Page 81 - 1st Anthology 2011

Like you don’t eat all that day till after the sweat and then have a good meal. People fast
to better their lives, they’d have a three or four day rest. There are also certain societies.

The way I look at it is they pray to Creator. Like the East is the way the Creator comes,
and your feelings are in the South. Your past, you know your godmothers and fathers in
the West. Your powers in the North. Each person has their own domain like if you believe
in yourself and you believe in God your life will always be good. That’s what I was taught.

I was taught to help my fellow man with a meal, if I got it I’ll help out. If I see a person
with a dirty shirt and I have one I’ll give it to them or even shoes. I give something away
just to help that person, because that’s what I was taught. Make sure your fellow person’s
not hungry. Even water, you know give them water or something. But not a drink, you got
to realize that the devil is in a bottle or drugs. That’s where the devil is at. There’s only
the Creator and that’s all. Devil is in words.

I try to preach the knowledge of sobriety to the younger people. If they come to ask me
for help I tell the only person you can quit for is yourself. You can promise the world,
promise your family but you have to quit for yourself. I tell them you have to listen to
your heart. The only person you can listen to is yourself. Everybody can help you but you
have to help yourself first, before you can help others. That’s what I do today and I tell
them. That’s the way I look at my life today. That’s why I try to tell young people if they
drink I just walk away from them.

If they are talking because they don’t make sense. People drinking talk in riddles and you
can’t understand what their talking about. They will be talking about this and that, and
all of a sudden they’re on a different subject. When they talk to me I try giving them my
input. I tell them to talk to me when they are sober. I tell them I don’t want to listen to
you when you’re drunk you’re not making sense and your head is too numb. I say your
head is numb and talk to me when you’re sober. That’s all I can do for you and that’s
what I tell them.

The way people talk, if people feel negative or naïve, they get on their fellow person
swearing and whatever. Swearing is a sign of weakness to me. I’d rather be nice when
people are swearing. I just tell them don’t swear around me. I don’t want to hear it. Take
it somewhere else. I don’t want to hear it. That’s what I tell people. I tell them when
you’re swearing it doesn’t make sense if you look at the words. That’s what I tell people
and it makes them think. That’s what I tell anybody. I was taught not to swear. If you did
you don’t have respect for yourself. That’s what I try to tell the kids of today. I tell them
you’re swearing for nothing. Do you ever look at the word for what it means? It’s an
empty word because there’s nothing in it.

So that’s what I’m trying to teach some kids that swear around me because it don’t mean
nothing to me. The next time they see me they don’t swear around me. Then there’s some
that don’t care that still use it around me. Just because they know you don’t like it they’ll
use it around you. It’s just like saying I don’t care. In the long run I’ll figure out I was
right, someday.

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