I took a little break from writing because I had to make time for some other things.  During my time off, I was extremely mindful of every situation, positive and negative, that was thrown in front of me.  I was also careful to examine my behavior in response to each situation.  I am not perfect, so I have made mistakes, but the point is that I am learning from my mistakes.  In my time away, I learned a lot.  The main lesson is this:
There are five enemies that we allow to inhibit us and take over, whether we want them to or not.  These five enemies prohibit us from being at peace. 
1.    Avarice – This is one of the Deadly Sins from the Bible.  It is better known as greed, but not just plain ‘ol greed.  It is the insatiable desire for wealth and/or material gain.  It is self-explanatory.  We should be happy with what we have and make the best of it.  Once you allow avarice to set up shop in your life, you are in for a life filled with chasing money and material things, void of actually living life.  My advice is to live and enjoy life.  Money is not everything.  Yes, it certainly makes the world go round, but it cannot buy you happiness.  Prime example:  Michael Jackson.

2.    Ambition – Who would think that the desire and determination to achieve success could be an enemy?  I am an extremely ambitious woman and I promise you that my ambition has gotten me into trouble or has hindered me from doing things early in life that I am now regretting.  It’s like you’re running a marathon with blinders on and you can’t see anything, but the finish line...even though you know the finish line is a million miles away.  I tend to put business, family and friends first and forget about myself.  At the end of the day, I am left feeling drained and alone.  Trust me, it’s not a good feeling.  I am learning to turn the ambition and drive down a few notches and live life to the fullest.  I don’t want life to pass me by. 

3.    Envy – Another one of the Deadly Sins.  Envy is defined as a feeling of grudging admiration and desire to have something that is possessed by another person.  I think we all know someone that is blessed enough to have something we want, but we should be careful.  It is important to understand that envy is our perception of the situation.  All we see is the end result.  We do not have a clue as to what that person had to do in order to get what they have.  We should really think about it…are we REALLY prepared to do what that person did to get what they have?  It could be hard work or it could be stealing.  Either way, just be happy with what you have.

4.    Anger – This is such an ugly and powerful emotion.  It takes a lot of self-control to combat anger.  It’s an emotion that will take root in your heart and take over your entire being.  It is hurtful to others and to you.  I am not saying that we should never get angry.  That is unrealistic.  I am, however, saying that if we have a problem with anger, we should certainly address it.  It is simply not healthy to harbor such a powerful, negative force within.  Let it go…

5.    Pride – We all have pride.  It is simply the act of being proud.  We take pride in our work, our homes and our accomplishments.  Pride is positive, unless you do not know when to kill it. When a person is too proud, they turn into a monster.  This monster is full of arrogance and impatience.  At the point that the person has too much pride, they are just downright annoying.  Who wants to be that person?  Be humble.  It will get you further in life.
As long as we know our enemies, we should be able to control if we allow them into our lives or not.  Some people allow enemies to set up shop and steal their joy without a fight.  I, on the other hand, choose to know what I am dealing with and do everything in my power to stop the enemy from making me its new residence. 
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