Jonathots Daily Blog
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That Don’t Cost Anything but Are of Extraordinary Value
1. A well-thought-out and meticulously-worded personal compliment
2. Quietly and joyfully straightening up a room
The B. S. M. G. Report
Jonathots Daily Blog
(4259)
The meek will inherit
Because they’re willing to share it
BAD
We are in the midst of severely ignoring the currency of the Christmas season.
We have begun to believe that December can be filled with our foolishness and chicanery, when during that thirty days, the Earth always takes a collective gasp for air, so that we can survive the rest of our yearly journey.
But now, we have instead decided to go politically crazy, emotionally distraught and spiritually bankrupt.
How about a simple example?
A seventeen-year-old boy decides to take the family car to a party and does some illegal drinking. Coming out, he gets behind the wheel and drives the car home, where he finds his mother and father waiting for him at the door, unable to deny his intoxication.
But let’s say that same young man went to the party, got just as drunk and drove home, but on the way to his house, crashed his car into a tree. A half-hour later, his parents arrive at the police station to retrieve him.
Just for the sake of discussion, back to that same young man, same party, same drunkenness—but this time, on the drive home he hits a young boy on a bicycle and kills him.
I present these three scenarios to you because we need to discuss some differences among the words errant, mistake and crime.
To the legalist or someone who is toeing the letter of the law, I suppose the boy who arrives home in his car intoxicated is committing a crime. But dare I say, there probably is not a mother or father in America who would view it that way.
They would recognize the behavior as “errant.” It would need to be corrected in-house.
Yet these same parents would probably not consider crashing into a tree to merely be errant. They wouldn’t call it a crime—they would say it was a mistake. Once again, punishment would be in order.
But the parents would have no say whatsoever in the matter if their son killed somebody while drunk. That would be considered by one and all to be a crime.
We have made a severe mistake by impeaching President Donald Trump.
Whether you consider what he did with Ukraine to be errant behavior, a mistake or a crime, the populace will need to sustain that opinion.
Yet what is missing is acknowledgment.
No one has admitted errant behavior or a mistake, so it begins to feel like a crime.
Here’s the question:
Did Donald Trump do something errant, make a mistake, or was it a crime?
We will probably never know—because he refuses to admit his part in the problem.
SAD
It makes me downright sad.
If you put Republicans and Democrats together, you kind of have a great world.
Republicans are all about “hometown.”
- Their lovely burgs.
- Their families.
- Their dogs.
- God’s country.
Democrats, on the other hand, are about the Earth.
- Climate change.
- Global poverty.
- Gender equality across the planet.
Doggone it, I like them all.
I’d like to take the better parts of my hometown and spread them across the globe.
I want to treat the Earth well. So why don’t I come back to my hometown and get started?
It’s sad that we have two great forces that fight against one another instead of turning the Earth into a marvelous hometown.
MAD
But it is maddening that none of this can happen because the ability to confess our faults has diminished until it seems to have finally disappeared.
One of my favorite phrases from the Good Book is, “Confess your faults to one another so you can be healed.”
I don’t want to live in a world that is constantly misshapen, out of step, angry and frustrated simply because we think it’s weak to admit our missteps.
What a great time to come along and stand in front of your friends and proclaim your foibles without fear.
GLAD
Because you know what makes me glad?
Not even an impeachment, violence, partisan politics and hours of boring hearings on television can dim the power and spirit of Christmas.
It is in our DNA to try to give a damn in the month of December.
It’s a glorious time. And it doesn’t go away unless we chase it away.
It is bad that we cannot decide what has happened with our President.
It makes me sad that our Republicans and Democrats don’t know how perfect they would be together.
And I’m mad that we don’t confess our faults to be healed.
But I’m glad it’s December:
We’re birthing great ideas to create a “stable world.”
3 Things … March 14th, 2019
Jonathots Daily Blog
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(It is in the first thirty-five seconds after a mistake, foible, surprise or even tragedy that human beings often complicate their situation by being stunned into either over-reaction or no selected profile.)
You Can Choose to Do When Confronted with an Unexpected Trial or Tribulation
1. Reach over, hold your own hand and remain totally calm in the midst of the chaos
2. Always add humor when distraction tries to swallow up the moment
3. Remain silent and do not add your voice to the confusion
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1 Thing You Can Do This Week (To Magnify Your Character)
1 Thing You Can Do This Week …
(To Magnify Your Character)
William Shakespeare contended that “all the world’s a stage and each one of us, merely players.”
So who are you?
