WRECKING (WE)LATIONSHIPS

Yesterday, It's me and you; we make two

Nothing can tear us apart

Today,  It's a lie, a cheat, and a bad thing that grew

Something that can distant the heart

When dishonesty rips

It aims at wrecking (we)lationships

Pensacola Helene

Two Faces of Honest. With or without DIS

Trust Heart looked at her brother, Integrity, "Don't do it" Integrity was thinking of stealing an idea from one of his co-worker. Trust was trying to talk him out of it. 

"Why?" Integrity said, "They would do it to me?" Trust sighed as she gestured for her kin man to sit down.

"Let me tell you a story...  I had an older brother, named Honest and I was crazy about him. I followed him everywhere and we went together like two peas in a pod. People loved Honest. He made people happy and was really good at helping them stay together as friends, or spouses, or relatives or co-workers...or whatever kind of relationship they were in. Then one day, I begin to hear rumors about Honest, that he had cheated on one of his girlfriends and of course he denied it and said it wasn't true. In spite of it, I kept following and loving him as usual, because I believed in his nature. Then, I heard he told a lie on one of his best friends and got him into serious trouble. His friend's name was Hope and she warned me about hanging out with him, but even with that I continue to follow him. I must admit, it began to disturb me when people started calling him DIS Honest. I continue to follow my brother, but I noticed it was at a distant now; I was slowing my pace. Something greater than me was pushing me back. I don't even remember when I started to change toward him, but I did. I tried hard to stay close to Honest, because we had so much in common, but the bad things kept growing and growing between us. One night we were sitting down in the backyard talking and shooting the breeze like old times. Both of us liked to write stories and had gotten good grades for writing the best essays in High School. We both pursued writing as a hobby, but my stories had started getting some serious attention. That particular night I told Honest about a new story idea I had and a few weeks later Honest published my story. He made lots of money from a story he stole from me. Of course after that, we parted ways."

"I'm sorry, Trust. I didn't know DIS Honest was ever a relative of yours."

"Well, you gotta be careful of the labels and suffixes you put in front of your name. They tell a lot about you, like Mr. or Mrs. or Dr or DIS. When you put DIS in front of your name it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. DIS, particularly, has a way of reversing your whole life and future; tearing it asunder from things that were once considered good."

"I see what you are trying to teach me. If I steal my co-workers idea I'll risk turning into a DIS.. is that right" Trust nodded. "Whatever happened to DIS Honest"

"Well, we never hung out or spoke again. Except for once, when he called to ask for forgiveness – I did - but he wanted me to be a part of his life again just like that" Trust snapped her fingers. "...and I couldn't. The money he made with my story went down the drain from all his shady dealings. He goes around making people miserable now by wrecking (we)lationships with dishonesty. Nobody trusts him now."

"I guess he's lost you for good, huh Trust."

"Well, that's the price you pay, when you decide to DIS people. I followed Honest freely back when we were friends, but now the restoral of that friendship would cost him something. He didn't want to stop being a DIS so... the rest is history."

"I guess it's true, once you lose trust, it's hard to get it back."

"Some people can get  it back. They have to totally get rid of the DIS title and really work on getting back their original reputation with those they Dissed. If not, they can forget it. "

Trust's story changed Integrity's mind, especially after he saw DIS Honest in action and witnessed what a mess he was making of people's lives. He didn't want to go down that road. Integrity liked having Trust as part of his Life. Integrity went on to do great things in his company, without having to DIS his co-worker or anyone else. He is now CEO of Integrity Enterprise, a fortune 500 company. And yes, he's RICH, not just with money, but with integrity of heart.

It's okay to be ambitious and desire for your dreams to come true, but there has to be an inclusion of trust and honesty as you enter into relationships with others. Trust is a valuable commodity and when it follows us into our life's journey we are the better for it. Trust is the most valuable gift we can give in our relationship with others, along with honesty and integrity. Too many people have sold those traits down the drain chasing the Almighty dollar and the American dream.  Trust is built over time, but can be torn down in one moment with Dis Honest. Like a wrecking ball Dis Honest comes into your life wrecking (we)lationships, sometimes forever. Those who can rebuild from the ruins of Dis Honest behavior are among the exceptions to the rule. Consider this simple message from Trust and don't even put yourself in that position. In your pursuits, also chase after trust, honesty, and integrity so that you will have a holistic and well-rounded Richness both externally and internally.  If you were thinking of doing something that may take you down the "other" road, "Stop now" before you become a DIS and spend a lifetime of Wrecking (We)lationships.

