Ale for the Soul

Most people, however much interaction I may have with them, by and large under-estimate me.  This may play out in interrupted conversations with the other person's assumption I lack the necessary experience or practical, first-hand knowledge to sufficiently deal with the situation at hand.  Or the social transaction may take on the form of talking down to me, again assuming because I'm not quick to voice the educational training and knowledge or whatever personal opinion I have, that I am ignorant, slow-witted, or flat-out stupid.  Where or how people develop this opinion and treatment of me is foreign, groundless, and baffling to me.  Getting treated like this, effectively getting underestimated, is frustrating and offensive, but I often combat this source of contention by strategically acting in the very same manner people already think of me.  In other words, for personal amusement and a ploy against other people's mindset, I act naively to passive aggressive...

A recent burden of my soul is how much time I waste in non-productive, non-essential activity.  With all the projects I desire to undertake and complete, to say there aren't enough hours in the day is a slap in the face of reality and is not a plausible excuse.  To make this illogical rationalization denies the true nature of reality...I am a time-waster!  Time is a precious commodity which can not be recycled or replenished...it is a non-renewable resource.  Too much time spent on the Internet or driving in my vehicle around town performing "perceived" chores wastes huge amounts of time.  Once time passes, neither time nor lost opportunities can be recaptured.  May I become ever-cognizant of time as it flows through my hands, redeeming it for worthy causes and the many fruitful projects at hand. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jes...

To follow on the heels of my top ten favorite books, here are my top ten favorite sites to go camping and hiking.  They are as follows: 1)  New Mexico Bluewater Lake Canyonside 2)  Arizona Grand Canyon National Forest 3)  Utah Bryce Canyon National Park 4)  New Mexico Hyde Memorial State Park 5)  New Mexico Gila National Forest 6)  Texas   Lake Mineral Wells State Park 7)  Texas Buescher State Park 8)  New Mexico Carson National Forest 9)  Texas Possum Kingdom State Park 10)  Texas Sam Houston National Forest If you have ever been to one of these, please feel free to comment your thoughts on the blog.

     Without the ability and freedom to express myself, I lose the inalienable right to freedom of speech.  In listening to people when they speak, I am sorrowful at the inability of the person involved to adequately express his or her soul's yearning and desire.  Could this be from a poor vocabulary?  Or maybe the individual does not have the life experience in which to frame what the person is trying to describe and relay to his or her audience.      Earlier this year an acquaintance asked what it took to become a great writer.  Before answering his inquiry, I responded with a question of my own.  It was, "Do you like to read?"  His answer, much to my disappointment, was "No!  I can't stand to read."  In order to become a great writer, one must love to read.  And to learn how to exponentially maximize one's ability to express him- or her-self, one must love to read and write.  Both are expressions of the...

A friend recently challenged me to list my top ten favorite books of all time.  Here it is: 1)  Alexandre Dumas The Count of Monte Cristo 2)  Mario Puzo The Godfather 3)  Philip Yancey Rumors of Another World 4)  Charles Dickens David Copperfield 5)  Charles Dickens Nicholas Nickleby 6)  Milton Paradise Lost 7)  Leo Tolstoy Anna Karenina 8)  Saint Augustine Confessions 9)  Patrick O'Brian The Master and Commander Series (All 21 Books) 10)  Dietrich Bonhoeffer The Cost of Discipleship I would become flattered if you read any or all of these books.  Upon reading these books, please comment your thoughts on the blog.

Getting stuck in a rut and becoming stagnant is very unpleasant.  Sometimes God will make me very uncomfortable in the routine of simply going through the motions.  Life is tough enough, but even more painful when in a place I'm not supposed to be.  Living in Fort Worth has served its purpose, but time has been long overdue for me to move on.  It isn't as if I haven't tried, my plans simply unraveled by not falling into place or working out as planned.  Over the course of the last few months I have been barely hanging on to the last vestiges of what I call normalcy.  However, too much energy and effort has been expended in trying to make things work.  Attending school didn't work out.  Now the job I somewhat liked and enjoyed is a chore to report too because of all the drama.  My emotional and psychological well-being have been severely compromised as a result of seeing residency in Fort Worth degrade to a level of miserable existence.  ...

As much as I proclaim my strong dislike for where I am living, I do have the ability to make the best of a perceived bad situation.  Fort Worth does have its moments that truly make me say this is not a bad place to live.  This statement is said in view of external factors I have not discussed, but given the overall picture I must make peace with myself concerning my present circumstances.  A geographic change of my physical location will not solve anything unless I have begun making peace with myself.  As my accountability groups continually reminds me, it is an inside job.  Everything begins with me.  All this said to lead up to my present resolve to carry on living here with the mindset to pursue the many personal projects I want to accomplish regardless of where I live.  By no means will this take the form of escapism, but maybe I can take my mind off the feelings of being stuck and unsettled until life unfolds as it should.  Again, a personal...