The Ragpicker's Prayer

The Ragpicker’s Prayer
By
Og Mandino

For the rest of my life there are two days that will never trouble me again.
The first day is yesterday with all its blunders and tears, its follies and defeats. Yesterday has passed forever beyond my control.
The other day is tomorrow with all its danger and mystery, its pitfalls and threats. Until the sun rises again, I have no stake in tomorrow for it is still unborn.

 With God’s help and only one day to focus all my effort and energy on, this day, I can win! Only when I focus on those two frightening eternities, yesterday and tomorrow, am I in danger of faltering under the load. Never again! This is my day. This is my only day. Today is all there is. Today is the rest of my life and I resolve to conduct myself through every waking hour in the following manner.

 For the rest of my life this very special day God help me…
…to heed the wise advice of Jesus and Confucius and Zoroaster and treat all those I encounter, friend or foe, stranger or family, as I would want them to treat me.
… to maintain a reign on my tongue and my temper guarding against foolish moments of fault finding and insults.
… to greet all those I encounter with a smile instead of a frown, a soft word of encouragement instead disdain or even worse, silence.
… to remain sympathetic and attentive to the sorrows and struggles of others realizing there are hidden woes in every life no matter how exalted or lowly.
… to make haste to be kind to all others realizing life is too short to be vengeful or malicious, too soon ended to be petty or unkind.

 For the rest of my life this very special day God help me…
…to remember that in order to harvest more ears of corn in the fall I must plant more kernels in the spring.
… to keep reminding myself that life always rewards me on terms that I establish and if I never perform or deliver more than that for which I am paid never will I have cause to demand or expect any additional gold.
… to always deliver more than is expected of me whether at work, at home, or at play.
… to labor with enthusiasm and love no matter what the task at hand may be realizing that if I cannot secure happiness out of my work, I will never know what to true happiness is.
… to endure at my chosen work even after other have ceased their labor for now I know that the angel of happiness and the pot of gold await me only at the end of the extra mile that still lies ahead

For the rest of my life this very special day God help me…
… to set goals to be accomplished before the day has ended for now I know that to drift aimlessly from one hour to the next leaves me with only one destination the port of misery.
… to realize that no path to success is too far if I advance bravely and without undue haste just as there are no honors too distant if I prepare myself for them now with patience
… to never give up hope for a brighter tomorrow for I know that if I continue to knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, I am certain to arouse someone.
… to remind myself that success always has a price and I must balance its joys and rewards against the precious piece of my life that I must always exchange in order to achieve it.
…to hold fast to my dreams and my plans for a better life because if I relinquish them, though I may still exist, I will have ceased to live.

For the rest of my life this very special day God help me…
… to strive to fulfill the best that is within me, knowing I have no obligation to achieve great wealth or success, only the obligation to be true to the highest and best that is within me.
… to never succumb to the fear of failing for now I shall be looking up at the goals I have not yet reached rather than peering down at the pitfalls that always threaten me.
… to embrace adversity as a friend who will teach me far more about myself than any joyful run of success or good fortune.
… to remember that failures even when they occur are only guides to success since every discovery of what is false will lead me to seek after what is true and every experience teaches me some form of error that shall afterwards be carefully avoided
…to rejoice over what I have little though it may be, always recalling the oft told tale of the man who was sobbing because he had no shoes until, one day, he met a man who had no feet.

For the rest of my life this very special day God help me…
… to accept myself as I am without ever letting my conscience or sense of duty to force me to live a life’s pattern designed solely for the benefit of others.
… to realize that I must never accept the praise and love of others as a measure of my personal worth for my true value depends far more on how I feel about myself and how involved I am with the world outside.
… to resist the temptation to surpass the achievements of other since this pathetic desire is no more than a sign of insecurity and I will never be me if I allow others to set my standards.
… to ignite all my actions both at work and play with constant sparks of enthusiasm so that my excitement and zeal at whatever I am doing will subdue all difficulties that may otherwise slow my progress.
… to remember that I must pay the price in order to increase my worth for only fools stand idly by and wait for success to arrive and now I know that the only chance to start at the top is in digging a hole.

 For the rest of my life on this day of days God please help me…
… to do onto others as I would have them do onto me, to give more of myself every hour than is expected, to set goals and hold fast to my dreams, to search for the good in every adversity that befalls me, to perform all my duties with enthusiasm and love and, above all, to be myself.
 Please help me to achieve these goals my special friend so that I too may become a rag picker of value, laboring in your name with renewed strength and wisdom to rescue others as you have rescued me. And above all please remain close to me through all this day.

Amen

Welcome To Jail

Welcome To Jail

Someone call the Sheriff! The guards are treating the children wrong. They won’t le t the children come out and play. They keep making the kids line up like they’re in the army or some bull. Now they want the kids to sit still and stay silent. Next, they’ll want them to go to sleep before midnight! I think we may need Child Protective Services on this one. OMG!

I hope they come soon. One of them just made the children make up their beds! The nerve! Trying to introduce discipline to the undisciplined. Where they do that at?

So the C.P.S. just told me to fuck off. Seriously! I thought the goal of C.P.S. was to protect children from abuse, mental and physical. Just because these children are prisoners. Just because they are legally considered adults. Can you believe they said, “It’s jail! Deal with it.” I mean really.

What kind of person can ignore such fragile people? They are crying out for help and no on is answering. How could you pretend not to hear.?

C.P.S. says if they encountered children this bad (they have), they would forget them and just let them end up in jail (they did). So that’s it then. These are the forgotten children. Children so bad their parents wish they could forget. But they are no longer children. They are adults, suffering from years of neglect and poor parenting. And no one told them. They have no idea. No idea. Should I? Should I be the one to say it?

I guess I should, since the babysitters don’t seem to care.

Children! Gather round. I’ll be brief but I must tell you now.

You are retarded. I mean that in the most literal way. Your psychoses have developed unchecked for years and now you are mentally challenged. You can’t think. And no one cared enough to tell you until now.

Left to develop unguided, you are now nothing but ego. You have absolutely no self-awareness so it is virtually impossible to see your sickness.

Let me get you a mirror.

Welcome to Jail! You are here because of what you’ve done, who you are, who you know or where you reside. Because of what you have done or failed to do, you are now a guest of the county or state. Bottom line, it’s your responsibility of lack thereof that’s brought you here.

Let’s start here, in this place you find yourself in currently.

You are now an inmate. While you have a few (very few) rights, know that you have fewer rights than any animal located within these borders. (Including rats) In fact there are more members of PETA than all the prison/inmate advocacy groups combined. You are also an adult, legally. While the lack of rights will have you feeling like a child, there is no one available who will care for you in jail. No one. In fact, your mama is probably happy for the break. She’s paying extra taxes this year just to show her appreciation. She’s been tired of your two-pm waking up ass for years now with no idea of what to do. We were happy to help. She’s currently renting out your room to one of our correction officers. It’s a good arrangement for both.

Because of you, she can afford the extra taxes, the little change she may or may not put on your books and she’s going on a cruise next week. If she does put money on your books, it’s not because she feels bad for not giving you money before, she’s paying you off to stay away. She wishes she’d have called crimestoppers along time ago.

No you are ours.

No worries.

We are ready for you.

The easiest way to bring someone back to reality is to destroy your comfort zone. That is our goal from the minute you enter our doors.

The holding tank is your last chance to find someone will to put up with your bullshit. Good luck!

No luck?

Wonderful!

Welcome!

Have a seat on the stainless steel (Or stained wood-blood/piss stains) benches while we get your cell ready. It should only take five or six hours. What’s that? A hold up? Scratch that five or six hours. Just give us a few minutes…  Now, we have it right! It will now only be two or three days. We need to make sure your paperwork is thorough. We wouldn’t want to lose you. (Tehehe) Plus, we ordered out. We wouldn’t want to get hot wing sauce on your paperwork. You’re in no rush anyway. Take a few more minutes to say good-bye to your clothes and any memory of the outside world.

You dressed in? That is, are you out of your clothes and into our uniform? (Some version of pajamas you will wear 24 hours a day for as long as we can keep you here.) How’s your back? Not completely destroyed yet? You can still squat and cough then? Go ahead. Thanks! You are now tagged and bagged. You’re officially an inmate now.

Let the fun begin!

Now let’s determine what type of inmate you are. Please answer and keep in mind these questions have absolutely nothing to do with your classification. We’ve already judged you we’re just killing time now.

