Express Yourself 6e2n26

Copyright © 2017 by Patrick Ricke. 760773

ISBN: Softcover 978-1-5434-1514-8 EBook 978-1-5434-1513-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 04/20/2017

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Contents

About the author

Untitled

Love is Worth a Bullet

Without Each Other We Are Nothing

One Love

There Better Be…

Gods Reflections

Do People Change?

The Night

Happy Birthday Mom

I dedicate this book to Merry Leyendecker. I could not have achieved in this life without her love and

About the author

I believe our purpose in life is to be happy. It took me twenty six years to figure that out. In twenty six years I could have traveled the world and enriched myself with various cultures and beliefs. In twenty six years I could have gone to school and started my own business in sales or mechanics. In twenty six years I could have spent my life in agony and depression; using and abusing every high that I could find just to end up in the six foot hole we all end up in. In twenty six years I have realized that the choices I have made and the paths I’ve taken have made me into a truly humble and sensitive man who has found peace and love in everything that I do. I am proud to live in America; a country where I can express myself with honesty and not worry about living in contempt. It took me twenty six years to realize that happiness is the goal in any path we choose to take. Luckily, I was able to write some meaningful expressions along the way. I encourage everyone to not be afraid to express themselves. Be weird. Be different. Be the person you want to be. Just express yourself.

Untitled

My name is Alex, Patrick or Alex. Alexander is acceptable too. An old soul with a promise. . . A problem with a solution. . . This is about our friend-the end. I hear footsteps at night and whispers down below. It leads me to believe we too will perish. It’s inevitable. Tall buildings and low skies, false hope and white lies are all Crumbs of our nature. This world is a privilege, and my life is a pawn, So why fight for a dollar from dusk until dawn? I walk the streets on my two bare feet, proving my defeat, But hope keeps me moving forward. The end is near; I can feel it. Thankfully, I came prepared. My scarred feet and blistered hands show no regrets; therefore, I have no demands. I’ve earned it. I only wish for wings where once I had shoulders. I’ve preached to my peers that with or without fear I’d end up at the door. The inevitable conclusion I’ve promised. I knew what was ahead, and I knew what was at stake.

So for this I write in stone; one stone for us all. Scary feelings that you get, traveling from east to west, Never looking back at things you left behind. Questions go unanswered, and the truth is never found, But I promise this, I’ll never miss the opportunity to find The Promise land, oh yes, the Promise land. I promised I would find, A little piece of mind just to prove That death makes angels of us all.

Love is Worth a Bullet

Any day we could be faced with awful decisions In situations we can only imagine in our dreams. We pray those dreams do not turn into reality, But we are just avoiding the inevitable so it seems.

I chamber this round every day Hoping it never leaves its place. I pray to god regretfully, For the strength to protect your grace.

I put away my sorrow and worries For they forever make me sore. I realize now after all this time, This bullet wasn’t supposed to save my life, It was supposed to save yours.

Without Each Other We Are Nothing

“A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed,” according to the second amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America. Today’s society is fragile and incompetent, eclipsed by an abundance of politics and currency with little hope of salvation. The people are built from a foundation; it is based on the premise of freedom and human rights. “If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it; he is obligated to do so”(anonymous). This quote has been used by great historical figures, including Thomas Jefferson and Martin Luther King Jr. It illustrates a simple display of proper freedom and responsibility, defining the peaceful protest and self-defense we use today. A lack of education is undermining the American people, allowing them to become vulnerable and incapable of relying on their own interest of protecting themselves and their neighbors. Today, the American dream is something found in movies (unrealistic), a goal which has failed to be instilled in America’s children, despite adults’ best efforts. Americans have been tormented by the news of the destructive mass shootings like the one at Sandy Hook Elementary School on 14 December 2012, same tyranny faced on 5 November 2009 at Fort Hood, where multiple individuals were shot and some killed. Americans cling to their homes and protect what is most valuable to them. They who they are and where they originated. Although some of the American people see themselves pushed into a corner, forced into a revolution in which the complex rights our founding fathers presented to us provide us with hope and encouragement to fight for what is right, some do not. The American people overcome the symptoms of exercising their right under the second amendment through perseverance.

Some people have dealt with “judgment day”, as an unrealistic catastrophe, a global meltdown of society following an act of desperation. They just think it will not happen in our lifetime. The human mind has a great survival instinct, but no people in their right mind want to use it. The police have their own phone number and the military protect us against foreign enemies, unlike some other

countries that are underdeveloped and helpless against tyranny. The United States is over populated with people holding their heads down. I can walk into the local grocery store with my head held high, because I know that exercising my second amendment right keeps me safe. Although the legal repercussions of my actions regarding self-defense would be shaped by my being a United States citizen, there is a possibility that one day I could make the mistake of injuring a bystander while stopping or preventing a revolting crime. The dolorous results and religious aspects of taking someone’s life to protect my own could be overwhelming. Knowing the power is in my hands to do something magnanimous, the power to uphold my rights for the good of the community, could have a deceiving outcome. Being prepared for the unimaginable can sometimes appear paranoid, resulting in a stressful lifestyle.

