This has been a public service announcement. . .

This message was passed on to me from a very good friend named Will McLaurin, on Tuesday, October 19th, 2004. To this day, I have a printout of this statement hanging on the wall close to my monitor so that I can always see it and use for reflection and inspiration. Additionally, it has become my mantra for dealing with friends and family alike. I have patience for all the world, but not for the negativity in it.

I wish to share this message with you all today and hope that you can glean as much from it as I have over the past couple years. If you, too, find it enlightening, then always remember, pay it forward.

"Life is a theatre. Invite your audience carefully. Not everyone is healthy enough to have a front row seat in our lives. There are some people in your life that need to be loved from a distance. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you let go, or at least minimize your time with draining, negative, incompatible, not-going-anywhere relationships/ friendships. Observe the relationships around you. Pay attention. Which ones lift and which ones lean? Which ones encourage and which ones discourage? Which ones are on a path of growth uphill and which ones are going downhill? When you leave certain people, do you feel better or feel worse? Which ones always have drama, or don't really understand, know or appreciate you? The more you seek quality, respect, growth, peace of mind, love and truth around you, the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the front row and who should be moved to the balcony of your life. You cannot change the people around you. But you can change the people you are around."