Neil Gaiman Meditation No. 2

“Rules and responsibilities: these are the ties that bind us. We do what we do, because of who we are. If we did otherwise, we would not be ourselves. I will do what I have to do. And I will do what I must.”

― Neil Gaiman, The Sandman: Book of Dreams

Courage is choosing to change.

This quote also reminds me that we need to be ourselves. And today, as in the past, that is increasingly difficult.

There exists so much conformity in thought, in action, and in belief. The days are changing. No longer is traditional religion your most important trait but the new religion of politics usurps that place. And you are only prescribed a finite number of molds to fit. Try having a unique opinion or a code or a standard that doesn’t fit in those boxes and people will jam you in one just the same.

Don’t worry about their shortcuts to thinking. As the quote says, “We do what we do, because of who we are.” And you can no more change their thinking than they can change yours.

Get beyond labeling people? Get beyond boxing people? Get beyond labeling yourself?

You can label beliefs but you shouldn’t label people. Good, bad, blue, red, white, or black, the labels are short cuts. Get to know people? Get to know why they are? And maybe, in the process, you’ll learn a little more about yourself.

Life is all about choices. And you’re the one that gets to make them. Own your choices today? Be who you are despite anyone’s label?

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyBodyMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain

Neil Gaiman Meditation No. 1

“Rules and responsibilities: these are the ties that bind us. We do what we do, because of who we are. If we did otherwise, we would not be ourselves. I will do what I have to do. And I will do what I must.”

― Neil Gaiman, The Sandman: Book of Dreams

Courage is choosing to change.

People need rules. Not arbitrary rules determined by something external but rules made internally that fit your life. Sure, there are rules we typically agree upon and those rules allow people to get along peacefully.

When you have separate sets of rules for separate people, then you find that society breaks. The system breaks not because of the morality of the rules but the immorality of the enforcement of the rules.

In case you haven’t heard or noticed, I don’t believe in forcing people to be part of any social arrangement. I believe people should voluntarily enter agreements. What I really don’t want to see is people forced into a social arrangement that doesn’t consider that everyone observe the same set of rules. And that is what is happening in America. And that is why America is splintering, shattering, breaking. There is no way I or you or anyone can make the decisions for 330 people, 330,000 people, or 330 million people. We can make the decisions, the choices, the rules for only one.

That one person is the most important person out of the 330 million, the most important out of 7 billion. That one person is the most important because that one person is the only person we can rule, we can govern, we can change.

My story starts with one person making a change. I decided to make my change. I decided to make my rules. I decided to take responsibility. Responsibility and rules are married. Understanding your responsibility allows you to make your rules. Determine what your responsibilities are and make your rules accordingly. So when people ask you, influence you, tempt you to act against the rules you can simply answer as I do, “I have a rule about that.” You do you?

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyBodyMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain