Category: Rules Of Life

On Monday, as I was leaving for lunch, a student asks me for $0.05. Now, I don’t usually carry cash, so I gave her my BuzzCard and told her to just swipe it in the vending machine to get what she was going to get if I had the $0.05 to give her. And just for clarity, a BuzzCard is our on campus ID card, and you can put money on it to use at most places on campus. But back to the story.

So she has this look on her face of disbelief, and I have a look of confusion on mine. She then says that she can’t believe I did that. To which I told her, hey, if I can help when someone needs help, I help. I’m not sure if she was a grad student or not, but she was a brown skinned sista who was in need. Now, anyone who really knows me, knows that I believe that we have to look out for each other, because no one else is going to.

So as we are standing there, she proceeds to tell me how beautiful of a person I am for letting her use my BuzzCard to get what she was going to get. Now, it was something from the vending machine, and it was maybe $1.75, not a big deal at all to me, but I get that the gesture is what she was shocked by. She says how people just don’t stop and help other people these days, let alone just buy them what it is they were trying to get. We talked a for a bit, and then went our separate ways.

In life, we all have the power to help or harm people. Which of those options we choose is completely up to each individual. I choose to help people when I can, and I hope that my acts of kindness will influence others to do the same. To me, those acts of kindness and our ability to help people are two of the most important reasons why we are here on this rock floating in space.

It’s no secret that I am an audiophile. I love good music that has great sound. Now, I at times bash a lot of the music that is played on the music, and yes, I think most of it is garbage, however, there is some good stuff out there. The main issue that I have is there is a lack of balance in the music, and other forms of media that we, as people consume.

I have always lived, no, I have always tried to live my life by some very simple rules. I have done a pretty decent job in not breaking my rules. As time goes on, I’ll get more of my rules written for people to read. As I sit here about to leave work, I am looking at a few videos on Youtube, and I am listening to some less than conscious music. Now, those who do not know me very well would call me a hypocrite for listening to this music. And that is rule #005 comes in;

Rule #005 – In All That You Do, Let There Be Balance

Yes, I think that you need to listen to music that has a message and meaning behind it. Music that tells the story of the struggles of people. Music that gets a message across to the masses. Music that is meant to touch your soul and cause you to have a spiritual experience. However, there is also some music that is mean for no other reason than to cause you to move your body. Music that is meant for the club. Music that is meant boob out of a pair of 15” sub woofers in the trunk of your 1985 Chevy Caprice. Music that is mean to have bass so low that you can feel it bouncing on the inside of your chest.

All of it is good music to someone. But, let’s please get back to a time when there was balance. After you have dinner, you have desert. Sometimes to follow up a great novel, you may read a trashy romance novella. However you bring balance to the force, do that and keep your balance. Do not allow music, movies, tv, books, or whatever your choice of entertainment is cause you to lose balance. Balance is what keeps us focused and centered.

Rule #005 – In All That You Do, Let There Be Balance