A difficult life can make you strong and make you into a hard person, but being strong is the only of those two traits that matters for anything. Real strength comes from finding the power to endure, to get out of bed in the morning even when everything sucks and do your best every day, not from hardening one's mind and heart against the kindness and beauty of the world in the name of protecting one's self from potential harm that might never come. Be guarded of course, but only to a certain point, or you will miss chances by putting up too many defenses!

I would like to wish you all a happy holiday and joyous times with friends, family and loved ones. Remember that not everyone has those things to celebrate, and hold a good thought for those unfortunate souls while enjoying yourselves. They wouldn't want you to be miserable, but they also don't wish to be forgotten. Cherish the things you have, cherish every holiday you get to spend with those you can't live without, because one day, you will have to live without them. Happy Holidays, and the best of wishes to everyone!

Good morning to the world, to those having good days or bad ones. To those having a good day, you are already off to a great start, to those having a bad start, if you can make it good by the end of the day, you'll have done truly well for yourself and should congratulate yourself for doing so! I am a little under the weather today, but still having a good day!

Never stop caring about others, even those that have turned their backs on you. They had their reasons, whether you agree with them or not, and if you do not harden your heart against them, there is a real chance that they will eventually come back into your life when it is good for both parties, and if your heart is open to the chance, you may find yourself with a vastly-better version of the relationship you'd thought lost before. It isn't a perfect way of thinking, but the simple truth is that we have no way of knowing, in the moment, what the future holds. I am not saying welcome everyone back into your life, but be open, at least, to the possibility that others can grow and mature as you have done and have become better people for having done so. An open mind encourages growth!

If you are going to be kind, be kind for the sake of kindness, not because you are to get something out of it. If you are going to help someone, help them because you know it is the right thing to do, not for the feelings of good and right that it fills you with for having done the deed. But the same goes for the counterpoint, the darker things in life. Just because someone has been cruel, unkind, unfair, or mean to you, that doesn't give any of us the right to mistreat anyone else in return. That only continues the cycle of abusive behavior and poor attitudes, and with those kinds of behaviors held on to, it is impossible to advance as a species, let alone as a society of any meaningful nature.

We must always remember, and remind ourselves when we begin to forget, that for all of the pain we ourselves have endured, others have often suffered similarly, even if in different actual ways. We often forget, while hurting, that others have been treated badly and might understand the how and why of the way we are feeling, and we tend to snap at those that are just trying to reach out to us during our times of pain, our times of hurt and suffering, loneliness, and any of the other oft-agonizing emotions we experience when things happen to us and around us. It is okay to hurt, obviously, and no one can, or ever should try, to take that from you, but always make sure your hostility and unhappy feelings remain aimed at the right people, never those that try to help you, and especially not inwardly, for both are paths to poisoning your own life and making certain you remain miserable. Feel your pain, experience it and understand it so that you appreciate the good parts of your life more, and if there aren't

It has been a dark and dangerous road, getting this far. I have had my ups and my downs, my great days and my absolute hellish days, and despite it all I have continued to push forward, and I will always do so. I had almost convinced myself that I had no strength left, but I have found it again and I will never let it go! I am firm and resolute in my course and I will never let anyone pull me down again!

I should be back to being social and talking ears off again soon, my glasses broke, right across the bridge, and I haven't been able to get them replaced, but I am working on it. Just sucks to stare at anything when I can't focus right lol

Somewhere along the line, we all must realize that no matter how the world or those in it may try, nothing and no one can break us, for only we have that power. And, though we can certainly be bent until we feel like we are near to breaking, we can likewise be bent back into some semblance of the former with the improvements brought on by the gaining of experience. We just have to remind ourselves that we are much stronger than we think, and the burdens of the world seem much lighter.

Be the cause of someone's day getting better, not the reason it continued poorly or became worse, because you never know just what they are going through at that moment, let alone the vast mass that might exist within them from all they have already lived through. A smile and a friendly word here and there can have a profound effect, and whether you are around to see the longer-term effects of that small kindness, you may have changed their entire day just by reminding them of something so rarely seen these days, the kindness of strangers. Seriously, support from friends and family is great, but when someone you don't know at all just pops into your life and helps you smile, that is a special kind of boon!

