These things I believe:

You can't make someone else happy until you are happy with yourself. Satisfy yourself first.

The very best family isn't always those related by blood.

The best things and most things worth having are those that don't come easy.

All the bad things we go though are those that make us stronger and better people.

You never know just how strong you are until you have to be.

You should never, ever stop learning. Books, life, people, and yourself. When you stop learning, you start to die a little quicker every day.

Holding things in isn't good for you. I've learned this the hard way.

Religion or belief in a higher power, at it's simplest concept, is a damned powerful thing.

Those that genuinely love you will tell you the absolute truth, no sugar coating or bullshit, no matter how much it hurts.

Those closest to you are far more capable of cutting deeper than any stranger can.

Science doesn't solve everything. Religion doesn't solve everything. The more likely case is that it's a little of both and something that cannot be explained by either independently.

Sometimes, both sides are right.

My education or job does not define me. I am more than a piece of paper.

If I can be half as fantastic as my grandmother, I will be a great person.

I believe all the things in my past, good and bad, have made me who I am today. It's taken me a long damned time, but I think I might like her just a little.

This I Believe

This I believe...

One of the most important, but often overlooked, elements in a relationship is to want your partner's happiness more than your own. This should not be a chore, you should genuinely want to make your partner happy. But you should never feel like you HAVE to.

Do your job to the best of your ability and be proud of the work you do.

Liking cats more than dogs does not automatically make you a "crazy cat person".

No one is more entitled than anyone else in this world. If you want something you must earn it, buy it, or create it yourself. Do not wait for things to be handed to you.

You can believe in god in a vague sort of way, with no organized religion attached.

"Diet" is a four letter word, do not deprive yourself. Eat a (mostly) healthy diet and get some exercise.

Plan for the future but live in the present. Enjoy your life now. There is no prize for dying with the biggest savings account.

"Everything in moderation" is a wonderful motto. It can be applied to almost every aspect of life.

Always try to be the bigger person. It won't always be possible but the important part is trying.

Love will come when you least expect it.

You should not let other people's judgments dictate your life. You will waste a lot of energy trying to satisfy everyone else, and it is impossible to do so.

We will ruin the Earth if we keep going in the same direction. Too many people want to take and take and never give anything back. It is time to recognize that we have to have a symbiotic relationship with the Earth. If we take care of her, she will take care of us.

v.30

This I Believe, v.30

I Believe that at 30, my life just started. I have already done a lot, have been through a lot, and have learned from it all. Now it is time to take these lessons and use them to move forward.

I believe that it will get worse before it gets better. But it will get better.

I believe that those who truly love you will know the truth no matter what you tell them. When someone asks how you are and you say that you’re good, and they continue to ask you until you tell them the truth, that is a person worth keeping in your life.

I believe that those who have no interest in learning the truth are not worth keeping in your life. But I still miss some of them.

I believe that people are not inherently good or bad, we are just people. And we are all worthy of love.

I believe that our choices can be good or bad, but we often have the option to make even the bad ones good. If not, we can accept the past and choose to make better decisions in the future.

I believe wholeheartedly in hard work and compassion.

I believe that my daughter will be a better person than me. It should always be our hope that the next generation is better than ours. To me, she is perfect regardless.

I believe that we can all heal, but our scars will always be there.

I believe that being ashamed of our scars will not get us anywhere.

I believe that eventually I will be able to enjoy a day without flooding my head with sad thoughts. I have to believe this or I could not move forward.

I believe that there are people worth trusting and loving in this world, but it is not always easy to find them. I will keep searching for more of you.

I believe that when I find peace within myself, the rest will follow. I am getting there.

At 23

I believe in all the Gods, and trust none of them.

I believe in one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, which I no longer attend.

I believe in Twitter, Facebook, text messages, pie, and all the other tangible things people say they don't believe in.

I believe in all the things I can see, and more than a few things I can't.

I believe in evil.

I believe in good.

I believe that people are better than we give them credit for, but worse than we may hope.

I believe there is no right way to live your life, but there are more than a few wrong ways.

I believe there is sin.

I believe there is salvation.

I believe that the human experience cannot be explained singularly by science, culture, or religion, but by a combination of all three.

I believe in a thing called love.

I believe there are more things on heaven and earth than are dreamt of in philosophy.

I believe that bad things happen to good people, that good things happen to bad people and that there is no reasonable explanation for either.

I believe that natural disasters are natural.

I believe in myself, because I can't count on anyone else to.

I believe.

The Lattice

In A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers describes the human community as a lattice:


"The lattice is the connective tissue...I see us as one, as a vast matrix, an army, a whole, each one of us responsible to one another, because no one else is."

To be a part of the lattice, you don't need to be brilliant, or rich, or powerful. You just need to believe in the lattice, and be. Those words have stuck with me for years. I am part of a smaller lattice, and that lattice has both made me who I am and kept me strong. It is comprised of the people that I love, people who have passed through my life, and sometimes people I don't know at all. My mother, my sister, my family and friends, my loved ones who have gone on to a better place, every boy I ever dated, the Cannonball Read participants, Pajibans, random people whom I pass on the street or hold the door for me - every one of these people have built and reinforced my personal lattice and brought something new and special into my life.

The framework of my lattice is love, kindness, and caring. When these things are interlocked they become stronger than the sum of their parts and they bear me up. By the same token, I am part of someone else's lattice. I may not even know it. But with each kind gesture, supportive word, or expression of encouragement and love, I am helping to bear someone else up. One of the best examples of this connection is Facebook; how many friends do you have on that social networking site whom you've actually met in real life? Often it is the friends you don't "know" who are there to support you when you lose your job, your home, a loved one, your mind. One small kindness adds another rung to someone's lattice. We are responsible for each other. We are responsible.

I believe in the lattice.

April Theme: This I Believe

I don't know how many of you listen to NPR or are familiar with Edward R. Murrow's series by this name. I was hooked on the NPR series since they restarted it a few years ago and every time I heard it, I'd think, "I'm going submit something!" I didn't and now the has series ended.

While in its most recent on air version, there were a number of famous people sharing their beliefs, I loved the idea of a platform where people could share their principles. Listening (and reading the essays) over time, one sees that some beliefs are fundamental to who the people are and has always been with them; like Muhammad Ali's essay, I Am Still the Greatest (which is one of my favorites). Others' beliefs are results of experiences that shape them over time.

So this month's assignment is one dear to me. Tell us what you believe and why.