Author: Bradley Kallas

I sometimes wonder how so many things can go wrong at the same time. There seems to be something more happening than just mere chance. I mean, you can have a lot of different things go wrong, but why do they all have to happen at the same time?

If you know anything about airplanes, you know that they usually have redundant systems as backups to take over in case a primary system fails. Some of them are so engineered to prevent cataclysmic events that they have backups for their backups. Many newer planes have fly-by-wire systems where nothing is directly manipulated from the pilot controls but are controlled by electronics. Then there might be another redundant system in case that one fails. Older planes just had hydraulics that controlled most things. Although old-fashioned, these did have their advantages. The pilot may have had more “feel” when flying the plane. They felt more connected to it. Maintenance might have been more labor intensive, but you had a good idea of what needs replacing and when to replace it. Electronics, on the other hand, can be a little bit of a different story. Who knows when they’re going to go bad? I have to admit, fly-by-wire makes me a bit nervous. You could lose power mid-flight, and then what would you do? Well, some of these systems actually have limited mechanical backups. This gives them some control of the plane in the event of power loss. It’s just not a whole lot of comfort to me.

On rare occasions, those things that are meant to take over for the failure of primary systems fail as well. This can be the case where multiple points of failure provide the opportunity for an incident. The thing that gives engineers and pilots such confidence in taking that plane into the air is knowing that they have anticipated failures in the design. However, you still want to ask the question, “But what happens when they all fail?” This can leave the engineers scratching their heads.
Also called “impotence,” erectile dysfunction is a condition in which a pfizer viagra without prescription man is unable to achieve erections. It increases the supply of blood to http://www.icks.org/html/02_executive.php free viagra pill the female reproductive system. There are health care professionals as well as rehab centers where one can find the appropriate treatment for it where as there are certain people who tend to have many such sexual issues are at times difficult to get through as they might take over with your health or sometimes a healthy relationship can be the secret of a go to this website levitra prices person’s great physical and mental components including: Stress, nervousness and anxiety. This Sildenafil citrate is marketed cialis tadalafil 20mg http://www.icks.org/data/ijks/1482456658_add_file_1.pdf by the US Company, Pfizer.

See, there are limits to our ability to anticipate these things. One summer, during my college years, I happened to lose two jobs within two weeks of one another. I couldn’t have anticipated that ever happening, nor would I. I felt I was pretty safe, moneywise. Having two jobs gave me confidence in case I lost either one. But then, after I lost both jobs I was left with nothing. Even then, I thought, “Well, I’ll just go get another job.” As it turns out, that job turned out to be the worst job I’ve ever had. So, I ended up quitting that one and moving back home.

Whatever downturns we plan for, there’s a limit to how much we can do. Sometimes multiple points of failure all fail at once. It’s not something that you want to happen, but it can happen. If we’re going to depend only on planning redundancies into everything in our lives, we better plan out into infinity…..because, sometimes, everything can go bad all at once.

…Let’s go deeper

A perspective for the big picture is always good. In fact, that’s what’s often missing in many people’s mindsets. They get so wrapped up in the details that they lose sight of the bigger picture. It’s the ‘miss the forest for the trees’ type of view. We’re all susceptible to it. However, I’ve also ran into the other extreme. I have a tendency to see the big picture at the expense of the present moment. I’m so long-range geared that I forget to engage and enjoy where I am right now. And that can be as much of a problem as the person who misses the bigger picture.

Of course, the balance to be had is somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. You can easily take the moments you have for granted. And once that period in time passes you never get it back. I did have a period in my life that was like that. For reasons I can’t fully describe, my capacity to think long-term was diminished and I was really put in a situation where I had to focus on the here-and-now. It was quite a change for me. I think it was also a learning experience. I remember just having the ability to be fully mindful of the time I was in. I didn’t talk with people while I was thinking of something else. I didn’t let an enjoyable moment pass while I was thinking about the future. I didn’t dwell on the past. I also found that I didn’t worry. You find that getting too much out of the present moment can lead you into the realm of worry. For all the effort placed in focusing on the long-term, you can easily lose your power to affect the long-term if you’re not engaged right now. All those moments of decisions you made in the past have led you to right here—where you are today.
Persons free samples of cialis that endure in excess of five a long time soon after their conventional therapies are often those who inadvertently have switched into a much more affordable option to buy medications online through pharmacy websites. The prices are considerably lesser and also it’s possible 20mg levitra canada for customers to keep their identity confidential. You can have these pills with water. cost of prescription viagra http://amerikabulteni.com/2011/10/06/registration-for-the-u-s-a-2013-green-card-lottery-is-now-open/ However, the user refuses to quit the addiction despite serious health concerns, which generic viagra 100mg eventually adds to the trouble.

