Dealing with Santa Claus

You probably still teach your kids that Santa Claus is real or that Santa only gives presents to kids on the 'good' list, and that he gives a lump of coal(or passes by the house) to kids on the 'naughty' list. That is good and all, but what do you do when you are too poor, or are in poverty when you can't afford to buy presents for your kids, or at least the ones they want from their Christmas list?

I once read on Religious Tolerance in the United States & Canada that it would be better to teach a symbolic representation of Santa Claus and what he stands for, rather than tell your kids he is real. Making Santa sound real could make your kids feel bad or make them think they are bad kids for not getting what they wanted for Christmas, but in reality it's not always them being bad, but rather you were in financial hardship, man. But how you raise your kids is your business, man, so please accept this post only as advice, rather than as a guideline or as rules.

Being Famous

A lot of people want to become famous. Maybe it's you. But, first you must ask yourself, "Why do I want to be famous? What would I do once I'm famous?" Dudes, you need to know that fame doesn't always equal money.

I enjoy a great deal of fame, especially in the South Central region of Kentucky and across the globe via the Internet, where I'm known mostly by the name: Julius the Jules. I am poor as hell though. Do I want more money? You bet I do! But I am enjoying my life as much as I can, because just by being myself, I'm opening up more opportunities than if I was trying to become famous by being someone I'm not!

I enjoy my fame, even though the Jules is flat broke! Ha ha! Good luck, dude. Just be yourself, man.

How to make Peace with Yourself

The past is only that, the past. Do you know what you can do with the past? Well, two things. You can learn from it and move on.

You may be thinking "You make it sound easy, but it's not!" I completely agree, man. Letting go is hard, but what is easier to do is to learn from it. If you have thoughts of guilt, then examine those thoughts and note how you felt. Now ask yourself, do those thoughts and feelings matter to this very day in the present moment? If your answer is no, then you may find that you were suffering off of nothing but the thoughts themselves.

Like a wise Dude before us once said about Stoicism, one of many precursors to Dudeism, it's not the event or events themselves that made us feel bad, but rather your thoughts about the event!

Learn, forgive, and forget. Those three words describe how you and I should handle the past. It ain't easy, not even for me, man. Just be happy with your present situation, and stop feeling guilty about the past. On that note, I need to learn to take my own advice! Ha ha! I'm a nut...