Self-Inflicted

You ever see those homeless people on the side of the road lookin' for change? Of course you have. Everybody has 'em somewhere in their town. How do you think they got there? If there is a God and he has a plan for everyone, why is it that his plan for these people appears to be to suffer?

I don't know a thing about God. I never seen him, I never met the guy. I couldn't tell you if He is what the Bible says. But I have never believed that if He is that kind and loving God people say he is, that He would write such cruel existences for people.

Children die young. Good people are killed in horrible ways. Bad people go unpunished. Poor people struggle their entire live. Rich people never learn the value of a dollar. It makes no sense to me that a plan could be laid for these people to walk these paths.

If destinies were written it would make all the sense in the world to me for everyone to get along and for peace to be the norm. Wars are fought all throughout history. People kill each other over the stupidest damned things. That can't be part of the plan.

I could never accept that much blood shed and wrong doing in my heart as a necessary evil. If there is a necessary evil it is only the evil that each of us is born with. That's the evil we either control or let control us. The suffering of mankind is self-inflicted. We have no one but ourselves to blame for our short-comings. We are all born with a capacity for evil and wrong doin'. I've tried my best to control that part of me and keep it confined to the darkest places in my heart. I have hated and I am capable of evil deeds. Rather than act on these deeds, I force them down in to the back of my mind. I let the hate go away with the sunset. No good could ever come from it. I decided such doin's are not what would make my destiny. I decided that. No one else.

I am a firm believer that people write these destinies for themselves. It is up to every individual person to make his choices every day. You choose to dress a certain way, you choose to eat what you eat, you choose to act like you do. Because you can choose this and because life is very much unfair I don't see how it could work any other way.

I am my own man. I've made all my decisions for myself. In the end whether I am a success or failure it will only be my own fault. I can blame no god, person, or obstacle. Nothing is impossible for me. I am the master of my own destiny.

I believe you are too.