Keeping faith

Tags

blankie, faith, God, hope, keeping faith, prayer, thoughts

Tonight I feel a mix of emotions. One the way home I actually had a panicky thought. What if I don’t have a job by the summer?  What if in this economy no one will want to hire? Its a scary thought. I felt my heart race and then I felt butterflies and that shiver, you know the one I mean. The shiver you get when you are staring at a big unknown in your life.

I have often talked about having faith, and I do have it. I have it everyday. I trust that God is going to lead me in the direction that he sees fit. It’s just….well I guess, my faith can’t obliterate all doubt. I just really want to be in the place God means for me to be. The worry is I don’t know where that is. It shouldn’t be a worry really. He wont lead me somewhere that I am not meant to be.  Tonight though, I am wondering what that path is for me to follow.

I am trying to open my heart to God about this. To look to heaven and hand him my heart. Maybe though that is not enough. I mean I want my heart to be in the right place – one of my biggest purposes is to help people. However, maybe its not about just turning my heart over to God, but my mind as well. Give to Him these thoughts that are in my head. He can certainly have them, they aren’t doing me any favors.

Sometimes I just have to take a deep breath, or two (or 12). Faith is not hard to have. I think the hard part is consistency in keeping it with Him. Faith needs to be in us to be sure, but it has to be with Him as well. You can’t huddle in faith like an old blankie.  All that accomplishes is to put up blinders to block out the world. When you block out the world you block out God. If God is in everything and you want to hide behind your faith, only proclaiming to have it, but never allowing it to be tested, then aren’t you just hiding from God?

Is it not part of God’s responsibility to us to test our faith? To give us challenges, to make us look to Him and realize that we can not walk alone in this world? Maybe I am it out in left field here, but it only stands to reason that God would want to test our faith. Fair weather friends do not make good followers, and He I think, is desires to give us the choice to have faith or not.

Some might say well God is all knowing, why test the faith if he already knows our outcome? My thoughts on that are, I do believe that God knows what will happen in the end. He created the end, but I also believe that God is the giver of hope and He wants to give us every opportunity to not chose the wrong paths.

Tonight I came across this verse and it helped me in a moment of struggling. I want to post it because if it helped me, maybe it could be of help to someone else too.

 

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sew nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed as one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is today alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore, do not be anxious saying, ‘What shall we eat,’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:25-33)

When School Leaves You With More Than an Education.

Tags

assignment, blessed, blessing, brother, Dad, death, emotions, estate planning, family, friends, God, heaven, life, Mom, questions, school, thoughts, will

I will be honest; tonight I am not sure what to say. I feel like there are no words in me. That is not a feeling I generally come across on a day to day basis. This day seems to be an exception. The only thing that seems to be on my mind is school.

I have an assignment that I have to do.  I have to write my own will. I really do like estate planning. I just never assumed I would be planning my own quite so…soon. I think the part that I hate the most is that it is so impersonal. Facts, figures, it says nothing of what I would really want to say to those I have left behind. It won’t explain why I want my best friend to have my favorite ring, or why I want to leave money to my estranged brother. That is the hard thing for me.

The worst part about it is all that has to be done, all that is left behind. I have decided that I will have an attorney be my executor. I can’t saddle a family member with that.  I know from experience that dealing with grief is hard enough, but to have to deal with assets and taxes and all that too, it’s just not fair. I love my family more than that, and that is what attorneys get paid to do. It’s a win-win situation.

I remember when Dad died, it seemed like the paperwork was never ending. Mom and I struggled enough with the fact that he was gone, let alone making sure his accounts and taxes were in order.

Death is a deeply emotional issue. I am not afraid of it, just the opposite. I think for me it will be like a big homecoming. Dad and my grandparents will be there. Finally I will get to ask God a few questions that I have always wondered about. Things like, why did my dad have to be abused only to then turn around and do the same things to us? I would ask why war is necessary. I would ask why is it that children wind up dying as a result of adult actions. I would ask why parents have to suffer over missing children and never being able to see them again and not be able to have the chance to have closure.

