Many people have heard the saying, "Live every day like it were your last."  That totally resonates with me, but what I love even more is what I learned from Adam Sandler's movie "Click". 
Pretend that you had a remote control that could slow down, fast forward, skip, or even auto pilot (I've never actually seen that function on a remote control, but whatever) you through your life.  We always have multiple things pulling us in different directions at the same time.  Each time you move from one activity to a new one, take 5 seconds to ask yourself, "Would I be happy if my remote control programmed itself to make this decision for me automatically every time I was faced with this combination of choices, or even something similar?" 
We all fall prey to the notion that we are doing something this time because it has to be done this time, and when we encounter this situation in the future, we'll make the choice that would make us happier, like spending some time outdoors, spending time with loved ones, etc.  However, people can be trained just as well as any dog can.  If we do something many times when faced with the same situation repeatedly, eventually we develop a pattern of behavior, a habit.  The only real difference is that the dogs are trained by us.  We actually end up training ourselves without even realizing it.
The next time that you find yourself working late for the third night in a row, watching TV with your kids instead of interacting with them (or worse yet, sitting them in front of the TV while you do other things - I've caught myself doing that one more often than I care to admit), choosing to do something that you feel you need to do over doing something that a loved one needs you to do, or anything along those lines, I want you to ask yourself one thing.  What if I made this choice, not even all of the time, more than half of the time?  Would I be living the life that I want?
The whole "live each day like it were your last" mentality isn't necessarily all that healthy, because if I only had one day to live, I certainly wouldn't spend it at work.  However, since I plan on being here for more than just a day (a large majority of us do), I should probably be able to afford to live, which means I have to go to work.  I like the example from Click much better because it gives us a means of evaluating our decisions in a broader, more realistic context.

I've heard many people make the analogy that life is like chess. 
I agree.

To do well, you need to think at least several moves ahead.
If you treat most of the people around you like pawns, you won't have much support left in the end.
If you spend the entire time mimicking someone else's moves without thinking up any of your own, you are likely to be a loser (and you aren't much fun to play with).
Hold your horses.  If you're always in a hurry to rush in like a knight, once you make that turn at the corner, you may be surprised by what's waiting for you.
Always do your best to hold on to your queen (whatever your queen may be), because once the queen is gone, the game gets much harder, and you may find yourself having to rely on pieces you hadn't been paying too much attention.  

I've also been told that when you get really good at treating life like chess, it becomes easy to spot the people who are playing checkers.  All of their pieces look the same, all of their moves restricted to the same pattern, and their major goal the entire game is to cross over to the other side so that they can shout "King me!"
However, I can't tell you how many times I've gotten all confused in a game of chess and found myself thinking, "I wish I was playing checkers..."

