When I feel sick or down in the dumps, I try and distract myself with something that is uplifting and cheerful As William Shakespeare said so eloquently in " The Tempest " Misery makes strange bedfellows. "
My old Gran used to tell me that misery loves company - in other words, don't feel sorry for yourself or you will end up surrounded by people and thoughts that make you feel even worse.
And so it does. If you feel miserable, it is often tempting to wallow in self pity and surround yourself with those who feel as shitty as you do. But often, you can find yourself in the company of people or thoughts that are in themselves the opposite to your frame of mind or circumstance.
" Alas, the storm is come again! my best way is to creep under his gaberdine; there is no other shelter hereabouts: misery acquaints a man with strange bed-fellows. I will here shroud till the dregs of the storm be past. "
And so I turn my mind to something, somewhere , someone who could distract me until the storm passes and I feel more human again. I needed to seek the company of positivity when I am so tempted to feel downright miserable.
And I came up with just the right tonic.
Hot on the heels of yesterday's article, I thought of the real struggle: that of rising out of poverty.
And poverty has no skin colour.
I thought about people who came from " behind the 8 ball " to rise out of poverty and, with determination and loving support, make a difference in the world. I decided to find such a person.
It was as a result of this decision that I sought the strange bedfellow of a man I have long admired and respected. Dr Ben Carson.
You see, to me, Dr Ben Carson is the man that black America or white America or America, in general, can look up to and respect. He is a man who exemplifies everything that is decent and honest and sincere.
He is a man of character and enormous resolve. In fact, he is a man for the world to seek solace from and inspiration from in times of great despair and pain.
Here, in Australia, we are in need of such men to admire and look to for inspiration as all seems somehow unfathomably difficult right now.
When Donald Trump sought pre-selection in the 2016 presidential race, my preferred candidate was Dr Ben Carson until I realised something about Dr Carson: he was too nice to be President.
He was more a Gandhi than a Churchill. And so, I became a confirmed supporter of The Donald. And I have never regretted that decision.
I personally always felt that he should have been chosen as Trump's running mate and Vice President; indeed, as it turned out, I was probably right.
I constantly read the outraged excuses from people of diverse ethnic backgrounds grizzling about the hard life they have led and the excuse - yes - excuse - they use for their drug abuse, criminal behaviour and or miserable EXCUSES for miserable and wasted lives.
Here is a man who came from a broken family, a poor background and minority ethnic identity. Yet he triumphed.
I am not going to write an article about Dr Ben Carson today, that in itself is an article where I would have to devote many hours of research to provide something that would do him justice.
But to imagine that this young boy, this young man, rose to become the world's leading neurosurgeon and renowned champion of separating conjoined twins is - well - genuinely impressive.
Which leads me to my quote from Dr Carson himself:
"One's ability to discover his or her potential for excellence; the acquisition of knowledge to develop it; and a willingness to help others."
The biggest key is education, which according to Carson, "leads to liberation."
And, isn't that the truth?
While our Governments and the left are trying to ( and so far are succeeding ) in destroying our education system, how will we ever see excellence and knowledge again?
It is so very important that we look to men and women of calibre during these dark days of social and political upheaval.
Instead of worshipping at the altar of Greta Thunberg, George Floyd, BLM and outraged minority activist leaders, let us return to admiring those that deserve our admiration for deeds done, compassion shown and a determination to see progress instead of destruction.
I would much prefer to share my misery of current life with Dr Ben Carson and be reminded that this storm will pass. I prefer to share my misery with the heroes of Tobruk and the people who made my life possible.
Yet I cannot help but think about the words of the Bard Shakespeare himself
" Hell is empty and all the devils are here."
We must send them back to hell and we can only do that if we start looking to people of the Right Stuff. And that begins and ends with a good education.
Right now, as he said
" They have been at a great feast of learning, and stolen the scraps."
It is time, surely, to end this feast of scraps and enjoy the fruits of our labours? After all, why should we dine on scraps whilst our governments dine at high table?
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