I would ask why He granted some folks with common sense, but then left others without. I would ask why he let people who were drunk out of their mind, drive. I would ask why helpless elderly people in nursing homes have to suffer abuse.

Before I asked a single question though, I would thank Him. I would thank Him for all the wonderful things that I had experienced in my life. I would say thank you for giving my parents. My father who taught me what it meant to be a good friend, and my mom who taught me unconditional love. I would thank Him for giving me friends in my life who accepted me for me, who knew my faults and loved me in spite of them.

I would thank Him for letting me experience all the emotions that life has to offer, and for letting me live my life to the fullest. I would thank Him for holding me up when I didn’t have the strength to carry on. I would thank Him for taking the weight of worry off my shoulders, and for not leaving me confused. I would thank him for being my rock, and my ultimate confidant.

I would thank Him for allowing me to see the beauty in life. I would say thank you for allowing me to be able to appreciate the little things in life. From walking barefoot in the grass to seeing my family and friends smile, I have learned it is the little things in life that make the big bad moments bearable.

Mostly I would thank Him for loving me, listening to me, and answering my prayers. I have been truly blessed to have soo many prayers answered. I feel like in the normal course of my day I have prayers continuously answered. For that, I am eternally grateful.

 

Ticket to Ride

Tags

bed of roses, car, flea market, friends, highway, life, Otis Redding, perfection, relax, ride, river, road, roses, sterling rose, sun, thoughts, wind

Today Mom and I had the chance to take a ride up the river road. It was wonderful. At first I wasn’t sure how the day was going to start out. Mom was impatient and I was not thrilled with it. However once we got in the car and had the windows rolled down, my mood began to lighten.

We went to Lowe’ s so mom could pick up a few plants and things. She has the ability to make plants grow; my “green thumb” has the opposite effect. I tend to forget I own plants until I realize it’s too late. Oops.

We left Lowe’s and hit the road. Once we got onto Highway 100, I began to exhale and really relax. I had my sunglasses on and my head turned so that I could catch the wind. The sun was out and strong. That combined with the wind, made me close my eyes. I could have sat like that forever.

All too soon we were in Grafton and we were coming up on the flea market. Mom and I stopped in and we bumped into some old friends. It was great to see them. It’s hard to imagine my childhood playmates with their own children, but time really does march on.

I found some really lovely satiny scarves. I love to wear scarves. It’s one of my favorite things. Anytime I have a chance to I do. Whether it’s in my hair or tied loosely about the neck so that the ends flow behind me, I love the way they can dress up any outfit.

We left the flea market and drove on up the road. I leaned my head back and settled in. Once the road detoured from the river, I found myself gazing out into farm fields. As far as the eye could see, there were green and golden fields, trees, and the occasional house.

Mom and I stopped for dinner at a little place called Dockside. The food is really good, but the portions are enormous. I have lunch for the next two days after eating there. The cucumber salad was really good, light but satisfying. I also ordered beets and the fried catfish. Mom couldn’t decide between the fish and the pork chop, but eventually she went with the latter.

After we ate, we got in the car and headed home. Originally we were going to go a different way, but when Mom asked my opinion, I knew I wanted to go back home via the river. Coming back the river was not nearly as choppy as it was going up, but it was still moving swiftly. Again I angled my head so that I could feel the wind on my face and blowing through my hair. I put my hand out of the window so that I could feel the wind on my fingers. The air was definitely cooler than it had been earlier.  It swirled all around my hand as I moved it in a circle.

I could feel the waning sun on my face. That combined with the wind and the waves made me think of a song. I got out my iPod and turned on Otis Redding’s Sittin on the Dock of the Bay. Perfect. The perfect song for a perfect moment.

