Mexican Lives Matter. We are all Antonio Zambrano Montes

Mexican Lives Matter. We are all Antonio Zambrano Montes

We must be protected against the Mexican born apple pickers in washington. They threaten the sanctity of American life. #sarcasm 

Apples look a lot like guns. Shoot first I guess. Do Mexican lives not matter? Where are the protesters? Some of my friends aren't objective enough to be able to criticize police while also being huge proponents of law enforcement. I completely support police. We need them but these shooting have to stop!

You can do both. In fact to do only one makes you unbalanced. #AntonioZambranoMontes mattered. #mexican.

What Day was Bono talking about when he sang "Beautiful Day?"

"Its a beautiful day, don't let it slip away" - Bono from U2.

I know I cross post a lot since we are connected on different sites but Id rather you see something motivating 3 times than never at all.

The song, many of us know. You should listen to it in VEVO or YouTube.

Here is a question: WHAT day was he talking about?

I know the answer: EVERYDAY

Everyday is a beautiful day, there is so much we can do. Too many times we focus on what we cannot have, see, say or do. I challenge you to look at this day, with all its hassles and struggle, and not find a single beautiful thing about life.

80% of our thoughts are NEGATIVE.

Negative Adj. "consisting in or characterized by the absence rather than the presence of distinguishing features."

So simply put we focus 80% of our time on what we lack!

Change that ratio, friends! Focus, instead, on what you do have, in mind, spirit and heart.

We have so much to be grateful for that we are so used to them that we take them for granted.

They are always there. Its what we lack that we focus on because it is absent.

You know what else is absent in that 80%? Your happiness.

Your choice, control your thoughts, control your life, control your future.

STOP Talking and START Doing

I know I have been absent lately but that is the past and i'm focused. Even the motivators need motivating.

4/21/14

“The less I say the more my work gets done.”  - Elton John

WORK is defined as: "activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result."

Talking does not achieve this goal. It does not qualify as work unless you are paid to talk, but you still need to achieve a purpose or result. Most of us rather, are not paid to just talk.

We work to achieve a GOAL. It requires effort. Look up effort, I wont make it easy it easy for you. UNDERSTAND IT; understand WHAT effort is.

STOP talking and START doing.

Dont look down, look up. Look ahead and not back.  I wont say much more than this:

Stop talking about what you will do or may do or want to do and just START doing it. What is that GOAL, that purpose that requires work?

As Nike said it best, JUST DO IT.

Have a great day and better tomorrow. Share this with you friends, add them to the group. lets get this going, we all need that kick in the pants daily.

There was yours!

See you tomorrow,

-Walt

"You cant begin the next chapter of life if you keep rereading the last chapter".

I appreciated what friend shared with me last week. He said Walt,

"You cant begin the next chapter of life if you keep rereading the last chapter".

I wholeheartedly agree.

You cant. You wont. Especially if you clearly relive the same tenuous sagas of chapters written long ago. Even if you try to recast the story of your life anew, it wont alter that which was originally penned.

So write the chapter once, read it and move on. If you made irrevocable entries in it, this is OK since you surely can correct them in the next.

But as with any action in life there is choice always intertwined with it. There is always one action that is the better of the two, or one choice that is the lesser of two evils. One may help and one may help less.

But don't entirely banish those earlier episodes. Indeed, for they are in fact the history of you and they are the touchstones that will show you how far you come! Let them guide you going forward to the next lighthouses you visit but not hinder your movements with paralysis.

Remember: The past is a wonderful place to VISIT but a terrible place to live.

"No More Hurting People- Peace" - Martin Richard

"No More Hurting People- Peace" - Martin Richard, 8 , Youngest victim from Boston Terror Attacks

Almost a year prior to the day he died, young Martin Richard had a message for the world- "No more hurting People- Peace". The message is simple we must stop hurting each other. It may have been deeper comment than his 8 year old mind could have ever comprehend or perhaps its our older, selfish and weakened minds that cannot conceive the concept of not hurting others. Sometimes we are so offended at others we become hell-bent on revenge, on getting back at others. An eye for an eye will only end up making the whole world blind.

Where are YOU lacking peace in your world? Most likely its because YOU are hurting someone or you are hurting YOURSELF. Either way, someone is hurting and doing the hurting and it may be the same person.

Take a moment to look at the facebook posts of all your contacts today. What are they saying? Is it building others up or tearing them down? What affect is it having on you?

What do your posts say about you? Ghandi once said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world". Well, are you that agent of change? STOP worrying about what others are doing or what they aren't doing and worry MORE about What YOU are doing to make this world we live in a better place?

