The Truth About You

Julius stormed Omaha Beach, Normandy in 1944.

It was D-Day.

But instead of being armed with a rifle, he was shooting with his motion picture camera. Documenting the horror.

I met him today at a nature preserve in Boynton Beach, Florida. He was taking photos of birds.

He’s ninety-three.

We talked about the war, about photography, and of course, about women.

We also enjoyed some silence together.

And then we laughed together too.

On the way out of the place, there are two water fountains next to each other.

I took the higher one and he took lower one because he was sitting on his motorized scooter (a tank blew up in front of him during the Battle of the Bulge and his leg took shrapnel – after he healed, and was sent back to battle, his film crew was gone – captured by the Nazis – he doesn’t know what happened to them).

I watched him drink from his fountain as I drank from mine.

He struggled a bit with it.

But all I saw there, in that frail body, drinking water, was me.

Underneath it all, we’re all the same.

Exactly the same.

And this world won’t heal, until we realize this. Collectively.

I promise you that.

thank you for sharing these moments with me,
gabe

www.WinTheWarWithYourMind.com

Donald Trump Convinced Caitlyn Jenner To Have Sex Change?!

Since just about everyone is a pussy, I’ve recently been hearing, from just about everyone, “Not all Trump supporters are racists but all racists are Trump supporters.”

But since I’m not a pussy, I’ll just go ahead and say what you’ll never hear on TV:

All Trump supporters are racists.

The end.

Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.

If a person still voted for this small man after listening to his anti-Muslim, anti-Mexican, and anti-immigration loud-mouthing during the campaign, they’re a racist (not to mention his childish boasting, relentless fear mongering, gross sexism, obvious misogyny, sophomoric knowledge of government and governing, and anti-Semitism – Make America Great Again is actually anti Jewish – go look it up).

Even if they don’t align with any of the above, they’re still racist for condoning it with their vote.

You didn’t like Hillary?

Tough shit.

You should have given Fox News a break for five minutes and gone to an independent, fact checked website and learned the truth.

And I just can’t wait for the people who will comment on this post with Benghazi, emails, and/or Ukraine. Go look that up too – no uranium was ever sold.

And here’s another thing you won’t hear often: racism isn’t just on the fringes of our society. American isn’t better than that.

Racism is goddamn everywhere.

Once someone feels it’s safe to say what they really feel, racism oozes out out of their faces like puss from a pimple.

Last night, to make conversation, I said to my Uber driver, “Remember that ice cream place that used to be over there?”

She did.

So, I followed up with, “That older Israeli couple owned it. They were so sweet.”

Now get this: she literally turned around, while driving, and said, “Are you joking or not?”

She was feeling me out. For sure. 100%.

And my Uber driver on the way home asked where I lived when I first got down to Florida. I said Miami.

He said, “Oh, that was back when there were still white people down there.”

Racists are Trump’s base.

Racists, claiming to Christian.

Which leads me to my new theory: Jesus allowed himself to be killed. In the most gruesome way imaginable.

Why?

Because he knew his followers of the future wouldn’t deserve him.
I hope one day they will.

Love thy neighbor. It’s that simple.

(I’m sorry, but only a little, for my headline. Yes, I was trying to get people to read this. And just maybe, someone who needs to, will.)

love/thanks,
gb

P.S. I really don’t mean to make anyone feel bad. I’m sorry if you feel insulted. This is just tough love for my neighbor. But I promise you, it’s love. And whoever you are, I love you. 

www.WinTheWarWithYourMind.com

Exit Reality

Don’t read this if you’re not interested in cleaning out your consciousness.

Still here?

Okay, thanks for sticking around.

Today, while walking into Panera Bread, I slightly smiled when I saw the storefront next door because I thought it said Exit Reality.

But alas, as you can see from the photo, it’s just a real estate agency named Exit Realty.

But before we continue, yes, I know I’m cheating on Starbucks.

