Friday, May 29, 2015

Life is too Short, Religion as an Excuse for Bias is Absurd

I look outside and see a beautiful world. I do not see the churned up anxiety and jagged edged fears of my friends and neighbors yet those internal emotions and perceptions shape their worlds. If you are looking for me to ridicule religions, I am not. I could but why? The idea is to open minds NOT close them. Religions were created with the intent of bringing people together and keeping society from chaos and abhorrent behaviors. I respect that. Believe what you will, none should be looked down on for their choice. Every religion has embarrassing subgroups from ISIS to Evangelical Baptists; it is important not to generalize, stereotype or belittle someone because they align with a specific belief system.

A beautiful day goes by as we struggle to relate to each other and deal with interpersonal issues, most caused by miscommunication, misunderstanding, perspective differences, or old trauma to vast and marring to permanently escape from. The birds sing, the wind carries tree branches in a merry dance and the stars shine on. We could be a foot away from someone struggling with depression, anxiety or other medical issues. We could be staring at the daisies, marveling at the beauty in this world while they only feel like they have consumed nightshade and are struggling to survive. We worry more about religious fanatics than we do our friends and neighbor's mental and emotional health. Priorities people. ONLY when every choice we make is beyond reproach and respectful of human and world could we start making that judgment call- but someone at that level would never choose to stoop that low unless it was to pick up trash from a beach.

It is hard to bear the burdens some carry in their minds. There is no clear stop to put the baggage down. While we make fun of primitive cultures, they had a better understanding of us as we are. They understood we need rituals, we need symbols, we thrive on coincidence and associations that seem personal to us. Those associations such as with certain animals or seasons give us comfort and encourage us to grow. Without them we become just another number trying to stand out through standardized generic social media, clothing, and haircuts. Look unique just like everyone else…
Yet no one complains that daisies look the same, most smile to see their lovely petals; rarely does someone say "ugh, another plain daisy." Rituals allow us to symbolically let go and grow, they turn scars into symbols of courage. Religions know this and use rituals.

Perhaps instead of telling each other what to believe we should choose to create a "Church" THAT SPECIFIES believing in anything or nothing and respecting the right of everyone to believe and worship as they choose so long as no one is harmed or killed…

Wait, the major religions are constantly arguing as if they were spandex wearing wrestlers.  IT should not be about right or wrong, all religions were created by people just as human as we are. It should be about being connected, finding and keeping peace and health. It shouldn't be about good or bad as they are arbitrary constructs.

Spiritual beliefs are personal, they should be respected regardless of whether one is following Allah, Jesus, Buddha, Cthulu, or the Great Spaghetti Monster in the Sky. Any tithing should go to charities of your choice from the homeless on the corner to saving abused animals, to environmental clean up to doing a potluck with your neighbors. There should be no church buildings, as one should deal with the world and each other in accordance with their beliefs regardless. There is no hypocritical forgiveness card to punch on sunday so you can do something wrong again monday. Instead you are connected and respectful, helping where you can-when you have excess and the need is out there for something you can offer. Perhaps it is picking up litter or helping a lost child find their parent, perhaps it is helping a neighbor with a bill or giving nutritious food to those without.

Instead of approaching from what you can't do and assuming you are flawed perhaps we start as neutral and allow our choices and outcomes to determine where we are at. We choose. Positive and negative repercussions come from our choices, Karma and social law. Teach children values without bias based on another's beliefs, culture, color, gender, or income. No war should be considered holy. No murder or manipulation is justified by religion. No religion should be justified by murder or manipulation.

If you find peace following the tenets of being a Jedi, then do it just don't bang on the neighbor's door and suggest there is something deficient in them because they don't. It comes down to respect. The world was not created for us to trash like giant toddlers. It is. It was. It will be. It is up to us to choose our own paths, to live and appreciate what we have. We have the hours, minutes, seconds between screaming and squalling as we are born until the moment our last breath slips free.

In life we have the choice to get out of our own heads, to fight past our dark inner demons and fallacies to become something more. The ancient alchemists never sought gold. They were considered heretics by all Churches. They wanted to find a way to take what we are as humans, and make it into something more.

