Preparing for a hurricane

Here we go again running around gathering supplies and finding empty shelves.  Even though you have a weeks notice it's hard to stock up when every store in the area gets cleaned out of supplies a week before it gets here. It's still four days before it hits so hopefully they restock. I bought most of it days ago but water and bread have been hard to find. I filled up my gas tank but running around looking for water and supplies have used half a tank. So hopefully I can get some gas tomorrow before that runs out too. I have already seen my snack piles go down since I bought them days ago. Now with four days to go I guess I will have to get more. First it was coming on Sunday now they are saying the hurricane will hit us Tuesday or Wednesday. Staying prepared might not seem hard but it sure isn't easy. I figured it would pass Sunday and by Monday I would be back out taking care of business. Now I am not sure I can make it to the doctors appointment Tuesday if the hurricane is here beating down on us. I am guessing the doctor won't be there during it. Trying to reschedule along with many other people will be a challenge for them to squeeze us all in. A delay by three or four days makes a big difference in being prepared for it or not. And whether you are prepared or not, it's coming. Hopefully everyone stays safe from the hurricane and it loses its strength when it touches land.

When you find yourself stuck waiting somewhere, find a way to entertain yourself

There will be a time, actually many times throughout your life when you will find yourself stuck waiting. Whether at a doctors office, a traffic jam, or if you are  lucky you will be stuck at home waiting for something. It is frustrating but you got to distract yourself before you get so frustrated that your blood pressure rises. You may not think about just how much physical damage your body goes through when your blood pressure rises. As your frustration grows so does your blood pressure. You can feel your jaw tightening up and veins appear on your neck as a sign that you are so tense you are causing your muscles to squeeze so tightly that they alter the blood flow through your veins. That is a warning sign that you need to calm down and JUST FLUSH IT out of your mind. If not your frustration grows and your blood pressure rises and a Sudden Cardiac Arrest can come on suddenly, as your organs are literally being squeezed to death. If it's not a Life or Death situation you are in, DON'T make it one.

If you want the best outcome you will have to do your best

If it takes three steps to do it, then you have to do all three of them to do it successfully. Sometimes a short cut will lead you just short of where you need to be. It's like building only half of a bridge. You know it won't get you to the other side unless you build it all the way to the other side. If you are in a hurry you may not take the time to do it right. So wait until you have all the time you need. If you are not going to do it right you will just waste your time rushing through it. And you may waste the only opportunity that you have to do it. Doing what you need to do the right way is what it takes for things to be done the right way. If it is important to you then it's important for you to do it the right way so that it turns out alright. You will reap what you sow.

To hide the truth, you have to lie

Sometimes the truth hurts. Unfortunately if you try to hide from the truth, the lies you have to tell can hurt you more. One lie leads to another and another until the truth can't help you anymore. If you are just truthful from the beginning then in the end the truth will set you free. A web of lies is a sticky situation that you don't want to be in. Just accept that it is what it is and it ain't what it ain't. And while we are on the subject, a two face snake is a two face snake, and a liar is a liar. A person is only as good as his word so don't say it unless you mean it. If it isn't true then no matter how many lies you tell, you still have to live with the truth.

As I tried to explain it they seemed to look more confused as I talked

I was trying to explain how to do the math problem to my grandson.  But I could see by the look on his face that he had no idea what I was talking about. So I tried to start over and explain it a different way, but he kept thinking about what I said before and it was all jumbled together leaving him more confused. I got out a new paper and said forget everything I said before and start fresh. Well after Two new papers and fresh starts, I could see a lightbulb go off in his head and he says oh you mean just do blank blank and blank to get the answer. Finally he understood what I was saying. But I had to say it four different ways until he could understand it. The point is that until he could see it he couldn't understand it so I had to keep showing him a different way to look at it until I found a view that he could see. Painting the same picture a different way until he could see it. How you look at something determines what you see. And if you know it is important that you see it then keep looking at it from different angles until you see what you are looking for.

Oh no, you do it too!

When you are young you are sure you are not going to be anything like your parents. It's not until you get older that you realize you are a lot like your parents in many ways. I have seen kids who looked nothing like their parents the first three decades of their life, then slowly but surely over time they morphed into looking just like them. I don't know how that is even possible but it's true, I witnessed it right before my very eyes. You begin to think like your parents too. If you are young and reading this you probably won't believe me. But if you are as old as me, I am sure you have seen it too. The weirdest thing I saw someone develope, the same constant clearing of their throat sound. It used to annoy them the most about their Mom yet here they are  annoying me with that constant sound. Deep down inside you know how much you admired your parents so being a lot like them is a compliment.

