Friendship

Friendship can be an odd thing. I used to have a very large circle of people I called "friend". That is no longer the case. You see, I came to a point in my life that was very dark -- quite possibly the darkest moment in my life. Once I survived that I understood that I kept people in my life that were only there to draw my energy away and in exchange provided nothing. I made a choice then that I would have only people of a positive spirit in my life and removed the others from my circle of humanity.

It is amazing what a difference that can make in ones life! My own personal time of darkness began to change much faster -- the positive and dare I say healing energy of the people now left in my life began to infuse me with renewed hope for the future. What a wondrous thing that was. I should mention here too that I have come to embrace the fact that I am an introvert. I take charge of that proudly; it is not a thing to hide from or anything that I need to change. It is "okay".

When I do decide that I wish to keep a person in my circle, I will let them know that just because I don't join them often or seek them out on a daily basis it has nothing to do with them. It is my nature and they need to be okay with that if we are to remain friends. I think at times that this was passed to me from my father.

My father had always been a person who could be very happy to himself. I did not understand this till many years later as an adult. In understanding this about him I felt I knew him and myself better.

So often friends would do just about anything to get me out of my house.

They who were extroverts thought it insane to sequester oneself away. What they did not understand what that those same crowds that energized them, sucked the life out of me! I could not wait to get home or be someplace alone and re-energize my batteries -- my spirit.

I am so very fortunate now that I have friends who understand and better yet accept this aspect of me. Sometimes friends let friends say "no".

So remember that when you are trying to pull that friend into the cacophonous crowd. You see life, they see energy vampires!

Pity The Nation

Pity The Nation

By Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Pity the nation whose people are sheep
And whose shepherds mislead them

Pity the nation whose leaders are liars
Whose sages are silenced
And whose bigots haunt the airwaves

Pity the nation that raises not its voice
Except to praise conquerers
And acclaim the bully as hero
And aims to rule the world
By force and by torture

Pity the nation that knows
No other language but its own
And no other culture but its own

Pity the nation whose breath is money
And sleeps the sleep of the too well fed

Pity the nation Oh pity the people
Who allow their rights to erode
And their freedoms to be washed away
My country, tears of thee
Sweet land of liberty!