blame

Some Thoughts on Life

/ doubledacres / 3 Comments

“Life is a question and how we live it is our answer.” – Gary Keller

One definition of life according to Merriam Webster: The physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individual.

I don’t think it makes any difference if you are born rich or poor, your life will be a product of your decisions. It is a fact that in your early years your decisions will be greatly influenced by your parents. The final decision rests squarely on your shoulders.

“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.” Marcus Aurelius

There are so many that try to achieve happiness through materialistic things. They think that a new 3500 square foot home or $80,000 new vehicle will be their answer to their quest for happiness and in the end happiness is nowhere to be found. We need to change our way of thinking in our pursuit of happiness.

In my humble opinion I believe we should take the time to explore ourselves and get to know what really makes us happy. What you like and don’t like in life. Feed the “likes” and change the “don’t likes”. Happiness starts within our hearts. The seed is there we just have to give it what it needs to grow.

“Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.” – William James

I know I have heard many people say set your goals high and you will achieve more. I have come to believe that is the wrong decision to make. I think they should be realistic and when we reach them we can set higher goals but within reach.

As we struggle to meet unrealistic goals we start to become depressed. We lose our “belief” and begin to think “is life really worth it.” At this point it is essential to get that “belief ” back in our way of thinking.

Everyone makes bad decisions in their life. We have to learn from these. If we don’t we learn nothing from the experience. We and only we are responsible for our decisions. We also need to take responsibility even for our bad decisions. Quit putting the blame on others.

In closing I would like to say we need to resurrect “common sense” and “respect”. Most importantly we have to learn to love one another.

Note: this is just an opinion of a retired farrier concerning life. It is meant to provoke the minds of those who read it to form their own opinions.

Walk Your Own Way

/ doubledacres / 4 Comments

“I don’t know where all the rivers run. I don’t know how far. I don’t know how come. But I am gonna die believin’ each step that I take ain’t worth the ground that I walk on if we don’t walk it our own way.” From the song Bang A Drum

I once was a follower. I was afraid to do things my own way. I was afraid of being wrong or offending someone. Then one day I heard Chris LeDoux sing these words and it caused an awakening in me that changed my life.

I did a lot of soul searching and looked back at my life in a new way. A way that I had never really imagined.

I will admit that I am hardheaded and by far I am not the sharpest tool in the shed but I realized I had the right to do things and believe the way I wanted too. Right, wrong or indifferent I should believe in me.

There are those who will try to make me believe I wasn’t able to make the right decisions on my own. That I would fail if I didn’t listen to the majority that instituted what they believed to be right for me. News flash, the majority isn’t always right.

I thought to myself how could these people tell me what was right for me when they had never experienced my heartaches, my celebrations and other life experiences. We can’t let people live our lives for us. We need to walk this world in our own way.

It was one of the most important changes I made in my life. It raised my self esteem to new heights. I finally felt like somebody. Don’t get me wrong. Yes I made bad decisions and choices and still do but I made them. No one else did and most importantly I learned from those mistakes and couldn’t blame anyone but myself.

No matter what you do in life or what decision you make there is always going to be someone who disagrees with you. It is inevitable. What is important is how you handle the situation. Do you cower and relinquish your opinion to please those people or do you stand up for what YOU believe in and stand your ground?

As for me I am going to fight for what I believe in even if I stand alone. Maybe it is because I have grown older but I really don’t care what people think of me any longer. I have walked the earth long enough to know that I am never going to please everyone and not everyone is going to agree with me. Not everyone will like my writing or political views. Not everyone will like my photography or my horseshoe art. What is important is how I handle it and that I always “walk it my own way”. If we don’t learn to believe in ourselves we do our spirit, soul and our being a great injustice.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. It is so deeply appreciated. You may agree or not agree with my opinion but if you don’t I respect that because we all are entitled to our opinion. We don’t however have the right to demean, harass, or stoop to name calling if we disagree which seems to be the norm for so many people.

Remember to spread the love and be kind to one another. Kindness doesn’t cost anyone anything.

Who Is To Blame?

/ doubledacres / 10 Comments

DSC_0287

The pic above pretty much says it all about me.  Keep it simple.  Can’t say I know many people the age of 63 who would camp this way especially the weekend before Christmas in the state of Missouri.

Today’s blog is going to be kind of a rant about some of the things happening in our society today here in the good ole USA.  I watched in horror as an older gentleman chewed out the cashier over the price of gasoline and this little Tasmanian Devil went off in my head.  We are a nation of complainers but when it comes right down to it we, as a whole, will do absolutely nothing about it.   By the way, I did tell the man where the bear poopoos in the woods.

