Well hello America. Huh, it's kind of a funny thought to think "hi America". Anyhoo, it's been a fun couple of days, please allow me to recount. A few days ago I was hangin with an old buddy (alan wood) of mine and trying to get him some practice behind the wheel (he's got a driving test coming up). Well I am sometimes a little dim. I asked him to move the car a few yards and as he did so I decided to ride on the bumper. I do not recommend this to anyone! It's just stupid. So sparing you the gore, I fell off and ripped all the skin off the tip of my toe. Well aside from the pain this was no good because it meant I would bleed a lot. All in all this is not a big deal except that it kept me out of the water for a few days. This kinda bummed me out! Amongst this there were a few other things that just through a wrench into my plans, which made me a little stressed. Stress isn't necessarily a big deal, but it does cause you to dwell on yourself a ton. This is a big deal! I realized that the primary reason for my stress is that I really became self centered; "how is this going to effect my day?", "what if I don't get there in time?", "what does this person really think of me?". If I would just stop and begin thinking of the people around me, and truly try to love others I wouldn't have room in my brain or heart to be self-centered, thus resolving my stress. God has called us to love him! We can't make him love any less or us anymore!! He's also called us to love the people around us, and I've discovered that this is a very healthy way to live.

Aloha,

jake