Invincible Within Me - Albert Camus

Let It Be Hope

“If you only carry one thing throughout your entire life, let it be hope. Let it be hope that better things are always ahead. Let it be hope that you can get through even the toughest of times. Let it be hope that you are stronger than any challenge that comes your way. Let it be hope that you are exactly where you are meant to be right now, and that you are on the path to where you are meant to be. Because during these times, hope will be the very thing that carries you through."

- Nikki Banas

My 2020 Reasons: Why I Will Not For Trump - Again

“Maybe I’ve changed the party a lot over the last three years,” Mr. Trump said at his Town Hall Meeting on 10/15/20. 

Understatement of the year. 

I don’t recognize the Republican Party anymore. It is now the Trumpican Party. 

I will not support Trump or his party, and here is why: 

Trump’s Policies: What policies? Trump has no plans or policies. On the single most important issue of our time, the COVID-19 pandemic, he has failed to lead. In general, when it comes to Trump’s policy, both foreign and domestic, it has been erratic, incompetent and incoherent. There are many world leaders who have expressed concern over Trump and his actions. This is backed up by over 500 high ranking military officers and national security experts who have recently warned that Trump is a security risk. This is extremely unusual. Also, Trump’s financial situation makes him a huge threat to security ($400+ million in debt to a foreign source?). I can’t think of one Trump “policy” that can overcome the importance of these warnings. In fact, the Republican Party didn’t even come up with a platform this year. Has he ever had much to say about any policies or plans for his second-term agenda? 

Supreme Court: As for the court picks, we could have had Conservative judges nominated with any of the other Republicans who were running in 2016 - and without the ruinous, divisive rhetoric and erratic behavior. 

Communications: In his speeches and tweets, Trump constantly mocks, insults, denigrates and speaks disrespectfully of anyone who disagrees with him. Savannah Guthrie had it right when she intimated that through his tweeting he acts like someone’s crazy uncle. Yet, he has had kind words for conspiracy theorists, and his words have emboldened racist groups. He wouldn’t say whether he had tested negative for the coronavirus on the day of the first debate, and he has continued to undermine the legitimacy of the 2020 vote. 

Accomplishments. There are some lists out there that try to attribute greatness to Trump’s accomplishments. But there are also many opposing views available to his so-called accomplishments that would clarify or categorize them as either: 

• Naturally occurring government actions, 

• Results of actions performed by or situations existing under the previous administration, 

• Accomplishments that any better, more ethical and presidential Republican leader could or would have pursued, 

• Grandstanding actions having little to no impact, 

• Actions that have many negative impacts on the country, the world, or both, 

• Results performed entirely by others that Trump had little awareness of, 

• Short-sighted and short lived. 

Beyond all that, there is a much lengthier list of all the negative actions and heavy impacts of Trump's negative behavior on the country and the world. In the grand scheme of things, I predict we'll find that the overall net balance of having Trump in office has put us in a much worse place. 

Character. This is a BIG concern for me. What we as a nation are willing to accept in the character of our leaders is very important. Nearly everything Trump does and says is laden with big red flags revealing is negative character. I have a long list of unethical and illegal things Trump has done and said, but I won’t bore you with those here. If interested, see many of those in my reasons for not voting for Trump the last go around, at: 2016 - Reasons Not to Vote for Trump.

He lies constantly. And if it might be construed that he is not lying, his communications are full of half-truths, misrepresented facts and self-aggrandizing malarkey. My concern for the future is the example we are allowing him to set for our kids, grandkids, and beyond, and the negative impacts his bad character is having and will continue to have on our nation and the whole world. 

Character matters. A lot. 

Vote for the Collective? But what about the collective idea: let’s just go with the collective party of “good men” and ignore Trump’s antics, lack of good leadership, bad character, unethical actions and horrible example. Who are the collective anyway? In Trump’s party, many are spineless cronies, politicians not wanting to make waves and lose their position, or they are his hand-picked leaders who are either yes-men, unwilling to challenge him, or they have since been kicked out from the collective. During the last four years, an unprecedented number of people who have served in the most important positions in the Trump administration have declared, in effect, that he is unfit to be president. The assessments of individuals handpicked by Trump, with first-hand knowledge of his conduct in office, ought to carry a lot of weight. 