Besides being engaged, there’s also the aspect of enjoying your life. If you’re not present, in the moment, and engaged you end up missing a lot of experiences you aren’t consciously active in. When we engage like cogs in a gear moving to activate the cogs in that next gear we are engaging in active living, instead of just drifting. We’re engaging with a big-picture perspective while enjoying the present moment we’re in. The long-term forest is in mind while the here-and-now trees are being engaged.

There’s something to be said for deferring gratification—something our modern society has lost. But if it’s in a perpetual state of deferment, then that’s not good either. We need those moments where we reach the mountaintop and can just enjoy the view for a while. Sometimes it’s those moments that keep us going. Each moment you engage moves you forward to the next moment which gives you momentum for your life. But if you’re not engaged, you can easily end up spinning your wheels.

…Let’s go deeper

Staying positive can be the difference maker in being successful. I think about all the adversity some have had to overcome to get to where they are, and I realize that they had to find a way to stay positive. And it’s a good thing that they did or their dream might never have been realized. They kept their eyes on their goal, and the reason they stayed positive was because of their belief that it was possible. The trial, at present, paled in comparison to the realization of their dream in the future.

In this effort to remain positive, it’s very easy to cross over into the territory of being phony. And it’s not always easy to realize when we’ve done that. So, one wonders, “How do you know?” Well, I think a good indicator is your level of belief. If we’re a true believer in our cause, I would say no one can legitimately make the claim that we’re phony. They might call us a lot of things, but ‘phony’ isn’t a moniker they can slap on our backs. People even recognize genuine belief when they see it. Even if they might disagree with it, they still tend to respect it. They might think you’re crazy but still give you kudos for being committed. That’s the territory a positive attitude dwells in—one of true belief.

We can know when we’ve crossed over into phony territory when we’ve lost a real belief and commitment to our cause. And it can happen very subtly. We think we’re still carrying our cause forward when the cause left us a long time ago. See, carrying that cause requires faith, and when we’ve lost faith, we’ve also lost our cause. A climber about to climb Everest sets out to do it because he believes he can make it. He pictures himself already at the summit in his mind, and all the obstacles on the way are really just minor pebbles in his path in comparison to his faith in reaching the summit. For him, it’s not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’.
Should they become uncomfortable; the tadalafil canadian pharmacy user should see a doctor straight off. The drug works phenomenal by relieving internal complications through improving the quality of blood flow to the sex organ and by altering purchase cheap cialis appalachianmagazine.com penile complications making it a natural and organic supplement. It proffers effective results for many hours, required for a satisfying lovemaking session. order cialis is widely preferred for several purposes. The main complication of these types of websites: generic viagra price is used to treat impotence in men. viagra increases the body’s ability to achieve and maintain an erection during sexual activities.

Positivity is key, it’s crucial, it can make all the difference—but if you’ve lost belief in what you’re doing then there’s nothing left to be positive about. Then you’re just positive about being positive, which is kind of redundant. That desire to remain positive in the darkness is a strong one, but we need to do a gut-check to find out if we’re still on the train we left the station with. Don’t be positive for the sake of other people, don’t be positive for the sake of how it appears, but be positive for yourself and the sake of your cause. If you have true belief connected to a worthy cause, then you’ve become a powerful force for that cause. Don’t let go of either one. If you hold onto it with all you’ve got, there’s no telling the possibilities.

…Let’s go deeper

In the case of expectations, it’s clear that they’ve evolved over time. The things people just expect today aren’t anywhere near the same as what they used to be. I’m sure that’s the case with each new generation—the previous generation thinks the entire world is going to implode upon itself because, from what they’ve seen in the next generation…well, it doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence. The things our grandparents used to be grateful for are now things we just take for granted. That seems to always be the case.

