Running the Distance of Life

As I was running today, a very interesting thought dawned upon me.  I realized that life is not actually much different from distance running, but in fact incredibly similar to it. In order to achieve personal success and satisfaction it doesn't matter what others have to say; it only matters how much will make you happy. In life we begin running when were born, the beginning is easy, but eventually it gets harder. In order to achieve personal success there are certain guidelines that I believe one must follow. When you get tired, you must push yourself to keep going. When you are exhausted you must push yourself once again to keep going. When you feel like quitting, you must AGAIN force yourself to keep going. The time that we can stop to enjoy our success is not when we've been worn out, or beat up, but instead when we, ourselves, decide it is time to stop and that we are truly happy with how far we've come. Now, we can't say that breaks aren't allowed, because breaks are necessary to keep oneself going, but in life and in running, we should never stop just because we want to quit. Personal success varies from person to person, be it becoming a manager at giant, having four kids, or becoming president of the United states, but in the end of the day we all have goals and they are all of equal importance. Whether we get hurt, or dragged down at any moment by people or events, we need to quickly lift ourselves back up and keep going through life and do whatever we must to achieve our personal goals and success, if we ever want to be truly happy.

The Destructive Nature of Lust

Love and lust are two very different things, that in many situations, have an equal amount of power over us as human beings. The difference is that Love usually leads to happier ending than instantaneous lust does. Lust has always been known as one of the seven deadly sins. The reason these “sins” are so deadly is because they lead the person who is guilty of the sin to eventual self sabotage and destruction. Lust, is one of the strongest out the seven, especially in the male race. As men, we have a very large tendency of losing all common sense and fully placing our thought process in the hands of our gentialia. This gets us into trouble many times, and can sometimes ruin something that is placed right in front of us. The scary thing is that lust actually has the power to manipulate the human mind into changing it morality, even if for a quick second. The problem is that, during that quick second, everything can potentially be changed for the worst.

            Mistakes made out of lust have destroyed friendships, relationships, and even empires. The problem with lust is that it is an empty emotion that has no backing to it. It is all the sexual desire of love without any of the emotional validity that comes with love. This is why the outcome almost always ends badly, especially when lust is used to sway ones judgment about an already iffy situation.

            I know that this may sound a tad more on the angry or negative side, but that really isn’t my point. The only thing that can heal the wounds caused by lust, is time and shown remorse for ones actions. The reason that friendships, relationships, and empires, have been ruined because of one lustful action, is because there was no chance given for healing. Instead, like a cancer, lust spread among the hearts of all those it affected, and grew into anger, hatred, and resentment. What I believe we need to do when someone close to use makes a mistake out of lust is that we should show them how it really hurt us, but also give it time. Forgiveness is possible in all situations and it really is the healthiest option, but it can sometimes be the hardest option as well. When a friend, lover, or colleague seem to have betrayed you all because they momentarily decided to think with their sex organs and not their brain, we shouldn’t so quickly get rid of them. Instead, we need to give it time. Some relationships are just too important to toss away, which is why it would be dumb to leave something behind all because of one action.

            People make mistakes, and I understand that, but before forgiveness there must be a consequence. If the person who made the mistake is willing to own up to it, realize their mistake, and not expect forgiveness…. That is actually when they deserve forgiveness the most. Lust can be a dangerous thing because we give it so much power and so much credit, but when dangerous lustful situations present themselves, the best way to avoid disaster is to take this lust and overcome it with logic as quickly as possible. Forgive and forget. When there are two people who partake in a situation fueled by lust, there are two sides. One person is known to be the instigator, which is the person who initiates the problem, and then there is the victim. The victim is just really guilty of being a human being and falling prey to temptation. Can't we all say that we've experience this? I know I have. So the one that eventually can be forgiven is the one who was the victim, as long as they realize that they made a mistake and that next time they will be more aware of what is happening. The last thing I would ever want in my life is to lose a great bond with someone just because of one dumb action. Don’t you agree?

Rebounding to Score the Winning Shot

There is somewhat of a social taboo when it comes to the concept of a rebound relationship, but what really is a rebound? People tend to believe that rebounding is always negative and that it is ones attempt to try and recover from the relationship that they have just left. Something that seems to be forgotten is that a rebound, in basketball terms, is when there is a missed shot and the ball is once against retrieved in order to try and score again. If this also applies to a human beings love life, can't there be the possiblity that someone can score off their first rebound?
Alot of people tend to put a very negative connotation on the concept of a rebound, but what if the first shot was actually meant to be missed and the rebound was the shot that turned out to be the winning shot? I think that sometimes, people stay in certain relationships because of comfort and not actually because of love, and when someone they truly may care about comes around they leave their "comfortable" relationship and leap into what may be the most emotionally satisfying experience of their lives. If true love actually does exist, does it really matter in what sequence it may present itself? Just because we are with someone, it doesnt mean that our true love may not present them selves right when your relationships may have ended.
I think that there is no reason to fear a rebound when there are true feelings between the two individuals. The only reason that a rebound relationship can be an issue is when the person who is rebounding is still hung up on their ex, but when the rebounder feels that they are actually moving on to something better, then that is when the shot will win them the championship game.
My main point here here is that we should not be afraid of love when it presents itself right after we may have lost a relationship, but instead embrace it, because even though you may catch the ball and have rebounded it, you wont have much time before the opposing team keeps you from scoring once more and making the shot that you have always been meant to make.