Despite the considerable number of irritants and annoyances I live with in my apartment alone, I somehow have managed to find a decent mood again. It isn't completely from the use of positive thinking, though that did, certainly, play a very large part in it, but, regrettably, the remaining, and still not-inconsiderable, part is that cold sense that no matter what any of the idiots I live with do from this point on, when I get a chance to leave them behind, I will move on. I have given them all more than enough of my life, and suffered more than enough mistreatment at their hands, and they haven't done anything but hold whatever they have done for me over my heads. No one needs those kinds of people, and I am just not going to let them bother me anymore. When the chance for something good and healing comes along, then it will be time to cut things clean with them and move on :) Positive thinking AND realistic setting of goals! :)

Normally I post positive, uplifting messages, and I do so because I wish to raise up those around me. True strength is shared strength, after all. But today I can't think of anything positive. On top of having a severe jaw infection that turned into a blood infection, I also ripped a toenail off while stumbling around in a delirious state, and then had to put up with people being downright stupid all night, and the combination of things seems to have done some serious damage to how I think and feel at the moment. I am asking for strength from others today, because I am almost out of my own.

Eventually there comes a time where everyone realizes that they weren't actually broken by the things they thought broke them, and when that time finally comes, that is when healing can begin. Just because we feel like we are no longer ourselves after enduring trauma or hard times, that doesn't mean we can't get back to what we used to be, or, barring that, become something better than we were before by turning pain into strength. Others can help you lift yourself from the ground, but only you can truly rise from within your suffering!

No matter how the previous day ended or how the following one starts, a bad day doesn't have to be a bad day, it can be turned into a good one with a combination of positive self-talk, a little healthy change of perspective, and the belief that there is good, even among the bad things that happen every day. Just can't give in to the sensationalized negativity!

Always remember, any day can be a good day, all it takes is adjusting your perspective! Even if someone is a jerk, it doesn't really matter, right? Have a great day everyone!

Pain, suffering, and all of the negative feelings we experience in our lifetimes aren't a sign of weakness to acknowledge. It is these things, these unpleasant experiences that, if we change our perspective about them, that actually allow us to grow into better, stronger people. It may not be pleasant, but it is only through experiencing the things we do not enjoy in life that we truly come to appreciate the actual good things in our lives a lot more! I wish everyone the best of luck turning any future bad moods around!

Sometimes life is good, and sometimes life throws you curve balls, lemons, heck, even grenades sometimes, but it isn't the actions that determine how we handle what happened, it is our thought processes and belief systems, which are at the root of our very being, that determines how we will act, and while those things may seem immutable, they can, seriously, be changed, though it may often require a substantial effort. Change isn't easy, and happiness requires effort, putting in time to build and strengthen relationships with those that help you feel strong, and if people aren't willing to put in the time and effort, then odds are they really aren't your friends.

Standing up for one's self isn't arguing, or picking a fight or being a tyrant, it is asking people to respect you and to treat you better, it is telling them that what they are doing isn't okay and that if they want to keep you in their life, they should work on changing. Don't let others tell you you have no choice but to put up with a bad situation, you always have a choice, and most of the time, those people that you cut out of your life for their toxic behaviors weren't actually your friend in the first place. The ones that actually care about you will hear you out, listen to how you feel, always remember that!

Hatred, "justified" or otherwise, isn't good for anyone to hold on to. Hatred is a poison, one that first seeps into our spirit, then impacts our health, work, and friendships with people that aren't even the one you are so angry at. Hatred, no matter how much you may feel it is appropriate regarding this event or that person or what have you, is self-perpetuating, and often self-increasing, meaning it swiftly gets out of control. Every time you indulge in it, it is that much easier to do it again and that much more difficult to stop. It may not be easy, but you are strong enough to abandon such a toxic emotion, all you have to do is believe in yourselves!

I am not a man of peace because I do not believe there is a need for violence. I am a man of peace because I believe that all peaceful options should be exhausted before resorting to actions that would harm another. I believe this way because I would not wish harm inflicted upon myself.