A Real Man Rises Above It All

A Real Man is serene.

A Real man controls his anger.

A real man does not get angry and woop someone's ass. A real man is serene. A real man rises above it all.

A real man doesn't bottle up his feelings. He feels; but he knows how to control it.

Those strong, silent types, they don't conceal, don't feel. They let it go. They let it go, but they control it.

They let it go, they just don't let it show.

My brother Nicholas was a real man.

He had every reason to be angry. He could not walk, he could not even talk. He saw all the other teenagers running around, playing, and he felt left behind. He had every reason to be angry.

He rejected the part of him that was angry and frustrated. He called it 'baby me'. Not that he knew he had every reason in the world to be angry and frustrated. But he expected more of himself.

By that time he wasn't even just unable to walk and talk. He had aches and pains. Terrible pains.

He stopped getting angry. He learned to be serene. He was a real man.

And if you're 'Black' in America, you're like my brother. You have every reason to be angry. My heart goes out to you. But it will make you feel so much better if you try to rise above it all. Trust me. It feels wonderful!

And that's another thing- rising above it all feels wonderful! It is a serene joy beyond imagining! It feels wonderful! Especially if something bad has just passed, and things are becoming good again! That makes it all worthwhile! It feels wonderful!

Now, if you have Tourette's Syndrome like me you know that you can't control it. That is not what I am talking about. The Tourette's Syndrome noises are beyond your control, a force of nature, like the wind and the snow. It's the rest of you that you can control. Don't worry about the Tourette's Syndrome. Don't try to control the wild winds of nature. Focus on what you can control.

And that goes for all things, not just Tourette's Syndrome. Don't try to control the wild winds of nature. Focus on what you can control. Which is your own mind, and your conscious actions, the ones you do on purpose.

A real man rises above it.

And a real man will understand if a person in pain gets angry. Not though it is hard, like it is hard for me. Perhaps it is not as hard for you. But if I can, you can.

And a real man forgives himself. You don't have to be purfect to be a real man. You only have to try.

A real man rises above it.

And it feels wonderful!

God loves you!

Sincerely,

David S. Annderson

P.S. And a real man is unafraid to be happy, for God wants us to be happy!