Wisdom and Courage
Knowledge, intuition, and self-confidence aren’t always enough.
Yesterday I reacted very badly to what I felt was negative criticism, from a very close friend, of some posts I had recently written. I took the critical comments from my friend both personally and probably more negatively than she meant to sound. And yet, looking back, I still feel that her comments about my blog were a thinly veiled attack on me, which was really about something else entirely, something else I had done. It would be nice to know what…..
Yesterday, I broke two of my own rules;
Rule #9 Trust in your own opinions, but always be prepared to listen to the other person’s point of view.
and
Rule #10 Be accepting, understanding, and compassionate.
It’s all very well my not liking what people do or say, but I should have the wisdom and courage to accept and understand that her thoughts and opinions are not my thoughts and opinions. I should be able to rise above the shit that life and other people throw at me from time to time. I should not be dragged down into the mire by other people. I should make a better choice than to feel so hurt and distressed by the things others may say to me.
If a man is going to let his spirit truly fly then he needs the self-confidence to spread his wings. Sometimes a man also needs wisdom to make better decisions and wiser choices if he is going to realise his potential and manifest his true destiny. If he is going to walk the warrior’s path to spiritual prosperity and inner peace, then a man needs to walk that path without scepticism, fear, or self-doubt.
I know that things do not get better overnight, that this is going to be a step by step, iterative process, and that to make positive changes in my life I first of all have to show up for life and actually have the courage to make some changes. Not every choice I make is going to be a good choice, but a golden rule is that if things aren’t working out, then do something else instead.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. ~Einstein
I also have some new tools to help me; I am learning the power of truth, mindfulness, self-care, meditative affirmations and mandalas. I know that I need to show more gratitude and care through my actions for those who matter most to me ~ including myself. I know I need to listen to the guidance of those who care for me because they can show me the path I need to take. I know that I shouldn’t listen when others are attacking me out of their own personal inadequacies.
There needs to be new challenges, new rituals, and new guidelines in my life. I need to ask a lot of myself, and of those close to me, but I need to be patient, mindful, and caring too.
To make wise choices I need to consider the past, the present, the future, and look at potentialities with some wisdom and reasonableness. What I need to lose is anger, bitterness, judgementalism, and paranoia.
I have made some changes, and taken some decisions. I’ve joined a different gym, and I’m going there and exercising regularly. I’m going to the pool regularly. I walk everywhere, I’ve changed my diet, and I’m getting better rest and sleep. I am going to travel more, I’ve just got back from Turkey, and in a little while I’m going to Crete. After that, well if you can’t find me, I’m on vacation.
Some say that there are wonderful, warm, loving, powerful, indulgent, and courageous energies in the universe. And, that all men seek and desire; love, happiness, grace, beauty, charm, and pleasure. All that I know is that I have to act quickly to find my true life path.
The Best is yet to come ~ I may have seen the sun but I’ve never seen it shine, and now it’s raining in my heart.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
the road is long, and mostly lonely
Travel is Good for My Health
Do not tell me how educated you are, just tell me how much you have travelled. ~ Mohamed
The apartment I live in is called ‘The Garret’ and I feel very much at home here. However, some recent thoughts, emotions, and events have convinced me that I’ve been spending far too much time in the garret. Ergo, I’ve decided to get out of the garret more, travel more, take more vacations, and relax in the sunshine a lot more.
Travel and change of pace impart new vigour to the mind. ~ Seneca
I have very few responsibilities, a hell of a lot of time on my hands, and more than a little money in the bank ~ so there is no earthly reason why I shouldn’t be taking 4 or 5 vacations a year, or even a round half-dozen should the mood strike me.
And, it’s not as though I want to travel to far-away and strange-sounding places. The camel route to Iraq holds no attraction for me. Neither do the madchen and the gay muchachas. And as for Paris, London, and Rome, I’ve spent so long in those cities that they’re like a second home.
