I'm not really a touchy feely sort of guy, but I can't agree with this more. Craigslist link Anyone else agree?

Have to admit, kinda sums up how I feel in a nutshell. Biggest joy I used to get was the look of shock and fear replaced by a smile a mile wide when the person I was dealing with realized the 6'6" 400 pound gorilla with the heavy tatoos, electric blue mohawk and spike thru his nose was actually polite and kind. I still get the smile, but not the shocked response as I have mellowed out in the past five years . I guess my mother did right by me when it came to teaching me manners, respect and courtesy. Even if she did fail in the dressing, hairstyle and jewelry dept.
:)):)):)):)):))

-Bill Liptak

Unfortunately, we are all a product, to varying degrees, of intense programming towards a social standard very few, if any of us, can achieve. We are programmed to compete, to achieve, to always want more. Such an environment is going to induce aberrant behavior contrary to the common welfare of man.

The tenets of "Fight Club" make a lot of sense ( I know, I am breaking rules one and two. It happens). We get so bogged down in trying to become something other than what we really are, in acquiring things and doing things we were told would lead to happiness and success but in fact do just the opposite, in placing importance in stuff and forgetting what is really important, and then being wholly unsatisfied with our lives and knowing that for all the hard work and sacrifice we have accomplished absolutely nothing of value.

They say our world is now worth something like $160 trillion dollars. A hundred years ago it was maybe in the billions. Where did all that extra value come from? If the whole world contains the same mass and energy that it has had for thousands, if not millions of years, then how can the value be anything more than what it was yesterday, or last year, or a thousand years ago? We've acquired nothing new, we simply continuously divide the whole into ever smaller pieces. In fact, if anything, we've been steadily losing as time goes by, because most realize our world is finite, and each second is spent with no remuneration, so really our world is getting gradually smaller and smaller with respect to time.

When you realize that you truly possess nothing but a small amount of time, that each second of your life must be spent regardless of the value you get from it, and that all the money and possessions in the world will not buy you one more breath than what you have already been alotted, then maybe you will begin to understand what is important in life and what is simply an unattainable illusion. We are each solely responsible for our own happiness. To blame someone or something else for our dissatisfaction is a waste of our time, and prevents us from realizing the full value of our existence. We are seldom in control of our environment, but we always have a choice as to how to respond to whatever conditions we encounter. When you can distinguish between what is and isn't within your control, only then will you be able to find satisfaction with your life, and you will be free not only to accomplish the purpose of your existence, but to express a positive influence on those around you.

I am printing this out and taping it somewhere where I can see it everyday. Thank you for posting, Benjammin.

That is a great statement, Benjammin.

Truly profound.

I bet he typed it with a cigar in his mouth. Am I the only one who things Benjammin's avatar picture makes him look like J. Jonah Jameson

Nah, think more along the lines of Cousin Eddie from Christmas Vacation.

These little moments must be somehow linked to someone nearby firing up a microwave oven, and I have no idea who I am channeling then. I haven't wet myself yet, but sometimes I do forget who I am for a while.

Actually Gomez from the Adams Family comes to mind when I saw his avatar

How about Red Greene? Boy I miss that show

Same here. Thanks gang for the input.
Matthew

My teenaged son bought me Red Green suspenders for my birthday last year, they got a good laugh at the hunt camp.

Mike

"Remember, were all in this together" Steve Smith

I hope he is not bi-polar.

No, he is just a wise-a$$, I wonder where he gets that from?
Mike

I meant the guy who wrote the very positive message, not your son. Sorry, I responded to your comment and I intended to respond to the original post.

No Problem Friend,

I too enjoyed the original post and our hunt camp is very much like "Red Green's Possum Lodge" so my new suspenders fit right in!

Mike