PEOPLE SOMETIMES MAYBE
… and sometimes maybe not
Friday May 23, 2014
Maybe I should observe myself as critically as I find myself observing others – as long as I don’t have to give myself written reports/reprimands …
People surprise us.
People we least care for sometimes offer great help/lessons/opportunities, but I believe that too often we just aren’t listening.
I know I’m not.
I tune people out if I don’t like them much.
Sometimes because I don’t respect them, sometimes this relates to some past slight or I’ve seen them in action doing something I don’t respect, or they lie, or cheat or treat people badly ….. c’mon, who listens to people we don’t care for?
Who respects those words or ideas that flow from people we dislike or despise?
I’ve learned that my aversion to some people is a warning sign I am well-served to observe – not that I should suddenly embrace or admire them, but I should pay attention to things they say or do that annoy me so much. There will always be something special there, something I can take away to make something, or to make myself, a little bit better.
Sometimes more than a little bit.
Sometimes, if we let this happen – are you ready for it? – those people that surprise us most will be ourselves.
I think, sometimes, when I do things that would annoy me incredibly (if they were done by someone else), I easily tolerate and permit in myself.
Maybe I should be more critical of myself than I am.
Maybe I should be less critical of others than I am.
Maybe I’m getting older.
Maybe I’m getting gentler.
Maybe I’m just easing into this weekend.
Mark Kolke
197,720
column written/ published from Calgary
morning walk: 13C / 55F, humid, overcast but with a steady breeze and a big Chinook arch in the west which bodes well for us; Gusta seemed overly-energetic this morning (perhaps stirred by howling sounds of coyotes coming up from the park very early this morning) so I just tried to keep up …
Reader feedback / comments always welcome:
Your musing today brought up one of my age old quandaries; who wrote the Rule Book of Life? Who decides how tall is normal or average or how good looking one must be to be accepted? Was there a manual the hospital forgot to give my parents that should have accompanied my birth certificate? We seem to be compelled to compare ourselves to others without remembering that even twins that come from the same womb have differences. My most important question, "what qualifications does one need to possess to qualify to be the one that decides which words make up a dictionary?" I have a whole book of words that I believe all people should have access to but don't know where to apply. GW, Bon Wier, TX.
Observation about life: People plan. God laughs, GW, Bon Wier, TX
