Nine Statements

1) Plain logic is difficult, if not impossible, to separate from emotion; as emotion is difficult to separate from logic. They guide each other. Imagine men made of silly putty in a wrestling match. They grab each other and alter the shape of the other one. In the same way, emotions and logic (ie, explicit thoughts) guide each other. (I owe much to the late Albert Ellis for the foundation to this idea. In fact, this has been more of my interpretation of his REBT.)

2) If a person has been taught that roaches are full of disease--potentially dangerous--then he may be setting himself up for fear of roaches. And if he does feel this fear at the sight or memory of a roach, he will reinforce the negative view of roaches. However, another person, with a neutral logic about roaches, will probably have less fear and disgust. He may be fine with having a roach crawl on their arm.

3) People talk about "Crimes of Passion," or impulsive actions with negative consequences--How their actions are immediately guided by intense, sudden passion to do things that wouldn't be done in a less distraught state. I'd like to alter this statement. Though emotions may fuel actions, preexisting logic permits those actions. (Logic influences emotion in the same manner.) This is why two different people--in the same stimulating reaction--will commit different responses. Why one person will find a particular incident neutral, and another may find that same incident to be excessively negative. If a person perceives people to be generally selfish and evil, then he or she may be inclined to distrust people, because of their faults, and less likely to be open toward them for said faults--he may feel that the faults are of humanity's bad nature.

4) In the end, with this logic of humanity's worthlessness embedded in his head, the person may be inclined to observe proof to sustain that logic. He will be sensitive to negative events, however small. He will be crushed by the mildest, kindest rejections; he will sneer at the most neutral of snubs; he will read hostility in voices of little affection. Unless he catches himself to alter his thinking process, those negative thoughts become habit. His depressing view of humanity and himself will continue unless he does what he can to stop it. Like all habits, bad thinking must be stopped in the process, or it will continue. The problem is that limited, negative thinking often appears benign. They are mistaken for 'realism.' They become a big problem when SO MANY negative thoughts build up over time. This is the danger of sustained negative thinking.

5) With such a sweeping condemnation of humanity sustained, this kind of person will consider himself evil, even when he has NOT done evil things. In any case, he is painfully aware of his faults and limitations (ie. too many pimples; lack of uncertainty about how life will turn out; etc). He might find himself exaggerating these faults. After enough time, he will convince himself fully of these thoughts, regardless of how other people see him. At this point, he will be more likely to commit inappropriate acts, because he is convinced of his worthlessness. The first step toward self-destructive evil, then, is the sustained feeling of worthlessness. The destructiveness is ready to be initiated once hopelessness sets in.

6) I would like to take a moment say: avoid labels. If you wanted a God's-eye-view of people, then you need to be able to view both their actions and their thoughts. Unfortunately, we can only view their actions within the lens of our thoughts. Our thinking is limited in that we can only observe others, not read their minds. Because we not Professor X, we are in danger of negatively interpreting benign actions. So many misinterpretations can take their toll on us. Therefore, we may do better to only view actions for what they are (must view them only as best as we can), then handle our own business. We must, as Kevin Costner once said in a (shitty) movie, "Be present." We're better off focusing on our immediate environment. We will jump the hurdles when we get to them. If we return to past events, and even interpret new events in the lens of those past events, then a negative past will upset our present. If we focus on an imaginary future, then we can upset our present. In ruminating, we are in danger of limiting our current potential. What's done is done. So, don't let what happened in Arkansas fuck you up in Alabama. This goes for witnesses, plaintiffs, and defendants.

7) The only thing alcohol does is remove feelings of inhibition. It removes fear. Everything else (besides reaction time and balance) are sustained. When a drunk tells you that he loves you, "I LOVE YOU GUYS," then he really fucking loves you guys. Consider Mel Gibson. No way in hell he is NOT anti-semetic, in some way. Those are the thoughts he thinks, if he said them when drunk...and to a cop. He was definitely thinking them when was drunk. God knows if he's been thinking the word "sugartits" every time he sees a good-looking woman. Beer allows people to confidently do things they'd only confidently do when drunk, or after a change in overall point-of-view. Sometimes, only two kinds of people can be trusted to always tell the truth: drunks; and confident, (sober) honest people. They usually say what they mean. For bad and good. And bad. And good. (PS. The only time I've ever been drunk, I was in a FANTASTIC mood. "I love you guys.")

8) Love is a key to living well; and loving sucks. By love, I mean mutual unconditional respect towards people. By love, I mean 'turn the other cheek.' By love, I mean 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' And love sucks because even if one person loves another, the person being loved might show disrespect. Turning the other cheek results in two bruised cheeks. Also, it's hardest and most unpleasant for a person to love when he doesn't believe that others can love. He fears people; he fears the attempt to love. When the belief and fear are sustained, he finds himself loving less. In this state, he feels safer to be aggressive, rather than wait for things to happen. He feels safer hurting others, rather than to wait for hurt.

9) Another key to living well is attempting to keep steady. "Don't let what happened in Arkansas fuck you up in Alabama." The past can be messy, messy motherfucker. For people to live more happily, we must attempt to avoid getting shackled by the past. I'm sorry to say that the most trite cliches are the most true. We just got to worry about what what's in front of us. Be present. Now, the world doesn't have to be perfect, but we can certainly avoid unnecessary harm. And if we run into unnecessary harm? Oh, well. Sometimes the biggest roadblock to a perfect world is the fear of never reaching it.