Red Rock Lake, Colorado
Perhaps we started as something more and through all the perceived emotional and physical trauma we carry, we end up being something less. Perhaps the key is letting go, accepting, and choosing to heal. Negative tends to be overwhelming, it isn't easy to learn to step out of it. Emotions are strong and painful, like trying to learn algebra while an elephant crushes your foot. Sometimes you have to heal as best you can afterwards and choose to plan to try to avoid or accept painful situations will come and that the most you can do is prepare and perhaps live to tell the tale.


So, today is a beautiful day and I wonder what you are choosing to do with it? You could be guiding someone out of a dangerous place in their own head. You could be resting in a natural hot spring or splashing in a pool or rescuing a lost pet. Each day is time slipping past you that you will never get back. What shapes the landscape in your mind, what monsters do you allow to maim your growth and relations? Why?

ValleyView Hot Springs, Colorado

So You Want To Be a Secret Shopper and the Connections You Will Need

In a tight year where I spend a lot of time trying to stretch every twenty dollar bill to cover groceries, bills, and gas money. If you're thinking its an impossible task you may be right. Especially if you have spent your time searching and finding that everyone charges you money to GIVE you ACCESS to the companies that do secret shopping.

What is Secret Shopping? 


Secret Shoppers are contracted through companies that do secret shopping by various merchant businesses for various reasons including: professionalism, appearance, pricing, quality of interactions and equipment, as well as to verify that employees are not using illegal or unethical practices. Companies may contract secret shoppers as an independent review of their company to enhance the quality rating and certifications they have. Companies may contract secret shoppers if they have received complaints and want more of an idea on how their employees are interacting with customers.


Keys to Secret Shopping Successfully: 


1. Utilize the training information provided by the companies you are working for. Different companies have differing preferences on what and how to report.

2. Read the directions on secret shops as well as the survey you will need to complete afterwards.

3. When you do a shop you NEVER tell anyone you are doing the shop, you go alone and you follow directions provided. NEVER "Make it up as you go along." Directions are specific. You can tell your family or friends, so long as they aren't the sort to walk in as a joke and blow your cover.

4. Sometimes you can take pictures without drawing attention, sometimes you need to take pictures as part of completing the shop. Pictures may be of store fronts, sales displays, receipts.

5. Keep copies of receipts and documentation. Date everything and catch the name and a physical description of the people who you meet during the shop as well as what and how they say it.

example: As Diana was seating us the manager, Joe, came and introduced himself and welcomed us with a friendly smile. Neither seemed rushed and both seemed attentive to our needs and interests. Diana was caucasian, about 5'5" with long black hair held back in a ponytail; she was wearing her uniform shirt, name badge and plain black pants. Joe was about 6'0." Joe was african american, with his uniform shirt, name badge and plain black pants on.

6. Grammar is important. No LOL No shortcuts No see answer above. Be clear in your writing.

7. Be Timely. Shops HAVE to be done WHEN they are ASSIGNED TO be done. You have to wait until you are approved.

8. There is a national certification you can take, it isn't necessary yet and each company has different guidelines so it is best to go through and do the training exercises they offer and get the training they request if they request any.

What kinds of secret shops are out there? 


You name it! Restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, banks, real estate, airport and airline, hotels, colleges and services.

You can make money doing shops. They take time and accuracy to complete. Different shops pay different rates for different types of shops. I have done retail shops that did not require me to purchase anything, were short, and paid $13 each. I have seen shops that offer $30-$60 payment with reimbursement for purchases up to $15 for bowling alley shops. Shops can take a few minutes to a few hours. There are shops in urban and rural areas. There are shops that are in person at a location as well as phone survey shops. Some shops require you to do hidden video or audio recordings. Medical secret shops may pay up to three hundred dollars and reimbursement without any medical procedure being done.


The Gem you have been waiting for: 


This is a starter list, avoid paying someone to hand you this list. Please share my blog and share the list freely. If you want to do a favor for me in gratitude after you do a few shops then share the links to my ebooks, the link to my blog, buy one of my ebooks or some of the jewelry I make and sell at Painted Lady Creations on Etsy. Pay it forward! If they ask if you were referred by anyone you are welcome to say Angela Hunt referred me or not; doesn't really matter. I just want this information out there free.

If you have more companies you want me to add, please add them in comments or message me and I will look them up and add them. Good hunting!