There’s a hell of a lot of the world I just do not want to go to, not ever again. And you can include in that list all of Africa, the Middle East, the Far East, Australia and New Zealand. As for the America’s, I’d never cross the US border going South again. I caught malaria in Mexico.
The places I really like are the nicer parts of the USA, some of the Caribbean, and most of the Mediterranean. I also really like Tuscany and the South of France. Scandinavia isn’t bad either, (at the right time of year). None of which destinations are so very exotic, or so very dangerous. If I’m honest I like going to places where most of the locals can speak some English, and they serve really good food.
In a couple of weeks’ time I’m going to Crete, and after that probably back to California. Next year Malta, Cyprus, and Turkey are on my list. Who knows after that? But a Caribbean Cruise is looking attractive.
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. ~ Helen Keller
The one downside for me is that I will mostly be a solitary traveller. But, who knows who I may meet along the way. And, one never knows, I may even find an attractive travelling companion to take along with me. On road trips, in a Mustang convertible, a guy needs an attractive and intelligent Girl Riding Shotgun anyway. A road trip without The Girl Riding Shotgun just isn’t a proper road trip.
Some say that travel is good for the soul. And, that a good traveller has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving. All I know is that I hate dull routine disrupting my life.
So, from now on, if you can’t find me, it’s because I’m on vacation.
Jack Collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Santa Monica is pretty cool.
Independent Traveller in Turkey
Better than expected.
My expectations were low, but it turns out this place is brilliant.
There are 18 guests here, and the group dynamic is fabulous.
Before dinner this evening everyone stood or sat at the bar, talking, drinking and smoking. About half the group smokes, and you can smoke everywhere and anywhere in Turkey.
The buffet at dinner was good. And then we walked 50 yards into town.
The nightlife here is jumping. Unbelievable.
Day 1 in Turkey a 100% success.
–
Jack Collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Scenes on Sunday ~ California
Southern California is the Land of Crazy Colourful Dreams
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
I like California,
and I very much like my friend in California
Islamic Terrorism Escalates
Terrorism is a significant threat to peace and security.
In some places I could be prosecuted for a hate crime, or at least be accused of racism, for even using the term Islamic Terrorism. The simple fact is, the number of unspeakable acts of violence perpetrated by Muslims purporting to support Radical Islamic organisations such as ISIS / Daesh, has increased exponentially in recent months. It’s terrorism, done by Muslims, and just lately a lot of innocent men, women, and children have died because of it. The Muslim Terrorists are proud of what they do, and have no sympathy for the people they kill and maim.
Whether most Muslims are peaceable is irrelevant. The fact is that fanatics rule Islam now and act-out what the Qur’an truly says… maul, march, murder every infidel if they won’t convert. ~ Gary Patton
Since the horrific events in Paris on Friday November 13th 2015, when 130 people were killed, there have been terror attacks right across Europe, America, and the Middle East. These terribly memorable events go on, and on, and on.
On 19th December 2016 a truck was driven into crowds of innocent shoppers at the Christmas Market in Berlin.
On Wednesday March 22nd 2017, an SUV raced through pedestrians walking across Westminster Bridge in London, before crashing into the gates of the Houses of Parliament.
On Saturday April 8th 2017, a hijacked heavy truck was deliberately driven through a crowd of pedestrians, including young children in Stockholm, before crashing into a department store.
The left-leaning, and ever so tolerant, Metropolitan Liberal Elite keep to their mantra that Muslims are not terrorists. Tell that to the families of those killed in the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and aboard the four hijacked airliners on September 11th 2001.
Or come to London and tell that to the families of those killed and maimed on Public Transport on July 7th 2005.
It’s not just in Europe and North America that Muslims kill the Kafir. Yesterday, Sunday April 9th 2017, Palm Sunday, two bombs exploded in Chuches in Egypt. Many Muslims in Egypt and all across the Middle East hate their own Coptic Christian minority populations just as much as they hate other Christians. Egypt is a popular tourist destination, but the whole country is quite dangerous, up to and including your flight out of it.