By now, nothing but peanut butter should have you ready for some real food. How about some grits, pasta, hot dogs, rice and gravy, corn dogs, Italian sausage, and buckets of Kool-Aid? (Actual buckets) Sound good? Yep. Taste good? Not so much. At least you can watch an endless parade of food commercials so you can remember real food. Ahhh, the memories…

If you’re with us long enough, you may actually start to like this stuff. Maybe even look forward to it.

So now that you’ve settled in, lets examine how you’re going to spend this time with us.

You got options.

You can spend the time thinking about all the time you wasted. Or you can waste more

How can you waste more?

I knew you’d choose option two! I give you “Free Time”!

During this time you can mingle with you peers. You have ample opportunity to catch up on those food commercials we know you love so much. And we’ve strategically scheduled these times so you will not miss Jerry Springer. We have games for you and a fake outside so you can breath fresh-ish air in possibly a sliver of sun. Sound fun? It is!

Speaking of Jerry Springer, we give you two options of listening level. (We love to give you options.) You can either watch it inaudibly low or inaudibly high. What better way to direct you attention to the pictures than by eliminating those pesky words. Why do they talk on talk shows anyway? We know you been watching Jerry Springer for 19 of your twenty years of life. You can surely tell what each and every fight is all about by now.

If you can locate them, we also provide a selection of books to read. Hopefully, you won’t (OH! You will be staying a while?)…

Well…

We have books. If you like to and can read, good luck. Welcome to Jail!

If hygiene is your thing, we got that too. In a marvel of modern architecture and engineering we’ve designed a crack in a corner in the middle of the room for you to bath in. I know you’re quite used to these types of accommodations. So, shower away! And if you can remember, please pick up your pubes so the next inmate can at least pretend to be getting clean. (Oh you forgot? – and he… And it’s been filthy for quite a while? Hmmm.)

Well…

We’ll have to get someone to look at that. Perhaps your house man (Oh you don’t have one?)

Well…

Welcome to Jail. Moving on.

At Least we can keep the facilities clean. That is, we can provide you with cleaning supplies to clean up behind yourself and/or the last bum who was in your cell/dorm. Almost  every day you can clean you cell and the common area. (Huh?) (The mop bucket is filthy after only two rooms?) Well…

I’m sure you can still… (And the bleach is not bleach?)  Of course it’s not. That’s for your safety. (And you can’t get any bleach if you don’t get it first?) Well have you talked to a guard about it? (No response huh?) Can’t be that much dirt anyway. (There is? Wow! And the guards won’t give you any more bleach?)

Hmmm…

Let’s talk about the guards. We’ve provided you a reunion of sorts.

Due to security issues and background requirements, we’ve hired some people you may know. The very same “lame” losers you picked on years ago or last week are here to watch you now. I’m sure they’ll do an excellent job. They seemed so happy to see you again. I’m sure you have tons to talk about.

Comfortable yet? No?

Feel like you’re being punished?

Good!

Welcome to Jail!

You Know

New poems are rare for me but sometimes I am moved as I was with this memory of ...

You know who you are
I had you
And I almost had you
But there was too much on my brain
I wanted to keep you
Then I couldn't keep you
When would I ever see you again
I loved you
But I never loved you
It was all just too much
I felt I knew you
Yet I never knew you
Just the tenderest touch
I should have kissed you
And I shouldn't have kissed you
Maybe know I wouldn't miss you
I should have came through
When I couldn't come through
Maybe both our dreams could have come true
I still want you
And I just want you
Give me everything I need
When I plant a seed
I won't plant my seed
I'll just give you all that you'll ever need
It's like you're there
But when you're not there
Why can't you always be here
I just want to tell you
What I don't want to tell you
Somehow I just want you to hear
Please go
Please don't go
Always stay within my reach
I want to hold you
Like I never held you
Feel you like I never felt you
And teach you what you mean to me
I don't know what the future holds
I just know future holds
Like in each others arms
For as long as we both shall be

Crab (Word of the Day)

Crab (Word of the Day)

            When I first heard the phrase “crabs in a barrel”, I imagined a big deep barrel. What is truly amazing is how far from fact that really is. Go to any store that sells live crabs and look. Go now. I’ll wait…

(You can probably save time and YouTube it…)

            Notice the walls keeping the crabs inside are not that high at all. It is perfectly conceivable for one crab to get over the wall all by itself. This struck me one day when I was playing with/assisting the crabs.