For more companies or to add to this list, search for scheduling companies, promotions and marketing as well. If you look up secret shopping you will likely get mostly hits on engines like Shadowshopper that will charge you to give you access to connecting with secret shop companies or blogs that are using paying advertisers to get paid for you sharing information. I am just handing it to you as I took the time to pay and gain access to the information and I feel it should be freely shared. Companies are always looking for good shoppers.  Use these company names to find and create an account to secret shop for these companies! When I say retail it's a generalization that includes restaurants, grocery, phone companies, fast food, gas stations, clothing stores etc.

Beyond Hello- various retail shops and app for your smartphone to find them!

Bestmark - in my experience they offer a lot of oil change shops.

Insula Research- Retail

Baird Group: Bairdgroup.clientsmart.com - medical in person and phone shops, with excellent training modules

KSS International/ Kern Scheduling- retail

Mystery Researchers- retail, overarching company that Beyond Hello, Insula and mystery researchers are a part of

Goodwin Hospitality- I like their shops. Bowling alleys, retail

Strategic Reflections- retail

National Shopper Service- various

Ellis Partners in Management Solutions/ EPMS online - in person, phone shops many are real estate shops

isecretshop mystery shopper services

Informa Services - various retail

Stay Connected- promotions, demos, and secret shops

Fusion Marketing and Promotion- promotions, special events, secret shops


I wish you good fortune in stretching those twenty dollar bills with me as we earn side income occasionally helping companies review their practices, presentation, and quality of merchandise or services.

Doing retail shops could mean getting a product free or being reimbursed for purchases. 


 You could secret shop a grocery store and end up getting part of your groceries paid for as well as getting about $15-$20 to review the store. You could get reimbursed up to a certain value on purchases at other stores or service providers. Oil changes reimbursed with an added $15 paid to you for doing the shop. Restaurants with reimbursement and pay or just reimbursement which still adds up to a free dinner. Bowling alleys paying you for doing a round of bowling and having a snack and a drink as well as paying you to do the shop. Medical providers paying up to $300 for you to present and do shops on how staff deals with you and what they say in relation to the information you are providing.

Most secret shop companies pay monthly or at completion of the shop. Review the specifics for each on their websites! 



Secret shoppers should be neutral, follow directions and hopefully get to see people do their jobs well and see companies well represented. In the unfortunate situation when they are not, it is the shopper's responsibility to turn in the information requested by the company so the company can evaluate and make a course of action to improve their business. It is wonderful when you get to turn in a report or survey about how amazing someone did and how fast or professional the company was represented. However it goes, it is a tool that helps companies get non-biased information on how they are doing.





Sunday, May 24, 2015

Happiness is not the same as disguised desperation.

In this country we have the right to pursue happiness, but what is it?

People post they are happy so long as they close their eyes to things that bring them down. Think positive. Pizza, material goods, travel, family, coupons, gifts, entertainment bring happiness. Humor, whether the jokes are universal or universally inappropriate, bring happiness to others.

But are we using the right word? Awesome is supposed to be used to describe something incredible, awe inspiring yet we use it for things that are everyday and average.

Douglas Adams noted Eskimos have many words to describe rain. Perhaps there should be different words for transitory, situational, and deep happiness?

Perhaps instead of running from the shadows of things that make our hearts cry, we stand. We cry. We face and bring ight to the shadows. We become the stars changing the night from bleak to beautiful. We grant wishes through actions. We connect with each other without grudging religion, politics, color, or belief. We choose the reshape the world to prioritize people and the environment. We prioritize the real, living world - without a healthy one, it doesn't matter how nice the digital ones we create are.

Instead of escapism, choose something you can do to empower yourself. To reshape the cold apathy of our society into light, warm affection.

I think real deep happiness comes when we heal ourselves, when we accept responsibility for who and what we are and we stop choosing resentments, bias and hurtful behavior.

A good friend said he can't believe people still kill each other. Violence begets violence. Healing begets growth. It can be scary, painful and unpleasant at times but that's part of the process. If you have a broken leg it will hurt to set it properly so it can heal but if you avoid that pain you will only end up with worse pain and loss of function. Emotions have functions, more subtle than the physical body but just as important.

We make the choices on what the rules are, what is bought and sold, how, as well as how we are treated and how we treat each other.

It is time for us to all be all colors, to recognize love is important, to value our differences and honor our different stories.

When we do this, happiness is there. Real, true and lasting. It is not about closing our eyes. It is about opening them so we can take the wheel and drive.

