Thought of the Night

Oh Lord my God, I beg of Your mercy. I trust in Your kindness and forgiveness. As I have asked for Your mercy so shall I give mercy to those who have trespassed against me. It is difficult for any one person to attempt, but for me to be free, I shall unchain those that have wronged me. God did so willingly on the cross. Divine Mercy, Jesus, I trust in You.

The Sunday after Easter in the Catholic Church is also know as Divine Mercy Sunday. God will always be merciful toward us even in times of darkness and sin. All we need to do is ask Him wholeheartedly and without reservation. We have only one life to live. Better to live it in joy and love rather in chains and handcuffs.

Motivated

To give it all
Down to the last drop
We must not forestall
Nor ever stop

If we intend
To finish the race
The ability to transcend
Lead the pack & out-pace

If we believe in it
Burning within our soul
We cannot quit
March towards the goal

Hold your head up high
Face it forwardly stern
You and I shall certainly fly
There shall be no concern

Leave the worries at home
Carpe diem the day we seize
Forward we will roam
Our hunger & thirst to please

That path we seek
We shall confidently tread
Even when times look bleak
And the discouragement widespread

The reward will be prime
To give it our very all
Our reward shall be sublime
I shall give it my all.

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."

John Wooden

Found in the trenches
In the deep abyss
The root of our nature
Surely exists

Our soul and character
Lies at the base
The foundation of our life
For the world we face

Whether we care
Nurture our core
Or lay to waste
Forsake that core

Our character will determine
Decide our fate
How we attempt to live
More joyfully or damnably irate

The choices are made
By the choices we seek
To be arrogantly unjust
Or humbly meek

Whatever the decision
To be mean, unruly
Or striving to be more
Loyal and truthfully

Your true self will show
Maybe not at first glance
Surely in due time
The real "you" will advance

If you don't like
What you see
Build a better character
Or be ready to flee.

Tonight's Poker Wisdom

The chips were stacked against you and the cards in your hand were crap, yet you pushed all in regardless. I was playing with house money; win or lose, I come up a winner or I didn't lose at all. That's that odds I play with when I play this poker game. Shame on you for pushing your luck when everybody knew your bluff from the start. Now you will pay it in full with your loss. The question that interests everybody at the table is: How much did you risk? Are you ready for such tough consequences? In direct opposition, I have no punishment. I have the prudence of heart, the stability of conscience and a morally principled lifestyle. Now we shall see if you have the foundation to stand against the fury of the storm. I have been through the storm, survived it and become stronger. I am grounded through the strength of my God, my family and my loyal friends. What do you have? Not even an inkling of support from your family and a barely trustworthy base of true friends to stabilize your fragile nature. The chips were stacked against your bluff; best you could do was to fold and cut your losses, improving your sanity and self-worth. Now you will pay and pay dearly you will. The rules of the game have never been broken and the consequences always severe. Never play with crap hands, never. Fold and cash your chips in.

What Shall Come To Pass

What shall come to pass
Has reached the critical mass

Time to move on
Nothing to dwell upon

The ties that bind
Are no more, unkind

The doors of opportunity
No more it shall be

Believe me you may not
Taken lightly you will not

A firm decision
Has never reached revision

When I have left the scene
Never do I return to be seen

Time to go
The seed did not sow

I have come here but once
Never to look back an ounce

Time to jump ship
No return ticket for the trip

I am at fault
As it is also your fault

You pulled the final string
And that was my red alarm ring

I must go forward
Not to fall again backward

You made a decisive decision
Hurting me deep in divisive derision

And so I must make my cut
To get out of your stench and rut

What could have been
Now is never should have been

Your foul choices
Ignoring your inner voices

What a lack of mentality
Empty in maturity

Obviously you didn't care
What is naturally fair

My feelings tossed in the trash
Ripped up in a thrash

A pitiful defense of technicalities
Cannot quell the true realities

A trust is broken
A heart forsaken

What shall come to pass
Will come to pass.

Trust Defined

The ability to trust
Is a priceless gift
Given between one another
Not found at the price of a thrift

Trusting someone
A stranger at first glance
A partnership in business
Or love's penultimate dance

No matter the situation
Trust should be given
Freely and assuredly
For trust to be taken

It is like a seal of approval
A handshake at the table
An agreement that is bound
For us to be stable

We expect the other party
To catch our daunting fall
As such we also expect
To pick up their desperate call

Trust is like a bridge
The ties that bind
Over troubled waters
A rough diamond find

However if trust is ever broken
Shattered and destroyed
A battered bridge
Eventually is void

Connections are loose
Even disconnected
The untruthful truce
Results in war resurrected

Falsely brokered deals
Loosened and lost friendships
Destructive divorces
No more companionships

What is lost
Cannot be reclaimed
Too easily or swiftly
For a trust defamed

Thus easier to earn a trust
From the early get go
Then to earn it henceforth
After the final let go

Earning trust back
Is like trying to crawl out a pit
From six feet deep
Dead to the world you are illegit

Therefore trust is like a bond
It needs a treatment of royalty
Dare to break this covenant
You seek the loss of loyalty.

I Have Writer's Bloc

I am at a lost for words
My mind is blank
I need to go forwards
No more left in the tank

These words I seek
Are no where found
No skill, talent or sleek
Quieter the lack of sound

The crickets chirp
But that's all I hear
I hit a road of quirk
Totally in fear

I need to go yonder
I hear the tick tock
My lack of wonder
I have writer's bloc.