In the world of theater, it is impossible to play too many characters without coming across anemic in the roles. Also, if you establish your character onstage and then drastically revise it, the audience doesn’t buy into your leap.
The one thing you should think about this week to magnify your character is:
Don’t let your problems give you stage directions
Unlike true theater, in everyday life we have a tendency to adjust to the settings, the surroundings, the spotlights, the poor audience reaction or the failure of others around us to remember their lines, and either attempt to revise our dialogue to fit the circumstance or freak out because our the revisions cause us to lose all credibility.
Here is this week’s question: who are you?
And don’t try to tell me that you are a multi-faceted individual with many different layers of being. That’s the best way to describe a liar. Who are you?
Once you find the answer to that, remaining faithful to the role, no matter how the play unfolds in front of you, is how you gain the reputation of being solid and trustworthy– well worth knowing by your peers.
An acquaintance recently asked me, “Who are you?”
I replied, “I am a character addicted to good cheer, so no matter what you hand me, I will do my best to give you back joy.”
The definition of immaturity is feeling the need to change the script simply because there’s been an unforeseen twist in the plot. But in doing so, we sully our character and make ourselves seem unreliable.
Who are you?
Answer that question–and then don’t let your problems or your mishaps give you stage directions.
The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly donation for this inspirational opportunity
1 Thing You Can Do This Week (To Become Believable)
1 Thing You Can Do This Week …
To Become Believable
A proverb is a wise saying that gained status by being true most of the time. Like this:
“There’s a way that seems right to a human being, but the end of it is destruction.”
For instance:
“If you make a mistake, deny it, hide it and cover it up until people lose interest in it and you can move on.”
This concept is so faithfully followed in our country that it should be hung on a golden plaque in the halls of Congress, Madison Avenue and the White House.
Somehow or another, we have convinced ourselves that lying works. I don’t know how it happened–so many liars have been exposed, ridiculed and condemned that one would think their stories would prove to be cautionary tales. But not so.
If you want one thing to pursue this week to help you become more believable, do this:
Admit your faults and admit them early.
Nothing sounds nearly as bad if the confession comes from your own mouth. When it turns into an accusation from others or an indictment by society, you will find yourself either continuing to lie or offering a tardy admission of guilt.
“It was me.”
The three magic words. Not “I am sorry” nor “I love you.”
When the question is posed, “Who drank the last of the milk and left the carton in the refrigerator?” and you know it was your doing, simply replying, “It was me–sorry about that…” YOU BECOME A HERO.
Honest to God, nobody sane on the Earth will incriminate you further.
Take this one thing this week and put it into your daily activity. If you want to become believable to those around you:
Admit your faults and admit them early.
The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly donation for this inspirational opportunity
3 Things… November 23rd, 2017
Jonathots Daily Blog
(3500)
You Do That Let People Know That You Can Be Trusted
1. You are not shocked, offended or defensive about making a mistake.
2. You hear other opinions and may even use them.
3. You confess your lie before getting caught.
The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this inspirational opportunity
PoHymn: A Rustling in the Stagnant … November 2nd, 2016
Jonathots Daily Blog
(3113)
The Middleland
I was born, begins the tale
Will I win or surely fail?
“Be yourself” was what they said
It left me lonely, cold and dead
Dreaming big was a huge mistake
Tooting my horn–such a fake
Charity begins in the home, you see
The family is everything–all to me
“Don’t trust strangers” was the plan
Made me blind to my fellow man
“Don’t be weird”–people will talk
Stand real tall when you walk
A man is a man, a woman is a mother
Stick with your skin, avoid the other
Black is black and white is right
Don’t take that shit–stand and fight
Believe in God once a week
Say the words but don’t be meek
Cheat if you must but keep the trust
Sin when you’re down but far from town
Smile at them you know real well
Accept the neighbors, send the rest to hell
America is good–right or wrong
Honk and cuss, don’t wait too long
Be slow to try the newer ways
Be normal and proud all your days
Find your hate and press it down
Create a face, your personal frown
Be thankful for what you’ve got
But always know it’s not a lot
Seasons come, seasons go
Plant the corn, watch it grow
Babies born, grandma dies
Promises are made, everyone lies
I was born in the Middleland
Control your life, keep things in hand
The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this inspirational opportunity
Don’t let another Christmas season go by without owning Jonathan’s book of Christmas stories
Mr. Kringle’s Tales …26 Stories ‘Til Christmas
An advent calendar of stories, designed to enchant readers of all ages
“Quite literally the best Christmas stories I have ever read.” — Arthur Holland, Shelby, North Carolina
Only $5.99 plus $1.25 shipping and handling.
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