Charlie Magdaleno: Blog

  There is a terrible addiction to drugs in the United States.  Caffeine, sleeping pills, anti-Depressants, cigarettes, alcohol, pharmaceuticals and to a lesser extent all of the illegal drugs available.  All of these things either hurt us outright, or are meant to help against some sort of ailment, only to provide us with eight more in return.

  However, for every bit of designed and manufactured potion or pill created in a lab, there is perhaps at least one natural remedy that does the same job, probably better, and without all of the side effects.

  For example, I'm not one who likes to take too much medicine, or too much of anything for that matter, because I don't want to become dependent on it.  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to sleep at all lately, and have spent the past several nights tossing and turning and watching the sky lighten up through my window.

  I spend hours laying in bed, thinking about all of the things I have to do, want to do, need to do.  However, by the time the day comes, I'm so exhausted I have no energy or drive to do any of it.

  But, on one day I decided I was just gonna push through and do the things I needed to do.  I was just gonna suck it up and run with it, as I'm sure better men and women than me do every day.  That night, I slept perfectly fine.  

  The next day I realized that was the secret to better sleep- a hard day's work.  I had come to this conclusion before in my life, but seemingly forgot it along the way.  I spent so much time at night not thinking about the things I needed to do, but all of the things I needed to do BUT DIDN'T.  However, once I actually DID them, I only spent a nice few moments thinking about all of the things I got done instead.  

  And really, it's not just about hard work either.  Doing the right thing, and showing great discipline are also great sleep aids.

  I mean this isn't some sort of secret, I'm sure many people would agree.  At the same time though, I'm sure many others wouldn't.  That leads me to the question: Do we overestimate or misunderstand ourselves and how we make use of our day?  Of our lives?

  Not to show any disrespect on anyone, but there are standards that have to be established in order to make good on what I'm talking about.  Going to work, is not the same thing as working, or working hard for that matter.  Not being a bad person, is not the same thing as being a good person.  Failing to recognize what skipping a workout or having one last drag of a cigarette has on our psyche, and says about our character, is more detrimental than we can understand.

  Think about it.  When is the last time you got everything on your To-Do List done?  When is the last time you actually worked all 8 hours you got paid for?  When was the last time you gave your seat up to someone on the bus?  When was the last time you said please or thank you?  When was the last time you showed an act of kindness, not because you wanted something or someone was watching, but because it's just the right thing to do?  When's the last time you DID the right thing to do?  When's the last time you let the example you'd be setting for your family and your friends be greater than your addiction or laziness?

  I'm not trying to put anyone down, but rather asking you to recognize these things and live just ONE day with this sort of deliberate and purposeful greatness.  Live one day being the kind of person you've always wanted to be, and knew you could be- which is not the same as living the kind of life you'd like to live.

  Just one day, and see how you sleep that night- knowing that you gave what is presumably your last day on Earth everything you had.

  Heck, please, take two and call me to let me know how it goes.  Thank you for reading.