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Not everyone will understand your journey. That’s fine. It’s not their journey to make sense of. It’s yours.

Zero Dean

Author | Photographer | CG Artist | Filmmaker

We’re in this together

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“I don’t know how to save the world. I don’t have the answers or The Answer. I hold no secret knowledge as to how to fix the mistakes of generations past and present. I only know that without compassion and respect for all of Earth’s inhabitants, none of us will survive—nor will we deserve to.” — Leonard Peltier

The world’s problems will not be solved by building walls, discriminating against anyone who isn’t like “us”, or harming innocent people.

Hate, violence, shutting people out, and turning a blind eye to the needs of others never solved anything for long.

Want to make enemies? That’s how you do it.

The world’s problems will not be solved without taking steps to work together for the common good of the inhabitants of this planet.

You can help by acting with kindness, showing tolerance, and being the kind of person you wish there were more of.

Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.” — Kurt Vonnegut

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Afterword:

“How do we stop those who are hell bent on the death & destruction of anything they oppose?” is beyond the scope of any single individual to answer. And is certainly beyond the scope of this post.

That said, we should not allow the extreme minority to dictate the actions, attitudes & behaviors of the overwhelming majority in a way that makes the world a more violent, hostile, and unfriendly place to live.

“Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

We should not allow the disruptive actions of a few cause us to turn against each other or act in a way that is contrary to how we would wish to be treated.

It’s one thing to deal with these kinds of people directly. It’s another thing entirely to discriminate against and turn our backs to those who have nothing to do with the negative actions of those causing problems.

Stop encouraging mediocrity

Seen in a meme:

  • You’re amazing!
  • You’re beautiful.
  • You’re perfect!
  • You’re awesome.

The mere fact that a person exists does not make them awesome, amazing, or beautiful.

Contributing something positive to people’s lives and adding value to the world does.

Act and encourage accordingly.

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True value

Excerpt from: Today is day one.

The more that you incorporate things that you truly value into your life — from knowledge to skills to people to activities — the more value you not only bring to your own life, the more value you bring to the people and places you encounter on a daily basis.

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Be the kind of person that your heroes would be proud of.

Be the kind of person that your heroes would be proud of.

Be the kind of person that your heroes would be proud of.

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Originally published on: Dec 31, 2013 @ 22:20

Treat the world as if those you want to impress the most…

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Treat the world as if those you want to impress the most are the ones who have to clean up after you.

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Originally published on: Jul 12, 2014 @ 14:48

Be the embodiment of the qualities you seek in others.

Excerpt from: Want to feel better?

Be the embodiment of the qualities you seek in others.

 

Dear people who boast about how successful they are…

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Dear people who boast about how successful or wealthy they are or how awesome their life is,

Your insecurity is showing.

“It is always the secure who are humble.” — G K Chesterton

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If no one is surprised when you act like an assclown…

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If no one is surprised when you act like an assclown, then perhaps that’s a sign you act like an assclown a bit too much.

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Assclown: (American slang) Jerk, douchebag, asshat, asshole, Donald Trump…

Urban Dictionary: One, who, through the fault of his parents conception, is a skid mark in society’s collective underwear.

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Friends and enemies

Working through a problem with a 3rd party is one thing. Speaking badly about another person simply because you don’t like them is something else entirely.

If you wouldn’t say it to the person you’re speaking about, then perhaps it’s not the sort of thing you should be saying to someone else in their absence.

And if you’re not the kind of person who would stick up for a friend being spoken poorly of when they’re not present, then perhaps it’s time to consider what it means to be a friend.

Real friends may give each other shit — and often do — but they also don’t let others speak poorly of their friends in their absence.

Having integrity means sticking up for what you believe in even when it isn’t easy. And sometimes this means refusing to take part in conversations aimed at putting people down.

Learn to let people make up their own minds about others without trying to bond by creating a common enemy.

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