Don’t let the Devil Suck You In

A wise person once said,

“It is not the emotion that is ever wrong, only one’s reaction to it.”

As a young man, I was managing a band. It was a group of extremely talented individuals. Travis was the best, because he had this upbeat rhythm to all of his experiences, no matter how hard.

This is funny because he was the drummer. But the rhythm of his Life was even more beautiful than his drumming, which was extraordinary.

Boy was the singer. He has the most harmonious voice, but he often screamed so loud and rageful that you wouldn’t understand his words. It was grunge rock, so that was to be expected. But boy, (no pun intended) could he harmonize. You should have heard his beautiful sonnets!

I often fantasized about being up there singing where he was. Who didn’t?

But I was just the manager. Though they often referred to me as their inspiration.
Maybe it was back then that I got my first cue from God that I should end up a motivational speaker.

I’m still working on that.

Funny looking back at it, and me now. Still thinking of having a mic in my hand. But still scared to death to try it!

I’ll stick to writing for a little longer. I’m unsure I can handle the first few hecklers. Only because I’m so hard on myself.

The Pastors at my church are great speakers. I wish I could be like them. I’ve put them on my dream board hoping it will help God hear me…

I guess what’s so scary about it is once you’re up there you are being taken seriously. S’pose that’s why I thought maybe it better I pursue a career as a comedian first!

Such a hard marriage, comedy and truth.

My writing fits into a peculiar niche, as it is both serious and light-heartedly funny. It’s full of truth and a sprinkle of fiction.

There are a lot of times that I will quote someone how I remember they said it, just to be scolded later because it’s not what they meant. Also, something I’m working on… Maybe that’s why reporters carry recorders?

I never really wanted to write seriously anyhow.

I want people to pick out the truth from my writing. But I also want them to enjoy it.

Kinda like when I take my kids gem mining. They get a big bucket of sand and sift through. Most of the gems are going to just be colorful stones, but if they actually took the time to study them and identify what they’ve found, they may end up with a real treasure.

And if they don’t? Well, at least they had fun!

I’m the worst when it comes to thinking negatively.

If my wife doesn’t respond to a love letter, I just assume she’s busy planning how to get the most out of our divorce.

I can hear the word ‘Hey’ while sitting at my work desk and assume that the employees are having a conversation about ‘Jay’.

Why is he so quiet?

Going to church on Sunday has helped me realize the Devil is quick to fill in voids with the worst-case scenarios.

It’s the easiest way to gear our minds toward worry. And that inevitably leads us to inaction. If we think we’re already in someone’s ill graces, why would we bother them more? Why would we poke a snorting bull?

It makes us scared. But fear is a liar.

Recently, I had one of those moments at work, and instead of assuming they were talking about how shy I was, I got up and joined the conversation.

Lo-and-behold, everyone on the floor who had been depressed for the last four hours suddenly became jovial, and we all had a great night at work. I left feeling bad, thinking that maybe my inclusiveness had been a healing salve that had not been opened for weeks!

Was kinda selfish when I thought of it.

Okay, so we’ve risked our pants off in the past and been caught naked.
I mean, it’s true!

If we are genuinely faithful individuals, then we have grown up taking risks. Probably more than necessary and probably hoping we’d get lucky or things would turn out better than we expected.

We’ve also been disappointed a lot because of it.

If we hadn’t been, we wouldn’t have ever learned the value of caution. That’s called being an adult.

But, eventually, we realize that our youthful attitude toward risk was actually correct. We just didn’t have the proper authority yet to exercise it.

And there still may be times when our risk doesn’t pay off, and that’s fine. But I guarantee it isn’t as often as before. The reward will outweigh the risk now.

Don’t take this as your go-ahead to gamble. There’s a difference.

It’s just when you roar like a lion and you roar as a cub, you get different results. Can we dare say that all that ineffectual roaring was only practice?

In Druidism, we also have a concept of authority. It may sound strange, childish, or even ridiculous to some religious occupations but, a Druid without the proper authority over his life and environment could not possibly perform a dragon calling at a bonfire.

It is only common sense when someone steps back and analyzes the situation.

If the people present do not have the faith in the performer, fewer witnesses are going to see the dragon appear. Therefore, it is exceedingly rare for a young druid to have public success in such undertakings, and when it happens, it is well noted and the student’s education would be more feverishly attended than others.

Psychological manifestation is the most profound benefactor in our lives, no matter what path to truth you find yourself on.

There are many people out there who struggle with the lure of alcohol and illicit drugs.

There were always a few in the AA meetings that asked if there were meetings for people who weren’t alcoholics per se but just overindulged on weekends sometimes.
The answer was always,

“Yes. It’s called denial weekly.”

Then, of course, one sponsor would explain the importance of the first step, which is admitting there’s a problem.

This debate always reminds me of the importance of moderation and the avoidance of gluttony in all of its forms.
The real danger is in habits. Sin can be forgiven. But repeating the same sins repeatedly — creating habits in them, make it hard to justify, even to ourselves that we are doing the right thing and growing toward salvation.

Alcoholics who find themselves in a meeting and also in denial are just becoming aware of the danger of being labeled. This is because we are all subliminally aware that there is something else printed on every label:

an expiration date.

So try not to label people and try not to make a habit of things that lead to getting yourself labeled. If it’s already too late for you, well, let those habits expire.

It’s gonna take time, and it’s gonna get awfully smelly around while it rots, at least until you can gather the courage to take out the trash for good.

But remember, we are adults now, and the reward will most likely outweigh the risk.

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Jay Horne is an author and publisher out of Bradenton, Florida. He is a husband and father of four.
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