It was on July 3rd 2005, when I left home to start a new life in Tampa Florida. Since then, July 3rd has always been my own personal Independence Day. And since today marks the 20th anniversary of my leaving the nest…I thought I’d post some reflection.
If I could go back twenty years and talk to my 18-year-old self, what would I tell him? What would I tell that jeri-curled, 310-pound big black guy with no sense of fashion, no experience, barely any knowledge of the world, and yet filled inexplicably with uncanny optimism and determination.
Easy, this is just food for thought. But it relates to relationship follies and even the characters, stories, and scripts that are written by female writers…that quite frankly, either don’t make sense or it’s not realistic.
Plainly put, the definition of Empathy is the Ability to “understand and share the feelings of another”. It’s your awareness of what the other person is feeling and why they have those feelings.
At the age of 38-years-old…I don’t think a lot of people have this ability. Not just women, but people in general. But as per the point of this essay, I think it’s an inaccurate stereotype to associate this ability with Women.
In my opinion…I’ve found that a lot of women from my generation seem to struggle to understand why or how another person is feeling what they’re feeling, unless (and only if) they’ve personally experienced that situation for themselves.
My wife and I went to see the latest Mission Impossible movie…and aside from the convoluted plot and exposition dumps where characters took turns saying one line at a time (making you fully aware that you’re watching a movie)…one thing you’ll notice about the film is the proliferation of women playing roles that were traditionally (realistically) held by men.
Seriously, the US president is Angela Bassett, the Secret Service agent who springs into action and takes down a bad guy is a petite Asian woman, the commander of an aircraft carrier is a Guile-looking white woman, and one of the main female soldiers on the submarine is a cringy tom-boyish lesbian in a tank top who acts more masculine than the men around her.
And these aren’t just background characters. Every time they’re on screen, they play the most prominent role over every other character. It’s in your face. As if, “You’re going to watch me whether you like it or not.”
I’m not saying it’s impossible for women to hold these traditionally male roles. But as I’m going to explain, it does ruin the magic of movies when you constantly have to work to suspend your disbelief.
Let me start by saying I’m a firm believer in the notion of, “the only one you can control is yourself.”
That being said, I’m aware that it is possible to get people to feel/think/do what you want them to by game, influence, and manipulation. It is possible to convince others to love you, prioritize you, or to like you. If I wanted to, I could do all of this. And yet, I refuse.
If you were to ask me why, I don’t ever think I could respect people like that. It’s like those clips where a guy walks up to a woman, tries to talk to her, she blows him off like he’s no big deal until she sees that he’s driving a Maserati. Then, all the sudden, she hurries over to get his attention. Now, all the sudden she’s interested.
Alright…last one. This is part four of the reasons why we need to abolish this fear of being called “judgemental” in 2024. Because all it’s doing is silencing those who should be speaking up, while enabling those who need to hear the Truth.
In this thrilling conclusion, I’m going to explain why you shouldn’t be afraid or look down on the Christians who YOU THINK are holier than thou. These might be the very same people who have a hand in saving your life.
Sure, some can be annoying. Some people don’t know the meaning of discretion, time and place. And when you really do love your sinful behavior, when you just want to relax, take it easy and not care about how God feels about every little thing…these Christians can be infuriating. I get it. So, let’s talk about it.
In 2019, a woman named Hannah Brown made headlines while starring as the “Bachelorette”…where she proudly proclaimed, “I’ve have had sex and honestly, Jesus still loves me.“
Fair enough. Jesus still loves you. Sure. Sure. Now ask yourself…do you think he’s happy with you? Do you think he’s happy with what you’ve done? Do you care? Is that important to you? Because talk is cheap. What do your actions demonstrate?
Hey everyone! Just wanted to give some updates of my recent release of “The Perennial War of Paramours” available at Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, and various other sites.
I’m currently entering the book into a several competitions to see if they win any awards. Though, I have to be careful because there are a bunch of contests and the entry fees can rack up quickly.
I had to take a moment to say “thank you” to an author who truly inspired me to start writing when I was a teenager. Until I read “Kill the Shogun” by Dale Furutani…I never thought it was possible to write fight choreography.
When most people think of books, they usually think of the typical school classics. Hemingway, Dickens, Harper Lee, and Shakespeare. I remember having to read “Old Yeller” and “Charlotte’s Web” and “Moby Dick” and honestly…I didn’t enjoy them.
I liked the premise of the stories, but to actually have to read through the pages, it felt like work more so than entertainment. But when I was fifteen, a freshman in high school…I don’t remember how I stumbled onto “Kill the Shogun” by Dale Furutani. But I can tell you it definitely changed my life.
You see, ever since I was a kid, it’s like I was born for combat. Don’t get me wrong, I never liked hurting people. But martial arts and all skilled systems of fighting just spoke to me. From the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, to the Power Rangers, and Street Fighter…when I saw the moves, I was captivated and entranced.
I wasn’t a fan of gore and blood, but the choreography of it. I thought it was amazing, no different from a synchronized dance from Michael Jackson or crew of break dancers.
On April 4th 2023, I went to a Jehovah’s Witness Memorial Service for Jesus Christ and something unexpected happened. I suffered some kind of emotional or mental breakdown and had to leave before it ended. I felt wretched and rotten, guilty and unworthy. And ironically, I believe it all stemmed from this lifelong criticism of being called “Arrogant.”
Modesty is not one of my strong points. I get it. It’s kinda like how I’ve been told I’m too “Judgmental”. However, with that, I am truly judgmental. I embrace it. I can accept and defend it.
But Arrogance…How can I justify that? The Bible’s constantly talking about the virtues of being meek and humble. It warns about pride and haughtiness. Jesus himself said that “the greatest among you shall be your servant.” And that whoever humbles himself like a child shall be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
So, if they are correct in their assessment…what do I do? How do I change? Do I even want to change?
Here’s what I’m going to do. First, I’m going to explain what happened that night during the Memorial Service. Then, I’m gonna dive deep into why I’m clearly so insufferably arrogant.
Stage In The Sky 