May/101
easy to be hard
Apr-25, originally uploaded by tomleu68.
The old Three Dog Night song says “it’s easy to be hard; easy to be cold; easy to say no; easy to be proud; easy to give in.”
It may be easy to give in, but it’s [not] easy to be hard… to say “no.”
It IS easy to give in RATHER than standing up for what you believe in.
Because it’s often easier to believe in what everyone else believes in.
There’s a bigger market for believing.
There’s less resistance. There’s already an infrastructure in place. Power in numbers… that whole thing.
I’ve heard it said it’s easy to be cynical and skeptical… particularly when it comes to matters of faith, religion, and spirituality.
It’s not.
It’s much easier to embrace blind faith than to ask hard questions.
The faithful are applauded while the reasonable are ridiculed.
This contemptous relationship endures.
Cynicism and skepticism are often used as synonyms. It’s semantics, but there’s a big difference between the two.
Cynicism is a mistrusting of the motives of others.
Skepticism is a doubting or questioning attitude or state of mind.
I’m often skeptical, yet only sometimes cynical.
It’s not easy to be skeptical.
It’s not easy to ask hard questions.
It’s not easy to doubt and demand.
It’s not easy to go against the grain.
It’s not easy to risk.
It’s not easy to reject the status quo.
It’s not easy to stand alone.
It’s not easy to choose the minority.
It’s not easy to be hard.
It’s not easy… but necessary.
More necessary today than ever.
©2010 Tom Leu
Apr/100
Suite 0:30
Suite Oblivion 0:30 montage featuring a few of my pics from December ’09. We had a blast!
©2010 Tom Leu
Apr/100
change for the bitter
Sept-18, originally uploaded by tomleu68.
change can make you better.
or change can make you bitter.
but change is inevitable, unavoidable, and often uncomfortable.
whether you like it or not.
whether you want it or not.
it’s coming.
embrace it, or buck it, it’s up to you.
you can choose to get better or you can choose to get bitter.
change for the better means looking forward.
change for the bitter means looking backward.
either way it’s your decision in the present.
so give yourself a gift.
get over the bitter and resolve to get better.
get on board, go with flow, and adapt.
your future depends on it.
©2010 Tom Leu
Apr/100
outside looking in
Mar-29, originally uploaded by tomleu68.
Sometimes you only need to show up and be prepared to get great results. Such is life at times I suppose…
The sky, the river, the lights, and the night make this one for me.
©2010 Tom Leu
Apr/100
started to feel silly
Mar-07, originally uploaded by tomleu68.
Used to believe
But often times not really
After doing the homework
Started to feel silly…
Circular reasoning
It all goes back to the book
Written by men
Banking few would really look
Evidence when it’s serving
Faith when it’s not
It’s all or nothing
Shit or get off the pot
Searching for followers
Saving converts and sheep
Who ask no hard questions
While staying deep asleep
Power in numbers
Believing all the “good stuff”
Perpetuating the myth
Of never being good enough
It’s really big business
Selling only one way
Us vs. them
With many willing to pay
Wondered if others
Feel the way I felt
Freedom at last
Exiting the bible belt
Compelled to share
Knowing the reception would be chilly
But the burden is lifted
Now I no longer feel silly…
©2010 Tom Leu
Mar/100
bottle in front of me
Mar-05, originally uploaded by tomleu68 via Flickr.
Apparently parking lot feedings are not only possible, but plausible.
©2010 Tom Leu
Jan/102
limited possibility perspective?
Do you suffer from LPP? A lot of people do and don’t realize it. What is it?
Simply put… the Limited Possibility Perspective is thinking that you can’t, more than believing that you can. It is operating from a scarcity mentality that tells us that dreams cannot or do not come true.
Great things are accomplished by those who dare to dream.
Those who refuse to accept the status quo.
Those who take intelligent risks and live on purpose.
Those who embrace and expand their perspective of possibilities.
Those who courageously step out and take action over apprehension… often in the midst of adversity and uncertainty.
If all this sounds like a bunch of positive thinking, motivational and inspirational nonsense to you… then you are likely suffering from acute LPP right now.
Limiting our possibilities makes the world appear very small. Physics tells us that when spaces get small, the pressure goes up. The world of possibility is vast. Options and opportunities are everywhere. But you have to look for them. You have to see them. Sometimes “seeing things” is the best thing.
But this same world is full of nay-sayers and dream stealers ready and willing to tell the rest of us what can’t be done and isn’t possible in their opinion and from their perspective. It appears as though they get great joy from pounding and pouncing on others’ ambition when in fact they are just running scared themselves. Run from these people. Distance yourself from dream stealers and instead surround yourself with dreamers who decide to do each and everyday.
Regardless of our individual definitions of success, or the actual outcomes, greatness is reserved for those who pursue it. And this greatness exists within the pursuit of possibility.
“Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who believed that something inside of them was superior to circumstance.” – Bruce Barton
©2010 Tom Leu
Oct/090
the grand opening of sunset
It ends as it began. While the spaces between the lines seem to grow longer with each moment passed.
©2009 Tom Leu
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Tom Leu is a writer, speaker, photographer, and teacher with degrees in Psychology and Sociology. Tom's RockStar Way™ brand uncovers the extraordinary "images" within music, marketing & motivation.
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