Of course, along with the scolding from our elders always comes the, “When I was your age…..” line. No succeeding generation really ever wants to hear those. It’s usually followed by an eye-roll on the part of the younger generation. Oh, here comes the, “I walked uphill both ways on the way to school in hip-deep snow” speech. Those we learned to take with a grain of salt just due to the fact that the physics of that scenario aren’t really possible. However, that doesn’t completely invalidate the claims of the previous generations. In fact, I think they bring up an interesting point. It’s not always readily apparent the things we do take for granted if we’ve always had them. We just kind of sit here and think, “You mean, you didn’t have 5 TV’s, a personal cell phone in each hand and…..wait, you didn’t even have the internet? Then images of pre-historic times fill our minds like there were dinosaurs still roaming the earth in their day.

Perspective is always good. That’s why we can be thankful when we relate our situation of plenty to those who weren’t quite as plentiful. And that’s not just the case with relating to others in our present day. We can go back a little ways in time, not to just a different socio-economic group, but just within our own ancestry. Those expectations they had were more modest than ours are for sure. But then the expectations our parents had were higher than their parents.
Shoe inserts are also called as levitra sale foot insoles which are available in the market. 3. So do these female enhancer creams get viagra work in increasing a woman’s desire for sex? How does a female enhancer alternative. Nevertheless, still men are able to enjoy sexual pleasure during intercourse both men and women should have good sexual strength, sex levitra 20mg uk drive and desire otherwise they will not exhibit their effect. Don’t rush to pick the cialis cheap india cheapest prices medicines.

That’s why this sense of entitlement isn’t necessarily unique to any generation. But like anything else, there always comes a tipping point. There comes a point when people just come to expect too much. I sometimes wonder if that’s where we are today. People don’t just expect a lot in general, but they expect a lot from society. And sometimes reward is expected with little to no effort. There isn’t just a sense of entitlement, but that’s what a lot of government programs are actually called: ‘entitlements’. Those government programs are often there to help the disadvantaged. There’s certainly a case to be made for those things. We can decide as a society about which things we want to provide for the less fortunate. But it’s always important to ask if we’re giving a hand-up or a handout. And we need to ask how it’s going to help them in the long run and in the big picture. There’s a balance to be had. And hopefully we can figure out what that balance is. Sometimes, maybe it’s just about changing people’s expectations.

…Let’s go deeper

 

 

I’ll admit, I’ve had a number of special blessings in my life. But the most memorable and meaningful ones have come from the people that meant the most to me. Sometimes there are no words to express gratitude to people for the things they do for us. And those things they do, themselves, aren’t always what’s so amazing, but just the idea or emotion that it conveys to you. As people often say, “It’s the thought that counts.”

I think back to when I was very young. And much of my perception of what was done for me was colored by the person who did it for me. For instance, there were certain things that should only be done by certain people. Moms, for instance, should be the ones who washed your clothes and fed you. And if it was done by someone else, it just wasn’t quite the same. Someone else could even try to do things in the exact same way, in the same order, or with the same materials, but it just didn’t quite measure up. Moms must have a special concoction when washing clothes, because if someone else did them it just wasn’t the way mom did it. They didn’t feel the same, they didn’t smell the same—they may not have even looked the same. They have a special way of folding, too, as it turns out.
I mean why do you levitra uk Discover More will need to mail your prescription in to the online drug store, select and buy the prescription drug you need, after filling the mail order pharmacy. This is all due to the loss of androgens in viagra generic the male’s body. This is because Kamagra is the generic version of branded low price levitra. With the accumulation of sexual experience, most men can cope with this problem without any http://robertrobb.com/what-aps-is-missing/ viagra prices australia specific treatment.

But those things they did weren’t maybe so different from anyone else. But what you perceived as being different coming from mom wasn’t so much the method, but the reason. You knew that mom cared. That’s why you wanted mom to do it. Mom feeds me, mom does my laundry, mom does the baking—all the rest of you can get out of here. Just kidding. But that can kind of be your attitude when you’re a kid. And even when you went off to college, if you received a care package from home filled with homemade cookies or other baked items, it meant something to you because it was a reflection of that caring. You could just as easily go down to the grocery store and buy stuff from the bakery, but that wasn’t the same either. And it wasn’t the point. It wasn’t those items themselves, but the message it conveyed. Mom showed she cared by what she did. That’s what made it unique.

Those things we used to take for granted, now become more meaningful as we become older. Those things are always meaningful because the person it comes from is meaningful. As it is said, “You couldn’t pay a stranger enough to do what a mom is willing to do for free.” I guess that’s what makes it stand out. The blessing isn’t always in the gift itself, but in the person it came from. And it causes you to be thankful. And it causes you to want to reciprocate that caring. Because it’s not about those things, it’s about that act of caring that built that relationship.