The above symptoms do not start and end with those who bear arms. It affects the public now more than ever. Before I exercised my second amendment right, I believed in my ego. I let the callow feeling of my self-righteousness be controlled by apathy. There is no better feeling than walking into the grocery store and knowing there would be nothing in the world capable of destroying the peace I currently carry. This is an unrealistic fantasy, but it makes people feel safe. The reality of a perfect system is ignorance at its finest. Some people can feel endangered while surrounded by people who uphold their second amendment right. I do not blame them at times because anything can happen. The good guys could make mistakes or could represent themselves as a threat in front of children in a dangerous situation or out at the firing range, misinterpreting the element of surprise. This kind of thing happens frequently, giving people more cause to worry and be fearful than ever before.

Is there a cure for these symptoms? Is there a reason I do not feel safe even though I have protection? My theory of people loving people could be the start of a revolution. The goal of getting everyone on the same side creates an imbalance in the current inequitable system, and even those willing to follow the theory have a hard time agreeing with it. If there were not a chance of any foreign or domestic battles on American soil, I could understand why the American people may feel compelled to put down their firearms. A peaceful resolution is in the near future, but our past reflects war and destruction as a

stepping stone towards that goal. To be salubrious is to have a healthy mind as well as a healthy sense of well-being. This means taking all things into consideration; just because some do not like to have protection for themselves and their lifestyle.

With all of this being said, I encourage the ones who carry a concealed weapon defensively to accept the responsibility of how their actions make others feel. An undereducated mind can look at people who carry a firearm and have the courage to ask or express their opinions, and judge them incorrectly. The people who carry concealed weapons need to have an open mind towards children and consider how those people who carry are going to be ed. They should not take offense with those with strong opposing opinions. Yes, all people want to feel safe, but not all people want to do so by carrying a firearm.

For those who feel safer inside their homes, keeping opinions behind closed doors and dealing with death and tyranny through whatever means necessary, disregarding the second amendment that is their right. I encourage them to develop an optimistic point of view toward those who exercise their second amendment right, because it is also their right. Keeping an educated thought process through life is beneficial because one day an explanation may be necessary to defend why some people choose to protect themselves with a firearm and some do not.

A solution to this conundrum, is to be respectful of those who exercise their second amendment right and responsibility. Firearms have protected us from evil, but they have also been used for evil. The symptoms of exercising the second amendment right will be redundant if people use their intellects to confuse them, using the negative outlook on life as a healthy host. People can have a peaceful resolution without using a repulsive excuse for revolution. This is our world to share, and we can refuse to let the symptoms become the reason we fail to persevere as a species.

“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though ion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic cords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature” (Abraham Lincoln).

Americans have freedom and responsibility. The American people can only progress in society if they work together toward a common goal.

One Love

Blood is spilt and hate is spread During the times we praise god and break bread. Love thy neighbor; take hold of their hand. Pray and be thankful that we share this great land. Be there for each other. We are all one. One nation under god, given life by his son.

Without question we doubt about pride and glory. Listening to grandpa and his warrior day stories. Our brothers were there defending our freedom, Taking life without fear of creating new demons.

The time has come for us to realize, That freedom is found under any blue sky. One nation under god, is a phrase to To love one another from January through December.

There Better Be…

There better be friends. There better be drinks. There better be plans And all kinds of things.

There better be lust. There better be love. There better be more

Then sweet nothings and hugs. There better be whiskey. There better be wine. There better be more Than tunes and times.

I believe there is more to be felt And more to be seen. There better be heaven

Where heaven should be.

Gods Reflections

I sometimes find myself scared. Not scarred, but scared. For one day my savior will face me And replace me To somewhere where hate may find me. Or follow me. I do not know it might be inside me. It guides me or pushes me Because this life wasn’t chosen for me. It was given to me. By no other than you. A person of faith. Someone who sees no mistakes. Someone sent to inflict purpose. The reason I am protected. The reason I am not judged, but inspected. I have loved with the best intentions. Done so with the help of angels. I see now that they have given me sense of direction. They are not here to confuse me.

They are God’s reflections.

Do People Change?

Some mornings I wake up and think about the day before. About what I did or did not do. The things that I said, Using words I had to choose. As a kid I thinking that I always had a choice About the words I could have said And the tone within my voice.

I still wake up some mornings and think about the day before. About the words I chose to speak To the ones who mattered more. The more I speak I realize how similar I feel To the kid I was just yesterday speaking what I felt was real.

In the end we are the same as the kids we were before. We love and reach out with purpose To the ones who love us sore. People do not change. We only think of more.

It is a subconscious act to be better Then the kids we were before.

The Night

Night is like a Fluffy new Pillow for you To sleep on.

Whatever you want to dream All night, Until day Picks it up And puts it away.

The dreams in the night Are gone Until day you can start To dream on.

Happy Birthday Mom

There is only one life. There is only one time. There is only mom I love to call mine. There is always a ripped shirt. There is always a hole in your socks. There is always a reason to get mad and kick rocks. There is always a new road. There is always a new ride. But there is no one else I would rather have by my side. Be careful next year. There is a first ride for you one day. For now know that I love you. Happy Birthday.