Anyway… I’m bothering to bring this up because there’s an important point to be made about human suffering.

Most of human suffering is caused by the thinking mind. And the only way out of this suffering is too deny reality. Exit it. By accepting a new reality. The real reality.

Do I know what that looks like and how to get there?

Yes.

And there’s only one thing you need to do in order to sense the real reality as well:

You just have to allow yourself to listen to me share with you what took me over twenty years to discover. It probably won’t be similar to anything you’ve ever heard before about existence. Click the link below or email me at gabeberman@gmail.com if you’re at all intrigued. I promise, you won’t regret it. And maybe, just maybe, the rest of your life is hinging on it.

With that, I was just getting a refill of iced coffee and I had to wait for a few moments for the half & half because an older gentleman in front of me was slowly adding it to his coffee.

He noticed me and made an effort to hurry it along.

I said, “Take your time. I’m in no rush at all.”

To which he said, without making eye contact because he was concentrating on securing a lid to his cup, “You’ll live a long time with that attitude.”

I answered, “I don’t know about that, but life is definitely too short to make someone feel rushed over milk.”

After I lightened my coffee, I added, “Okay man, have a good one.”

He said, this time with eye contact, “You too. God bless you.”

And that, right there, was more than enough reason to be alive for today.

I am so grateful for this lovely little exchange. And so grateful for anyone reading this who also finds it lovely.

take care, as in, really, take care,
– gabe

www.WinTheWarWithYourMind.com

Lilies In The Field

It’s been said that we make plans and God laughs.

This might be true.

And if it is, the larger, almost incomprehensible truth behind this truth is that God plans for us to make plans.

So, where does this leave you and me in this moment?

Having the last laugh.

Let’s enjoy it while it lasts.

love/thanks,
gb

www.WinTheWarWithYourMind.com

Judgment Is Mine Saith…

She watched her father hang himself.

He did it right in front of her.

She was nine.

I just met her about an hour ago as we were walking into Starbucks at the same time and I asked her what the tattoo on the inside of her arm said.

“Your smile is always with me.”

Isn’t it amazing how we judge others?

I’m not talking about you or me of course. I mean the general we. The cunts out there in society.

We see a grown woman. With a few tats. Who’s been to rehab. Who’s struggling to get by. Who’s strangulated by old ghosts.
And what do we do?

We judge the living fuck out of her. For having issues. For not being “successful”.

How dare we…

Like we could have handled it any better.

Please.

As if we were responsible for the grand gift of the Brady Bunch childhoods we were given which enabled us to go to good schools, feel love, etc.

Luck of the draw my friends. Luck. Of. The. Draw.

Self righteous Republicans, aka false Christians (I say Republicans because a progressive person’s mind couldn’t even conceive of this – and I say false Christians because Jesus would crush these money changers at the temple doors), take all the credit for their successes and are lightning quick to blame others for their failures.

But they fail to realize, or better yet, refuse to realize, that we’re ALL still children. All still children, trying to make it day by day in these adult bodies. And just because they were dealt a full house from the get go, it sure as shit doesn’t mean they’re better card players – as they proclaim they are from their pulpits and political puppet shows.

So, with that, I’m damn grateful for the pair of deuces I’ve been given. They may have more than I do, and maybe more than you, but at least we’re kind. At least we know to love our neighbor as if they are us.

And I wouldn’t trade that for anything.

Ever.

Thank you, dear reader, for trading your time to read these words.

Sending you good vibes.

Please receive them.

love/thanks,
gb

www.WinTheWarWithYourMind.com

Free Range Thoughts

The problem with gratefulness is that it invariably leads to sadness for me.

Here I am, having coffee while watching cherry blossoms undulate in the wind, and I just feel grateful.

Grateful for the coffee.

The wind.

The cherry blossoms.

My eyes.

And grateful just to be able to feel grateful.

And thats the part that kills me.