There is a movie that I love, its called Bed of Roses. Cheesy, yeah I know, but it has a lot of lines in it that I love. In one scene the lead male character asks the lead female what her favorite flower is, and she says the sterling rose. He knows which one that is; it’s the thornless kind. She says yes, but that she thinks that roses really ought to have thorns, otherwise they are just too perfect. He says sometimes you just need too much perfection.

He is right. Sometimes you just need moments of too much perfection. Today, this was mine, and I wanted it to last as long as it could.

Tonight I will go to bed, and turn out the lights. I will close my eyes. I will see the river, the trees, and the bluffs. I will feel the wind and smell the sun. I will have yet just one more minute of too much perfection.

Late night thoughts

Tags

breeze, breezes, clouds, contemplation, cotton, fresh start, late night, new beginning, peace, sky, thoughts, trees, wind, wind chimes

I think I am going to consider making the front porch my new blogging spot. It’s another beautiful night. The house was stifling hot, even with the fans turned on, so here I am. I think that one of my favorite things in the world is breezes. Cooling, cleansing, and calming, I can feel either totally refreshed or totally at peace by them. Tonight I feel at peace. All day I feel like I have had this inner struggle of wanting to break free. I know that it’s not my time yet.  I want to go somewhere where nobody knows my name, new beginnings, and fresh starts. I want to go to a place that I can call my own. Something that is mine, and I have the choice to open the door and let the world in, or to close it and shut it out.

Tonight if I had that option, to keep the door open or to shut it, I think I would have it open. I am not so lost in my thoughts that I can’t step out of them, and the company would be good. To share a glass of iced sun tea and to discuss life philosophies sounds like a very nice way to pass an evening. Not talking would be an option too. Sometimes it is just nice to sit in a companionable silence, where not every thought has to be shared, and yet having that sense that you are not alone in the world. It’s a rather lovely thought.

I can hear the tinkling of wind chimes. It feels like ages since I have heard that. I wonder what else I would hear if I closed my eyes and just listened. I can hear the sounds of the car going into the center of town; I can hear the wind chimes on the neighbor’s back porch. I can hear the wind rustling the leaves in the trees. I look up; there are no stars in the sky tonight. The clouds look like a faded pinkish purple against the blue of the sky. It’s almost like God decided to tie dye the sky. The clouds look like perfect pieces of swirly cotton as they move ever so slowly across the sky.

There it is again, that night breeze. It’s almost addicting. What I wouldn’t give right now for a tent and a sleeping bag. I would not go back in that house at all. I would stay out here all night. I would say up until that faded blue sky turned into a misty grey dawn. I would take a deep breath and inhale the sweet damp morning air, and know that truly each day is its own, and can only be what I make of it.

 

Front Porch Bloggin’

Tags

blog, breeze, Buble, cat, Etta James, flowers, front porch, laptop, life, Michael Buble, music, Nat King Cole, Otis Redding, paper, porch, presentation, random, spring, sweet, thoughts, trees, Unforgettable

Hello WordPress World!  I am coming to you today from my front porch. I stepped out to check the mail and holy wowza is it gorgeous out here. The sun is shining the birds are singing, and it gave me a need to feel warm concrete on my bare feet. So, here I am.  It’s finally starting to smell like spring. Flowers are blooming, the trees are getting green. I can smell the damp earth and the cool wind. My cat Gracie was even tempted to come out. Right now she is sniffing a bush like she has never seen it before. She is wandering a bit, and now is off to eat some grass that we will find later barfed up in some random part of the house.  Last time it was on Mom’s bed. I swear if that cat ever loses her lunch on my bed, she will never set foot in my room again. Don’t get me wrong I like animals. If they didn’t barf and poop and pee, I would consider owning one. But as that is not going to happen anytime soon, nor shall my pet ownership happen anytime soon.

