With very little respect, I feel I must say that some of this self-help stuff is a bunch of lunch meat. Maybe I shouldn’t be too harsh. After all, if it helps some people, it must have some value, right?

Nope, I can’t do it.

Caveat: I haven’t read one of those books that says happiness, success, and riches are a choice. I’ve only caught snippets of some folks talking on the tube. I really should know more before I criticize, but I can’t bring myself to do a closer examination. The premise puts me off. It puts me off for the same reason that some people “of faith” put me off… the “ask and ye shall receive” crowd. This notion that if I simply have faith, everything will be all right; or that a state of mind is a choice… all of it implies that the only reason someone is not happy, not successful, not wealthy… is that they are flawed.

I was feeling a little down today, but I was muddling through. It happens. Sometimes life can get you down and you deal with it as best you can. Then I heard a reference to “The Secret,” and I thought I was going to lose my mind.

You know what? Sometimes bad things happen and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it. Bad things don’t always happen because you made it so with some random negative thought. They happen because that’s the way the world works. Did my mother get sick because I wasn’t happy as a child? Can I simply choose to not let it bother me? Bull.

There’s a place for positive thinking, but it isn’t a cure-all.

To know love is to know loss. To know joy is to know sadness. Anyone who tries to tell you differently is emotionally neutered.

None of this is new. It’s not even new to me. It’s all been said before. I just felt the need to vent a little.

Sorry.