Wow... it's been a minute since I last sit down and wrote my thoughts down. I really thought I was at a dead end or that I was repeating myself. I've continued to follow the news feeds hoping to see some new revelations or some new programs and actions to curb the direction our young men are heading. I'm disappointed to say, I've seen no changes, and the outlook is getting much worse.

Hello world, can we get real...seriously? Let this resonate with you for a moment. Easter weekend, over 140 people shot in several cities across this country. These incidents occurred at parties, malls, or family gatherings. According to a recent CNN report, these random shootings are becoming another pandemic in America. In 4 months, 155 mass shootings from coast to coast with many cities having repetitive events. Where does this all end? How do we get a grip on all of this gun violence? I know that this question has been asked over countless times. Now, May 2022 sees 21 elementary school children and teacher murdered by a 18 year old young man in Uvalde, Texas packing an AR-15 assault rifle . My gosh...I have a real heavy heart mainly because I am from Texas and even in my wildest dreams I would not have envisioned this! My heart goes out to each and everyone in Uvalde, Texas that lost someone in this senseless act. I have grand children the age of some of these who lost their lives and I've got to tell you, if this doesn't break your heart, I don't know what will. Our history of gun violence and death is not something that we as Texans are proud of. We have a long list of incidents that has painted Texas a violent, gun reveling, cowboy shoot'em up kind of a state. This last situation leaves a lot to be desired. Please don't judge our great state by what has taken place historically. We have proven time and time again, we have the propensity to rebound and come back from the brink of destruction. 

In theory, there exist two kinds of lies or two categories: a little white lie and a black lie. A black lie is a statement we make that we absolutely know is false. A white lie is a statement that we make that is not in itself false but leaves out a large part of the truth. The fact that a lie is white does not make it any less of a lie or any more acceptable. Little white lies can be just as destructive as black ones.

Having touched upon some of the ways in which parental love or its lack thereof may influence the development of self-discipline in general, let's be real and look at some of the more subtle yet quite devasting ways in which difficulties in delaying relief or satisfaction affect the lives of most adults. Some of us have developed sufficient capacity to forego self-satisfaction to make it through high school or college and launch out upon adulthood without landing in jail, our development nonetheless tends to be imperfect and flawed with the results that our ability to solve life's problems is still imperfect and at best incomplete. Seriously, who among us can say that they devoted ample time to analyzing their children's problems or tensions within the family? Who out there is so self-disciplined that he or she never says in the face of family problems, "this is way beyond me!" 

I need to be clear about something, it is not that the homes of these unself-disciplined boys are lacking in parental discipline. Often than not, these young boys are punished frequently and severely throughout their childhood. They are slapped, punched, kicked, beaten and whipped by their parents for even minor infractions. Here's a news bulletin for you, this discipline is meaningless. It is meaningless because it is undisciplined discipline.

"How can you repair what has never existed? What cell number do you dial when there is nowhere to call? When there is no address to find, where do you look?" What door do you unlock if there is no key?

It has been echoed down through the years that a mind is a terrible thing to waste! I believe it simply implies or states, if you don't use your mind wisely, you will waste it foolishly. If you don't govern your thoughts, your thoughts will govern you! Shock alert! Here's where we are with our young boys and men today. With every violent act that disrupts the status quo of normal life, a young man is temporarily out of his normal mind. The mind has the ability to trap us in a virtual realm that doesn't exist or bring us to an outcome or conclusion that is not of factual design. Dreams are universal human experiences that can be described as a state of consciousness characterized by sensor, cognitive and emotional occurrences. 

I would like to pause for a moment and shift directions briefly in an attempt to ensure you that humanity will overcome if we remember the simple lessons of life.

 Young adults whose understanding is still childish, tend to make some foolish and immature decisions.  Childish decisions are most destructive in the minds of emotionally injured adults. 

Hey, let's pause a minute and honor the fathers out there on the front lines trying to keep it real with their sons! Thank you dads and may God give you the strength and courage to continue to hold it down, we need more of you... that's for sure.

"All men enter this world through trauma." Our first experience in life is a slap on the butt from a man/woman that we don't know, bright lights, suction bulbs being shoved up our noses and our throats and finally if we're fortunate, placed in our mother's arms. "Immediately we perceive our surroundings and life begins through the eyes of a babe. It is at this time that we experience the development of our masculinity."

Man...it's a scary thought, but children emulate their parents. They mimic what we say, what we do, how we act, what we feel, even what we smoke or drink. I always find it interesting to hear parents say, "I know my child wouldn't do that!" Seriously? Please don't be that naïve. Our children won't do certain things while they are in our presence, but what they will do when we are absent is anyone's guess. Don't take my word for it, read or watch any of the daily news outlets. They are full of sobbing parents who were in denial and didn't think their son(s) was capable of doing such a thing or "we didn't know he had it in him." Really? How could you not know?