My Dad used to go out after work sometimes with his co-workers. He really lost a lot of respect for people who were cheap. Sometimes these guys would leave the table when they knew the bill was coming, always the same cheap guys.

I worked in a few bars and hotels in Toronto during the seventies. When someone walked in, I could feel if they were tippers. Any group of guys would take turns buying rounds, but the cheap guys would go the washroom when it was their turn to ante up.

When I got to the table to collect, the men would say, "Hey where's Joe or John?" or whoever. Someone would say that Joe was watering a horse and the other guys would start to dig in their pockets. I would stop them and ask if Joe did this a lot. If there were all nods, I just smiled and said, "I will return!"

When Joe returned, I would walk up to him, tell him what the tab was and wait. The rest of the table would be laughing, sometimes out loud and sometimes stifling the laughter as Joe began turning his pockets out to pay the bill. If Joe didn't tip, the rest of the group hounded him until he reluctantly forked over a tip. I did this quite a few times when I encountered cheapskates. I bet Joe thought no one noticed why he always left.

People who are never generous with money, are rarely generous with anyone at any level. I am not talking about poor students or financially strapped souls. There are also some generous people who have strings attached, so maybe not so generous. Some good hearted people never believe in lending, yet feel guilty when they don't. Someone told them to never lend, it makes enemies out of friends, but depending on what it is, a lack of generosity can make enemies too. Lack of generosity can make enemies out of anyone, never mind if it's money, a second chance, a helping hand or a judgement of some sort...

Going away from the heart really causes problems, short and long run. So stay with the heart. Say no when you feel it in your heart, not your mind - don't get logical. If you know you're going to kick yourself after, don't do it. Don't get taken advantage (and you can always feel that), your heart won't let you, your head will.

I worked as a family support worker for years in Edmonton. Most of my clients were poor and lived in poor areas. There were times I locked myself out of my car, had a flat tire, or had trouble starting my car - help always arrived within minutes. Sometimes a client, but often a stranger would stop and offer help, accept no money, fix my problem and saunter away. I would rather get stuck in a poor area anytime. They were always so polite too. I know that if I had been stuck in a rich area, I would still be waiting!

These are my reasons for leaving a (bad) relationship:

1. Laughing.
I am not LAUGHING anymore, and I begin to notice that I'm more serious, definitely a bad sign.


2. I feel worse about myself when I'm with this person.
If this continued, I realized I had to leave. Emotional support is essential. There have been men who thought what I did was ridiculous. No support for being me or following my heart.

3. Control.
People control out of fear. It manifests in anger - passive or active, it's still there. My freedom is important to me. Of course control results in tenseness. and again, having to live up to the expectations other people had for me led me to break free. Sometimes it was simple to see, their mothers were different than I was, cooking, talking, interests etc. I wasn't even the same as my mother. Despite growing up in the sixties and seventies, some of my men were definitely "Mad Men" with expectations.

4. Jealousy.
I decided a long time ago that if I had a reason to be jealous, it was time to go. If I did not have a reason to be jealous, then it was time to go. Once, I had a boyfriend who did his best to make me jealous. When I realized that, it was only a matter of time before I realized he was fooling around. Don't be jealous and do not stick around with a jealous mate, your life will be miserable. Who wants that?

5. Sex.
If a relationship has other problems, such as anger or other forms of control, sex can become a duty and something to avoid. This was easy to notice. If the interest in sex really waned, I could feel myself emotionally detach. A strong sexual attraction with a negative, depressed or angry partner makes it harder to go. When the sex is not that great and the rest of relationship was a mess, it was easier to go.

Feel free to add your own, those are my reasons.

Don't pick on the weakest. Help them. We can help make them strong by being ourselves.
Weak people are never themselves. They show fear through anger, bragging, and fighting.

If you feel you have to prove yourself to others, you haven't proven it to yourself.
Be yourself, follow your heart.
Sing, laugh, dance, those things are good for the soul.

Some people are bullies with their bodies, some are bullies with their words.
BUT bullies are bullies, not strong, but weak.

    Taurus the bull is stronger than he/she looks. Remember the story of Ferdinand the bull who would not fight but wished to be left alone to sit in a large field and smell the flowers? The average Taurus is a whiz with plants, a gardener, a farmer, a camper, a planter who seems to understand the earth. Taureans enjoy the great outdoors.
 
    Going back to Ferdinand, he was laid back, easy going and resistant to being cajoled or pushed in a direction he did not wish to go. That's Taurus. They will not allow themselves to be pushed into doing anything. (So if your Taurus gets into trouble, you know it was a Taurus choice.) Laid back is definitely a Taurus description, even if she is not, she will appear that way.

    Surprising a Taurus with something great will not elicit a whoop of joy or a shriek of surprise, often a slow grin and a thanks is all you get. Nonplussed for sure. All is calm and rarely any visible show of excitement. Want to get them excited? Wear red around them, paint your walls red, paint your nails red, and then you will see constant irritation. For the bulls, red is the colour to wear when they are low on energy. The colour red is what drove Ferdinand to become more aggressive than all the other bulls. Once a Taurus blows his cool, get out of town! This happens a couple of times a year, so be grateful.
 
    With every sign, there are positive and negative traits. We have the choice to be positive or negative. That is certainly a Taurus choice. Getting used to being listened to or even obeyed, it can be hard to give up getting one's own way. A Taurus can easily be a leader and there's a ton of sex appeal, even if there's no public affection (please no overt displays!). However, behind closed doors is definitely another story. You ask yourself, can this be the same person who wouldn't even hold my hand on the street?
 
    It's easy to see how a Taurus tyrant could be in power, like Saddam Hussein. Oh he certainly was a Taurus with his sexual excesses and dictatorial power. It had to be wrestled from him. A Taurus will never give up!
 
    I have the birthdays of two Tauruses. They are born a year apart and have more than their Sun signs in common, astrologically that is. The first, the (now ex) Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper is a Taurus who is famous for controlling his party, muzzling them, and pushing through his own agenda. Based on his date, he could be a great humanitarian, concerned about equality and fairness for all humans.

    The second is George Clooney, the actor and human rights activist. Now he's very concerned about people and goes about using his power as a celebrity to make the world aware of trampled human rights. George even went to the United Nations to plead for those less fortunate.

    Did I mention that Tauruses have a sense of humour? Something along the lines of the Three Stooges, but still fun. Since Taurus is an earth sign, this means logic is everything. You must be logical if you ever hope to sway a Taurus (and no emotion, please). That's not to say that your average Taurus will not try to sway you with emotion, she will. However, you better not try. Once you are in tight with a Taurus, he will be a loyal friend. You must do something terrible for him to cut you loose. He will expect the same loyalty from you.
All you mothers out there, a Taurus child will often have a soft spot for you, good to know when the same child is driving you nuts as a teenager with his own agenda.
 
    Oh, one more thing, Taurus can be lazy, and if she can get someone else to do something, she will.

    I've noticed so many Tauruses have had past lives as warriors, soldiers etc. No wonder they are so determined to do their own thing.