One way to be happy: relinquishing control

How often have we tried to control EVERY single thing in our lives just to end up disappointed, frustrated or completely upset?  A woman at my job today literally had a breakdown because she was worried about getting fired for being unproductive.  First and foremost, if you are in a results-driven industry the employer, particularly in an "At-Will State", has every right to fire your ass if you are not producing.  Secondly, one should not focus on what others have the power to do because that is not something you can control.  And lastly, take a chill pill.  I have a grandmother I LOVE and adore with all my heart.  But that woman will worry about everyone and everything.  She is one reason I know how futile it is to ponder that which is out of your control.  Move on.  Take power over your fear by doing whatever it is you have power to do yourself.  Leave the rest up to God.  This brings to mind something often used in therapy or counseling which is the Serenity Prayer.

              

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.

Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

We often need to remember that one way to be happy is to stop trying to control things well beyond our control.  The ONLY thing we can control is ourselves-and even that at times is debatable, LOL.

Be happy, have peace and love hard.

An afterthought:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will direct your paths.

Proverbs 3, 5-6

Homosexuality in the 21st Century

There have been so many things that have brought worldwide attention to the notion of homosexuality.  Such as the suicide of the Rutgers college student last year, the 14 year old boy in Michigan who eloquently talked about how his teacher had stood up for him even though he was gay (read more about this and see news clip of boy speaking before the school board on behalf of his teacher here:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20101115/us_yblog_thelookout/gay-michigan-student-defends-suspended-teacher ), or most recently the repeal of "Don't ask don't tell".  And I have to also mention an episode I watched of The Fashion Show on Bravo which showed gay couples getting married. 

The fact of the matter is it is time for people to accept that homosexuals have the right to feel free to be who they are.  There is no reason for anyone to try to make someone feel bad about being homosexual or gay.  And more importantly for a person to commit suicide or consider doing so because he or she is gay this is so very wrong indeed.

I have always welcomed all people as friends.  Hell, I went to the prom with a guy that was gay.  My best male friend growing up is gay.  So what?  They are people too.  They have many to contribute to society and the world as well.  I grew up in church and I know the bible story of Sodom and Gomorrah which I have been told is a biblical example that homosexuality is wrong.  But now that I am grown and have had time to form my own opinion on the matter, I feel that I am not here to dictate what God will say is right or wrong on judgment day when it comes to how others live their lives.  I am not here to condemn a man or woman for loving another person of the same sex.  And I now know that I am not here to judge whether or not it is right or wrong for two people of the same sex to be married. 

Being that any laws governing the institution of marriage are man-made, it is time for the law to catch up with the 21st century.  Those who are openly gay deserve the right to be who they are, and if they so choose they also deserve to get married.

There, I said it.  Anyone who has a problem with that can get over it!