Use this Trick, when you feel Tired and Tense

Today, I had a lot of unpleasant work to do and found it difficult to motivate myself to stay on task. Though I had enough sleep last night, I felt tired and tense. My scalp and face muscles were tense to the point of hurting.

Even after taking a nap, I still felt tired and tense, and found it difficult to stay on task.

Then I remembered a trick that I used to do whenever I felt tired, tense, and overwhelmed. I used to say to myself "Lord, let Thy will be done, not my will." Besides saying this, I used to alternately tighten and relax my tensed muscles to loosen them up.

This trick would relax me and enable me to get much work done in a short amount of time. I would feel "in the zone," "on the ball," "a sense of flow," "in the groove," etc. In other words, I would be working optimally.

After using this trick, my muscles loosened up, I felt more energized, and I got much work done. Yep, this trick still works.

My Car, a Canada Goose, and Life Lessons

Yesterday morning, I was driving my car in the morning rush hour. Suddenly, I saw a flock of Canada Geese crossing the road. I attempted to detour around the geese to avoid hitting them, but there was a Canada Goose following farther behind the flock that I couldn't avoid hitting.

I heard a thump on my car bumper, and the Canada Goose was knocked to the left shoulder of the road. I looked in my rear-view mirror and saw the goose lying there weakly flapping one of its wings.

I felt terrible, since I thought that I may have killed the Canada Goose. I never killed an animal before while driving my car. I can usually spot an animal at a safe distance and avoid hitting it.

Then I started pondering that life is often unpredictable and short. Anyone or anything can die at anytime. Not too long ago, I lost a good friend to stomach cancer. She was young, didn't smoke, only drank socially, and jogged everyday. Everyone that knew her was shocked, since she was always a picture of good health.

Indeed, life can be unpredictable and short. We can go at anytime. Therefore, we shouldn't waste our life on foolishness. Instead, we should spend our life on things that matter most.

Any one of us at anytime can be that Canada Goose.

Bill Cosby, Hip Hop Culture, and Parents

Entertainer Bill Cosby did several public lectures regarding the effects of the hip hop culture on the youth.

Bill Cosby spoke out against the effects of the hip hop culture such as illegal drug dealing, teenage pregnancy, high school dropouts, anti-intellectualism, vulgarity, thievery, offensive clothing, vanity, parental alienation, and single-parenting.

Is Bill Cosby correct in doing this? The answer is yes.

The hip hop culture is a culture that embraces criminal behavior and shuns education. It's a culture that glamorizes drive-by shootings, drug dealing, pimping, gangs, degrading women, and other irresponsible behavior. It's a culture that considers anyone going to college or following the Ten Commandments as "acting white."

So what's the solution? The solution is that parents need to start acting like parents.

Many "parents" allow their children to run loose in the neighborhood, without any moral training, supervision, or expectation of them becoming productive members of society. These "parents" allow their children to listen to hip hop music, dress hip hop, and act hip hop.

Parents need to teach their children moral behavior. Failure to do this is one of the worst things that a parent can do to a child. Parents should not allow their children to listen to hip hop music, watch pornography, smoke dope, or involve themselves in other corrupting activities.

Instead, parents should make their children do their homework and study hard in school, make them go to church every Sunday, make them attend bible study classes, and make them work part-time after school.

Indeed, parents should make their children behave responsibly when they're children, so that they can one day become responsible adults.

Bill Cosby was right.