Emotion vs Logic

What would you rather have?

A style that stirs the emotions

Or a logic of sensible substance

Lets delve into this deeper

Emotions are from the heart
Motivating you from the start
It is a driving force
Persuading you toward a course

Logic is the foundation of the mind
Explaining the course designed
Reason is the focus
That points your path's locus

Oftentimes logic and emotion
Puts into motion
Work that is in concert
Smooth in effort

Emotion gets us on our feet
While logic keeps up from defeat
Logic makes us inquire
What emotion causes us to desire

This is not always the case however
Sometimes one is more heavier on the lever
Making us loosened and uneven
Causing a fall unforgiven

Our emotions can get the better of us
Making us falter, to fuss
Towards a path of ill-will
That is silly and overkill

Our logic can make us boring
Keeping us from soaring
We can be stubborn and cold
Causing us to fold

In this examination of our inner being
Do we know what we are seeking
Logic and emotion
Are both needed is my notion

We cannot be top heavy
And not expect be be unsteady
Neither can we be a bottom feeder
Never to be a leader

If you find yourself with style
And too much guile
You need some substance
For truthful sustenance

Emotion vs Logic
Is not a battle tragic
But rather a communion
A fruitful union

Your life needs both ideals
For you life to be real
Marching you towards your aspirations
Forming your solid formation.

In the deep and dark

In the deep and dark
Where the spiders play
The shadow knows no bounds
A sleeping giant is to lay

I have tried many things
Bury the hatchet
In the crevasse of my mind
In the back of the closet

But it keeps agitating
Disturbing the peace
Like wild mongrel dogs
Blocking the door no release

The drama implodes
Over and over
I need much more luck
Than a four leaf clover

Then it dissipates
And I think it sleeps
Naps for a moment
With one eye it peeps

Unknown of the time
Surely it shall yet again yell
What I cannot escape
This destructive betrayal.

The Right, Left and Center

John McCain is too liberal for the core conservative Republicans while Barack Obama is viewed as conservative Democratic courting Republican voters that those voters are called by the nickname Obama-cans. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton is trying to be viewed as strong not only in the economy, but also in terms of national security which is generally viewed as a Republican ideal. What does this all mean? That like me, a moderate, most Americans tend to be in the center of the political spectrum and that minor differences filter us into the groups known as Conservative Democrats, Independents and Moderate Republicans. This group of Americans are also known as the swing voters, the king-makers per say of the presidential election. This group of Americans are technically the most powerful group in the political system by virtue their numbers, however partisan politics split their power up. This group of voters should break away from their respective groups and form a new party, a moderate party, to reflect more accurately the current affairs of the American nation. Though I doubt this would ever happen, it definitely is quite an interesting thought experiment. What would happen? Where would be be? Maybe the state of America as a whole would be better off if it did. One day it might happen and I definitely would be on the front lines of this revolution. You never know. All it takes is a change of the hearts and minds of people. I am sure I am not the only one thinking of this change and possibly we could forge a new party in this political system of ours that better represents America's attitude and majority.

Thought of the Night

Would you gamble with the loyalty and respect of some of the closest friends and family around you with a divisive risk?

I tell you what. I would not because for me, my family and friends are a direct extension of who I am. If I risk their solidarity with me, then I'm risking myself. The only time, I would even come close to doing so is that I know for sure quite pragmatically that I was making a risk for absolutely and unquestionably the "right cause" despite the plausible losses. I would have to make sure such a decision would guarantee success without regret, that after that decision, my closest allies would eventually support me. Only in that case, would I even dare try such a brash gamble. I would not dare lose the confidence and trust of my family and friends. They come before me always because I give them my loyalty and respect. Call me odd, but I am not selfish in this individualistic society. I would rather torture myself then to sever the ties of my extension. This philosophical trait of mine is in direct relation to my upbringing and beliefs. I believe the first shall be last and the last shall be first as it is paraphrased in the Bible. I stoop below others and in return I earn the undeniable trust and sincere honesty of family and friends. For me, such an ideal is more important then a cowardly, selfish risk that would sever such ties. The question now is, would you take that risk?

I am who I am

Like a ticking clock
Surefooted in its ways
I believe in my own stock

The wild forces of nature
Cannot devour what is
My inner core stature

Lost I cannot be
The narrow path is straight
Lost I will not be

I seek the greater good
Of patience and humility
That is what I want understood

Obstacles can force me away
Whether minor or major
I will not be lead astray

What you get with me
Is a human being unique
Steadfast never to flee

I do not look for fame
I aim for character
Thats my claim to fame

A character with heart
Empathy and care
Is where I start

A friend and confidante
Loyal towards the end
Solid and staunch

Call me boring
My path of the narrows
In the end I shall be soaring

I do not seek to be special
I may be odd against the grain
Nonetheless never to be special

Do not get me wrong
I am not perfect
My failings make me wrong

I can be stubborn
Patience overarching
Extreme to a scorn

When it comes to a fight
I am ill and weak
I cower in the night

The lines of communications
Can be a cause of confusion
Unclear in my delusions

But these errors make me
The person standing invariably
Indeed a human to a tee

It keeps me grounded
Walking that narrow road
That is how I am founded

Day after day
In the sun and rain
I will go my way

I am who I am
Walking fowards
I am who I am.