Is it wishful thinking or make believe?

If there is no chance at all, then it is make believe. If there is at least a slight chance, then it is wishful thinking. It's okay to Hope for the best, having hope is necessary to staying hopeful. But being realistic will keep you in touch with reality. Being optimistic is good as long as you are realistic in your optimistic view. Making the best of a situation can only happen if you are honest with yourself about the situation you are in. It's nice to get some helpful advice but they don't know everything that you have to consider. Even those we are close to only know what you tell them. And let's be honest, we don't tell our deep dark secrets. Talking to yourself sounds crazy but if you don't then you won't be able to figure out what is best for you. To determine whether someone is insane or not is whether on their OWN they can make sound decisions for themselves. Not what others tell them. So talking to yourself may sound crazy but obviously if you don't, then you are legally insane. Since you alone will have to live with the consequences for the decisions you make, then obviously you alone should make the decision. Get all the facts so you can make the right decision, otherwise you will be making an uneducated guess.

Is it just a coincidence?

Is it fate or is it just a coincidence? Weird things happen throughout your lifetime. Usually we tend to just dismiss it and keep moving. But every now and then when something happens, down the road you realize that it was destined to have happened. You realize that if it hadn't happened you wouldn't have gotten where you are. It didn't seem like a big deal when it happened but it turned out to be very significant in your life's journey. Can you imagine just how many "coincidence's" that had to happen to lead you to where you are today? All your experiences in life is what made you who you are today. The good and the bad, the happy and the sad, it was your journey. Everything happens for a reason even if you never know what the reason was. Sometimes you were part of someone else's "coincidence" to get them where they needed to be. A "coincidence" that was necessary, I call that fate.

Chances come along but if you don't take it you have no chance at all

You never know when or if you will get a chance. If you do then consider first if it is a chance worth taking. As long as you can't be hurt by taking a chance, go for it. But if there is a chance it could have a negative outcome, then don't take a chance on it. Always remember that if it sounds to good to be true then it probably is too good to be true. Opportunities may come knocking on your door and you will have to open the door to see if you need to take a chance or shut the door quickly. Don't miss out on the many important "little things" in life because you are too busy trying to catch a "big thing" that you may not be able to catch at all. It's okay to dream big but dreaming about something that is impossible is setting yourself up for failure. Be honest about your chances before you take a chance. Little by little, one step at a time you will get where you need to be as long as you don't stray too far away from the path you need to be on.

Are you spreading germs?

When you hear a cough close by, you can't help but look to see just how close you are to them. As I was out shopping recently I happen to be standing right next to someone who apparently was looking for the same thing I was. Out of the blue, as I was reaching to grab what I needed. The person next to me sneezed then started coughing. I could literally feel the spray from their sneeze on my arm. I didn't know how to react. Especially as they were having a coughing fit right as it happened. I had no tissue anywhere near that I could use to wipe my arms. Yuck. I hurried away as quickly as possible trying not to breath in the cloud of germs they were filling the aisle with. If you got the flu, don't spread it. The same is true if you are so full of anger that you are spewing your anger onto others, don't spread it.  Then I hurry through the store to find a bathroom to wash their sneeze off my arm. As I am wiping my arm I start to get angry that they didn't have the decency to turn their head as they sneezed. I realized it was probably all over my back too but I couldn't get those germs off. Then as I drove home it would get all over my car seat. The more I thought about it, the yuckier I felt and the angrier I was getting. Then I realized I needed to JUST FLUSH IT out of my mind. Because I was already in the bathroom cleaning my arms, I went into the stall to FLUSH the toilet so the sound could soothe my anger away. I was then able to finish my shopping but before I turned down any aisle I made sure I wasn't going to run into them again.

It's ok to be you

We are all different. And like they say, different strokes for different folks. You do things differently because that is what you need to do. Don't try to keep up with the Jones's because your name isn't Jones. You have to be comfortable with what you are doing in the skin you are in if you want to be comfortable in the skin you are in. Changing to please someone else means you aren't yourself anymore. If you want to be happy you have to do what makes you happy. No one knows what you need except you. If you just follow others you will have no idea where you will end up. Playing follow the leader when you are young is one thing but as an adult you should only follow your dreams, and your conscience. Just because other people are doing it doesn't mean it is the right thing for you to do. You can be who you want to be but only if you are doing what you know you should do, will you be all you can be. You can and you will if you take control. Don't be a follower, be the leader.

Your ego can get so big that it .....

Having pride in what you do and who you are is very important. But pride and ego are two different things. When you swell up with pride inside it motivates you to do even better. But when your ego gets too big it can make you behave in a way you can't be proud of. If you judge things that are said or done to you as an attack against your character, your ego can feel attacked. Then your ego goes in defense mode and tries to convince you that you have no choice but to defend yourself. Even though what was done or said wasn't worth going to battle over, let alone a full out war. Like they say "don't sweat the small stuff." If it's not a Life or Death situation, don't make it one. JUST FLUSH IT out of your mind before your ego feels offended. Take pride in being able to keep your ego from getting too big for your own good.