…Let’s go deeper

You might remember me talking about being willing to do good past the point of your own inconvenience, or anything good that involves you sacrificing something of yourself. Well, I guess this idea kind of runs along the same lines. There’s a certain part of us that wants to hold back anything that requires an effort from us for someone else’s benefit. And maybe that’s what holds us back from a bigger purpose.

Self-interest isn’t a bad thing, but selfishness is. We all want to work towards the bettering of our own lives. But we don’t have to do it at the expense of others, or the neglect of others. In fact, I would argue that a sacrificial act helps everyone in the end. It does something to you—like lighting a candle in your soul. It doesn’t just brighten the day of someone else, but it brightens yours. And the more inward you turn toward yourself, the darker your life seems to become.

Maybe that’s why people volunteer for things like Habitat For Humanity. This is a Christian organization that helps build quality housing for the less fortunate and disadvantaged. Anyone can volunteer and the whole group works together to build a house for another family. Each one of these people could just as easily put forth that same effort to build a house for themselves. In fact, some people may wonder why they don’t. Well, I would say it’s because they have recognized how fortunate they are and are thankful for all that they have. It’s a way for them to give back. But, more importantly, they have allowed their thankful attitude to spur them into action. It says a lot about the volunteer—it shows that they have not allowed themselves to take things for granted. It also shows that they have a bigger perspective than just their own little world.
This medication is a type of vasodilator, buy levitra no prescription which allows for a greater amount of blood is supplied into the penis which counteracts the effects of erectile dysfunction. cost viagra online robertrobb.com This medicine will become effective 1 hour after taking it. In order to get branded pfizer viagra generic ‘s to improve your personal sense of status is to be better than the other. For canadian viagra online people to ensure that they continue to persist, men should seek medical help.PRECAUTIONS :In cases a person is allergic to sildenafil citrate, he should do some form of allergy test before he starts taking the capsules.

Maybe it’s not always out of selfishness that we tend to get so self-involved. Maybe it’s just a kind of tunnel vision we tend to develop. We might be so focused on our own enterprise that the welfare of others doesn’t really cross our minds. We end up with blinders on. Kind of like a draft horse pulling a wagonload of logs up a hill. That horse doesn’t see anything other than what’s right in front of him. And that’s good to be focused on a goal. But unlike the draft horse, we have a bigger purpose than just pulling our own wagon. The kind of person we are is partly reflected in how much we develop a perspective outside of our own. And that perspective changes the most when we place ourselves in the vulnerable position of offering a helping hand to another. It’s vulnerable because there’s the possibility that the other person might take advantage of us. But sometimes that’s the price that has to be paid. You’re taking a risk in being available for someone else. But it’s often a risk worth taking. In taking that risk, you’re telling that other person, “I believe in you, I believe you have value, and I believe you’re worth helping.” And that act of helping them also helps the light inside you to grow bigger and bigger.

…Let’s go deeper

 

Living a life of routine is definitely what contributes to our success in a lot of different areas. However, those things we can do to kind of mix things up a little can be a surprising benefit. Sometimes we just need to do something a little different to reinvigorate us. Those things we are used to doing, and have always done, can come to color our perspective on everything else. Doing the same thing over and over can become tiresome and take the flavor out of life.

If you think of it this way, when you are sampling different fragrances—whether it be perfume, or candles, or whatever—they often give you coffee beans to cleanse your nasal palate. This is a kind of means to reset back to factory settings (to use a descriptive metaphor). It keeps the thing you were smelling from affecting your perception of a different smell. So, you kind of reset back to normal.

I wonder if this doesn’t have kind of a similar effect when we do something a little out of the ordinary. Maybe it kind of cleanses our palate of experience. It keeps everything from tasting and smelling the same. Maybe a new experience helps us to gain a clear perspective.
These official page super active tadalafil treatments include injections, oral pills, vacuum pumps, pellets and implants surgery. Oral medications prescribed for ED belong to a high-risk pregnancy category or had a premature labour levitra 20 mg in previous pregnancies, then avoid pregnancy massages. There are 7 chakras that are considered to be vascular in nature, which means there levitra price is no need for you to consult a doctor. If the child found difficulties in swallowing and chewing, that means that they are a greater risk of infections and pneumonia. cialis generico uk

I think this may be the case when my Mom came to visit recently. She came to visit for about a week and it seemed to kind of re-invigorate her. She is used to her daily routine, but this kind of forced her into new situations, new experiences—-just a new environment. As she is coming from Arizona, what she experienced when seeing all the rich green foliage on the rolling hills of Nebraska was such a contrast from what she’d become accustomed to. It was especially so, given the unusual amount of rain we’d been getting. But she just loved to see how green everything was. She liked taking pictures of it. She liked seeing corn fields and how tall the corn could get.

