Greetings family,
It has been a while since my last blog post, but it was a perfect reason... I got to enjoy the entire summer with my kids! Which was hugely important not only for them but for me. When I tell you I have an infatuation with being the greatest father I can be for my kids it's a real thing. They truly give me the inspiration to go out and be a better person because I know they are watching and I know they need the positive influence.
Finding Peace
Something amazing has happened since the last time I posted. I truly obtained inner peace for myself. Yep, that cliche and niche saying that everyone in this industry claims to want or either has, I finally obtained it. Just writing this gives me inner Goku vibes, knowing I ascended to a new level. Honestly, Goku is a good comparison of how finding this inner peace level works and feels. Right now it still comes in very long spurts and then I occasionally slip back into a more mild place. So in essence, it's just like Goku when he learns a new form in Dragonball, yep geeking time. Whenever Goku obtains a new form he has to master that new level to harness all of the new energy. Until he does then he reverts to his previous state while he recharges the new level. The same concept with this inner peace form. I started with only being able to have it for short spurts. Then as I focused more on my spirituality (more on this later) I started to feel this inner peace for longer spurts. Now I can go almost an entire day through good and bad situations and feel at peace with any situation (thank you, God)!
How it all happened!
Getting closer to God was huge for me in this process. Atheist friends don't quit on me just yet and hear me out! I had to start focusing on praying and wanting to change inwardly for things to start clicking. Next thing I know I go from praying twice a day to praying almost every chance I get or whenever I can feel myself slipping into a dark place. Recently I had a great conversation about spirituality and religion with one of my greatest advisors who is a true brother to me. Honestly, most of the time I see him like a father figure.
I've always struggled with going all in on any one religion because I always felt that each religion messes and holds key pieces to help us become better humans overall. Now don't get me wrong I believe in one God for sure and I even believe in Jesus Christ which I call Yahshua. Yet, where I've always drawn the line is knocking other religions for their beliefs. If we're all in it for the betterment of society and the human race does it matter? My time in the military helped me to open my eyes to this because I got to meet people with different beliefs than me and see them for the pureness that they are. So spirituality has overcome the need to fit the mold of religion. We're one body moving in the same direction, so let's drop the stigmas and love one another for who are.
Next, my kids played one of the most important parts in this process forcing me to be a better father. For the last 2 years, I got pretty heavy into smoking weed and boy was it a blast! Yet, I found myself starting to rely on it heavily to reconcile with a lot of inner struggles and demons that I failed to face on my own. Just to throw another cliche self-help word out there for you, weed became a crutch. Instead of fighting my inner battles, I was calling my demons over to hang out with them and smoke some bud. Which only left me vulnerable once there was no weed. Talk about crappy friends to be around.
So over the summer, I made a commitment that I wouldn't smoke while my kids were with me because I needed to be sober-minded just in case an emergency happened. With 4 kids and 1 dad things can go south very quickly and believe me we had a few Dr visits over the time spent. Yet, by making this commitment I was forced to challenge myself and control my highs and lows on my own. Whenever one of my awesome kids decided to be a kid and cause chaos I had to learn to control my emotions. I refused to be that parent that blows up and spanks my kids for every mistake they make. Hell, I don't even like raising my voice at them if I don't have to. So, this took me to learn patience, kindness, and love for others' actions. It forced me to understand that not everyone is the same and that we all see the world in a different light. Which causes us to operate in the world differently and use different tactics to obtain goals.
OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL WORLD THAT OPENED UP ONCE ALL THIS CLICKED.
I started forgiving people from my past that hurt me. I stopped caring about going tick for tack with my enemies. I started brushing off my failures and started looking at them as lessons. I started seeing myself for who I am and loving others for who they are. Instead of wanting to mold them into what I'm looking for. This new form I found allowed me to not hate negative people and their energy. Instead, move away from it and love from a distance. I began to see the truth. Then I started to feel my heart change with my new mindset. It was just like that moment in the cartoon Grinch movie where his heart started growing more. Easily one of my favorite holiday movies by the way, but that is exactly how it felt.
Love conquers Hate
So to wrap everything up and give a little insight to you all. If you find yourself battling with a lot of anger and prideful situations give yourself a chance to just let it all go. Drop your bias, drop the way you view the world, and most of all drop your consensus on how a person should look and act. At the end of the day, this will allow you to see the world in God's light. Being able to just accept everything that comes your way and love everyone you meet for who they are.
Will you still run into evil people? Yes!
Will there still be heartache and pain? Yes!
Yet, at the end of the day, you'll be a lot more equipped to take on these challenges and love thy neighbor as thy love thy self! Which is 100 times more important!
Peace, Love, and Pickle Juice!