humorous paradox that I take delight and disgust in regularly.
  
• Gender, sexual orientation, skin color, religion, culture, ethnicity and socioeconomic back ground can not dictate a parson's path in life unless they allow themselves to succumb to the misguided, uneducated and ignorant prejudices that the media and society try to ingrain in us.
  
• Smile no matter how bad anything is. Smile because everything is temporary, smile because some where some one else is dealing with something worse then you are, smile because you are alive to see the day and smile because if you endure it, it will be one hell of a story to tell later. :)
  
• Never be anything you don't want to be because some one else expects you too. Even your parents. God gave you life, they were just the conduit. Be exactly who you want to be regardless of what people think. Unless it's a serial killer, terrorist or rapist – then most definitely do not be what you want to be and seek help.
  
• Life is delicate and fleeting. People forget that. They spend their days like ants working for a tomorrow that may not come, trying to control things that are out of their command. They forget to enjoy the people around them. Love deeply, laugh often and live like it is your last day because it could be.
  
• Use things and love people. Do not use people and love things.
  
• Be kind to animals, the environment and anything else you rely on for survival. That includes the teenager serving your kid their happy meal. Everything has a place in this world and deserves respect regardless of it's station.
  
• When some one dies we most people tend to feel sad. I would rather honor each person's life and memory through all the happiness they brought to me while they were alive. I remember how they would feel if they knew I was sad. I think celebrating their life and the love they gave is more cathartic even though it may be difficult to do at times.
  
• Guns don't kill people they are just a channel for death. Just like a knife could be, or a pipe, or rope or a razor blade or even words can be a catalyst for death. A doctor performing an abortion is also a catalyzer for death. My point is that people can hate all or none of these things. I prefer to spend my time finding things to love then focusing on things that I could hate about this world. I feel it's a much more productive use of my time and makes me much less angry and happier in doing so.
  
• Nothing is ever perfect. There is always complications and problems in life. The difference between successful people and people who are less fortunate is how they deal with the imperfections, complications and most importantly how they use problems as building blocks and stepping stones to succeed in dire and difficult situations.
  
• Lastly and most importantly stupid really is as stupid does. Think before you act. Foresight and for-thought of action are such underdeveloped and underutilized skill sets in most people. If more people used their brain to think rather then just biological functions and coupled that with really using their free will, this world would be an amazing and fantastic place beyond all our dreams.