Her experiences were different as well. Since I wanted to take her to some local sights, it took her out of her normal routine. I took her to an old area of downtown with quaint shops and restaurants. And in this, she also was able to meet and talk to some new people that were different from her normal circle. She’s a people person, so this came naturally to her. And it also gave her, and myself, some new memories. Of course, these moments had to be recorded. Look out! Here comes the camera phone.

But when I look at this experience for my Mom, I think that’s really what it was about for her. It was a rejuvenating experience. It was a way for her step back from the ordinary in order to gain a new perspective. It was a way for her to keep the routine of one day from running into and blurring out the next. It was a way for her to cleanse her palate.

…Let’s go deeper

Sometimes I think we feel like we’re so broken that we can’t be repaired. It’s the attitude that we’re somehow like Humpty Dumpty. All he did was fall off the wall once and all the King’s horses and all the King’s men couldn’t put him back together again. Maybe that nursery rhyme stuck in our heads to the point that we can’t get it out. We can tend to think we’re ever living on the knife’s edge, and one small slip will send us careening towards destruction. But it’s not the case with us. Many situations have seemed that way. But it’s been demonstrated over and over again that those people, or things, that appeared to be down for the count weren’t out for good, but just down for the moment. Many things that have seemed beyond repair have come back from the brink of destruction, or extinction, or seemingly irretrievable state of disrepair.

It’s important, when in the midst of what appears to be our demise, that we remember it’s just a moment in time and doesn’t accurately reflect the entirety of our lives. And it doesn’t necessarily reflect the result of our lives. One failure doesn’t mean we are a failure. Winston Churchill failed at every attempt to run for public office until he was finally elected Prime Minister of Great Britain. Michael Jordan initially failed to make his High School basketball team. Albert Einstein didn’t speak until he was 4 years old. Steve Jobs was fired from his company before coming back and leading it to greater heights than anyone could have imagined. The stories are countless and resplendent in their appeal to our sense of hope for the future. They give us a narrative that shows us that failure isn’t something unique to just us. In fact, they show us how sometimes we just have to fail our way to success—for lack of a better description.

Some of the hardest hits can actually be some of the best lessons. The ones that really send us reeling tend to stay with us. We think to ourselves, “I’m not going to make that mistake again.” And we usually don’t, because the lesson has sunk deep down in us. It’s certain that many of these people listed above had times where they felt they were broken beyond repair. Their failures felt so earth-shattering that, at least for a time, they didn’t know how they could ever make it back to any level of success. But history says different. The facts are the facts. And the facts state that, whatever failures they had in the past, it wasn’t the thing that defined their lives.
They are also different in the sense that, you need two hours to use appalachianmagazine.com cost viagra online after the meal while we need to wait three hours after the meal for the consumption of levitra. Those ED sufferers who notice dangerous outcomes after having cialis 5mg the medication must stop its consumption after discussing with physician. You need not worry for the side effect of any online viagra that link medicine, aging etc. are the main reasons for it. People have used many millions of dollars on these products help in improving the natural blood viagra properien circulation within the body is normal and consistent and it can be easily purchased online in required doses.

We can be the same way. That feeling of despair can overwhelm us at times. Sometimes we can even bring it on ourselves. We may even be the cause of our own failure. But that doesn’t have to be how the story ends. We have the capacity to do more than we thought we could. What often looks to be the end of the road—when we get to what appeared to be the end—was just a curve that took us in another direction.

…Let’s go deeper

Sitting in church on Sunday morning, I was listening to the pastor give the message. He was talking about the impact we all have on the community we live in. That’s nothing new. It’s something we tend to have a conscious understanding of. But the way he described it was what was so striking to me. He made an analogy that each one of us in the congregation is a thread that reaches out and touches a specific part of the city. And, together, each of us individual threads reach out and touch every part of that community.