I have the music going, something soft and soothing. I have to get into the mood to write this paper that is due tonight. I wish I could get into it, but no luck yet. Its on the Family Medical Leave Act. I mean its interesting to me. It’s hard translating that to paper. So I am hoping a little Michael Buble will help get me going. If not, I may have to bring out the big guns, Etta and Otis. I have to have music that will be soft, but leave me inspired. Songs I know the words to that way I am not distracted going “Wha’d they say again”?.  You know, just music to bop the old noggin to. Nothing that brings any particular memories, just something to keep me company. Right now its Michael Buble’s rendition of “Put your head on my shoulder”, one of my favorites by him. That is one of those songs that makes me want to lean my head back and let the breeze blow across my face and sigh. I am always a bit sad when that song comes to an end. It’s so lovely that I really just want it to go on for forever.

Ah and now we have Nat King Cole, Unforgettable. Now that my friends, is a classic. Simple, no frills, just sweet. Not too gushy sweet, just the right amount. I am mean who really would not want to be described as unforgettable? To know that no matter where you you will always be in the transom of someone’s thoughts?  Ok, well so maybe that would not be ideal in every situation. Still its a sweet old thought, isn’t it?

All I Wanted Was Soap and Shampoo

Tags

berries, bodywash, Clairol, Dial, fruit, Herbal Essences, life, Perfume, random, scent, smell, soap, St. Ives, Tone, Wal-Mart

Honestly that was my goal for going into Wal-Mart. Small, simple, quick and easy, right? I don’t think so. I was actually kind of excited about getting some new body wash. The kind I have now is by St. Ives. It’s really quite lovely. Its called Soy Milk and Lotus Blossom. Now I have never actually whiffed soy milk or lotus blossoms, but St. Ives knew what they were doing when they brought these two scents together. The result was a clean, soft, silky fragrance that left you smelling good, not smelling like body wash.

I have been using that scent for awhile, but today I was feeling the change in the air that comes with spring. I was in the mood for something different. So, I start sniffing out the the other soaps. Now as you may or may not have read in previous columns, I have a sensitive sniffer, so I proceed with caution. First up, I head to the St. Ives. Oooh! Energizing Citrus! That could be good right? Open, sniff sniff, gag, gag, I have barfed oranges that smelled better than that. That was just pungent. Bleh. Ok, on to the next one.  I check out the Tone Exotic Infusions. Hmm, I could be exotically infused that might be ok. Sniff sniff, ugh, not ok. That smells like Juicy-Fruit. Why do I need to smell like gum? I don’t. For the life of me I will never be able to figure out why these manufacturers think I want to smell like food. I don’t. I don’t want to smell like  berries, someone’s dessert, cucumbers or other random fruit and vegetables.

I check out Dial’s version of Tahiti, with their scent Tahitan Vanilla and Orchid. Sniff sniff, whew! JuicyFruit and sugar cookies, on steroids. Man that is way too sweet! I have eaten cake with less sugar than that. I check out Olay to see what they have to offer. Hmm Ultra Moisture with Shea Butter. Ok, sniff, sniff. Not too bad. I check the price. Five bucks? For soap? Mmm, lets move on. Oh look there is the “Equate” version next to it. Sniff, sniff, oh yeah that smells just like the Olay. Well, like the Olay plus butt.  I am not a fan of wearing a butt flavored scent. Next! I head back to the St. Ives. Whipped Silk. Hmm, interesting. Sniff, sniff. Nothing do I smell. Odd. Sniff, sniff. Nothing. I start to worry. Oh my Lord, has that Tahitian stuff and the ass in a bottle clogged up my nostrils so that I can’t smell anything? I squeeze the bottle a few times, trying really hard to squeeze too hard. I don’t want this stuff up my nose after all. Still nothing. A bit concerned, I reach for the Energizing Citrus. Sniff sniff. Whoa! No, its not my  nose, the Whipped Silk just has minimal scent. Finally as a last ditch effort I look to Caress. They used to have some nice scents. They have their own version of Tahiti too. Tahitian Renewal. Sniff,sniff. Hmm, not as bad as the others, but not great. Still too sweet. I pulled the Daily Silk scent off the shelf. I cracked it open, sniff, sniff. Not bad. Soft, gentle, not too perfumy, not too sweet, a clean sort of scent. Three bucks? Sold!

