If we give up part of ourselves for what is immoral or selfish we have sold our souls to become slaves to a master.  As such, we do their bidding no matter what cost to others. Freedom is gained and kept on battlefields, but before a single bullet is fired, we must be free in our minds and selfless in our hearts. Those who realize this understand that the nature of a master is to control while the requirement of a slave is to obey. The righteous already know this and further, that regardless of what is gained by the slave, the right to utilize it will always belong to the master.

C.L. Harmon 

The Five Most Important Lessons You Learn If You Live Long Enough

1 Worry is buying stones with gold; it’s giving away what is precious for something that has no value.

2 Love and hate begin merely as choices, but eventually become lifestyles.

3  Though others’ choices may impact your existence, you alone define your life.

4 Owning your mistakes keeps you from borrowing trouble in the future.

5 Faith in humanity from God is a gift. Faith in God from humanity is an investment. 

If you call me a derogatory name because of my heritage, that cost me nothing. I lose nothing because of what you say or the opinion that you hold. If I fall and break my leg and you don’t help me up, that’s okay. If you vote differently or support something I do not, that’s okay too. If you refuse to back off of a principle I do not hold, I will not hold it against you. If you choose to allow something to come between us, I will still meet you in the middle if you decide to remove it. And I do this because your right to see, believe and choose matters to me. It matters more than our differences and the fears which divide. It matters because the greatest right we have is choice. Choice is synonymous with freedom and freedom survives because of respect. It is your right to choose a master of fear or one of faith. It is your right follow or to lead. It is your right to love or to hate. And it is your right to fight or lay down your arms. And it is everyone’s choice to show respect for others’ right to choose. So choose for others that which you choose for yourself.

C.L. Harmon

To have integrity will alienate you from those with a willingness to sacrifice their morals. But remember that a seed is covered with dirt, drowned in water, hidden from the sunlight and left to dwell in darkness. And yet it takes everything that is seemingly against it and uses them to reach up and break through the ground. To have honor in a world rampant with immortality is to be the seed that grows tall above the weeds which attempted to choke it out.

C.L. Harmon 

What you want must be more important than what you fear. Fulfillment only comes out of risk. And yes, we often lose and suffer, but without that suffering we would not truly understand the value of fulfillment when we experience it. What you want is out there and it will find you, but it will not force itself. You will either accept it on faith or deny it out of fear. At the end of your life, which one would you have wished you had chosen?

C.L. Harmon

It’s easy to buy a lie because the truth is a much harder sell. It’s easier to make a mistake than to make amends. It’s more fun to dance with the devil than kneel before the Lord. It’s safer to fall than rise and it’s acceptable to be accused but not vindicated. This is why  we live on a bedrock of weakness. Solid ground is hard and uncompromising. This is why we choose it to build lasting structures. If your world is falling apart, maybe it’s time to find a better place to stand.

C.L. Harmon

Responsibility is a word, a simple word, that has a never ending meaning. It’s a combination of letters encompassing everything in life. No matter your beliefs, status or race, you are affected by responsibility, both that which you accept and that accepted by others. When we fail to own our responsibilities, we fail others in the present and ourselves in the future. In essence we become either accomplishments or excuses…and that outcome is the result of another simple word, choice.

C.L. Harmon

The greatest adventure is seeking what we desire. No matter how small our desire, the journey to it is where we feel most alive. The outcome is the reward, but it is only a reflection at the end of the road. So with each step today, embrace your failures, allow your laughter to engulf you, let your tears puddle and your victories humble you. And in the end, that reflection will be the inspiration others will utilize on their adventures.

C.L. Harmon

There will be countless activities we will not see, hear and experience today. These processes will surround us and be close to us but we will not acknowledge their existence. Because our pursuit of responsibility and structure is our definition of sanity, we become oblivious to the magic around us. But this beauty cares not for such pursuits of responsibility but only to exist and be recognized. So every now and then, seek out your insanity and let the small countless miracles around you become your reality.

C.L. Harmon

Every single day is different. The sun rises and sets the same and much of it is filled with routine. But each day has the opportunity for a new growth that was not there the previous day. This is because we are building upon yesterday’s opportunities we chose to seize. And it’s within that opportunity which creates our new hope in tomorrow.

C.L. Harmon