Rivenrock Gardens Blog

Timeline: Hwy 101, headed South on the Central Coast:

   A van blazes by me with the sticker "Laugh Now, Cry Later" and the Thespian logo with the masks; one laughing and one crying. Flashes of memory come to me, convicts, gang members, criminals of all sorts with the same strange moniker tattooed on their skin. One of the 'Inner-City' mantra's, endlessly repeated and thoughtlessly engaged in. The tenants of the 'concrete-jungle' and their sad lives, fruitlessly partying today and throwing away tomorrow.

   One of the indicators of maturity is often taken to be the ability to put off 'immediate gratification' for greater long-term gains in the future. This can be something as simple as finishing school so that you can get a better job with a diploma, or as long-term as saving some dollars now to be able to invest and save for retirement.

   Unfortunately, so many in the large cities seem to be unable to plan for the future. Perhaps this is because they are constantly bombarded by the media and the politicians (who need their dependence) with the notion that they have no future, that they are a marginalized and a 'throw-away' people.

   I have seen so many clever crooks in my life, and have constantly wondered about what makes an otherwise bright person use their craftiness and god-given abilities to pursue short-term gains that will likely lead them to their own death or imprisonment. Why would a person pursue a criminal venture that carries high risks of capture for ill-gotten returns that are so often heedlessly squandered in a flash of short-term high-living, only to require that they again return to the same criminal enterprise to continue their extravagant lifestyle?

   When one is open to the world, when one can look at others and see what makes and what breaks people, one can see what one must do to be able to live a decent life. Finish school, whether it be high school or college, and get a decent job and work diligently at it with honor and ability. Put your skills to use for your employer or customers, and maintain a standard of living that is less than your income. In other words, live below your means. Marry the right person with the same values you have, don't yearn for more than you can easily procure, and put money aside to get you by when things would otherwise be tight. And above all, don't engage in criminal enterprises or get involved in drugs or overdrinking.

   I often run across young people who have given up on life, they failed in school and dropped out. With no diploma it is hard to get decent work, so they live on low wages and menial labor if they work at all. This can be the beginning of a downward spiral that often culminates in drinking and drugs, because it is easy to be content with one's lot when one is numb. But to waken to one's predicament and to become engaged in the process of obtaining an education, and work starting at the bottom rungs is difficult. But it is this process in itself that will result in the obtaining of a comfortable life, with a good family and the respect of the community they so desperately crave.

   Don't quit school, remember to always pursue excellence in all facets of life. Live honorably and decently, and marry wisely. Who you marry will greatly influence your happiness in life. Don't take shortcuts on the road of life, shortcuts are often the pathway to oblivion.

Some Quotes I like that address the issues of pushing through hard times, and keeping one's life in focus.

Life is tough, it's even tougher if you're stupid.
-John Wayne

The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.
- Allan K. Chalmers

There is no substitute for hard work.
- Florence Griffith Joyner

You may have to fight a battle more than once to win.
- Margaret Thatcher

Reflect upon your blessings, of which every man has many - not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.
- Charles Dickens

Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.
- Pablo Picasso

It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.
- Seneca

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
- Mark Twain

In the long run, we only hit what we aim at.
- Henry David Thoreau

He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.
- Friedrich Nietzsche

Four steps to achievement:
Plan purposefully. Prepare prayerfully.
Proceed positively. Pursue persistently.
- William Arthur Ward

I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.
- George Washington

Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation.
- Robert Schuller

The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.
- Edward Phelps

The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.
- Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

The secret to getting ahead is getting started.
- Sally Berger

If there is no wind, row.
- Latin proverb

Don't be afraid your life will end; be afraid that it will never begin.
- Grace Hansen

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.
- Les Brown

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
- Abraham Lincoln

There is genius in persistence. It conquers all opposers. It gives confidence. It annihilates obstacles. Everybody believes in a determined man. People know that when he undertakes a thing, the battle is half won, for his rule is to accomplish whatever he sets out to do.
- Orison Swett Marden

There is in this world no such force as the force of a person determined to rise. The human soul cannot be permanently chained.
- W. E. B. Du Bois

All rising to a great place is by a winding stair.
- Sir Francis Bacon

It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well.
- Rene Descartes

Success comes in four categories, none of which is more important than another.
There's happiness, which derives from being content with one's life;
there's achievement, which comes from setting and reaching admirable goals;
there's significance, which involves doing things that positively affect friends, colleagues and family;
and there's legacy, in which one's values and achievements are put to good use to help others succeed in the future.
- Laura Nash, Howard Stevenson

Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must be first overcome.
- Samuel Johnson

Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind.
- Leonardo da Vinci

Failure is, in a sense, the highway to success, since every discovery of what is false leads us to seek earnestly after what is true.
- John Keats

Prosperity depends more on wanting what you have than having what you want.
-Anon