Now on to the shampoo. While exiting the soap aisle I take in a few deep breaths. Ahh, nothing like the cardboard and dust scented smell of a warehouse  Wal-Mart to cleanse the nasal palate. I check out the shampoo aisle to find out that I must be the only woman who does not have issues with her hair. Seriously. I don’t need to be deeply cleansed or hydrated. I don’t have colored hair – not yet. My hair is not permed or processed. That alone clears out three quarters of the entire shampoo aisle. I look to see what’s left. Shampoo for straight hair, I don’t have straight hair. Shampoo for frizzy curly hair, that’s not me either. My hair is wavy. I look further on. There is TresEmme. The thing there is that bottle is HUGE. It would never fit in my shower thingy. I roll on down the aisle to the Clairol Herbal Essences. I look up and there is a bottle called “Long Term Relationship”. Excuse me? I am looking for shampoo, not a relationship. Apparently its for long hair, yeah that’s not me either. I wonder if they have a Totally Clean and Uncommited? That would suit. Clean is good and I can’t promise I will buy it again.

I look more, they have Drama Clean. Yeah uh huh. No thanks. I don’t need that staring at me in the shower every morning. I look again. This time I see “None of your Frizzness”.  Are they serious here? Really? Pass. I then spot “No Flakin Way”. Apparently that is for those of you with dandruff issues. That’s not me. I sigh. I turn around there is Pantene. Now I tried that stuff years ago and it made my hair shiny yeah, but it also looked like a grease mop. That’s not a look I love. They have this stuff for shiny hair. I take a whiff. Gag. Yeah, no. That smell plus hot water will not be inspiring me to hop in the shower, even as much as I adore a good shower. Back to the TresEmme. Hmm. I they have  kind for wavy hair. Well at least they got the hair type right. I pick the bottle up and send up a teeny prayer that this won’t smell like buttcheese. Sniff, sniff, not to bad. Sold! Wahoo!! Thirty minutes and some soap and shampoo later I take my purchases and tired nose to the cashier. As I step out of the door and into the sunshine, I send up a thanks to the Big Guy. My nose has a reprieve. I take in a deep breath. Well, for awhile anyway.

My Credit Card Is Going to Wear Out

Tags

credit card, debit card, graduation, history, life, movies, music, random, relax, travel, vegas, Victoria's Secrets, yanni

Yes, that is right, wear out. Today I had to take care of all the bills and general housekeeping of life, and I have determined that my credit card is beginning to look a bit worn. The scary part is I almost have that 16 digit number memorized from entering it so many times. Its 8035…..ha ha ha thought you were gonna get a free trip to Vegas, huh? I am not that tired.

Today I paid off school, ordered my graduation regalia and booked the hotel for the Yanni concert in May. Yes, I really am going to go and see Yanni. I think his music is interesting and while I am not a die hard, panty throwing, screaming fan, I do appreciate his music. My best friend, however, is. She LOVES Yanni. How die hard a fan is she you ask? Well, lets put it this way, if he ever came within shot put distance, he would know all of Victoria’s Secrets. (Love ya girl!)

 I actually can’t wait for that weekend. School will be out, graduation will be over, and we will be able to relax and just have fun. When she came down in January we had a blast. We ate too much, drank too much, and laughed even more than that. We rested, relaxed, and rejuvenated. We even found time for manicures! We watched our favorite movies, and even some new ones that quickly made the tops on our favorites list. (Gotta love the Angie Harmon version of the Glass House. The line alone “I am twice the bitch you think you are” was enough to keep us laughing the rest of the weekend).