Do YOU easily get angry over any misfortunate things, quick to blame others when we IGNORE our own actions that may have brought us there in the first place? Are we quick to assume the intentions of others and then responding in kind? Fighting fire with fire? If someone burns down your house and you in turn burn down their home all that has happened is two people are now homeless and hurting. (no more hurting people-peace). Revenge is just as sickening a disease as Cancer or AIDS and is just as deadly.

Martin Richard wanted people to stop hurting each other. He wanted the world to stop hurting each other and perhaps most personal of all, He wanted YOU to stop hurting others and he wanted YOU to stop hurting yourself. Love is so much stronger than hate. Love unites, hate destroys.

I exhort ALL of YOU to examine what YOU are really doing with YOUR LIFE. Are YOU promoting peace or planning hurt for others; or for yourself.

Why does it take appalling acts to unite? We can be united by simply being kind to ALL we come in contact with because are we ALL are hurting to some degree? We all can literally change the world if we simply stop hurting people or ourselves.

May our words be the bandages that heal wounds and once and for all 'No more hurting people; Peace"

Martin- We will do our best and we can only hope for every dear, sweet boy like you that is taken from us 10 more just like you appear.

Are you Happy? The problem isn't the answer, Its the question.

Happiness is not a brilliant climax to years of grim struggle and anxiety. It is a long succession of little decisions simply to be happy in the moment.

J. Donald Walters

Are you happy?

A simple question with complex answers and that answer may change depending on the time of day and whats going on when its asked. So if the answer changes that frequently then maybe we don't understand the true definition of happiness.

Perhaps we are asking the wrong question. Maybe it should be, 'what is happiness'?

Think for a moment- we may know people who are healthy and yet unhappy. We may also know people who are sick without hope for cure but they are happy.

So is happiness rooted in physical health?

We know people who are wealthy beyond need and yet they are not happy and we may know people who are "dirt-poor" and yet they are happy.

So happiness cannot come from material wealth.

Happiness then, isn't some fledgling quality that dissipates with time like a morning mist, rather it is something that is with us constantly. It doesn't come and go like the wind and it isn't affected by the tides of your life.

What is happiness? Happiness is intrinsic- it IS you. It is a quality that is intertwined with YOUR very being, its who YOU are.

So are you happy? The answer is always YES. If you THINK your answer is 'no, im not happy', then it is your definition of happiness that needs adjusting. The wrong definition is LIMITING you.

You may be going through circumstances that are painful, that make you sad but you can choose to be happy in any given moment, every day, for as as often as you wish. So much like EVERYTHING in life. Being happy is a choice. Its in you. But you must decide to BE it; to be happy.

Have you made your decision?

Where Have I been and Where are the Quotes, Well, More Back Surgery and two Quotes!

Wheres Waldo?

I know I have been absent of late but if you read this you will see two quotes, not one and I hope this cathartic post will resonate with many of you who suffer from chronic pain.

Well its official, I'm having more back surgery Feb 27th. My back has only been getting worse and the docs say this should relive a good amount of suffering. I'm not gonna lie, I'm worried and anxious, as the last surgery I had didn't do a thing except really deteriorate my confidence in back surgery....but this is different and there will be no going back. It must be done,

I need to do a fusion and fortunately I found a place that does this endoscopically, in a same day surgery center. They say I could b back to work in as little as 4-6 weeks. I'm thinking more like 2 months as I don't want to be optimistic and give my hopes up. I'm doing this for two reasons. Me, i am tired of this pain every day that has been with me since 2009 (on and off since 1999 mind you) and 2nd my family, especially Papo (aka Walter Jr). He wont remember a thing because he is so young and I want to run and play without reservations with him as he grows. Nietzsche said, He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how. Papo and Yanira (my wife) have been my Why.

I'm looking forward to it but I am worried at the same time, this isn't the same old fusion and its 2 levels and best of all its all endoscopic. So in theory, its only 1 disk that actually moves as the other is the sacrum, so i don't loose much mobility.

Why am I blabbering, maybe just to calm my nerves, garner moral support etc...Anyway if you have read this far, thanks for your support, prays, well wishes, invocations, incense burning etc...ill appreciate it and need it. To put it simply, Pain is terrible and constant pain is terrible and maddening. I know others out there have it worse, i really do see that. I'm not paralyzed nor will be due to this surgery. Its an l4/5 fusion. Your spinal cord stops at L2. I'm not W/c bound at all. The doc says my back will be stronger and i can jog again and even go back to the medical field as an EMT which i have been for 16 years, not that i would want to since why put my brand new back through such work again. The jogging will resume....I will be so relived when I can start running again.

OK i have babbled long enough. There it is, its out there. Maybe i will feel better sharing as the Swedish proverb says, a shared joy is a double joy and a shared sorrow is only a half sorrow.

Thanks for reading!