            They all seemed dead or extremely slow. Some were upside down and, since I like crabs so much, I decided to flip them back over. I had flipped over two who both immediately came alive almost as if I was not helping but instead troubling them. When I came upon a third, a fourth crab quickly came out of nowhere and snapped me! I took it quite personal.

            Here I was trying to helpa fallen comrade and this MFer wants to snap me! Crab Assed Niggahs!

Jail

So I’m in jail, hopefully for the last time. Would saying this is so contrary to what was expected of me fifteen years ago be an understatement? I still thank God, I’ve avoided REAL prison. He knows, I could have been there too. (Ah-Hem-Hmm)

There are five counties in the immediate Atlanta metropolitan area. I’ve seen the inside of four of their jails. I didn’t think anything of it the first couple of times. I made some mistakes. (A lot of them drunk mistakes) I wouldn’t repeat them. But this year, it became apparent. I haven’t repeated any specific behaviors. But I also haven’t changed my mentality.

I picked up this quote sometime in 2009. “The path of least resistance makes all rivers, and some men, crooked” – Napoleon Hill. I think I get it now. I was one of those men. I’ve been going with the flow for far too long. Some kind of way, I’ve flowed into niggardom. That (niggardom) is the negativity, depression and hopelessness plaguing most of America.

I must get out, if only to show the rest of America how to get out of it. But seriously, I got things to do. I’m late for an innumerable amount of appointments with destiny. I hope I can reschedule.

I’ve seen enough. I’ve learned what I needed to. Time to get back on track. We now return to our regularly scheduled program. This was just a test. No let’s see if I passed.

The blessing is always being able to remember who I am. The other blessing is I’m not too far off track. Niggardom will have you believe all is lost. Never was that the case. I have been flowing. I just got off on the scenic route. The expressway is just around the corner. I’m gone!

I won’t forget those I left behind. If I can get out, everyone can. Some can’t see it and I can’t help them from the inside. Once I get out though. I’ll show them the way. After that, it’s up to them. Most won’t come. Thank God for the few who will.

There was also a time when I wouldn’t be honest about where I’ve been. Actually, it was quite recently. While I might have recounted exploits and situations, I did so with a detachment that wasn’t honest about the mental and social state I was in.

There is no need to be apologetic about who I am. God loves me. My family loves me. My friends love me. (An amazing number still love me!) I finally figured out, that would never change. All I have to do is be myself.

Today, I admit my guilt. I’m guilty of being dishonest. I was so scared to be myself, I was dishonest about who I was. I lay my sin at the cross. If the unyielding Love of God, My family and my friends is any indication, I’ve been forgiven long ago. I realize it now. Now I am free to be 100% of the me I am.

Now that I am free physically and mentally, I have no fear of bondage literally or figuratively. Once again, the sky is the limit. The Easy Rider is now a juggernaut. Watch out world. Jason is Free!

What I Learned Over A Month Ago

I’ve been neglecting myself for quite a while now. For what, I have no idea. All I know is I should have been finished with The Master Key System a looonnng time ago. I have a growing list of books to read. And I keep losing deals. Again…no idea why or for what purpose…

Seriously, I have the time to do all those things. Sad to say, I truly haven’t been living.

So, I go back and start over. Not really over but I try to remember where I was when I fell off track. I go back there not to start off on the same path but a completely new one. I only need to be back on my foundation in order to test the limits all over again.

Getting off track is falling into a rut. This rut right here just may be the biggest and longest one I’ve ever been in. Four Years! Deep down in the bowls of niggardom! And it’s not Atlanta. But part of getting out of this rut requires leaving Atlanta behind. So this is the farewell tour.

So I missed the last Sunday of Father John visiting another church but I got something from him the week before. By reading Genesis 18, Colossians 2 and Luke 11 we learn that ALL that we ask for will be given. ALL. That means be careful what you wish for.’

I still hadn’t written this down. The next week I went to a different church wide open to receive any amount of God that was in the building. There was a lot. And they filled in the rest of this unwritten blog.