Knowing is only half of the answer

You may know what to do but you still got to do it. You can have the best plan on how to do it but you have to do what you had planned. Thinking and planning has to be followed by doing it if it's going to get done. If you are not going to be able to do it then find someone who can. Don't give up and say it just can't be done. If it is important to you to get it done then JUST DO IT. If you keep putting it off until tomorrow then it will never get done. Getting started is the only way to get'r done. When it's done you can enjoy what you did and start planning on what you can do with your free time tomorrow. The sooner you get started the sooner it will get done. Getting started may be harder than you thought but you know you can do it so JUST DO IT.

Where is your built in filter?

You never know what will pop up front and center in your mind. Our minds have an endless stream of thoughts that run through our mind. But not every thought that pops up is a positive one. Which is exactly why it shouldn't fly out of your mouth just as fast. We all have a filter to prevent it from flying out of our mouth. But nowadays they don't seem to use it. Recently a houseguest from the show Big Brother was shown clips of some of the hurtful things that he said and had been  recorded on the live stream. What most people say without thinking isn't recorded to see a clip of how hurtful their words were. Nor do you get to see the impact it has on the person you said them to , like on a TV show. They always say words can't hurt you, but that just isn't true. Unfortunately people that say negative comments to someone doesn't care if it hurts them. A lot of times they don't even remember, yet those they said it to never forget. If a negative thought pops up in your mind JUST FLUSH IT before it hurts you or anyone else. You can't control what pops up in your mind but you are in control of what flys out of your mouth.

What is your duct tape made of?

What works for someone else may not work for you. Just like what works for you doesn't work for everyone. There is no right way or wrong way to do it. You just have to do what works best for you. As long as it works, it works. No one knows what will work for you but you. We all have our own way of coming back together after a negative situation has broken us like Humpty Dumpty. All the king's horses can't miraculously put you back together. You have to get your own "Duct Tape" out and pick up the pieces. Only you know how the pieces need to go together to feel whole again. Learn what you need to from the negative experiences so they don't happen again, then JUST FLUSH IT out of your mind. Then use the "Duct Tape" that works for you no matter what "Duct Tape" anyone else tells you that you should use. It doesn't matter if it works for anyone but you. We all have our own way of coming back together again.

You can give advice but you can't tell them what to do

You may know what someone should do but that doesn't mean they will do it. If you tell someone what to do they will tone you out and it will fall on deaf ears. If you give them advice and explain why you think they should consider doing it a certain way, they will at least consider it. You have to remember that what works for someone else doesn't mean it works for everyone. And honestly what worked in the past probably won't work in the twentyfirst century. Things change, especially in this ever changing World we live in. For goodness sake, if you give someone advice and they don't take it, if they fail don't say I told you so. They already know you told them. If you want them to take your advice in the future, don't say I told you so. We all make mistakes that someone tried to warn us about sometime throughout our life. All you can do is warn them and try to support them in the decisions that they make. Love means never say I told you so. If you take a wrong turn in your life all you got to do is  get back on track.

Choosing to do nothing is still a choice you make

What you do is up to you. What you decide not to do is up to you. Every choice you make matters. Would you choose to help someone from being mistreated? Or would you choose to ignore it. Your choice not only affects you, it will affect everyone. Ignoring bad behavior makes it acceptable behavior. Therefore it becomes a common occurrence. And eventually it will happen to you or someone you love. If you don't want it to happen to you then don't let it happen to anyone else. Choosing to do nothing is still a choice you make. The World won't get better on it's own, we all must do our part.

You can't get over it if you keep it fresh on your mind

You are not going to be able to move past what has happened until you accept what has happened and JUST FLUSH IT. Things happen in life , that's just life. You will not always know why it happened or how it could have happened, it just is what it is. Remember the serenity prayer. God grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. Like the church sign that inspired me said. "It's ok to sit on your pity-potty every now and again just be sure and FLUSH when you are done." We have all had negative things happen throughout our lifetime, that's just life. Some people know how to JUST FLUSH IT, and others choose to carry it like a sandbag making their life's journey harder. Learn how to JUST FLUSH IT out of your mind as it comes to be able to enjoy life while you are living it.

The little things make a big difference

You can make a difference without giving more than you can. Giving someone a reason to smile is free. Just sharing a smile with them they instinctively will smile back at you. If you open the door for someone it will automatically make them smile. Giving someone a listening ear will help them FLUSH out there concerns and reduces their stress so they can smile. You don't have to solve their problems, they just need a break from stress so they can get a fresh outlook. A moment to catch their breath so they can get the oxygen they need to figure things out for themselves. The least we each can do is not make their day more stressful. Be kind to everyone you meet for you have no idea what they may be facing. A smile means peace in any language. 😄