Life is short…

Love is worth fighting for.

Family is important until they aren’t.

Memory is faulty.

Silence and patience are virtuous.

Words can hurt. Use them carefully. You never know what inner struggles others are dealing with. If you have nothing good to say, silence is a wonderful option.

Protect yourself and treat yourself with respect. If we treated our friends the way most of us treat ourselves… we would have no friends.

Gravity works.

The sun rises and sets every 24 hours regardless what you think.

You are what you eat. Eat well and in moderation.

Don’t take yourself to seriously. No one else will.

Tell people you care about how you feel. No one can read your mind.

Matter exists in at least 3 states, solids, liquids and gas.

Money matters. You can’t pay rent or eat with good intentions.

Very few people speak truthfully. Many exaggerate. If something is to good to be true then proceed with caution.

There are 2 types of workers. Those that do a good job and Those that promote their careers.

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

Don’t go to sleep angry.

Shit happens. Sometimes bad things happen to good people.

Generally speaking, following the crowd is a bad idea.

It is not the lies we tell each other that are problematic. It’s the lies we tell ourselves and believe that are the problem.

Change happens. Get used to it or learn to suffer.

Learn to give without an expectation of return: or don’t give.

Fears fall into 2 categories. Rational and irrational.

Avoid the words Always and Never. They rarely happen.

“And God is in his heaven, and we all want what’s his.

But power and greed and corruptible seed seem to be all that there is…”

A large gaping mouth set upon this gigantic head… Held up by a tiny neck, unable to swallow those desires…

The horror! The horror!!

Now I have the visual of the narcissistic view. They fear they don’t exist…

I saw her in the mid day.

Later her voice was on the phone.

She told me what she wanted.

I asked, “Are you still alone?”

She told me that she wasn’t.

But that the company wasn’t great.

I said, “Now imagine that’s forever…

And choose wisely who you mate.”

An old man was meandering up the sidewalk with a cane and the button on his tweed hat read ‘ Peace begins with a smile ‘

I thought to myself, so does deception; but it was early and I hadn’t had my coffee yet.

Dennis Mantin

Darkness fell, it wasn’t mood, it was just the time of day.

Said, “Oh well” I should include, I slept the night away.

The sun did rise, same as before, I knew was just for me.

Closed my eyes and heard the roar of an angry distant sea.

I heard of tales, happened long ago, long before our time.

Of people who had lived and loved with hearts of faith and rhyme.

Dennis Mantin

The glitter  lost her luster.

Paranoia’s all the rage.

We’re staying in and looking out.

Too scared to turn the page.

It’s something in the water?

No, it’s something in the air.

Its’ cool now in the evening

I miss that I don’t care.

I’ve always been a leader… Natural leader above all.

When I was just a baby I led baby marches by the crawl.

Influencer, public figure, I’m now a man about the town.

Or I might be a woman, it’s whatever’s going down.

If I post it and you’ll like it then you can be my friend.

I’m an influenced public figure I major at pretend.

All the other babies they gave me the brightest ball.

None of us could stand so there wasn’t far to fall.

Influencers and Public Figures… lift your faces from your phone.

Take a look around you, you do look so all alone.

Dennis Mantin

The story goes that a tornado ripped apart a town leaving the townsfolk in total ruin.

A young boy looked at his mother upon returning to the shambles that once was their home and commented:

“Look Ma, ain’t it great! The winds stopped blowing. ”

Thus he was labeled ‘ The Fool. ‘

In his defense I would like to point out that his joy at being alive is perhaps buoyed by the sheer wisdom that if you are alive and well, he can always start again.

Dennis Mantin

I met my Grandfather Patrick when I was 20. Patrick was 92 and going blind. He had been muster gassed in the first world war. Being young and immature I was horrified by the realization of him losing his sight. He smiled and said, “Don’t worry… I’ve seen enough.”

I’m 60 now and am beginning to get what he meant. Life is like that.

Dennis Mantin