The list of terror attacks committed by Muslim extremists goes on, and on, and on. Civilised Peoples cannot ever appease extremist religious terrorists, we cannot negotiate with extremist religious terrorists, and we can never win their hearts and minds.
Right now, there are some places in the world I would not like to visit, unless my trip was essential. Among these countries are; Turkey, Syria, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and the soft tourist target of Morocco. If I was unfortunate enough to have a non-essential trip booked to any part of the Middle East, I would seriously reconsider my options. Going on a vacation isn’t worth risking my health and life on a bad bet. Neither would I be keen on travel to Berlin, Brussels, or Stockholm for a while. At the moment I would only go into parts of Central London if I had to.
This world has always been a dangerous place. I am afraid that it’s becoming more and more dangerous by the hour.
Let’s all be careful out there.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
travel broadens the mind
To travel is to take a journey into yourself.
Doing a little research on something else, I was bored enough to read a narrow-minded American’s opinion of visit to England, which pissed me off somewhat. Here are some real facts about Americans;
64% of Americans do not own a passport.
In states such as; Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and South Carolina only about 25% of US citizens own a valid passport.
When most Americans visit another country it’s to either Mexico or Canada.
Annually, less than 5% of Americans travel overseas.
More than half of all Americans have never been outside of America.
Most Americans have not been to more than 5 US states.
Many Americans have never been more than 100 miles from where they were born.
The commonest complaints of Americans visiting England are;
- ‘the bacon is terrible…’
- ‘few ethnicities are represented in London cuisine…’
- ‘there is no Mexican or Latin American food in Britain…’
- ‘British people are cold and hard to befriend…’
- ‘the London subway is unreliable…’
- ‘the British are obsessed with the Queen and Royal Family…’
- ‘it always rains in England…’
- ‘the English drive on the wrong side of the road…’
- ‘British cars are undrivable…’
- ‘free healthcare is such a stupid idea…’
- ‘British TV sucks…’
- ‘refrigerators and washing machines are very small…’
- ‘there’s no dress code…’
- ‘black people are just people…’
- ‘they eat with their forks upside down…’
I’ve travelled all over the world, I’ve worked, lived, and had many vacations in the United States, I have some close friends in America, and none of the above surprises me one little bit. American culture is so in-your-face and all-pervasive, (you only had to watch the recent Oscars ceremony to realise that), that all Americans think the rest of the world is just like America ~ trust me, it isn’t.
In addition, working Americans are allowed and take so few vacation days, (average 10 days a year), that the idea of visiting some of the great cultural sites in Europe just never crosses their minds.
The whole world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a single page. ~ Saint Augustine
Which is why it does not surprise me that;
- Middle America elected Donald Trump as their President.
- Americans are obsessed with social media like Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook.
- More than 80% of Americans believe in conspiracy theories, and that the Government has kept secrets about UFOs.
- More than 85% of Americans believe in one or more of; aliens, flying saucers, angels, astrology, extra-sensory-perception, Big Foot, ghosts, reincarnation, the healing power of crystals, witchcraft, that they can win money in Las Vegas casinos, and that winning the lottery is a viable financial plan.
- Over 75% of Californians believe that more than 25% of Americans are Gay or Lesbian, (the true figure is 3.5% of Americans are LGBT).
- 25% of Americans believe in creation theory and that the Earth is the centre of the universe.
- 25% of Americans believe they won their Independence from a country other than Great Britain.
- All Americans feel they need a planned and fixed itinerary before setting off on their travels.
A good traveller has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. ~ Lao Tzu
To a well-travelled, well-read, and well-educated Englishman like me, it’s very sad that most Americans are like a Monday morning quarterback ~ they think they can talk a good game, but mostly they talk bullshit. Actually, it’s worse than that, most Americans think their opinions matter to others. They need to get out into the world a bit more.
And in England, ‘Trump’ is still another word for ‘Fart’.
Have a nice day.
~
jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
