Thoughts for Barter

As hard as it is to swallow, it is nearly impossible to take care of someone else unless we can first take care of ourselves. This is why having a child at 30 is better than having a child in the early 20s.

So for all my friends thinking about having children now… stop it. You are not old enough. Babies should not be raising babies. Just in case you think you are getting old, you should answer these questions. How and what will I feed my child? How will I clothe my child? What kind of education will my child have? Will I be able to pay for my child’s medical, dental, and vision bills? If your answer to these questions do not meet your ideal standard of living than you should seriously think twice about having a child. Anyway, I digress.

It’s just not possible to take care of others if you can’t take care of yourself first. This is why airlines tell you to put your own oxygen mask on first before assisting others. If you die, you fail to qualify to help someone else. However, I do believe it is possible to help others before we can fully care for ourself if we are willing to sacrifice ourselves for a particular person or a particular cause. Keep in mind that this requires one to neglect oneself. Now there is such a thing as caring for oneself too much and not thinking enough of others. People like this don’t tend to be liked very much. Of course there are dangers at any extreme though.

Bottom line: We gotta make sure we have a home to go home to ourselves before we try building homes for others.

Personally, I have always tried my best to help out my family, friends, and acquaintances. These days however things are not as easy as they use to be. There is too much BS going on and I’m tired of having to try to resolve everything. It is just not worth it. The problem with trying to be a people pleaser is that you can’t please everyone. I understand now that 1/3 of the people I meet will like me and a 1/3 of the people I meet will NOT like me. I’ve come to accept that and that is fine by me. It just so happens that I don’t like everyone I meet either. The other 1/3 are people who are indifferent and I feel that once that 1/3 gets to know me they will like me. So instead of worrying about everything I intend to spend the rest of the year working on improving my own quality of life. Being that it is currently mid June I feel it’s a good time to work on making the 2nd half of 2008 much better than the 1st half. Thus, No More Drama. If I feel that anyone is bringing drama my way, I am going to imitate Craig David and walk away.

I wish everyone a drama free 2nd half of 2008. Peace.