An example in real life is Colorado Gators. In the 1970s they started as a fish farm, and got gators to feed dead fish to, a sort of natural recycling. They blossomed into a sanctuary for rescued reptilian pets as well as being a fish farm. Now they have Gators of all sizes and ages, several rattlesnakes, monitor lizards, bias, pythons, fronts, turtles and even other animals. Most of their animals are rescues, they even have horses, emu, and ostriches, as well as ducks, chickens and geese. It was a beautiful farm, rich with real farm scents of living healthy animals. Those folks change the world every day, teaching and tending animals that were taken out of the wild only to become more than their owners could manage. They have an impact. Their happiness was not a fleeting thing, like the happiness of eating a delicious pizza but instead it was a deeper bliss that ripples out into the lives of all that stop by and bravely hold the baby gator and mug for a photo.

One example among thousands. Eyes open, it is your choice.

Taos: Free Spirits and Dreamers Welcome

In the mountains of New Mexico, nestled in clouds and mountains lies Taos.

The scenery called for artists to capture its beauty. Small town feel, friendly people and artists left and right. We arrived in time for Dennis Hopper Day, May 17; the "new" 4-20. We dressed in our finest smiles and sparkling eyes, we went to join the fun. Clips from Easy Rider with commentary played as we juggled watching and meeting new friends. Robbie Romero and Robert Mirabal, along with other talented musicians played an exceptional variety of songs that kindled the free and beautiful spirits in the room. I found myself drumming on the railing as I surveyed the joyful room below.

Dennis Hopper was a free spirit, he appreciated that in others. We started the evening in a circle, in a prayer together to the heartbeat of a drum. Easy Rider, exploring the country on motorcycles while we explore in van and car following our hearts and going where the wind takes us with contracts and work as it comes. 

We wandered Taos for several days, exploring history through museums, graveyards, and discussions with locals. We admired masterful artworks, grateful that Taos chose to become a haven for creative thinkers, dreamers and doers.

The words "cheap import" never came to mind, those things were not there. Prices were based on quality, everything was marked reasonably.

We went to the Rio Grande Gorge, watched a rainbow form over the vast bridge stretching from the depths of the Gorge to embrace the bridge as we stood there. A limping coyote came out, golden in the sun. It watched us, ate scraps of food discarded by tourists and seemed to watch the sky and world go by with us. It felt like a gift to have such beautiful company.

This fall we want to plan better, to reach out and connect to entertain at venues there as we pass through, to offer our dreams and gifts to such a beautiful place.

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Snowballs in Hell

When you think of the southwest, what comes to mind? Lizards, mesas, cactus, deserts, open spaces and heat. Summer in the desert leaves you picturing a dying man crawling across the sand searching for water with buzzards circling overhead.

Reality. It is snowing in Santa Fe. We are at high elevation, the wind is always cool and brisk, temperatures not so typical of desert stereotypes.

I dreamed last night of looking out the window of my car at snow. It wasn't a pleasant dream. I thought I was just restless, worried about the human scavengers and opportunists drawn by the light of the nearby 24 hour gas station. I dreamed what I am seeing now.

Dreams are slippery things. They are intangible, sometimes gone as quickly as they form. Two nights of traveling where my dreams felt like I had accidentally tuned in and become a character in someone else's dream, then snow. What an odd way to spend a Sunday morning in May.

Thoughts of spending the morning walking through the plaza enjoying the view of a farmer's market are lost in slush. The snow is moist like a frozen gas station drink without the garish dye.

Perhaps we will throw snowballs instead of admiring distant soft white clouds. When the desert is cold it is Cold. It reminds me of why I chose to leave the northeast. If I engineered such a fictional place as Hell, it would be cold and stark. There would be wet snow, dingy with mud and yellowed from the bladders of a thousand yapping dogs so no one would want to throw snowballs. Just a thought.

Friday, May 15, 2015

On the Road Again

After several months in Apache Junction, our feet were feeling the itch to move. We watched the last few sunsets on the Superstition Mountains, trying to keep every second and every nuisance of color. Relieved to know that come winter we have a place to stay with a kind friend and a fun, wonderful job with great friends.

We made our way out of the Valley to Arcosanti. Have you heard of Arcosanti? Urban laboratory is a description that leaves enigma and the thought of beakers and goggles. Wrong thought! Soleri bells, cement walls, austerity, simplicity and function. Ideals, ideas and a positive low environmental impact model proposed for urban future. It is only 4% built, yet is sustaining itself through educational programs, environmental and urban impact studies, and bells.