I am in the process of writing a book about my theories concerning the "mentally ill" and how they are not merely disadvantaged individuals who are wired differently.  I believe that mental "illness" is actually a bridge toward one of the next important stages of human evolution. 
Just like the webbed foot was an inconvenience for that poor creature in the sea, who was wanting for a fin like all of the other creatures that were so much more graceful and quick (and it was even more difficult to use it as a foot when the creature finally ventured out onto land), that which makes the mentally ill the way that they are is also a challenge and can be quite an inconvenience.  However, the webbed foot was also a necessary evolutionary step.  Without it, we wouldn't be walking around today.  Likewise, mental illness can be an inconvenience, but it is a necessary one. 
For instance, the swarms of different thoughts/sensations that can become tangled up in the heads of individuals with Attention Defecit Disorder often make it hard for the individual to remain focused on certain things for significant lengths of time.  Meanwhile, those who do not "suffer" from ADD find it much easier to stay focused on one thing, because they do not have this tangled web running around up there.  On the surface, this seems like a clear advantage to the "normals" and a disadvantage to those with ADD (and many people with ADD will tell you the same thing). 
BUT... what if the ability to start attempting to process many different things at once is only a portion of an evolutionary puzzle.  There are many people out there whose brains couldn't try to have three thoughts at the same time even if that was their goal.  These same people don't become overloaded by sensory input in a room with 10 different things going on, because their brain is only tuning in to 5 of them.  The person who is "afflicted" with ADD is either processing (or at least trying to) all 10 or is gathering far more information from the same 5 things as the "normal" person is. 
People with ADD frequently make excellent artists (and many people just assume that this is because they can't function well in the "real" world).  This is because they can pick up on and appreciate certain qualities and intensities of sight and sound that most of us don't, and if you ask them if they become easily distracted while working on whatever their art form is, they will tell you no.  This is because another added benefit of ADD is called hyperfocus.
Hyperfocus is the ability to totally concentrate on something with no awareness of time or anything else.  While this is something that most people are capable of (Have you ever completed a project under a tight deadline?), few are capable of doing so for the length and at the intensity that a person with ADD can.  This is like the complete opposite of what ADD is considered to be.  People with ADD are supposed to, by definition, be people who have great difficulty focusing.
What I see here are two ends of a spectrum, struggling to meet each other, and when they do, what you will find is a person who is able to maintain multiple trains of thought simultaneously, all without missing a thing from what is going on in his/her surroundings.  That, my friends, is evolution in progress! 
I use ADD as my example because it is probably one of the most well known mental health diagnoses today, so more people should be able to understand, even if they can't relate.  Many people should even be able to relate on some level, because the odds of being alive on this planet and not knowing a single person who has been diagnosed with ADD are getting to be pretty small.  
I believe that this concept of mental evolution can be applied to most forms of mental illness.  Another area that I am very interested in is mood "disorders". 
While I am very much into all things that are spiritual, "deep", "earthy", or "alternative" (and I plan on getting involved in as many activities and discussions as I can make time for while I'm here), my primary focus right now is on finding enough people to collaborate with in order to complete my book.  I won't allow it to be finished until I have received the input of many different people who are professionals within the medical/mental health field (contemporary and alternative), and even more importantly, as many individuals who have been blessed with mental "illness" as I can possibly find.
So if you are reading this, and you are one of these people, or you know one of these people, please get in touch with me so that we can begin to work towards forming a better understanding of the slow, easily missed process of evolution that is taking place right before our very eyes.

I am also a firm believer that people who have been blessed with the gifts of being different can find ways to harness these gifts in order to speed up their own personal evolution in this lifetime.  That creature with the webbed foot eventually stumbled out of the sea and onto dry land.  It was an ugly, awkward process, but in the end that creature was able to experience something that few others were at that time, and we are all better off because of it.  What I'm trying to say is IT'S TIME FOR THE MENTALLY ILL TO STUMBLE OUT OF THEIR STORMY SEAS AND ONTO THE LAND!
While this could be written off as merely a romantic notion, I have to say that I have good reason for not being willing to consider that.  You see, I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder quite some time ago, and although it has caused me some significant difficulties in my life (especially in my adolescence and early adulthood),  I have never stopped searching for experiences to help me better understand and benefit from this condition, and as a result, I have already been able to experience the kinds of things that I've already mentioned here. 
On many occasions, I have quite literally been able to FEEL the emotional pain of others (I spent several years of my life as a successful family therapist before deciding that I am here for a different purpose).  The common term for this is that I am a partial empath (if you do some reading/research, you will find that there are people among us right now who already maintain that ability almost 100% of the time).  I guarantee you that the only things that stand in the way of my being able to improve upon this ability are new knowledge/insight, new experience, and practice. 
My favorite benefit, though, is the guidance that my ability to feel things so intensely can provide.  I never have doubts about whether or not I am following the right path through life, because whenever I have a thought, make a decision, or perform an action that is a key step in my figuring out the universe's grand design for me, my entire body becomes electrified, like I'm plugged into a wall.  The experience rarely lasts more than 5-10 seconds, but it is long enough for me to feel a degree of certainty about some of my choices that I don't think many are afforded in this lifetime. 

