Nelson Mandela Refused Submission and Violence. Photo Courtesy Wikipedia
Nelson Mandela – 2008
Courtesy of Wikipedia
It’s Your Life. Take Charge of it!
Of your life and your biz, If you’re not in control, Then tell me who is? You have brains in your head, You have choices galore, You have hands on your arms, You have feet on the floor. So excuses are easy, And your stories are quaint, And your hind end’s for sitting, But your life surely ain’t. So decide what you want, Or you’re destined to lose, If you don’t take charge, Someone else gets to choose! Steve Dahl Copyright 2013
When raising wild lions we’ve caught,
Inside a steel-barred cage,
We calm him down, we feed him,
And ignore his inborn rage.
Not a rage that comes by simple choice,
But rage from DNA,
A rage that cannot be undone,
Or simply wished away.
Why are we shocked when lion’s strike,
And hurt the ones who care,
It’s in their cells to do these things,
We can’t be unaware.
Predators have a thing inside,
That cause surprise attacks,
Like felons hunting girls and boys,
To do horrendous acts.
The predators of the human kind,
No different in their way,
They cannot stop from hunting though,
It’s in their DNA.
It’s why we lock these creatures up,
And keep them from their range,
One cannot stop a lion’s urge,
Or hope that he will change.
My thoughts on releasing repeat offending sexual predators: The sexual predator that is about to be released in San Diego will follow a very expected course. I am a very forgiving person but I’m not stupid. Sometimes bad DNA takes over a person’s behavior and the only way to help that person is to confine that person.
Not unlike the wild animal who has DNA designed to kill. We can spend a lot of time calling Douglas Badger a creep and a freak but the one thing we know for sure is that he is an animal, like all of us. But, he has slightly different DNA than most. His is designed to attack. I wouldn’t get into a cage with a natural born predator and we shouldn’t let them roam our neighborhoods either.
The image of Douglas Badger is courtesy Fox News 5 San Diego.
Copyright 2013 Steve Dahl
We calm him down, we feed him,
And ignore his inborn rage.
Not a rage that comes by simple choice,
But rage from DNA,
A rage that cannot be undone,
Or simply wished away.
Why are we shocked when lion’s strike,
And hurt the ones who care,
It’s in their cells to do these things,
We can’t be unaware.
Predators have a thing inside,
That cause surprise attacks,
Like felons hunting girls and boys,
To do horrendous acts.
The predators of the human kind,
No different in their way,
They cannot stop from hunting though,
It’s in their DNA.
It’s why we lock these creatures up,
And keep them from their range,
One cannot stop a lion’s urge,
Or hope that he will change.
My thoughts on releasing repeat offending sexual predators: The sexual predator that is about to be released in San Diego will follow a very expected course. I am a very forgiving person but I’m not stupid. Sometimes bad DNA takes over a person’s behavior and the only way to help that person is to confine that person.
Not unlike the wild animal who has DNA designed to kill. We can spend a lot of time calling Douglas Badger a creep and a freak but the one thing we know for sure is that he is an animal, like all of us. But, he has slightly different DNA than most. His is designed to attack. I wouldn’t get into a cage with a natural born predator and we shouldn’t let them roam our neighborhoods either.
The image of Douglas Badger is courtesy Fox News 5 San Diego.
Copyright 2013 Steve Dahl
Oh they’re sitting around,
Just looking for work,
They’re unemployed angels,
And they’re starting to lurk.
They’ll lurk in your hallways,
When bedtime arrives,
They’ll loiter in the back seat,
On long boring drives.
They’ve got time on their wings,
But no time to kill,
They’re unemployed angels,
With plenty of skill.
Put one of these angels,
On that payroll of yours,
They’re really quite handy,
At spiritual chores.
They show up for the job,
And they never complain,
Take short coffee breaks,
And help you stay sane.
They don’t take vacations,
They don’t need your cash,
They’ll put in the long hours,
When you’re ready to crash.
They’re the perfect employee,
Only second to one,
They’re there when you need them,
And they’ll help get it done.
So the next time you’re wondering,
Just what you should do,
Just pick up the resume,
Of an angel or two!
Copyright 2013 Steve Dahl
The heavenly artwork is courtesy of the angelic artist - Paula Majeski.
On long boring drives.
They’ve got time on their wings,
But no time to kill,
They’re unemployed angels,
With plenty of skill.
Put one of these angels,
On that payroll of yours,
They’re really quite handy,
At spiritual chores.
They show up for the job,
And they never complain,
Take short coffee breaks,
And help you stay sane.
They don’t take vacations,
They don’t need your cash,
They’ll put in the long hours,
When you’re ready to crash.
They’re the perfect employee,
Only second to one,
They’re there when you need them,
And they’ll help get it done.
So the next time you’re wondering,
Just what you should do,
Just pick up the resume,
Of an angel or two!
Copyright 2013 Steve Dahl
The heavenly artwork is courtesy of the angelic artist - Paula Majeski.
Change Starts With Awareness
How is it that we can let our heroic veterans live homeless? What will it take for us to finally notice the plight of these American heroes? I was shooting photos in downtown San Diego recently and was amazed at how many homeless vets are struggling on our streets amidst the wealth and beauty of this thriving community. What can we do? Not sure. So I wrote this piece and put it to video. Change starts with awareness. Please share this wherever you can.
From this clip:
“Not wounded by enemies, from battles afar,
but by those dropping nickels in my jar.
To you – I’m invisible,
I’ve vanished from view,
have you ever considered that I – could be you?”
Here is the text of the video script in a printable PDF. Share this – PLEASE!
Invisible Heroes Infographic.2pdf
Brene Brown’s research and writing on the impact of shame on our lives inspired me to write this piece. Her bottom line to getting over the shame so many of us feel is simply to speak it. Hidden shame is lasting shame. Speaking of shame is the healing of shame. So, let’s try it out! What do you think?
My Shameful Story
The shame I’ve buried deep inside, Festers there – it’s still alive, It is not buried deep enough, To hide me from my ugly stuff. I know it’s in there, playing dead, Imperfection in my head, It keeps me small controls my heart, This shame could tear my life apart. I can’t control my shameful story, All its pain and all its gory, I cannot lose this shameful cloud, Until I speak my truth aloud. One cannot beat my shame to death, It never takes a final breath, To beat my shame, it must be heard, And banished with my spoken word. Copyright 2013 Steve Dahl
Oh you over-controlling governmental type,
- Texting While Driving
Copyright 2013 Steve Dahl
I got the idea for that little ditty after watching Werner Herzog’s video on CNN about texting and driving. The above is actually a comment I left on the site after seeing a bunch of idiots defend texting and driving. If you really don’t think texting and driving is dangerous, watch this…