Some of the important, high-level, respected men who have spoken out against Trump include those he once praised and appointed: 

• Former CEO of Exxon Mobil Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State 

• Retired Marine four-star General James Mattis as Secretary of Defense 

• Senator Dan Coats as Director of National Intelligence 

• John Bolton as National Security Adviser 

• Former Marine Corps General John Kelly as White House Chief of Staff 

My view is that as long as we have Trump at the helm of the Republican Party, the collective group that are taking his commands will not serve us well. He will continue to be emboldened in his idiocy and negativity, while becoming even more idolized by some, increasing a threat of his dictatorial attributes and motivations. 

A Detour is Needed. I don't believe there is a best way to go with this election. I wish there was a third party with a moderate/center stance. Unfortunately, that does not seem to realistically be in our near future. But I believe there is a better way than voting for Trump; the only viable alternative is for Biden. Although there are things that I don't care for with Biden, a lot of what his option offers is good, including a willingness to work with both sides and restore some unity. 

I consider voting for Biden to be only a temporary detour, which may allow the GOP to re-group and present a better, more responsible and respectful leader. I believe this detour is needed so that we won't drive right into a large pit that has several large warning signs in front of it. It is my conviction that Trump will drive us on a bumpy road and ultimately into that pit. We need to turn, and then hopefully soon, we can return to a better constructed path forward.

Morgan Freeman on Self Control

Planning and Dreaming

"We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us." - Joseph Campbell

Planning things always give us a sense of relief, like even if the road gets rocky, we would still have control over the steering wheel.

If there is one thing that the recent times have taught me, it is that things really can go in a direction you couldn't even imagine. I have planned things that didn't work out the way I had assumed my whole life, but my life still seemed to learn how to navigate.

I think, one reason is because I never let go of planning things. If one plan failed, there was always another one waiting to be created and just like that, every outcome became a real life dotting on a calendar.

If there's one thing I've learnt through it all, it is that that there is a difference between letting go of dreams and letting go of plans. Many times when I assumed that it was my dreams that I did not want to give up on, it was merely a plan that I had created to reassure myself. Giving up on it felt like being hopeless. Gradually, I am learning that my plan does not have to become a dream and vice versa. That maybe the best things will happen, in between those two worlds.

-Isa Khan

Making a Difference

How do you measure making a difference?

By impacting your cause and effects? By raising your bank balance? By making a mark in your name? By creating? By making a stranger think about you on a particularly rainy day?

People cannot save people. Only we have the power to be able to save ourselves. But on some days, people can offer you a hand and on days like that, it is all you need to be able to trust yourself again.

Maybe, you offering a hand is not going to change the world.

Or maybe, it can.

You don't have the be the sailor to save a drowning boat. Maybe, you can just be the person holding a fearful hand in the corner and that makes all the difference in the world.

- Isa Khan

Gratitude

Live Your Dreams, Not Your Fears

"Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears." - Les Brown

For me, courage is not being unafraid of something, rather it is doing something that you're afraid of. You can stand on the edge, contemplating what would be on the other side and beating yourself up. You can also take the fall, realise that things have become worse/better, get up and keep going your way.

Navigating through life is pretty simple, until you become the person who starts making your heart race.

Challenge yourself. Take calculated risks. Go after what you want. Learn how to fall.

When you look back, life becomes a reel of memories and every challenge is just a step towards you becoming the person that you are today. Someone who learnt to be afraid, and beautifully so.

"Never let it be said that to dream is a waste of time, for dreams are our realities in waiting. In dreams, we plant the seeds of our future". - Unknown

The only predictable thing in life is it's unpredictability, right? You wake up tomorrow and you go along with your day, having planned it out in your mind. But, little moments, little things happen as life takes its course.

You wake up tomorrow and you spend your day planning, rushing, hustling for the future until one you don't.

Every single one of us is searching for something in our lives.We don't know where we're heading. We don't know where we'll go. We don't know which path we'll take. We don't know where we'll be standing in the next 10 years. Honestly, it never made sense to me, living your life years ahead.
But, to keep a small goal for everyday, for waking up and being grateful, for having a purpose to fulfil is what makes life meaningful.

- Isa Khan

Get Better: The Choice Belongs to You

Educate the Heart

- Aristotle