TBYS*

*Think before you speak.

Or before you write something. Or, you know, before you decide to invade a foreign territory. I'm just sayin'.

I had a bunch of really snarky, mean-spirited things written just a few mo's ago. And I deleted'em. They were just too damn dumb.


"If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all"

I can dig it. (Can't say I'm entirely innocent, but yeah)

"There is much power in listening"

Cool. I can dig that too.

"Stop Looking Into things P!"

Right. Best not to search for a deeper meaning when there really isn't one. As my darling fiancee' is wont to remind me. (It keeps me from asking "What's Wrong" if there is more than 2 minutes of silence in our house, you know? THAT would be an annoying habit.)

I am amazed by peoples capacity for kindness and understanding. Under times of stress, I've heard that we are actually at our best.

Similarly, I'm amazed by peoples capacity to limit their own perspective- Even when a person genuinely seems to want to be known as worldly or enlightened. They are fraught with the same sad paranoid judgements that they perceive in those around them. They are the reactionaries, argumentatives, and individuals who make the choice to limit their worldview by engaging in thoughtless verbal sparring for they lack patience. Sometimes, they assume that others don't care as much as they do about a particular issue or concern or topic because they perceive that nothing is being said. They mistake thoughtful contemplation for mere complacency. They rail against the injustice of things...the fairness. Isn't that type of judgement counter-productive? So much easier to just kinda jump into the fray, right?

"Life isn't fair, P. It isn't here to make you feel good. I'm a cop- I've got people making me feel bad every day. The only thing that you can do, is let it go. It's unrealistic to accept those things for what they are. I'm a realist."

(Actually. Dad was more of a pessimist, at least more so than he wanted to believe.)

I mean, look at the terrible situation in N.O. Terrible. The devastation is just overwhelming. Just as terrible as a December Tsunami. Or 800 poor men/women/children getting trampled and drowned because of a rumor. Or a poor man with Downs Syndrome being found at the bottom of a hole in the sidewalk. Terrible situations that break the heart, and too often short-circuit the mind, causing us to speak and write with fury and reckless abandon (Or go into shock). Great things can come of slowly stirring the pot, but more often it exacerbates and alienates both the listener/reader...the speaker/writer. Anger is a natural response to our fears and concerns...sometimes even "righteous" anger. (I'm guilty of it too) Pacifists and those who lean toward agressive behaviors would both agree that there can never any really good decisions made in the heat of an angry moment.

I've never purported to be good at withholding my feelings or thoughts ...and sometimes, the world is too much with me. IT scares me. Makes me fearful. I will not, however, let a world that keeps moving: Stop me. Because I believe in my heart I can find so much more satisfaction by not following the path of least resistance, and continue to challenge myself to rise above the need for immediate gratification (Which is, to say, be a reactionary.) I certainly hope to be consistent at it some day.

And it would be nice if the world could just take a deep collective breathe- And calm down.