My Blog, My Choice.

This is the first and only post that will not have any drawings accompany it. I received a letter through email recently that in essence relayed to me that this person doesn't think I should be writing the stuff that I have been writing. I read their letter and understood what the person was getting at but I could not disagree with their point of view (opinion) more. Therefore, I exercised my right as a free thinking independent man and deleted it. With that being said, it has sparked me to write this post. I am only mentioning the letter so that my readers will understand the context of this post.

Everyone that logs onto my blog should understand that they have a choice to make. They can look at the drawings and not read the posts, they can just read the posts and not look at the drawings, or they can look at the drawings and read the posts, one, or all of the above. Life is about making choices. I choose to maintain the right to make my own choices.

Things that I post on my blog are meant to inspire people, make people laugh, make people think and most importantly make people want to be better people. I don't post anything vulgar or mean spirited. I may bring up certain things in my life to help my readers to relate to me, but the posts are about me and things that I'm dealing with, not anyone else. If someone feels that I'm targeting them, they should take a step back and understand this blog is not about them.

The one thing I can't do is make you read this blog and you shouldn't feel as though you are obligated to read it. The fact of the matter is not everyone is going to like what I have to say, and I'm okay with that. What I am not okay with is someone telling me what I can write and can't write, and how to write it. For every person in this world that is not happy there is someone who is happy. If someone reads this and they don't like what I have to say, they can log off, that's their right. I turn off the radio all the time, and I turn off the television as well, when I don't like what they are selling. What I find all to often is that we think of ourselves as the center of the universe and everything revolves around us, but in reality we are just a moon at best. Quite honestly, if nobody ever read my posts I would still write them.

Everyone has an opinion and everyone wants there opinion to be respected, I'm no different when it comes to that. You must understand that If I let everything that everyone said to me influence me, I would be a complete disaster. I'm not beyond taking someone's advice but I reserve the right to decide who's advice I will take. Things that I consider before accepting someone's advice are, what is the source it is coming from, is it relevant, is it applicable and finally is it sound advice or is it someone's opinion. Many people think their opinion is advice, not so, one size does not fit all. I think of someone's advise as a complete essay, out of that entire essay maybe only one sentence is applicable to my situation.

When I was a young boy I was very perceptive, I understood things, things that most children my age didn't. I watched people, I watched them bully other people, manipulate other people, impose their will on other people and I always understood that I had the ability to make choices in life, and those choices can either be in-sync with other peoples ways of doing things and thinking or not. Aligning my actions and thoughts or should I say falling in line with others and the way they choose to do things can make life easier, just as not aligning with the said standard, can make life more difficult. At times I have taken the easy path, I aligned myself or should I say I got in line, because it was the standard, but mostly because it was easier. In the long run things didn't usually worked out, at least not for me. We all have the freedom to make a choice, but you don't have the freedom from the responsibility that come with that choice. I try to make choices with understanding that there are repercussions that come with every choice we make.

Who am I? This is a question that many people struggle with. You'll probably find this hard to believe but I never pondered this question. I've always thought, it is not who am I but who or what I choose to be. Even as a young boy I understood that I am Craig Anthony Grasso and I can choose to become what ever I choose to be. My nature will not determine my personality but help me to build my personality, not just to change it but to improve it.

I had an epiphany. My epiphany or the awakening as I call it, came with a jolt. Many thoughts flashed through my mind, "I just got laid off, what am I going to do"? "I sacrificed so much for that place, how could they"? "What if I can't get another job, I'm scared"? As I stared teary eyed out my windshield, trying to negotiating traffic, another thought entered my mind. This is my life! Nobody else's but mine, and no business, no person, and no situation is going to take control of it. My life was given to me, I have a responsibility and the right to live it in full, no one else but me. It was time to make a choice, do I walk though life as a lion or armadillo. A lion walks forward in confidence and bravery, an armadillo scurries around in the dirt in fear and roles up in a ball when confronted. I've chosen to be a lion and face life head on without cowardice, good or bad I will persevere, because I choose to stand back up ever time I get knocked down. You don't have to be bigger or stronger to defeat or persevere over your adversaries, you just need to be willing to keep getting back up over and over again, until they give up, and trust me, they will. I been able to achieve many things in my life so far and a good portion of them were achieved through the three P"s, patience, perseverance and persistence.

So let's come to an understanding, I'm going to keep writing and sharing my thoughts the way I want to, and you can exercise your right to read or not read, as you wish. If you choose to read my posts here are some caveats, I'm religious, I'm passionate, I'm conservative, I'm opinionated and I march to the beat of my own drum. If you find that you are unhappy with what is written or have a different opinion or any opinion you want to share you are more than welcomed to post a comment. On the other hand you should understand that I don't have to post them, it is my choice. If you don't like that I choose not to post your comment you can choose to start your own blog, your choice. Everything I post is meant to effect the reader in some capacity, if you find that you are self convicting, then so be it; that is you, not me, that is doing that. Ideally, it would be great for these posts to just get you thinking about your own life and how you choose to live it.