To those who stand up

Had an interesting incident happen to me this week. One which you could call harrassment and bullying. I won't get into specifics of the event, but it basically was an attack on my personal appearance and it was deposited on my vehicle in a note form. Of course it was caught on camera and the persons responsible for the incident have been dealt with. And we will both get the opportunity to meet face to face and have words like men and call the matter closed.

The content of the note means nothing to me. I was surprised how much it did not effect me. I guess that is what 34 years of hearing this sort of thing does to you. It toughens you and makes you laugh it off. I've certainly heard worse. What concerned me more was the use of my private property as the delivery agent and it made me feel quite unsafe. Words and what people think of me personally, professionally, or in casual passing means absolutely nothing to me. People who would judge another by simple physical observance tend to think small and I do not share their words and thoughts. I have never cared if people I casually encounter either liked me, loved me or screamed my name at night. As I say always, Life is too short to stress yourself over people, places or things that don't deserve to be an issue with your life. There is nothing anyone can say that I haven't heard or thought before. Believe me, my own thoughts are far more dark about myself than anyone can push on me. But I live and walk on through that. Not in a stormy cloud, but I channel it as fuel to make me a better person. I've come to rely on it. Like Capt. Kirk said, "I need my pain!"

But all this has me thinking of the news reports I seem to encounter daily about bullying and those who chose the chump way out, something like suicide. I can't imagine a world where I'd let the voices of a few or one, silence the voice of a billion. Let alone the loudest voice, the voice inside. If you are out there suffering, I want you to know that life is great. It always gets better. And one day if you work hard, your armor will be strong. Strong enough that when an incident like what happened to me, just rolls off you like water. The armor is iron. It cannot break, it cannot rust. It stays strong and protects, as well as works offensive. You earn respect for yourself, your confidence, your abilities and your iron.

But the best thing I have, the BEST armor I have is those around me. When the incident popped up this week, I had a tremendous outpouring of support. Phone calls, emails, messages, tons of people coming to my aid. And I well up with respect and joy at that because I cultivated that through my good deeds in this life. I am in awe at the amount of people who join me, to join my armor and make it even stronger than I can make it myself. Its a cliche to call them the wind at my back, but its true. The people I hold dear are those who push me. They make my armor strong. They give me back what I give them. They refuse to let hurt through. And for that my friends, thank you isn't enough. I owe fist bumps with opening of Rocky 4 size hands, which once they collide, they explode out of sheer awesomeness to all of you. This is our journey together and we can each make our armor strong. Its the joy of living. But I had no idea how strong my outside armor was until today. I thank you all.

So if you are out there and you feel alone and are suffering. Don't check out. Don't let someone take you down. As Rocky 6 said: "The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done." It does get better. But you gotta build your armor. Let it build and build until it is iron that is unbreakable. Its not a wall, but a shield. It is a guard. And its yours, because you overcame and you built it. And there's no greater feeling in the world when someone wrongs you and it doesn't bother you. So long as your personal safety isn't in the mix. Words move from being like arrows and turn into grains of sand, and then empty wind, when they hit the iron. Thats called standing up. And it is those who are strong.

Get strong, stay strong. Let nothing stop you folks. Go out and get what you are worth. If you learn nothing else from me in this life, learn that.

Much love --T