My ultimate goal is to create an institution (to give a whole new meaning to being "institutionalized") that is designed to provide sanctuary and education to the blessed mentally ill, so that they may begin to see themselves as bearing an incredible gift along with their incredible burden, and so that they may learn to make use of these gifts to improve themselves, and eventually, the rest of the world around them.

Buddhist philosophy teaches that it is best to detach ourselves from anything that creates within us a sense of need, a sense of being incomplete without that person, place, or thing in our lives in some specific fashion.  After all, how can one feel complete oneness with all things, even if only for a shining moment, when there is something or often several things that simultaneously push for a sense of incompleteness.  

This isn't to say that Buddhism teaches one not to care about anything.  In fact it teaches quite the contrary.  You should be so busy appreciating everything that there is no time for a sense of loss.  A good example lies with those who are most important to us. 

Many people suffer a significant sense of loss at the end of a relationship.  Because of the attachment that they have formed to the other person, it becomes very difficult to recognize that as one thing becomes less a direct part of our lives, the universe is simultaneously making room for us to focus on other aspects of our lives, or perhaps just creating some space to fit something wonderfully new. 

When I've talked about this with people (including myself in a mirror at times), I frequently get a response that sounds something like, "But the relationship was a positive thing in my eyes, and now that it is gone, there isn't anything new that is positive enough to take its place... but there sure are a lot more negative things around now that I have been hurt".  Make no mistake.  The only thing that makes this statement true is us.

For people who like things discussed in a more scientific manner:  The Law of Conservation of Matter states that at no time in our universe will any new matter be created, nor will any existing matter be destroyed.  Matter will change shape and structure many times - like water into ice or steam, or water separated nto hydrogen and oxygen, and then the oxygen becomes part of a carbon dioxide molecule to help feed a plant, etc., but that is not the same thing.  If we lose someone that brings a lot of positive emotion and energy into our lives and then that person moves away from us, taking much of that positive energy with him/her, there will be an increase in negative energy around us, usually expressed most readily in the form of strong negative emotions.  However, the universe (God) will rapidly begin its work to maintain balance, or neutrality, wherever possible.  It will set things in motion that will begin to bring positive energy and emotion back into the forefront of our lives.

Where we go wrong when this happens has to do with the problem of attachment to the other person.  If we made sure to take time to appreciate everything else around us all of the time, then there would still be plenty to appreciate after he/she is gone, and it would be easy enough for us to focus on the other stuff until the universe had enough time to "clear the rubble off of our path", so to speak.  The problem is that it is difficult to remember to appreciate everything so often.  It is much easier for the small percentage of our brains that we do us to just pick a few things to focus upon intently, most often relationships.

Once the relationship is gone, the attachment leads to a great deal of strong negative emotions in a short time frame.  The emotions begin to demand, and slowly trap our focus upon all of the things that are associated with these emotions.  Keep in mind that at this point in time, the universe is outside the door, ringing the doorbell, because it wants you to meet two new friends.  We'll even give them real names:  Hope and Faith.  Our intense focus upon the emotions that have developed as a result of unhealthy attachment are like the vacuum cleaner in our hands and the headphones on our ears.  There sure is a lot of noise in our internal environment, and we don't even notice Hope and Faith waiting right outside our door to be let inside.  This is the Law of Attraction in effect.  Attachment leads to focus upon the negative.  Focus on the negative doesn't cause the universe to bring more negativity into our environment, it just keeps the universe from being able to do what it (He...or She) strives to do naturally, maintain balance.  If we don't open the door for Hope and Faith, the universe won't be adding to the bad things in our lives.  Things are getting worse, because the weeds are left in the garden, the windows are never opened to let in any fresh air (pick an analogy that works for you). 
Now keeping ourselves from overly attaching to particular things or people in our lives leaves us room to keep our focus on the only two things that should matter:  Here and Now. 

