Monday, January 21, 2013

Come on, people now. . .

Smile on your brother, everybody get together, try to love one another right now.

How hard is that, really? Well, it certainly isn't EASY or there wouldn't be so many people struggling with it, or songs sung about it,or books written about it. It's not easy. That's why you have to try.

Yeah, I know, some of you are shaking your heads at me, calling me a commie pinko leftist hippie or something similar, but I am none of those. (Okay, maybe a little bit hippie.)  I'm just a human being, like you. And lately, I've been giving this concept of loving everybody a lot of thought. We have a limited time on this earth, and I don't know about you, but I don't want to waste time being angry or hating anyone.

I'm not talking about being BFFs with everybody. I'm not talking about insisting the sun is out when it's obvious it's raining. I'm talking about not bearing grudges or resentment over things that don't matter. Because really, guess who feels it most when you hold a grudge? YOU. And those things that do matter? Don't hold grudges. Talk about it instead, then let it go, or else be dragged. Maybe you'll come to a solution, maybe you won't, but at least you will have tried, and that's all you can do.

And then there's forgiveness, a concept too many people don't seem to fully understand. Heck, I'm not sure I understand it altogether myself, if you want to know the truth. But here's what I think: forgiveness has to do with letting go of your own destructive feelings. It doesn't mean you have to let the person who hurt you back into your good graces if you don't want to. I mean, let's face it - there are good and valid reasons why some relationships shouldn't be repaired, but there's no reason for you to harbor bitterness over it for the rest of your life. Because I'll guarantee you, the other person doesn't care.

I have a large circle of friends who all have varied opinions on different issues. They're not my friends because we agree on everything - trust me, we don't. Even a few of my oldest, closest friends have opinions spectacularly opposite of mine. They're my friends because we bonded over something that was way more important than who we voted for in the last election. If I based friendships on political opinions  . . . well, that would just be a complete fiasco, wouldn't it?

I know sometimes it's hard to love humanity, but I think there are more reasons to love it than not. You'll find them if you give it a good honest look.

Till next time --- quit your meanness and go to lovin' folks.

No comments:

Post a Comment