Benne, Matthew S.

I am a musician, a friend to many & lover of life. I spend my life chasing what I love. #LOVEHARD

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[mattbenne-blog]

Choices

Doing the right thing isn't always what makes you happy. Doing the right thing may not always be what you're told. Doing the right thing isn't having the last word or always being correct. As long as you pick yourself up when you fall, follow your heart, and do what you believe is right - you're going to be just fine.

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How far?

If the end came and tapped you on your shoulder, would you stare it face to face? Would you accept or deny, would you believe, would you try? Would you embrace the truth if it looked you in the eyes, or would you throw it away? Just something to think about.

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Growth, love and fear.

There are too many opportunities for growth to keep taking steps backward. Love leads us to growth & happiness, but fear has always been the easier choice. Don't let your fears cripple you. Let your love carry you instead.

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Definition

I’d considered titling myself a philosopher, as I believe it fits my perspective of the world. Upon thinking about it - I realized that I’d just be defining myself, and that’s the last thing I want to do. I am a human being. I have thoughts just like the rest of us. I am me. Me is I. I’ll let my actions and beliefs define me, I guess. I just want to be happy. Definition, it’s a bitch these days.

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I've always been fascinated with tree houses. I am bound & determined to build one before I die.

[whargrove]

[anancientheart]

"…If you look at it, you see a dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever lived, lived out their lives. The aggregate of all our joys and sufferings, thousands of confident religions, ideologies and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilizations, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every hopeful child, every mother and father, every inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our species, lived there on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam.

The earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and in triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of the dot on scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner of the dot. How frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity – in all this vastness – there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. It is up to us. It’s been said that astronomy is a humbling, and I might add, a character-building experience. To my mind, there is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly and compassionately with one another and to preserve and cherish that pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”

Carl Sagan

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very cool.

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Confidence vs. Pride

I have always been able to find happiness, for as long as I can remember. I can look back at the time when I recognized how important music was to me. None of this really matters though. One of my battles I have had over the years is being viewed as prideful. I personally believe that arrogance and confidence are very often viewed confused. Confidence doesn't come by trying to be better than John down the street. It doesn't come by having to be right in every situation. Confidence isn't telling the world you're amazing at what you do. Confidence has nothing to do with any of these things. So....what is it? Confidence is believing in yourself...because you're following the path you've set for yourself. Confidence isn't telling the world that you're the best on your team...but trying to be the best possible at what you're doing. You can be proud of yourself. Yes, it's okay to reflect on your accomplishments. But you should not boast about how much better you are. Life isn't about that. Don't live your life to be better than the rest. Let's quit talking about ourselves. Let's quit defining who we are. We are missing out. We are passing up opportunities to create moments. We are too focused on how we should be, and being better... Do you want your life to pass you by because you couldn't tell the difference? It sounds extreme, but to an extent it's true. Don't miss out on real lasting relationships because of pride. There is one thing that WE ALL have in common: we are a live. Be strong, be confident, be happy.

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Three part harmonies & loaded french fries.... What?!

For those of you who know me - you've seen that I can be pretty crazy, and very goofy. I joke all of the time...I find humor in pretty much everything. I love to laugh. I can be very sarcastic...and I just love seeing my friends smile. So....why do I make such serious posts? Well.... let's talk about happines.  Aside from the obvious things that make me happy... it makes me VERY happy to see others happy. So here goes another one of my thoughts. Get down widdit. haha You don't need the love of another to inspire you. You don't need the words of another to motivate you. You have every bit of what it takes to be the best version of yourself. You just need to take the time to find it. Think about what makes you the happiest. What excites you more than anything? What are the ideas and dreams that make you feel alive? Remember when you were little, and the simplest things made you happy? Remember having those discussions about what to be when we grow up? Why did it all go away? Why do we let the rest of the world define us. Everyone is happy for different reasons, yet we all try to fit in the same mold. What's that about? C'mon guys! It's somewhere in there. Challenge yourself on a daily basis to be happy. That means to be patient, be willing to accept you're wrong, and to feel comfortable in your own skin.  We should not compare ourselves to models or celebrities. Some of us are built different, some of us like different things. It took me a while to figure it out. I spent some of my younger years thinking that I should be better than other people. Every time it backfired, and I felt miserable. Because it DOES NOT make me happy. It didn't make me happier to be a better musician than everyone, or to be better looking, or really stand out. What makes us stand out are the things we overlook. Anyone can play guitar....so that doesn't make you cool. So quit trying to be cool. Don't try to impress. It's the least impressive thing you can do. Be compassionate....just be yourself. That's the greatest thing you can do. Love is the absolute most important thing in this world. Start there, and everything else will follow.   I talk about love & happiness a lot. It's because it's important. More than most know.

[thebabydude]

The legend… Jesse Berlin

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I have come a long way! First photo from 2008, the other is October 2013!

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________!?

You will never really know, or truly understand the value of love until you love yourself. You may think I am wrong; in time you will see that I am not. I don't say this to instigate or have you questioning your life. I say this simply because you should love yourself. You will look at all of the wrong things and try to fill your voids with someone elses actions, rather than your own. Embrace yourself, don't let fear rule your life. Start there, and in time you'll see it as I do. Maybe now you disagree, but then again, you may look back and remember reading this... It's worth a shot, right? You deserve love and happiness, and shouldn't settle for less.

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Just because you say so?

It's not selfless if you do it with the intention of compensation and recognition. It isn't easy to do. Don't be the best version of you for everyone else. Do the right thing, because it's right. Be nice, because it's a good thing to do so. People do recognize & see it, especially the ones who matter the most. So think about that, and try. Don't tell everyone when you do something nice. You don't hold the door for a stranger just to tell your friends, so they can tell you how great you are. Just be great. It's pretty simple.

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clarity

Life has recently been great to me. Although, I don't believe it to be circumstance. It's like I've been seeing things more clearly. All my goals laid out in front of me, organized and ready to be executed. I can't explain it much - nor does it really matter. You know, work isn't the greatest, but it's my way into the world. All I can say is this - I am genuinely happy about life.

[thebabydude]

What this blog will accomplish...

What will this blog accomplish? Glad you asked! It will give you a glimpse into the mind of the little lumberjack himself, The Baby Dude. This blog will give you a better acceptance and understanding of that fuzzy facial that we all call “THE BEARD.” You will delve down into the very bottom of every single beer that I pour down my gullet. Most importantly though, it will be my outlet to share the things I love with you beautiful people!

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This dude is hella cray-cray