what you have

 It seems to me we have an awful lot of people that want to claim the past as their struggle, their life, and are making demands upon the present for that. I think the best we can hope for is to have learned from that past and not repeat it. I do not owe anyone anything for what happened before my birth, for what happened in previous centuries, or anything I was not directly involved with. My obligation rests solely with the way I treat others today and the policies I support.

 It is true that the past has led us to where we are today. That's just the way the world works you know. Everything that happened in the past, is past. You aren't going to change that; you aren't going to erase it. The only thing you can influence is the future! I'll say that again, the only thing you can influence is the future! Want tomorrow to be different? Change today. It's that simple really. Of course, it does require work on your part. You cannot achieve that by insisting others give you something for what happened yesterday. You can't change tomorrow by pointing to the past. You have to assume responsibility for today. 

 I've never been one to jump on the wagon. What I mean is to claim some identity for perceived favors. I'm just me, nothing else. I'm a veteran but that doesn't define me, I make no claim to fame based on that designation. It is simply what I did at one point in my life. I've been lots of things over the years. Everything from a garbage man to an industrial mechanic, if you want to go by titles. I was the same person in every role. In some roles I enjoyed more status than others and that remains true today. I certainly don't place any blame on the past for what was. I made the choices that led me to where I am today. No one to blame but me for that. If I was influenced, guided, or coerced into anything it was my fault as well. I allowed that; I made the choice. 

 The one thing I didn't have a choice about was the conditions of my birth. I didn't get to choose who my parents were, where we lived, how much money we had, or any of that. I was born into those circumstances. That's true for every one of us. If you are unhappy with those circumstances that's just too bad. You can't change that! There is no do-over. That is what was. I see no reason I should be held to account for that. 

  In this world it isn't what you deserve that matters, it is what you earned. That's the lesson that needs to be taught. Perhaps it was the circumstances of your birth that you feel you didn't deserve, thing is, it is what you were given. What you do with what you are given is your choice. No different than when you were a baby. If you didn't like what you were being fed, you spit it out. You didn't get a choice, but you did reject it. That doesn't mean that later on in life you can demand lobster for dinner! Works like that in the real world too. If someone is giving you something, they are expecting something in return. Yes, they are! Could be your continued good health is all they want, but they want that. What you feel you deserve is not the point, it is what you have that counts.