The Judgment Card

Today:

The Destination is the Journey.

The untouchable taste of freedom—the cost can be more than a lifetime.

Freedom is not free.

He allows us the freedom to be, You and Me.

What we choose to do each day is always up to us. In good times and in bad. In sickness and in health.

As long as we all shall live.

That’s the rub.

To be or not to be, is that the question.

Gosh. No.

We are the property of no one. We own only our decisions when fear and triangulation do not point us in the right direction, too inward.

Mendicant or property in common, including land, building and “other wealth.” Before dashing to the nearest farmer’s market for the less limp celery.

Allow that though to sautée on the mind of “giving it all up” cuz it sounds good. In good times. In bad times. In sickness. In health.

That itinerary itinerant may look and sound appealing—like a good ole delicious air plane boxed meal. Before you consider it a way of life, the temporary nomad lifestyle.

Consider this.

Promises are made to be broken.

Life on the streets is a choice for some. Not so, for others.

Who writes the rules of the game.

Not me.

Why not? Write the rules of the thing, maybe, the mess that life can be sometimes. Inside. Outside. On a bench. On the ground.

Yesterday:

Bad times.

Hard times.

Badder times.

Harder times.

It is often said, what does not kill us makes us stronger.

O.k.

Now what.

Feeling strong with nothing really to show for it.

Here.

Hoping to be there.

We spend. We spend our doubts counting the ways, keeping score, comparing ourselves to others, all because we are not always,

Sure.

of our own mortality and morality.

We are neither sure, certain, convinced—all the “iffy” words of indecision, doubt and fear.

We play cards.

We play the judgment cards—on others—while we think we will or can sneakily in our laurels of goodness and “they-never-saw-it-coming-ness.” We scooped and fooled the foolish. And we have the card to prove it.

We. All come in different shapes and sizes. Sure. Yes. No two people are alike. Even twinning twins. A pair of a pair.

What’s the point? The triangle of points? The three sided monster? The three headed monster? The three sided monster of a jagged circle that starts and stops abruptly when our fears fear their fears. An endless hamster wheel and merry go round all rolled into one👹. The triangle of sometimes pointless points.

We clumsily and arrogantly hold on to these cards to use against another because mercy and forgiveness, when not earned properly can feel so,

Cheap.

And.

Easy.

The cycle continues. The values de-valued.

Life can feel so much better with hard work and cooperation.

It takes a lot of courage.

A lot. (Please do not let the word scare you, it is actually a good word, or two words. A lot, it means much, mucho, etcetera.)

It takes a lot of courage to ask,

For help.

When we do not “got this.” What stymies us?

Well.

Us.

Me.

Myself.

And I.

In case you may not have noticed in all the judgey-card playing, it is a big world out there. Who will you be there for when the cards are gone and the chips are too? How will you be there? What touches you? Your heart. Your core?

We are all here for a reason.

Really.

Some pleasant. Some unpleasant.

Some reason. Some reasons.

A past.

A present.

A future

A desire.

To do and be more than we were before.

Some may think of others as “hit the peak”…. their only way to go is down…..

Not so. Not so. Oftentimes a ruckus is all that is left to spit and stir the pot.

If we live to tell our story. Even better. We can extend the grace and mercy to another with confidence. The confidence to tell their story—especially the many parts wherein they always thought they were,

Wrong.

He gives us confidence that we are not just blowing smoke🙂in another’s face, another’s eyes. Mostly it helps us to really open our own eyes, really open them to the world around us.

It is a beautiful place. We are all a part of it. We are lucky to be able to participate in the rabble rousing nature of existences day in and day out.

Some of us. Land in places we never would have imagined for ourselves. Good and Bad.

We were taught this.

We were taught that.

We were taught to stay out of trouble.

The Other Day:

One desperate day.

Trouble found us.

Hit us upside the head. The childhood lessons we learned lost in a haze of foggy realities. And “what nows.”

Lost.

Lost our way.

Lost of moral grounding. In attempts to right the wrongs we failed to protect. And allowed the tentacled triangular strangulation of doubt, to take a strangled hold of our better judgement.

No cards to play. No cards left to shuffle.

Seriously.

New. Is not always better.

Old. Is not always worse.

Triangulation strangulation.

Ouch.

Footstep by painful footstep,

Tomorrow:

Before you plan to give it all away, like He did.For us.

Consider whether or not gumption sits at the core of your being. Not so much in the “iffy”, as in the can you “pull it off”.

More so. What of our own moral failings are we trying to pull off.

Why are you trying to pull it off? Alone?

The band aid that covers all the wounds and scars are best healed when shared with others.

Others who cast. Judgment. The Judgment Card. Best to beware. In time, they surely will cast the judgement back onto you. There is a lot to be said for walking the same path and successfully coming out on the other side,

Whole and complete.

Like a perfect four sided square.

When doubt renders us unable to “put our finger on it.”

Cast fear aside. Judgments, past and present, too.

Embrace the ride.

Embrace the now.

Bumps and all.

Put your own cards on the table.

Declare honest intentions.

Breathe.

Be thankful for another day to try good again.