02: The case for a foundation.
“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Psalm 11:3
We need to start somewhere. Can we agree that we want a “better” life? I put better in quotations because it’s subjective. My vision of better is different than yours so keep that in mind. So let’s just say this: We would like to improve every aspect of our lives. How’s that? With that out of the way, I think in order to build(or rebuild) anything, a proper foundation must be in place.
I remember as a kid, I spent a lot of my time in basements. I moved around quite a bit, so most times, people’s basements were all that was available and I wasn’t about to turn it down. This gave me my first taste of bad foundations. I remember this one particular home that I stayed in, when it rained or after large amounts of snow melted rapidly, tiny holes in the brick foundation would leak water. This brought the smell of mildew that would permeate my clothes and leave puddles of water under my bed. While I hated it, other members of my family could care less because they never saw it and you know the old saying; out of sight, out of mind. As you are trying to make sense of life, small leaks in your foundation may not cause you much distress, but unless you fix your foundation early, you are setting yourself up for a mental and physical flood that you may never recover from.
People have different foundations that they use as the cornerstone of everything they do. Some use their military training, religious backgrounds, or “street smarts” that some folks have to forcibly acquire in order to survive the harshness of life. While the point of this blog is to convince you that you can be better, what I don’t want you to do is to do exactly as I do. That’s sort of cultish to me so no thanks. What I will say, is going through life thinking that you can develop some sort of rolling foundation that will adapt to every situation is a fool’s game. To think that you could simply know every reasonable and prudent response for all of life’s adversity is foolish. The only way that could work is if somehow you were able to experience every culture and subculture on the planet and understand their intricacies immediately. If you have this mentality, that’s EGO talking and maybe you should check yours. If ego is something you don’t quite understand, that’s cool, check out Ego is the Enemy, by Ryan Holiday. That will square you away. I actually plan on writing up a piece on “street smarts” and if they are effective or not.
So let’s establish some ground rules for foundations. For one, you can’t make them up. You are discounting how powerful the draw of peer pressure can be. Don’t be that person. Also, if you are the one setting the standards, what’s to stop you from breaking your own rules? If a parent lets their kids set all of the behavioral rules of the home, what kind of parent would they be? Two, your foundation must have the end goal of improving your life and the people around you. If your foundation does not draw others to you in a positive way, your foundation could be a little too self-centered and may need to be adjusted. Third, you must understand your own foundational principals so that they can stand up to criticism. If the foundation is not in your heart or you selectively apply the standard when you need it, you are no better than the leaky basement I lived in 30 years ago. You may not notice anything now, but as soon as someone with a strong argument comes along, your basement with be filled with puddles.
Egos aside, what are some of your foundational principals? Do your principals stand up to criticism? or do you need to reevaluate? Either way, let’s do it together.
“Don’t give em too much juice/Don’t let em take control/
Cause one thing you do/Don’t let em taint your soul/
If you believe in god/one things for sure/
If you ain’t aimed too high/then you aimed to low -Jermaine Cole
Deuces
-A