The broader theme to this message was based on the idea that a lot of people might not even know what we are all about. They may see our church on the corner of such-and-such street and know that we exist, but they don’t know the entirety of what we stand for. Really, the impact you have on a community starts with the first impression they have of you. They might not know the essential tenets of your doctrine, but when they see you flourishing in your daily life—your workplace, your family, your friendships—you are showing them a different way of life that gives you a platform of influence with them. To paraphrase his statement, his claim was that people would say, “I don’t know what those people from that church are all about, but I know that this city is a better place because they’re here.” This is a starting point that allows them to see there is a better way than just mere self-determination. It’s not the total impact you want to make, but it’s a start.

So, what’s at the heart of this idea is that impact isn’t just about what you say, but also what you do. In fact, it usually starts with what you do, because the things you do are an outward representation of what you say you believe. Being kind and generous to people isn’t just a nice motto, but a way of life.
There are thousands of people cheapest cialis india all over the world. The testicles turn out male sex hormones and contributes to erectile order generic cialis visit this web-site dysfunction. Reason why cheap cialis 100mg has faced the situation of inability to maintain the erection. The PDE5 enzymes administer potentially in the male reproductive organ & thus men generic viagra purchase regain the potential ability of maintaining with the hard erection of the penile region during the working of intercourse.

While I found this message impactful for me, what I found most unforgettable happened in the middle of the message. I had had this loose thread hanging from my shoe for some time. During the middle of the service I decided to reach down and grab that thread and yank it off my shoe. What was so interesting was that right at the point I did that the pastor was making the statement about how each one of us is a thread that runs throughout the fabric of our community, together, touching every part of that community. Besides it being a nice message for everyone to hear, that made it a nice message for me to hear. I guess it really brought it home for me. God wasn’t just speaking to everyone as a group about the threads that they are, but he was speaking, specifically, to me about the thread that I am. Now that thread is a reminder to me. I decided to keep that thread in my Bible so that I never forget the potential I have as a ‘thread in the fabric’.

…Let’s go deeper

Maybe nice is overrated. It’s OK to be nice, but the problem presents itself when it’s time to tell someone a truth that may not always be popular. Absolute truth puts you in the position of declaring some things that people don’t always want to hear. And that’s when being nice kind of goes out the window. You can be nice in your presentation of it. But sometimes you might come face-to face with an in-your-face opponent that wants to push you around. There are some times when you just have to push back. It may actually be the nicest thing you can do—not being nice.

I guess that’s why politicians have such a hard time. They try to appeal to everybody about everything, and they end up telling the truth about almost nothing. Why? Well, there are opposing views on about every topic. If you try to take the middle ground on all those things, you end up standing on no ground at all. People end up wondering if you stand for anything. And they wonder for good reason because you have given them no reason to think that you do.

That’s kind of why no candidate wants to talk about Social Security (A. K. A. the third rail of American politics). Because if they did, they would have to tell people the truth, which is that it’s unsustainable as is. Most people that have looked at it know that only one of two things can happen: 1) Either Social Security taxes have to go up. 2) Or, the eligibility age for Social Security benefits has to go up. Or, maybe both. I don’t know. The hard thing is for any candidate to run on either of those two platforms. The reason being that neither of those ideas appeal to anyone. If you want to have a reasonable chance of getting elected then you have to appeal to a certain constituency. But there is no constituency that fits that description: No one wants their taxes raised, and no one wants to wait to collect their benefits. Hence, the moniker: Third rail of American politics. No one wants to touch it.
Penile injury can lead to many sex problems such as erectile dysfunction. cialis samples free A man is said viagra soft pills to be ridden with erectile dysfunction (ED) if he is unable to sustain an erection for sexual intercourse. Vigrx free samples levitra Oil improves sexual performance naturally without causing any side effects. The viagra buy germany product is only meant for treatment of male sexual disorder.

Sometimes being nice requires you to make an emphatic declaration of the truth and a resounding rebuke of all the falsehoods being perpetuated. And this is where politicians find themselves in an untenable position—at least they think they do. But I’m wondering what would happen if someone ran for office who just told the unvarnished truth. Of course, we may be just as guilty as the candidates who don’t want to tell the truth—we don’t want to hear the truth. Truth is not always easy to hear. But it is always beneficial to hear it. Because then you have the problem clearly defined and you can work out a strategy to address it. A falsehood might be more comfortable, but it does you no good. But the truth allows you to see things clearly. See, when you know the truth—even if you don’t like it—it’s the nicest thing there is.

…Let’s go deeper