Folks, who sets the prices in this country?  If you said corporations, wrong!  The market sets the prices.  Who is the market?  John Q Public, in other words you and I.  Corporations put prices on the product and if we don’t buy the product they will have to lower the price or pull it.  For example, remember those spinner things that were all the rave?  Kids all wanted one and they were paying $10.00 for them.  The companies made money hand over fist because we bought them at those ridiculous prices.  Now the market is completely saturated so you can now buy that same spinner for$2.50. Once again Americans were fleeced.  Why?  Because we didn’t dig our heels in and say “NO”.

Gasoline costs.  Folks are always complaining about the prices.  Newsflash Twinkletoes, have you did anything to reduce your travel?  If folks would reduce their driving and gas consumption the gas companies would be forced to drop the prices so they could sell it.

Look at the price of new vehicles.  2018 Dodge 350 with a diesel.  $38,000 to $50,000!  New homes $350,000 to $750,000.  We just keep on buying them.  Going deeper and deeper in debt.  Then we have to have that $75,000 camper.  But why?  To keep up with the Jones’es or to act like we are someone of importance?

Growing up I remember camping and there were dozens of tent campers.  I went to a state park back in the fall of 2017 and camped in my tent and there were maybe 6 tent campers and 20 camping trailers.  I am here to tell ya those trailers were first class with all the pleasures of home.  The price of tents are pretty reasonable but those campers, well you better bring the big checkbook.

“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” – Abraham Lincoln

I seem to be all over the place here but what I am trying to get across to folks is you have to accept the responsibility of the prices you are paying.  Oh, price gouging is real but if you don’t buy the item they can’t gouge you now can they?  Do you have to have that camper with three built in televisions, satellite, built in butt wiper, etc.?

Supply and demand rules.  As long as you demand that $10 beer at the stadium, they are going to charge you $10.  Gasoline supplies get low and you keep buying it, it is going to go up because the demand is greater than the supply.  Maybe it is time for consumers to stick together and help determine a little better pricing on some of the products we use in this country.  Just my 2 cents.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and I hope it made sense to you.  Spread the love.

Really?

/ doubledacres / Leave a comment

“Deserves it!  I daresay he does.  Many that live deserve death.  And some that die deserve life.  Can you give it to them?  Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment.  For even the very wise cannot see all ends.” – J.R.R Tolkien (The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings,  #1)

Congressman Steve Scalise was shot in Virginia at baseball practice.  Now a video of his stance on gun control is being circulated.  I came across one comment that made me realize compassion is a thing of the past.  Sad thing is I know the person that made the remark.  Seems their opinion is that karma visited Scalise because he fought to protect ones rights to own and carry guns.

So using that as an example let me see, does that mean the store clerk who banned guns from his establishment gets shot and killed during a robbery that Karma is responsible because he banned guns from his store?

A young girl starts to leave the house and her dad sees how revealing her clothes are and tells her to go change.  She simply puts clothes over those and when she gets out of sight takes the other clothes off.  As she leaves the local Quick Shop a sick individual spots her in her incredibly short skirt and her bosom revealing top and ends up raping her.  Was Karma responsible for that because she didn’t listen to her father?

Then there was the case some years back of the gentleman who despised guns and was constantly fighting to end gun ownership and with the local gun range.  One night while he and his wife were asleep some thugs broke into their house and tied them up and tormented them for hours.  Then they untied his wife and took the husband and wife into the bedroom and the three goons took turns with his wife and made him watch.  When they were done they stabbed her to death and they thought they stabbed him to death however he survived.  Was this Karma showing him he shouldn’t be trying to stop gun ownership?

I hardly think that any of the above events were due to Karma and I would hope that if I ever insinuated that, I would only hope that someone would horsewhip me.  I hope we haven’t become that callused.

Sad thing is that I know the person who made the comment and they are good people and it is totally out of character for them.   I am in no way putting them down or trying to discredit them.  No doubt there were others that thought the same way.  I credit it to all the turmoil that was caused by the last election.  Emotions are running high.  We need to slow down and quit fueling the fire of hate and discontent in this country and make peace with each other and move on.

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” –  Mother Teresa

Opinion : a view or judgement formed about something not necessarily based on facts or knowledge.  This is another word that I have been seeing thrown around a lot out there.  Yep you are entitled to your opinion however,…..wait for it………a little bit longer, ok you ready??????? SO AM I!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for reading.  Be kind to one another, share the love and don’t squat with your spurs on.  I had just one more thought, what if Trump is the work of Karma because liberals voted for Obama twice.  LOL!