You Really Don’t Know Someone…
So true what they say… you don’t really know someone until you’ve lived, worked or traveled with them!
Truth
The Four Agreements
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
1. Be Impeccable With Your Word: Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth & love.
2. Don’t Take Anything Personally: Nothing others do is because of you. What others say & do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions & actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.
3. Don’t Make Assumptions: Find the courage to ask questions & to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness & drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
4. Always Do Your Best: Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best & you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse & regret.
Happy For No Reason
“When you’re happy for no reason, you bring happiness to your outer experiences rather than trying to extract happiness from them. You don’t need to manipulate the world around you to try to make yourself happy. You live from happiness, rather than for happiness.” – Marci Shimoff
Living With Integrity
“Living with integrity means: Not settling for less than what you know you deserve in your relationships. Asking for what you want & need from others. Speaking your truth, even though it might create conflict or tension. Behaving in ways that are in harmony with your personal values. Making choices based on what you believe & not what others believe.” – Barbara De Angelis
A DENT IN OUR PRESENT
I wrote this in June 2006 on the plane back to NJ after a quick trip to Miami to find a place to move. I remember a friend telling me back then & again today that it made them think of WW3. I didn’t write it with that in mind. It had to do with our gov, President Bush at the time, marriage, etc. So here we are, 7 yrs later, still dealing with the same issues & this poem means just as much to me today as it did back then. I’d like to share it with you.
A DENT IN OUR PRESENT
We’re disillusioned
Led purposely to confusion
With no absolution to ease the minds of the youth
We desperately need to rethink & regroup
The lessons we’re learning are so unreal
In fact, we never learn the real deal behind the closed doors
Constant spiels of bullshit spitting on our faces
While many unfortunate minds just accept it
Some never question it
But many are guessing it
So when will we know the real deal?
When it’s too late while we wait?
Though we already know the truth
We just don’t have all the proof, yet!
But take a good look…
We’re blindly conditioned through wars & religion
TV & films… desensitized against our own will
Violence & hatred portrayed as entertainment
Modeling shows teaching perfection
But we walk the runways of life anyway
Feeling constant rejection, no self love, no acceptance
Bling Bling blinding the blingers from seeing past their own diamonds & Cadillac grills
Spilling exaggeration & foolishness
Neglect for money & all about respect?
For who? For what? For what have you done? For who?
All the fabulousness & labels
Alienating their own audience who can’t even relate
Since they’re not getting nearly as paid
Homophobic evil from political leaders
Marriage so sacred while we ask
“Who wants to marry a millionaire?” on the TV air
Then call it a day & go your separate ways
Cause it was just a game anyway
WELL NOT FOR US!
Reality stars making it big without anything real to give
And we give in anyway
Sitting like fools watching fake life happen
We’re being shelved as humans
Secret workman fighting for our own freedom
But not fighting at all
Since there seems to be no cause
And if one is created it’s quickly disseminated
Until we forget…
Meanwhile, there are greedy power wars
Against 3rd worlds we know can’t endure
The wrath of the political ass we call a president
When in reality; he’s just a dent in our present!
Unpublished © CJ Mendez, 2006
Live With Integrity
“Living with integrity means: Not settling for less than what you know you deserve in your relationships. Asking for what you want & need from others. Speaking your truth, even though it might create conflict or tension. Behaving in ways that are in harmony with your personal values. Making choices based on what you believe & not what others believe.” – Barbara De Angelis
True To Who I AM
I’m not perfect, never was & never will be… but I’m honest, I don’t play the fool, I don’t pull the wool over people’s eyes, I don’t cover up important information, lie for my benefit, use people, keep them in the dark or take them for bullshit rides. I’ve never screwed anyone over to get ahead & I don’t play mind games. I’m transparent in all my affairs. I respect & keep it real with everyone. I’m not an ass kisser, brown noser, brownie point keeper or any of that related shit. I do what I need to do to get by honestly. If you have to put on a fake smile & fake your way through, it’s not worth it. I adapt, but I don’t conform. I’m true to myself. I honor my integrity, my love & my light. I keep good karma because you get what you give, and sometimes you get it back 10 fold, whether good or bad, you reap what you sow. I rest peacefully every night knowing I keep true to who I am.
Martin Luther King, Jr & Barack Obama
“Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away & the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love & brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.” –Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.” -President Barack Obama
“When our days become dreary w/ low-hovering clouds of despair & when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way & transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. – Martin Luther King, Jr.”
“Today commemorates the birth date of a modern day martyr, Dr. Martin Luther King. I am forever grateful to Dr. King as I remember the way he attempted to impact people who have long killed the messenger without trying to understand the message. This most special day remembers the birth of the man who dedicated his entire life promoting a message of equality, truth & fairness. Let each of us today promote peace in our own way. One of the ways we can do that is to invite peace into our lives, starting with what should be a most peaceful sanctuary, the bedroom. Using any shade of blue or green in that space is believed to heal both the spirit & the soul. From the paint on the walls to the accessories all around, try a splash of blue. And then go green. Heal you. Heal the planet. In honor of someone who tried to do exactly that. Happy birthday, Dr. King. I share your dream.” – Ellen Whitehurst
CJ's InSight 