There are millions of people, many millions, as well as other animals all over the world, who are suffering so badly as I type this.

Starving children. Raped women. Migrant farmers. Cows in corporately controlled slaughter houses.

And here I am wondering, “Are those marigolds or cherry blossoms. Is ‘marigold’ even a word or am I making that up? Goddamn, this is good coffee.”

Sadness sets in and lingers like rats on a ship.

Until I remind myself, once again, that it would be doing a greater injustice to those who are suffering if I didn’t allow myself to feel grateful for what I feel grateful for when I can.

How dare I squander the miracle of being a non-sufferer?

So, I allow myself to continue to feel grateful for what I feel grateful for.

And just now, while writing this, I’ve decided to also feel grateful for suffering that ends. If history has shown us anything, it’s that anything can change at any moment.

And from my perspective, it seems as though good prevails.

Eventually.

Thankfully.

thank you,
gb

P.S If you dug this, please share it with your friends so they can dig it too.

Stream Of Unconsciousness

She’s definitely going to think it was me.

Because it’s not like I could have said, “I swear it was like this when I got here.”

I think that would have made things worse, so, I had no choice but to let her walk right into a trap.

The truth is, however, it was the person before me who completely cleaned out their colon in the Starbucks bathroom. I was just there for a quick pee.

But when I opened the door, and saw the woman standing there waiting to use the bathroom, I just put my head down and got the hell out of Dodge.

– end scene –

(I know, not much of a blog post. Here’s something even less substantial: earlier today, I was telling a friend about my old bartending days. When a customer had to wait three seconds more than they wanted to for their hamburger, they’d invariably say, “Did the chef have to go kill the cow first.”

Being the total, sarcastic prick I’m known to be in the face of childlike impatience, I, like clockwork, would automatically respond with, “Did you just make up that line? It’s so clever. I’ve never heard it before.”

Dear reader, why am I wasting your time with this?

I have no idea really. Sorry.

If you haven’t already stopped reading, which I wouldn’t have blamed you for, please allow me, finally, to make a point.

Thank you.

I’m a vegetarian.

Why?

Because I’m one of those weirdos you’ve heard about who cares deeply for the animals I’d be ingesting.

And  I’ve actually been mocked for this on more than one occasion.

Don’t be so shocked. I’m sure many others feel the same. They just, rightfully so, don’t have the gall to say it to my face.

There’s a part of me that wants to grab them by the neck, rip them down to the ground and step on their heads. “You like the way this feels mother fucker? Want to spend the rest of your life like this before you’re killed in the most horrific way?”

But of course, I’d never.

I just do what I can by simply abstaining.

It’s a chicken Gabe. Whats the big deal? And you’re just one person. You’re not going to make a difference.

And that thinking, right there, is responsible for just about every problem on God’s green Earth.

We need to be more compassionate. Period.

More compassionate to the less fortunate, to elders, to other ethnicities, to anyone we deem different, and of course, to animals.

Wouldn’t we want someone to stand up for us if we couldn’t stand up for ourselves?

Of course we would.

But animals don’t count when we want our burgers.

Because that would be awfully un-American.

And, the truth is, you’re just one person. Your efforts can barely scratch the surface.

But imagine if everyone thought that way?

Oh right, everyone already does.

And with that said, I was just about to switch my seat at Starbucks. I’m sitting at a table intended for eight people and two kids are doing math homework next to me. They’re not annoying, but I can hear them through my headphones and if I make my music any louder, I’ll probably hemorrhage somewhere.

But, alas, I’m staying put.

Because I just caught a whiff of the both of them. They smell like pencil sharpenings.

The smell of youth. The smell of cutesy problems.

I miss that.

I really miss that).

– end scene –

People often ask me how they can support me as a writer (actually, I’ve never been asked this – by anyone, ever).

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The Fifth Force – part 1 – Evil Approaches

“Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For, indeed, that’s all who ever have.” – Margaret Mead