The person left.  Guess what that means?  He/She is not Here right Now.  You know what is here right now?  All sorts of other wonderful stuff.  Wonderful thoughts, wonderful experiences, wonderful people, wonderful places, wonderful feelings, wonderful You.  We/You are human.  The vacuum might still be on (because now that he/she is gone, some things are going to be around that suck), and the music might still be playing, except maybe this time it's playing through a stereo instead of a headset.  The stereo is being used because you are sharing what is going on with the outside world, which is healthy.  The headset keeps the focus of the music on you, and you only.  Do you tend to focus on you, and you only, when you are embracing the positive or the negative?  Rhetorical question.

You've even kept the door to your life open for new experiences.  When the Universe shows up with Hope and Faith, this time you're ready to invite them in.  As far as the Law of Attraction goes, this part of the metaphor only represents keeping yourself from focusing on the negative, and the results aren't that bad, are they?  Now imagine the benefits of trying to stay focused upon the positive.  You grew tired of the vacuum (For some strang reason you didn't turn it off or unplug it... Oh, right, it's just a metaphor), so you stepped outside onto the porch for a breath of fresh air.  You're out there talking with Hope and Faith, and their friend Charity walks by.  She stops to say hello, and she says, "I really love listening to that kind of music when I'm sad.  What else do you like to listen to?"  Maybe Charity knows a lot about something you're really interested in, and maybe she becomes a great new friend.  Maybe she's attractive (or if you're a heterosexual woman or a homosexual man, maybe she's good friends with a guy who is).  Maybe you never see Charity again.  At least you're out of the house!

I was alone
and in the dark
searching all over
praying to find a light
at the end of a new tunnel.

The lanes must have shifted
while I paid little attention
from the driver's seat
on cruise control
(& content?)

I didn't notice the dark clouds
looming over the horizon
didn't hear the horns
of the other cars
driving past.

It had become hard to see clearly
not that I would've noticed
my eyes transfixed
never leaving
the mirror.

I was steering without thought
blind to my surroundings
nothing but the picture
inside of my head
could be seen.

Focused on where I wanted to be
peeking at the road behind me
never saw where I just was
until the last ray of light
slid behind a cloud.

Concerned I might never get there
unable to see things out front
now much more important
than anything that was
ever in the mirror.

Not thinking of my destination
just the end of the tunnel
laid out in front of me
insisting that Now
is where I am.

It was then I remembered
my car has its own light
right out in the front
where my focus
should be.

My car's lights were turned on
I sped through the tunnel
eyes glued to a road
directly in front
of my car.

Only then
I began to see
the view all around
and I started to realize
my new desination is Here.

Ranting & Raving Regarding Revolution
Enlightenment Equals Earned Evolution

The Evolution Revolution has already begun. By now, many people are hip to the fact that humankind's current state is not the intended final result of the evolutionary process.
What many people derive from this idea is a strong sense that our evolution now depends entirely upon our abilities to become more intelligent, more knowledgeable. I do not doubt that this is part of it, even a big part of it.

However, I don't think that enough people apply some of evolution's most basic tenets to their theories concerning where we're supposed to go as a species. Evolution arises as a result of genetic mutation, usually mutation that occurs in order to satisfy a need, or put more simply, to help the species pursue whatever it is lacking or to help it get rid of something that hinders its progress.

Everyone alive on this planet is lacking something, probably many things. For instance, every time that we lose our temper, it is because we are lacking something (usually the ability to maintain our delicate neurochemical balance in the presence of adverse stimuli or situations). Yet not everyone is lacking in this area. We all know at least one person that never seems to get upset, no matter what happens to him/her.

When it comes to this Captain of Tranquility, however, the adjective that one will seldom see used to describe this person is "passionate". Meanwhile, bring me a room full of people who are very temperamental, and I'll bet that this adjective could be applied very easily to a large percentage of the people in that room.

As much as many of us prize calmness as a personality trait, we also prize being passionate, even though these two traits rarely seem to coexist. Then how would Mother Nature (feel free to substitute God here, or any of the other versions of The Hero with a Thousand Faces that you prefer) like for us to pursue these two ideals at the same time in order to add to our evolution?

