February

   Ah February, the month of my birth, the month of love. The single most powerful driving force behind the decisions of millions in the world. I once believed that love was something that could cure world wills and bring down walls. Naivete and capricious youth made me believe this was true. I mean I was always one to be a self professed hopeless romantic. And in a way I still believe in the ideal of love in this capacity. I just don't believe in the people anymore.
   More often then not love is used as leverage. Instead of an emotion that can connect you to the world and people around you, you're made someone or somethings bitch instead.And it's easy for us to be used this way. Social creatures desire social interaction. The most meaningful interactions being where we feel connected to the thing. Most people will do anything to maintain this, no matter the cost turning a blind eye to activities and behaviors that should sound blaring alarms.
   Love is what makes the world turn there is no doubt there. But not the purer side of love that lies with compassion and forgiveness and concern for your fellow man. Love is desire, all to easily perverted or corrupted. An easy example would be the seven deadly sins:
      Pride: Love of ones own abilities/self over others
      Lust: Physical love is most important
      Gluttony:  Love of what you can put in yourself.
      Sloth: The love of doing nothing
      Envy and Greed: Loving others things more than what you have
      Wrath: Deficiency of pure love and an abundance of desire
   This just being one example of how love can be seen to be twisted. But it hard to have the message of love your neighbor as you love yourself if love is also rooted in the other side of the coin as well. It's a sharp point on the blade to try an balance and it's easy to be cut. And I don't think most people have the fortitude for that kind of long haul, invariably falling to the "dark side". What more proof do you need then the reality of our culture today. Look at any talk show. Even if some segments are faked the mire and pain that these people are in is staggering. " I can change this person, they said they wouldn't hit me any more, You don't understand I LOVE THIS PERSON  and I need to be with them." Like I said before blind to what is going to happen. And some form of that statement always comes up from both males and females. We enable others to horrible things to us and with us because no one else will understand the love that is shared. That kind of belief is beautiful and ugly, utterly dark and blindingly bright.
   Even with all these pitfalls, to not love at all would be a more dire fate. So the best I could say would be to love fully, frequently and faithfully. And perhaps most difficult , love sensibly.

Look what my Flights of Fancy have Wrought

    Friends are the family you choose. Which in a sense makes your choice of friends more reflective on you than your own family. In the simplest terms, who you are seen to be is who you choose to surround yourself with. Friends can be our best first tools to learn how to be open and trust those who are not our own blood.
Those first steps into the wider world around us.
     Which may be why I am as screwed in the head as I am. I've been betrayed too many times by those I chose to trust. Find that what I have given freely to people has been spit back in my face. Each time it becomes a little more difficult to trust again. Human nature makes us withdraw to lick our wounds and heal. It seems like some wounds only fester. It takes time and effort to remove the rot and start again. And to be perfectly honest sometimes acknowledging the wound is the only way to cleanse the soul.
     This makes the friends you keep that much more important. With complete honesty I've had special people in my life that walked with me back from very dark places. Many of these people I've fallen out of touch with. But at the same time if I received a call from one that needed my help I would go because it's a debt that's owed.It comes down to the fact that the world is a cruel place that doesn't care about you at all. You have to cling to what you can. That's why we call it strength in numbers not strength in one. No matter how strong you are you are stronger with the support of those around you that want to hold you up.
     But this just may be me. This is my view of how being a friend should work. Don't get me wrong,I don't mean that all my interactions with my friends is always rosy and great. Arguments occur over slights that are perceived or real. It easy for tempers to flare when again we are talking about individuals who can sometimes spend more time together than their own families.
     It is up to you whether to trust the people you choose to call your friends. I'm not saying it's easy. What is in life?

Rant 1

     The thread that holds together all books, movies, magazines, hell even oral traditions are the same narrative thread. From heroic epic to Harry Potter the trials and pain are worth it. It gets repeated and repeated for the same reason. To give those that hear it reason to hope. That all the pain an suffering they endure will be rewarded in the end. This is a lie. This should be evident to the most simple among you. The truer ending would be that 8 of of 10 times there is no goal, no positive result. Life tends to crap on you no matter how it can. Tell the poor, the hungry, and the multitude that will die around the world as you read this that it was or is worth their pain. That what they suffer makes then better. So many in this world will grow up and accomplish nothing lasting, no legacy to leave behind and then die alone.
    This message would never be accepted as it is in our nature to believe we are the special one. Again our own reality is what makes us this way. In the end it's probably genetic. Something left over from when a lower order where that belief would help man to dominate.
    The other part is pure fear. Man is afraid of not meaning anything. That in the end we will go unremembered and uncared for by the mass of humanity. I would say it's one reason why religion is so popular. We don't need fear death when we accomplished nothing in our life as we'll go on to something better or we will come back again.
     So why bother to persevere? That's only a question you can answer for yourself. Use that answer as your armor against a world that could not care less if you win.

The Meaning of Names

     Well, I guess we'll give this a go one more time, and see how long I can continue to update this. First things first, an necessary shout out to the person who helped me decide on a name. Plus I would probably get endless amount if shit if I didn't plug his blog at least once. The Blog of Gigs. Maybe He'll get more than 2 people to read what he posts on his Batman themed page. Seriously Dan, whats with the black and yellow?
    The name if this blog was originally supposed to be Bitter. That sounded like kind of a downer but fitting for how life goes. But this was agreed to be a better title by the vastly more experienced blogger Dan. So I'll explain where this came from. We all have our own point of view, our own reality. My reality is not your reality. Your truth is not mine. It's deep I know. One of those philosophical/sociopathic views where the only real thing may be yourself.
    Oh but I ramble. I plan to have many multiple opinions, but not multiple personalities. Feel free to comment and we'll see where this goes. I'm betting nowhere, but see that's my bitter side.
Peace, Love and all that Jazz