The focus of most Christian churches is being a good Christian. The shift has been
not being A Christian but being Christian. (Re Read that once or three times) Those are two very different things. A Christian goes to a Christian church, follows the church rules, is involved in some activities at the church and may or may not be attempting to be more Christian. Someone who is Christian is exactly what it means. That person is (or is actively working on being) Christ like.

At Destiny the focus was on pointing out some key differences between a Christian and a Christ-like person. Being a Christian is a stop along the way of a person’s spiritual journey. Unfortunately, most people stay there. They become “Spiritual Knock-Offs”. Since they can say they are Christians, they’re done growing. It’s hard to realize when you’ve only partially surrendered when your Knock Off looks so good. I mean you’ve done all the baptism and catechism and altar calls and new member’s class and you joined the usher board and you got a solo one time because the whole rest of the choir caught mono (Seriously, ALL of them had it) and you got a Jesus fish on your car and you have ALL the Donnie McClurkin CDs.

And this is the rut you’ve been in for years and years. You are no further along on your spiritual journey than you were seven years ago. You’ve been praying a certain way for years. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. And that’s good enough. But it’s SO not.


Almost is good enough in horseshoes. This is our eternal life. And we’re poking around. Dipping our toes in the water. And we get away with it (we think). We can say “I gave in to God a long time ago.”
That just may be the problem.
A long time ago we answered someone’s alter call. It’s been years and years. So long, you can’t even remember what the secular radio stations sound like. But nothing has changed. You know it. But you don’t want to make any more changes. Why not? Jesus was meditating and praying and being tested and growing up until the last minutes of his life.

Release, surrender, and give up control. The worst thing you can do is hold on to something God wants you to give up. Give it up. Let it go (John 12:24, 25)
You know what it is. You know what you need to do but you don’t really feel like doing it. Listen to the words all around you. My church sings a song called “Taste and See” every week.

Just say yes.

Say yes to growth. Say yes to being Christian, to being Christ-like. Say yes to getting out of your rut. Say yes to continuing the journey. Say yes to a new life everyday. Today is the first day of the rest of your life – everyday!

Be good!

Republitards

I have just encountered a new type of retard. That is the political retard. Specifically, the Republitard.

The Republitard is just one of many types of people who don’t/can’t think for themselves and perpetuate ideas and philosophies about which they know nothing. The republitard constitutes the majority of the voting population of the Republican Party.

In the Ronald Reagan article I posted on Facebook, Ronald Reagan had a reputation for lowering taxes. In fact, He trimmed tax breaks and increased Social Security tax. In the end, he kept tax revenue at the same point it’s always been. What he essentially did was cut taxes for the rich and increase taxes for the rest of America. And he spent more! Without a major war!

Republitards are no different than “Christians” who don’t read the bible. They are no different than bandwagon sports fans. No different than militants who get their first taste of revolution. They are so gung-ho about everything and have no idea what they are talking about. None.

People like noise. It stops them from thinking. Unfortunately, what happens is people start thinking for them. It’s easy for charismatic people to be so passionate about tax breaks for the upper class. Their charisma has carried their incomes to that same upper class. They are directly affected by the causes they fight so passionately for. And they fight so passionately that the ignorant Republitards also believe they are directly affected.

So let me be clear. Republitards think they are rich. They think they are white. They think they are as charismatic as their leaders. For one, all Republican Hispanics are Republitards. They got the people elected in Arizona who are now trying to get rid of them. All Republicans who make less than 250,000 dollars a year are Republitards. They are running around crying about tax breaks when only people who make 250,001 dollars or more will be affected. Now THAT’s retarded.

How do you not know how much money you have? Only 5% (I’m being nearly doubly generous) of Americans make that much or more. As of September 1, 2010, 33.8% of American voters are registered Republicans. Assuming everyone in that 5% is Republican (Yeah Right! Like God blesses that many fools), 85% of Republicans are Republitards and/or flat out stupid. Since 35% of the voting population is Democrat we can assume safely that half of that 5% is Republican which means 93% (I rounded up. We are talking about retards. Some of them probably paid too much taxes trying to floss) of Republicans are Republitards. That’s almost all of them.

Essentially what I’m saying is, it’s retard to be Republican.

Come back next week when I show you how it’s retarded to be a Democrat.