Pensacola Helene
Find Pensacola's books on AMAZON 

Pensacola's Pearls of Wisdom: Celebrate your YOU-niqueness

Flex and Straight grew up in a little town called Carbon Copy where everyone almost looked the same, dressed in the same earth tones, thought the same, went to the same stores, socials, schools, and churches.

They also married the same kind of people and had the same types of families and this had been the tradition for many years. 

One day the Different family moved into town. They had a son named Too, who was about the same age as Flex and Straight. Straight didn't like Too right off the bat. 

First of all, he didn't dress properly, he acted different, and he had some bizarre ways of thinking. Too had a Sister named A. Little and a brother named No. Straight liked No better than Too and felt he fit right into their town as if he'd been there for years.

 It wasn't long before No was indistinguishable from the rest of the Carbon Copy citizens. It was not the same with Too. He was considered a trouble maker. He kept getting in trouble with teachers for thinking outside the box, with policemen for wearing forbidden colors, and with the elders of the town for liking "wrong" things. Everyone gave Too a hard time, even Flex who attempted to be friendly.

Flex was in the school band and they played the same music as the generations before them. But one day Flex was riding his bicycle and saw Too outside of town playing this strange music, called Jazz.  Flex started to tell him he could get into trouble for playing "that" kind of music, but instead he asked him what kind of music it was. 

Too told him about Jazz, showed him how to play, and Flex fell in love with the music. Flex learned that day that Too had traveled, with his parents to many places and met many types of people who played Jazz music.  He wanted to be a great Jazz musician one day.

Too showed him pictures and videos and introduced him to other members of his family. His father, Respect Different was an officer in the military and his mother Be Different was a college professor, who spoke several different languages.

After a very enlightening visit, Too walked Flex back to his bike. Flex said, "We've been really unkind to you. I bet you don't like any of us." Too shook his head,

"No, I don't have a problem with anyone in Carbon Copy."

"Really? Why don't you?"

"Well, my mother grew up here. Her name before she married my dad was Be TheSame and she bought us here so we could learn to respect people who are different."

"But we haven't demonstrated any respect towards you."

"I know; that's my point. My mother knew we would learn how to respect differences here in Carbon Copy where people didn't respect differences. She said some people get angry, violent, act unkindly, or with fear when they run into people that are different. She said they even exclude people for being different. 

But she teaches us, no matter what, don't let it change who we are. She said we have a variety of flowers, a variety of animals, and a variety of fruit and in each variety you'll find different kinds of the same thing. People are like that too; there are many different varieties of the same kind. What I know and the people of Carbon Copy don't seem to know; is that we are the same, but just You-niquely different. Some people are uncomfortable with different and some people simply don't like different."

"That's not true. We like your brother, No and your sister A. Little has some friends here too."

"It's easy to like people who are No Different from you, like my brother, or to be a little more tolerate of my sister, who is only A Little Different. Tolerant is a negative term to me, because it implies we should just put up with people who are different, Respect, on the other hand says we show consideration for those who are different. 

My father said, respect challenges us "not" on our similarities, but on our differences. I am too different for Carbon Copy. Carbon Copy wants everyone to fit into a mold that makes "them" feel comfortable. The problem with that is while it makes Carbon Copy people feel comfortable, it makes other people feel uncomfortable. 

For instance, everybody in Carbon Copy wears earth tones and I get a ticket for wearing a loud green shirt. Is it wrong or is it just different, Flex? Why should I feel uncomfortable about wearing a green shirt, just because everyone else wants to wear earth tones?" Flex looked at Too with new eyes. It was true. Too liking green didn't hurt anyone and it wasn't wrong, it was just different as he said. Flex felt his sense of adventure challenge by Too's revelation.

