MORE THE SAME THAN DIFFERENT
Friday, May 22, 2020
No time for a pity-party, we are in the fight of our lives – to survive, thrive, stay alive, and stay human.
Kindness, for some, will always be optional.
Better focus, better results, better life – is it that simple?
Few things are harder, or so easily distract us, than figuring out ourselves or anyone else, yet we try.
Frustrated?
No worries.
You are not alone.
Self-appointed, sleuths we are, wandering in someone else’s information, poking – uninvited – into snippets and anecdotes in search of solutions we might offer, help we might lend, or insights gleaned.
There is nothing quite as stupid as when we try to figure out ourselves.
So, on what basis should we dare offer a shoulder, ear, or consideration to others?
There are two things at play here; we don’t separate them, cannot seem to separate our self-interest from a selfless interest in helping someone else. We live in a skeptical world – the view from the other side is cynical too, wary of someone’s intrusion upon our sensibilities.
I wrestle with how others behave – because I interact with family, friends, colleagues, customers, prospective customers, and strangers – wondering why we can’t be more open, transparent, and kind?
As our COVID-decade (yes, I said it) begins, this question looms: how will our species change, or not, in terms of how we deal with each other?
Will we be kinder-gentler-types, or self-isolating emotionally, hiding out from and suspicious of each other?
Trust in our society begins at both the top and the bottom.
So far, the top isn’t faring so well.
How are we huddled masses, the bottom of societies’ pyramids, doing?
Will we be more accepting, kinder, and more trusting with each other, or less?
When plant and animal species face a threat, they flee or adapt.
We can’t go anywhere.
I guess we’ll have to adapt.
Reader feedback:
Hey Mark, I hope you are keeping well! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this musing today. Isla and all 8 year olds in Canada can look forward to discarding the car booster seat at age 9. Cheers, PW, Calgary, AB
I certainly hope and believe we are up to the challenge of our personal lives, but I’m still not holding my breath for us to handle the challenge of electing competent leaders. Perhaps there aren’t any, or at least not any that will accept the challenge with all that goes with it. LH, Lethbridge, AB
We must adapt to survive :), AG, Cancun, Mex.
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