Have you ever heard the term "animal magnetism"? It is used to describe the kind of pull that two people sometimes feel towards one another without being able to explain it objectively.  This feeling does not arise from thinking about that person. The feeling comes from deep within our core.  

Anyway, one will find that the words that we seem to "randomly" put together to describe things are not usually paired by happenstance. They are paired by a collective understanding of something that is not easily put into words (at first). The explanation comes later, sometimes much later. I like to say that such phrases are the result of A to D thinking. In A to D thinking we have come to understand something, but we aren't sure exactly how or why, because the only things that we are certain of at first are the start of the thought (A) and the end of the thought (D). The B and C escape our consciousness for a while.  The phrase animal magnetism was definitely such a pairing of words.
Sorry about the tangent.

Back to my point. When it comes to the phrase "animal magnetism", the B and C of it lies in the use of the word magnetism. What is one of the most basic concepts that needs to be understood about the way that magnetism works? Opposites attract. Have you ever heard the phrase "Opposites attract" applied to people? If you're from my generation, the phrase conjures up unfortunate images of Paula Abdul dancing around with some ridiculous animated feline. It should make us think of much more than that.

For instance, if on the surface a couple doesn't appear to be compatible, what draws them together will often be described as animal magnetism (or stupidity, I'm not saying we should ever rule that out). These two opposing forces are attracted to one another, but why? I posit that despite the fact that we are the Great and Powerful Human Race with our technology, our increased capacity to reason, and our "free will", we are still animals bound by the same laws and foundations of Nature by which all the other animals are bound. One of those foundations is evolution, and, free will or not, it will continue no matter how much we drag our feet. At our very core, there is something that draws many of us to that which is nothing like us (by animal magnetism, if you will).

I believe that it is the will of Nature for us to seek out those people, those things, and those ideas that we absolutely do not understand, so that we may grow to understand them. We should spend almost as much time doing this as we do pursuing that which comforts us (i.e. the things that we understand well).

Evolution was meant to be hard. Do you think it was easier for the creature with the webbed hand instead of a fin to swim? Do you think it was easier for the creature to make good use of the fingers on that hand with all that inconvenient webbing in between them? Only if Nature's ultimate intention was to produce a species that could play baseball without a glove. Of course it wasn't easy, but it was a necessary step.

The moment that we began to develop our ability to reason, we began to pursue things that made life more comfortable, easier. Was fire a positive step? Absolutely. Was the wheel? Absolutely. Was the microwave?
Allow me to rephrase that before you answer. Was the device that cooks our food using RADIATION a positive step? Was it one of many steps toward ridiculousness by a society that overstresses itself by placing such a high value on time until time begins to lose all of its intrinsic value?  Technology should no longer be seen as the primary answer to Nature's evolutionary call.  It is currently destroying us faster than it helps us. 

We have lost our focus. Many people will spend their entire lives living in an imaginary world that they will never be a part of (like one that never runs out of fossil fuels), and in the process they will leave behind a damaged ecosystem filled with subsequent generations where each one feels more clueless and hopeless than the next. Only the enlightened few will see through this illusion and keep their eyes on the prize. We need to stop narrowing our focus on particular types of science and technology. Better yet, we need to stop narrowing our focus to only science and technology. We have an incredible understanding of the world around us, along with an ability to manipulate it (and unfortunately, to ruin it). Yet, as evidenced by the never-ending hostility around the globe, we have not put nearly as much effort into understanding different people, different existences, different views, etc.

The time to do that is now. The next time that you find a person who makes absolutely no sense, who couldn't be less like you, who makes your blood boil, DON'T HATE. Hate is a simpleton's answer to a complex puzzle. Hate is like a person cheating at solitaire just because he/she so desperately needs to win.

TOLERATE. ACCEPT. LEARN. GROW. EVOLVE.
The Revolution is waiting...