"I like blue." Flex looked around to see if anyone was listening to his secret confession. The two boys laughed. Too went back into the house and bought out a brand new blue shirt and gave it to Flex. At first, he was hesitant to take it, but Flex wanted to be open to new things that he knew could positively add to his life. Flex didn't agree with all of Too's perspectives about life and living, but he learned to genuinely respect their differences.

Flex and Too became friends after that and Flex wore the blue shirt until it practically fell apart. Straight never spoke to Flex again. Too Different eventually left Carbon Copy, but he had changed Flex' life forever. Flex held onto some of the traditions of his upbringing but let go of others, yet his changes threatened the people of Carbon Copy. 

Eventually, his own family and those he once loved and grew up with ran Flex out of town. It was then he understood what Too meant by being the same, but YOU-niquely different.  

Flex left Carbon Copy and went to find his old friend. Too welcomed him with open arms and later introduced Flex to Jazz artists all across the USA. Flex' world became bigger and he felt joy as he discovered how really wonderful variety could be when you learned to respect differences. 

One connection lead to another and another and each one was different from the last and Flex had learned a lesson that would carry him through the rest of his life. Without a bigger community you could become impoverished with narrow-mindedness. He now had a variety of friends and he had become richer for it. 

Opening up to the boy from the Different family allowed him to become a part of one of the best, most famous, and highest paid Jazz duos in the country today, called Flex Too Differ. Straight remains a Carbon Copy citizen to this day and still lives there on Narrow Street.

 

We are all humanly the same, but yet You-niquely different. God created different to teach us to respect each other, and to challenge our sense of adventure in life. Celebrate the YOU-niqueness in yourself and others!!

Pensacola Helene
Find Pensacola's books on AMAZON 

The Tricky Tricky Truth about Love

The Tricky Tricky Truth about Love

It swings emotions from side to side

The Tricky Tricky Truth about Love

No matter how crazy

I still want to take the ride

Pensacola Helene

**See details below how to get your FREE copy.

The Tricky Tricky Truth

Theodore and Olivia's hearts bonded in the greatest connection and separated in the harshest of ways that two people can experience. It was a nightmare and a dream come true at the same time. It was like experiencing a mind-boggling orgasm in one moment and impotency in the next. It was sheer madness and utter joy. It was the appearance of peace and the jar of unrest. It was immense satisfaction and mammoth starvation. No human being could see-saw this way forever, but Theodore and Olivia had for a long time. The presence of the things we deem good and those we deem bad fought for dominance in their lives and Theodore knew it could only be one victor … one possible outcome.

Theodore McMasters thought as life goes on and you mature, experiences will change you for the better or for the worst. Life’s choices often challenge you with options like sink or swim, life or death, right or wrong and perhaps, divorce or stay married. Theodore decided to stay married. It wasn’t about him. It was about God, it was about the five pairs of eyes that were always looking at him through his children and it was about Olivia, the wayward wife that he loved in spite of it all. The years continued to pass and he could write a book about the blessings he, Olivia, and his family had encountered. To complain seemed an ungrateful thing to do, but he had a host of them that haunted him off and on over the years. His wife had enjoyed long months of sobriety and dark months of addiction. It was the ebb and flow of their lives together.

The McMasters’ happy times seem more like long commercial breaks – the part most people saw - but behind closed doors the real drama and real story continued……

Theodore and Olivia are a man and woman in a troubling relationship. Would you stay with a woman or man who was battling a drug addiction? Have you ever experienced a relationship that caused your emotions to swing from side to side? Did you stay? Did you go? The secrets to a long marriage are not always the ones people tell you. I will. Find out about the tricky tricky truth about love in my book "No Greater Love than This."

Blog at you Later,

Pensacola Helene

** First ten people to leave a comment and send their email address and the code number 110711 to pensacolahelene@yahoo.com will receive a FREE kindle copy of the book. Leave a review on my Amazon.page and receive a FREE kindle copy  of Sudden Summer Breeze when you send your email and code number 110811.