We toured the buildings, learning about their water reclamation balconies and cisterns. We delighted at the taste of loquat grown on a tree at the amphitheater. We admired the use of solar and wind power, how the buildings were oriented to catch light and heat. Models were proposed for the Mojave desert and Siberia, ways to build cities that are self sustaining with low impact on the environment unlike the current urban sprawl method.

Why not choose to fund the other 96% instead of a few nuclear bombs? Why not improve our methods, the plans created at Arcosanti are constantly updated with newer materials and techniques. Ecology is part of the design, instead of destruction it is maintained.

The tour taught us all the things we hadn't quite picked up from the urban laboratory description.

We wound north throught the colorful mountains of Sedona, past vortexes and tourist attractions, slipping by neon signs and statues being photographed by tourists in shiny new clothes and oversized sunglasses.

We stopped in Flagstaff among many RVs at a Wal-Mart parking lot stunned that the forecast called for snow. Every time I go through that area the weather chases me off. It succeeded again, we decided to wait and see the Grand Canyon on a sunny day perhaps in the fall.

In the morning we headed east on the 40. We stopped at a tourist store that was long closed, the glass from its double doors lying like unclaimed diamonds on the cement walk. The giant cement tipis were fading and the huge dreamcatcher had holes. Could that be why our society lost our dreams to materialism? Here at this empty store I saw what the world will look like when we are gone. Petrified wood in front of our cars sparkled with crystal veins lasting beauty of enduring nature in contrast to the random debris and graffitied detritus of unwanted bottles and plastic goods.

A little unsettled in thought we went on, stopping at Homolovoi. Hopi settlements from the past. The wind blew as we looked at the rooms that have stood since the twelfth century. Danny called my attention to beautiful pot shards and artifacts. We took only memories and photographs. We were saddened by the sight of pits dug by people who had looted and vandalized, there were rows of them. We appreciated the serenity, the peace of the place. The stones were green, red, and beige with glints of sparkle. Perhaps the settlements were built there because of the beauty, the feeling of contentment, and the water of the Little Colorado River. 


We made our way past the Painted Desert, enjoying a look at beautifully crafted Native Artisans pieces at the Painted Desert Trading Post. We were downcast at having missed the frybread at Chee's but Danny mugged in their storefront for a photo before we settled for the night at the state line. 


Watching the last rays of sunlight on the vast mountains around us we were humbled. No photograph or description would really do justice to the vast, profound natural beauty around us. The wind and water sculptured the rocks, the minerals accent as natural as paint could be. 


New Mexico. Every time I drive through the state there is interesting weather. A cold rain rose behind us and seemed to push us past points of interest. The drizzle and constant cutting wind raced us through Gallop, past the ice cave and volcano which tried to lure us, and further past Acoma and Sky City. We are just fickle enough to want our appreciation and memories to come on a warm, sunny day. The drive seemed surreal at the last rest area. A man called to me as I passed and told me this rest area is too loud to sleep at, that we should try the one in Santa Fe near the Camel Rock Casino. How did he know what we were trying to figure out, that we wanted a place to pause for potential adventure in Santa Fe? I thanked him feeling eerie and wondering if the advice was good or ill. 


When I opened the door to the woman's restroom it was to a bloodcurdling scream. I always thought I knew what abject terror sounds like. I was wrong. At the receiving end, it is like a physical blow to the face and chest. I stopped stunned by the shrill tone. I looked at a short, stocky older woman perplexed. I asked her what that was for, softly, confused. She mumbled and I asked more firmly. She had been writhing to catch her glasses and recoil as if the door and I were the fangs of a rattlesnake. She apologized saying she thought I was someone else. She rushed past me and out into the gray. A mystery I will never solve.


We decided not to stay at that rest area, it was the least restful area I have been in despite the mountains and valleys it looked out on. We are on the road again. Slipped past Albuquerque with a thought in our hearts for local friends but an undefined urge to move further into the journey. We are on the road again, sometimes we travel as slowly as chilled molasses, other times we move like beads of water dancing in a hot skillet or mercury freely sliding across a linoleum floor. We appreciate the sights we find. We learn, we gain perspective, we laugh and we live. There is a world of potential, chances and moments are everywhere if you know how to appreciate them in the moment. It's all in the choice: fly or fall.   









