I haven’t occupied this body for any significant length of time, but what I’ve learned so far will serve to be a big help in the years to come. I can only imagine that from here it will grow increasingly challenging. What more could life throw at me? A lot more, I’m sure… and I must say that I’m not at all too happy with the likelihood of discovering the answer to that question. So here I am, thus far I’ve survived all of my battles and live to fight another day, however, not every battle is worth fighting, surprisingly it really does take a lot of practice to hone that reasoning skill. It’s all about playing a poor hand well, know when to hold them and know when to fold them, sometimes even fighting the battles that are worth fighting turn out to be losses. Pity, I’ve fought a lot of battles with that outcome, even though they were losses it was still the right thing to do anyway. Doing the right thing, that’s about the hardest thing you have to do in life. But why not, if you’re gonna do a thing it might as well be right. Sadly, sometimes we do the wrong thing, or we get wronged by someone else’s shitty decisions. Stay away from shitty decision makers; they’ll get you into a world of hurt.

I’ve also learned that friends are a dime a dozen, and real friends are hard to come by. Ain’t that the truth? There are too many selfish people in this world with an “every man for themselves” attitude, so if you don’t watch your own back then who will? The thing is, you never really can tell who has your back until you need them to watch it. The trick is to be a good judge of character; unfortunately that skill also takes a lot of practice. You have to dig through the muck and grime to find that nugget of gold, you know? No matter how small that nugget is, it’s still gold and worth all of the effort of finding it. That’s what a real friend is, a nugget of gold in a pile of dirt. Who woulda thunk it, eh? I know, not the most pleasant of analogies, but its suiting. People, regardless of how bad or good, influence our lives; there is something to be learned from everyone. We learn by example, always make sure that the example you are following is the right example, and those who give bad examples, learn what not to do from them. There are many things we could learn if we would simply pay attention to the failures and shortcomings of others; it really would save us the headache of finding out the hard way.

It’s difficult to grasp when you’re young that every decision you make now may affect your long-term future, be smarter about it than most, it will pay off in the end, no doubt about that. Be careful with your credit cards, they are no joke; you’ll regret using them unwisely. If you don’t know how to react to something, don’t react… think on it and calm down. Always show compassion and sympathy for those who are worthy of it. Respect isn’t earned, it’s mandatory… however, disrespect IS earned. Never go out of your way for someone you know will never go out of their way for you, they are a lost cause. Live with “the love of your life” before you marry them, you may be surprised, and if you are, you’ll be thankful that you found out sooner rather than later. If you get engaged, make it a long engagement, there is always useful knowledge you could gain by doing so. Don’t settle in life or love, wait until you know it feels right… if you don’t you could get into something that will take far more effort to get out of than it was to get in. Always be loyal to your family, however, know who is worthy of your loyalty… blood isn’t always thicker than water; it’s more complicated than that.

“The hippopotamus of worry hunkers down in the mire of muddy thinking” that’s what my grandmother always said. Don’t worry too much, whatever will be, will be. All you can do is press on and cope with the changing of the seasons, learn to accept the imperfections and embrace and hold onto the good times… it will get you through. When you think you have had enough, run that extra mile anyway, you CAN do it, even if you have to do it by yourself, don’t convince yourself that you are not able, that is the one lie that your enemies hope you’ll accept. Above all, never let your heart grow bitter, always give love, but only give to those you know will respect and be thankful for it. You are not a doormat, and you cannot save everyone… save yourself first. How can others rely on you if YOU need saving?
Those are my thoughts and only a fraction of the lessons I have learned so far, I am sure that life will grant me more wisdom in time…

This is Far_Skies… signing off… until next time.