I personally have always felt nothing is gained when you don a new pair of shoes to hide your feet of clay. Waxing philosophical seems to be my modis operandi. You see, there is a provable fact that the continuum of our species goes back hundreds of thousands of years.

Millions of people have been born, lived and died. They are dead and gone. All that is left is the memories that continue to fade with each passing generation. It would seem, our greatest impact is now. Our only chance to make a small difference in the stream of life is to admit who we are, and share the good we each have to offer. Life's lessons are replete with lost opportunities and successful actions. The successes can only be realized when measured against the failed attempts.

Failures are just steps that put us closer to success. None of us is perfect. The longer we live, the more we actually see ourselves for what we are. We are just part of a collective group of people, living together in different places and different stages.

The way we view the world around us is the result of our experiences. This is partially revealed in the tragedy of 9-11. The young wanted to take up arms. The middle aged were angry and fearful. The older generation wondered why does man continue to destroy in the name of God. This is a generalization, but it speaks to the way one event is viewed by the cross section of humanity. To a greater scale, one group of zealots cheered the successful attack on our country and another group decried the senseless loss of lives.

When we are young, we fear having our failures exposed because we see them as a weakness. As we age, we see that each failure or mistake is merely a stop on the way to being "all you can be". Certainly, there are some that suffer from mental or emotional illness. They can not see reality. The vast majority of us are healthy and whether we admit our frailties or just ponder them in the dark of the night....we know they exist.

I share my life openly now. I hope that others can maybe see my mistakes, see the pitfalls I encountered and see that they all can be overcome. Regardless of how things appear as they occur, the intent is buried beneath the facade of what we present.

There is an old Waylon Jennings song "I've always been crazy" that has a very poignant line....."I can't say I'm proud of all the things that I've done, but I can say that I've never intentionally hurt anyone." That would be my desired epithet. Put it on my tombstone and let my ashes drift in the wind.

I am human. My profession is a Realtor. I am so much more than that, yet, I am that at all times. I am also a partner, a writer, an artist, a golfer, a dad, a Catholic, a joker, a friend, a patriot, a lefty, etc. All these things make me .....me. I am certainly ashamed of some of my actions and proud of others. I continue to strive towards being a complete person. Sharing posts such as this are another step in my journey. I do not seek sympathy, no, I see disclosure and the shared belief that "the sun always comes up... tomorrow."