Trust Addiction and Happiness

The Kindness of Strangers Penniless Across America by Mike McIntyre had a lot of interesting points. Mike traveled across America to escape the strain and conformity of his life. Throughout his journey he meets many strangers who he has to get to trust him and has to trust them. He described trust as being the biggest obstacle throughout his travels. Trusting himself, others, and getting others to trust him was really difficult for him. He met some really creepy people but he would take a chance and trust the next person he came across. He put his life in other peoples hands. He also said "We know who we are. The hardest part is trying to be that person. It is much easier to be someone else." I thought that was a really interesting point.

I have had many people in my family fight addiction and I could relate to Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis and Larry Sloman. As children my mom and her eight brothers and sisters were on their own for most of the day. A single mom with a full time job couldn't keep track of all nine of her children every second. They were able to get away with a lot of things that I never would be able to. In Scar Tissue Anthony talks about his dad letting him try everything. Any parent now would say that's terrible and how would anyone let that happen. But that's life. Now my aunts and uncles have grown up but many of them struggle with alcohol and cigarette addictions. I have seen it drive apart a marriage and really run people's lives. It is incredibly hard to get someone who isn't willing to quit to quit. Anthony talks about that and I have seen it first hand. It is hard and it hurts a lot of people.

Live Like Jay! I had never heard this saying before listening to the presentation on Making Mavericks by Frosty Hesson but I love the message. I have always connected to saying about striving for happiness and being happy even in the darkest moments. Jay was a happy and determined kid that Frosty ended up mentoring to surf. Jay was said to always have a smile on his face. It didn't matter what Frosty put him through or if he had a bad day surfing. He always found something good. Bad things happen but you can choose to let them run your life or make the best of it. You can choose to move on and appreciate
what happened without letting it hurt you.