Weighing your options

Keep your options open so you can have an option. You never burn your bridges. You may not ever need to choose to cross to the other side, but it will be there if you need to cross it. Having a back up plan is necessary. No one plans on needing to use a back up plan. You just make sure you have other options if things don't go exactly how you had planned. Even well thought out plans can fail. But don't fail yourself. All you have to do is make sure you have a back up plan so you will have something to fall back on. You can hope for the best but life is life, so you also have to plan for whatever could happen. Weighing your options is only possible if you have options. Keep all your options open. Unfortunately things don't always go as planned.

To do or not to do, that is the question

When you feel the tension deep in the pit of your stomach, it is not always gas. We all have a built in warning system. When you feel the tension growing, let that be a warning that you need to stop and think about what you are about to do or not do. Every choice you make has consequences, either good or bad. Stop long enough to decide if you are choosing the decision that is good for you. If it's not, then heed the warning. There are times in life when you have no control over what you must face. But when you are in control of what you do or don't do, then you know you will pay the consequences of whatever you choose. So choose wisely. Remember once you make a decision and act on it, you can't take it back. Because then it is what it is. And whatever it is, you will reap what you sow.

Will you admit it?

You can learn from your mistakes, but only if you admit that you made a mistake. You can blame it on the moon. But if you do, then you will not learn what you need to from your mistakes. All that will do is leave you lost in space. To keep yourself grounded so that you can stand loud and proud on your own, you need to be honest with yourself. In order to learn what to do so you don't repeat a mistake, you have to first admit that you made a mistake. A mistake only happens once because if you repeat it then it is called a habit. If you are in the habit of always blaming it on someone or something else, then you need to change your habits. Habits are hard to break but if you recognize it as a bad habit then for goodness sake, stop doing it. If you get burnt by a stove you learn not to touch the stove when it is hot.

Following without knowing where it will lead you

You can't just jump on any "band wagon" that comes rolling in. Whether it is financial, political, or personal it may sound like something you would like to try, but that doesn't mean you should. Deciding on a whim that it is a good idea without thinking about the long term effects it could have later for you, is something you may regret. It's not only foolish but it is a risk that you unknowingly could be risking everything you have for it. Mistakes do happen in life but risking everything is a mistake that you can avoid. Never risk everything on a fly by night chance at anything. You can build on what you got to get ahead but you never put all your eggs in one basket. If you fall losing one egg it is bad enough but if you lose all your eggs, then what? Taking advantage of opportunities is one thing but keeping your feet firmly on the ground is the most important thing of all. Knowing your limits will limit the chances of you risking more than you should.

Just look without ignoring it and you will see it

It's time we start focusing on what is right in front of our faces. You don't have to fly to a place that is remote to find a person who's hungry or in need of a helping hand. Just look around without looking the other way. Ignoring it shouldn't be so easy to do. But for far too many people, it is. Even kind words can make a difference but you have to stop long enough to say it to make a difference. Which will require you to not ignore it. You may not have anything to offer them but acknowledging them will help. Distracting them from their problems even for a brief moment gives them a chance to take a deep breathe of fresh air. Even if you are in too big of a hurry to stop you can look into their eyes and share a smile as you hurry past. Which will simply require you to not ignore them. In the cyberspace era we live in, the lack of human contact is a dangerous thing. Without human contact people get lost in despair because no one can see the pain in their eyes. Unfortunately nowadays even here on Earth we are so busy ignoring each other that we can't see the pain in their eyes either. To stop the insanity we see in society we need to show some humanity. Join me in bringing peace to our neighborhood, one person at a time.

Taking chances are one thing, ignoring a hurricane is another

Although it seems that Florida has been very fortunate that hurricane Dorian has made a North easterly turn, danger is still lurking around. You will still have to deal with heavy rain and dangerous wind gust. After the ground gets soaked it won't take a hurricane to knock down trees, a mighty gust of wind could send it crashing down. My grandchildren wanted to go outside because the rain had stopped. I took them outside to show them that no matter where they played outside there was no where that if a tree fell that they would be safe. They looked at me as if I had two heads. They didn't believe me at all. To them I was being overly cautious. Finally I told them it was better to be safe than sorry. Children see a hint of sunshine and quickly forget that a hurricane is swirling all around. All they know is there is no school and the rain has stopped for now and they want to go out to play. Luckily I had bought some games that could be played inside. After they got started playing them they forgot about being stuck inside safe from the hurricane. I had plenty of snacks and drinks from the hurricane supplies turning an indoor day into a hurricane party. As we enjoyed ourselves we soon could hear the rain pouring down and the wind a howling. We will have a sleepover party and camp out in the living room far away from the path of any trees. Don't let the sunshine fool you because in the blink of an eye the storm can be deadly close. Stay prepared and ready until the hurricane is too far away to come knocking on your door.

Finding a rainbow after a thunderstorm

It can be cloudy and rainy one minute then when it stops a rainbow appears that was hidden under the dark rainy clouds. After a hurricane you may not see a rainbow but through the destruction you can see the kindness of strangers reaching out to help. That is as beautiful as a rainbow. Even in your personal life there are many "storms" that you will encounter on your journey. But just like the hurricane that is here one minute and gone the next, leaving damage behind, your personal "storm"will pass. And just like after a hurricane you do an assessment of the damage after the "storm" has passed and do what you need to do to get back on track. Life is just as unpredictable as the weather.  All you can do is hope for the best.