TRUTH IS FREE-COSTs TO PRACTICE- PAY up FRONT

RESPONSIBILITY simply implies ownership.  There is no gray area.  We are either part of the solution or part of the problem.  If we fail to take a stand on basic things we are susceptible to fall for anything. But when we hold a firm position on anything we tend to close our minds. This may seem to be a "Catch 22," but it is simply the way of life.  Our lives should exhibit evolutionary personal growth through a continual process of gaining greater understanding. We must create checks and balances through other sources and people we've empowered to detour us off of the dead end roads and one way streets we get stuck on. If we seek to expand our understanding, we'll realize that knowledge and the ongoing process of life never stays fixed at one point or on one view in time. The precision of our perception comes through self critique and external examinations. We need to empower personal authoritative mentors in our lives.  As "Iron sharpens Iron" there is no substitute for the power that comes from evaluating disagreements. These occasions often serve to sow the seeds of understanding while cultivating fresh ideas and creating new concepts from the garden of our minds. Neighborhoods do not create crime or poverty. Although it is a contributing factor, poverty does not create bad neighborhoods. The environments found within poor neighborhoods materialize as a result of the consciousness and culture of the people living in them.  We can site a cause, take a stand or silence our voice on anything. We will either manifest or mask our position.  There is no straddling the fence. Our failure to stand up creates the conditions for falling down. Our moral standards will be tested by social and environmental factors.  We have the right, authority and ability to pick our battles and choose our battlefields.  Maintaining a standard and standing up for truth is "keeping it real." We must not let our guard down for anyone.  Don't cosign the crime!  Speak and act against it. Silence is cowardice! NEVER compromise a standard. Remember blame focuses outward. Responsibility focuses inward.  How we relate to our teaching and environments will shape our perceptions and attitudes.  

Today many of us find it hard to be real. It is easier to put up a "front" or a "racket." This is what we hide behind, playing the game of deceptive show and tell.  We show one face to public scrutiny but our life tells another story behind the scenes. We protect our secret lives but are simply as sick as our secrets.  Ironically most of the issues we view as problems come as a result of viewing life through the filter of an illegitimate belief system.  As we grow and gain a greater understanding of how (the ways)  the universe functions we are able to better function in it.  Once we learn which things are truly open to our volitional control and which things are not, life is less problematic.  This is the serenity we ask God to grant us that, "accepts the things we cannot change, gives us the courage to change the things that we can and the wisdom to know the difference." There is an ever evolving grand perspective (the forest) that can be perceived only by taking our eyes off of the smaller issue (individual trees).  The caveat here is the will to shift our vision to that grand perspective (forest) without fear of losing sight of "our view" on current issues (trees).  At some time or another we will discover that our minds are already "made up" regarding specific subjects.  In that condition (state of mind) we tend to think that we already have an answer that encompasses the subject.  As a result we are not interested in obtaining any further insight or understanding, but rather winning others over to our particular point of view.  Many people define themselves through how others perceive them. Many of us were raised, taught or trained in a manner in which we learned to see failure as defeat.  Caught up in a right /wrong or win/lose mentality we instinctively hide shortcomings, failures and mistakes. Failure is the best friend of improvement. Without mistakes how can we learn?  Practice doesn't make perfect but it can make improvement. Acknowledgement by others is only one form of validation. Sometimes our efforts will have as much weight as our accomplishments. Every "effort" should be regarded as one step closer to the goal. This allows us to embrace enough self esteem to regard an "A" for effort as a "win" for trying hard.  Our friend, "FAILURE" will alert us and instruct us if we embrace it.  Our genuine earnest efforts should also serve as a buffer to provide consolation in the face of failing. People who practice winning at all costs; think to be a winner others have to see them winning.  These are usually tit for tat "right fighters" who live in the fear that loosing lessens their worth.  "Wise men don't need to prove their point; men who need to prove their point aren't wise."

Yes the truth will make us free, as long as we make the truth a pertinent priority in our lives. It is easy to create an argument from ignorance.  All we have to do is to form our own conspiracy theory backed by personal logic coupled with a strong belief.  When the inclination to defend our point of view supersedes our desire for veracity we cut ourselves off from experiencing or discovering new truths.

NOW'S THE TIME FOR INTERVENTION
AND HERE'S THE PLACE FOR US TO  MENTION
TODAYS THE DAY TO MAKE A STINK
WE MUST EXAMINE HOW WE THINK

DESPITE THE ISSUES LIFE MAY BRING
JUST KNOW THAT THOUGHTS TURN INTO THINGS
PERCEPTIONS JUST THE WAY WE SEE
NOT A-C-T-U-A-L-L-Y AS THINGS MIGHT BE

WE NEED TO MAKE A NEW DECISION
TO GAIN INSIGHT AND CATCH THE VISION
OPEN OUR MINDS TO LET THEM GROW
​AND QUESTION ALL, WE THINK WE KNOW

Not speaking up is ordinary. It takes special people to take a stand.