Monday, May 11, 2015

Where to Donate to Save Oak Flats and Devil's Canyon.

This flier goes with my entries on Devil's Canyon and Oak Flat Campground. These are the folks occupying the campground and working hard to save the land.

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Disposable Society

Welcome to a disposable world. Friends come as easy as a button click on Facebook, they go just as easily. Bedding the wrong color? Need to match the blender and the microwave? Does your child need every new plastic toy that comes along? Can you focus on anything for longer than five minutes without getting restless? Do you feel powerless, depressed and driven to want things as if things could make that feeling flee?

Welcome to a disposable world, where we are disposable people. We feel we are worth more than we are paid, we feel we need the money, we need the debts, we need what?

I spent yesterday afternoon appreciating the beauty of Oak Flats Campground. According to Resolution Mining Company the ground there will be stable for maybe ten to twenty years. They intend the ground to be stable at Apache Leap, but they are being trusted to monitor that themselves. Mines that regulate themselves contaminate and destroy water supplies, history has a long list of examples. Go ahead, drink tap water in Bisbee. I dare you. Laugh and call me an alarmist, just keep drinking that tap water so I can sing your eulogy.

It's alright, I know escapism is more important to you. It's someone else's responsibility, right? Since we're on a downward spiral, why does it matter? It will only matter when we realize we've gone past the point of no return. Our garbage lines streets in India, ocean fish populations are pillaged and not nurtured to be maintained or protected. We live in a world where it's about me and today. Egocentric, narcissistic and without any meaningful value.

What can we do to change?

Stop listening to the ads. Stop supporting marketing campaigns. Stop buying things you do not need. Instead of spending time playing games and running away from reality, face it.

Teach your children to be responsible. Teach them to value what they need rather than become addicted to wanting. Start going without wants, focus on recognizing needs and meeting the real needs you have. Chart your own course, take responsibility for your role in this world. Don't like your job? Change jobs. Don't like how you are treated, start communicating better and acknowledge your own role in where you are at.

Reach out to others who are choosing freedom and reality. The time for games is over, it is time for us all to grow up. We are not as important as we think we are.

What we leave as a legacy are our children and the world. When we destroy mountains, wipe out species through the drive for shallow and temporary profits, we demonstrate that we are a pathetic and short sighted species that can do no better than destroy ourselves, fight each other over differences in intangible philosophies, and justify our own deprivation.

When I look at the beautiful places, undisturbed by man I wrestle, wanting to explore but wanting to leave those places untouched for nature to continue as always has been without interruption. My desire to be there is not as important as the lives that unfold there.

We really need to get over the idea that we are all special. We are not all princesses and princes. We are a bunch of whiny, irresponsible, inconsiderate, hypocritical, weak children dressed like adults. Willpower? Ability to resist impulses?

We can start by doing our own research. Eating healthy and exercising, planning your life to address your long term goals. What goals do you have? How do you want to be remembered? What legacy will you leave, beyond reaching a fictitious skill level in a fabricated game?

I support saving Oak Flat Campground and Devil's Canyon. I support preserving Apache Leap.

I support the Clean Water Campaign.

I value the world, the future enough to say it is past time to stop sitting and tuning out the warning cries of a world being roughly raped and pillaged. It is past time for us to realize that we're on antidepressant medication to take the edge off, because we've let things go to far. We've given up our power to corrupt, wealthy politicians and corporations. They shape our lives. Why?

Escapism and "being free in your head" are the answers a child would give living in an abusive environment. It alarms me how many people live as adults that way. I've always been the one that stands to take the hit and strike back. I will call it as I see it. I accept responsibility for my words, actions, choices. I gave up games. I'm playing at a higher level, and I'm playing for a free future in a healthy world.

Together, thousands of us can change things. We boycott buying unnecessary goods. We start gardens, farms and community support. We meet our neighbors. We accept that technology is fostering complacency and apathy in us. We choose to change. We set goals and we relearn healthy habits and choices.

Needs: food, shelter, water.
Wants: plastic doodads, cartoon themed sets, accessories, how many digital devices do you need?

Getting what you want doesn't fill the void inside you, only learning to listen and love yourself as is can fill that void. Stop perpetuating an abusive society rife with shallow self delusion. Accept responsibility, start prioritizing and take the wheel. If you squander this life you do not get another one.

Or, go ahead, disregard my words and be a disposable person in a society of disposable people.