RE: Us?

Ray, please read this carefully, and reread if you have to.

I do not come with malice, bad intent, with the intention of influencing you, or with any intent of harming you, your family, or those whom you love. I come with the intent of speaking to you, brother to brother, man to man. I worry about you, and so do others around you. We want you and your loved ones to be safe and happy.

Sometimes our perceptions do not match reality. This happens to us everyday: we may not hear something correctly, or we see something out of the corner of our eye which isn't there (or is a shadow), we mishear something, misunderstand something, etc. And sometimes someone has to point it out to us in order for us to realize it. This is a normal part of every day life, and it typically does not get in the way of our lives to any significant degree.

Based on what you've been writing recently, I believe that you may be experiencing more inaccurate perceptions of reality than usual, and that it's truly getting in your own way. I may be wrong, and you may not trust me. That's ok. I would not necessarily trust someone randomly telling me this either. I understand.

This is why I want you to get someone close to you - someone whom you've known and trusted for years - to be beside you and let you know when you may be perceiving something that's not necessarily true. And I don't want you to use circular logic here to convince yourself that if they say something that goes against what you believe, that they're automatically wrong. You are an intelligent man, and you're certainly smarter than to use circular logic. If you trusted this person before, then believe them if they tell you something is off.

You must become aware of your perceptions and parse out what is accurate and inaccurate. It is not easy, but you've done it in the past. You already went through this a couple of decades ago, and you managed to come out of it. You can do it again. All you need is someone you trust to help you get through this process.

Notice how none of what I write pertains to me. It's all for you, with people that you care for and trust. Please do this, Ray. You're a friend, and I wish you nothing but the best. And don't do this for me - do this for yourself and for those you love.