Getting Your Stuff Together, Jim Price [new reading txt] 📗

settle down with one mate, a mate that you make a solemn commitment to. A person with whom you decide to take on the vicissitudes of life together. Choose carefully, choose slowly and realize that in the end it is a mutual choice.

Put priority on your marriage relationship. Realize that it means building a bond with his or her relatives and that once you are truly into a marriage it soon grows into an ever widening circle of friends, this is the beginning of a good life but only if you realize the value of this ever widening group of friends. But if this gets too involved, too complicated and demanding learn to throttle back and keep the man/woman relationship intact. Remember the priority is first on the the marriage itself. Soon there will be children and with them the joy and the responsibility of parenthood.

Few of us get through life without having trouble with the people we associate with and with our mates as well as people on the job. But if you are determined to get your stuff together and keep it together you will have to give a lot of attention to what holds things together and also to what pulls them apart.

Am I Talking to You?

When it comes to getting your stuff together you might wonder if I am talking to you. Here’s a

way to tell. Today I dropped off a young man at the areas Plasma Center so that he could raise some money by selling his blood. From there I went directly to a funeral of a long time friend. The contrast in circumstances was striking. Neither party was where they wanted to be but the family that was dealing with death really did have their stuff together. They had plenty of insurance, had talked over what they wanted when that time came and there will be enough money left to take care of the surviving spouse.

The other party, nearly thirty, would not have insurance to pay for a funeral if he were to die, did not have insurance on his car and thus had hitched a ride with me. In addition he is not likely to spend his $ 50 in a responsible way and has no plan to pull his stuff together and begin to build a life.  

So I am talking to approximately 30 million Americans who desperately need to get their Sh-t together. Yesterday! You are not building a life, not supporting a wife, children or other family members in a way that creates love and respect. At the Plasma Center at least as many women were going in as there were men. This suggests that many of you women still have your stuff strung out all over the place. Whether it’s your fault or not, this message is for you.

At this point its not a matter of who’s fault it is; its a matter of how you can get the hell out of your dilemma. It doesn’t take all that long to build a future but it will take forever if you don’t get started  and go in the right direction.

How Hard Will It Be ?

How can I roll when the wheels won’t go? Those words from an old coal miners song may be the question that you are asking yourself. That is; how in the hell can I get my stuff together in this town, in this family, in this religion? The coal miner was bent low in the mine trying to push on the coal cart but pieces of coal had lodged under the wheels and despite his effort he couldn’t get the cart to move.

One fellow I counselled with lived in the poorest county in a poor state. After looking things over I said to him; “I don’t see how you can start a life and build on it in this county. If you fully assess your community and the job situation there you may conclude that a move is necessary and that is not easy or inexpensive.

You may find that your friends or your family greatly hinders you in getting your stuff together. A single mom I know has struggled hard to make it, getting some food stamps and a child support check from time to time she barely kept things together.Then some of her “friends” in the trailer court would just happen to stop in on the days they knew she would have some cash and while two occupied her with stories and laughter the other one would get in her purse and take some of the money. So your town or your friends may be your undoing.

Your religion can also be stifling and feeding you the wrong information; information that keeps you from seeing the world clearly. Getting from where you are to where you need to be is often a daunting task.  

Gaining Power

In our culture everyone is on their own. That’s why everyone feels powerless and often helpless. Think for a moment if any of the contacts that you have, empower you. In my town there are several groups and organizations but only two add strength and power to its members. True most of these organizations do not have as part of their mission, member empowerment but thats my point. Why do I need empowerment you may ask and the answer is, you are weak, without influence, significant money or property. In short the force is not with you, the system is not on your side and unless you belong to a very unusual church it will not empower you either.

Its entirely possible that the groups that you are a part of actually weaken you as an individual. That is they may take up your time, use up your money and even create an emotional drag on your psychic.

Obviously you need a new approach if you expect to gain some power, influence and financial strength. That begins with you developing a personal mission statement. Begin by asking; what do I want from life and how can I get it legally and ethically? Go back and read the bill of rights and realize that you have that famous document as a guideline for setting your goals.

In our small county we have about 2500 black residents, they have been here for generations and yet have never been able to break through to have a leader, a professional or a thought leader. Sure they are dealing with an invisible ceiling and a subtle push back from the white community. This push back is so entrenched and so pervasive that no one even thinks about it in a conscious way.

You may be female, hispanic are trying to rise from a poor white mans background as I have.

But think for a few minutes about my black neighbors; if you were in their shoes, what would you do, what could you do to break out and get your share of power, prestige and respect?

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Learning to Rise

In our community now; there are quite a few hispanics. More than any other group they have found and are finding  ways to rise. By language, genes and social standing they know they have to stick together. The rednecks in the area do not understand this sticking together business. Unless of course you count their willingness to support the NRA and perhaps the Tea Party. This alignment may build their sense of pride [ and pride is important ] but both these organizations actually take from the redneck more, much more that it gives to him.

Also in our community over 51 percent of our citizens are women. During the 1990’s a half dozen women emerged as leaders but after their energy and time had passed no one has taken their place.

So much depends on leadership and binding people together in a common cause. If you are to rise and gain power you will likely have to provide some leadership. Leadership is tricky and can use up your time and energy without aptly compensating you, so you have to know what you want and see if you can get a few others to see the vision with you.

Understand that it will take time, think in terms of three months at a time to accomplish small goals with the idea that one year will hardly get you off the ground. For one thing you will probably need to be secretive while at the same time developing a mind set in a few others. One of your first goals is get free and stay free of debt. At the very least keep it manageable. You cannot be a leader and be trapped in consumerism. You will likely not accomplish worthwhile goals if you are addicted to TV or any number of handheld devices these things require time and mental energy that you will need to spend in other places.

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