I just hope my graduation order went through, its getting close and I have not gotten that confirmation e-mail yet. I am going to be decked out in blue and gold. It was expensive and totally worth it. I know that this won’t be my last graduation, but I have worked a long time for it. Its been a long hard ride. There were a lot of mornings I would turn to Mom and say “Why am I doing this again?” Oh yeah, that is right, so I am not living in some crappy apartment, and working some crappy job for the rest of my life. I worked this hard so I could travel. That is so important to me. I am not quite sure why it is, but it is. To see things that have been around for hundreds of years, and to walk in the steps of those who shaped history.

I once heard a phrase, “You can’t start walking until you know where you stand”. Maybe that is why I have do this. Maybe I have to see where the others before me have walked, so that I know why I am where I am, and once I figure out where that is, I can make my own history.

Remembering We Are All Human

Tags

beliefs, believe, family, gay, gay marriage, government, ideas, life, love, marriage, Miss California, Miss USA, Perez Hilton, rights, same-sex marriage, society, thoughts, words

I know that everybody and their brother and sister will be blogging about the answer that Miss California gave at the Miss USA pageant, and normally I am not one to hop on the bandwagon, but for this topic it was a must.

If you haven’t seen her response to Perez Hilton’s question regarding gay marriage, go check it out. Its on YouTube. I am not going to post the question and answer here, just because I think it should be seen in its full context.

I personally am for gay marriage. I think that in today’s society it is unreasonable to try and sustain that a marriage can only happen between a man and a woman. I think that marriage is more than a sheet of paper, and a ceremony. Those are only things that a marriage symbolizes the beginning of. I think putting limits on who people can marry is the same as putting limits on telling people who they can and cannot make their family.

My family is the traditional nuclear family. Well, it was. Then dad died and my brother estranged himself from the rest of us. No longer are we the same family  unit. Instead, our family unit has evolved. Now I have aunts that I consider to be like second mothers, and my best friend is like the sister that I never had. If someone were to come along and say to me, you cannot consider “Aunt Judy” and “Marchae” like your direct family, I would be furious. How dare someone tell me who I can and cannot love? They don’t have that power.

Likewise, I do not then understand how the government can come in and tell someone, you can’t marry him or her just because they have the same genitalia as you. Who is the government to tell them who they can and cannot fall in love with? Mark and Steve, Jill and Louise, you wanna go get hitched? More power to you! I would rather see a couple being a shining example of love, than a shining example of yeah we’re just together for the sake of the kids.

That said, Miss California gave her opinion. Just because I don’t agree with it, doesn’t mean she can’t have it. We live in a country that says she can give her opinions as freely as I give mine. I think the important thing here is to remember that we are all human, and we are all different. We each have our own ideas about what our country should be and the laws it should have.

Frankly, I am proud to live in a country where Miss California and I can speak freely and not worry about retaliation, and if there is retaliation, then there are forces in place to stop it, to protect us. I am proud to live in a country that sees that there is more than one way to view how humans are treated, and that if you don’t like  the laws in one state, you are free to move about. I am proud to live in a country  where  one is free to choose their own path, their own destiny, their own beliefs, and their own words.

The Kind of Woman I Want to Be

Tags

being, direction, goals, inner thoughts, life, person, thoughts, woman

In the past few weeks I have been struggling to figure out my direction and who I am. This has been evidenced in some of my blogs. Well, in going through some of my writing I found this piece. When I read it, I realized that it was still true, even though I wrote it last October. I wanted to post it here because I knew that I would see it, and it would be a reminder to me. It would remind me that while I don’t always know the path I am going to take to get there, I will know that kind I woman I want to be upon arrival.

Originally Written 10-30-08 

The kind of woman I want to be is the kind of woman who savors life like a good wine. The kind of woman who knows her own style and what that really is, and for whom class means more than textbooks and grades. I want to be the kind of woman who listens to others and can take it all in and then speak concisely and intelligently upon it.

I want to be the kind of woman who when she walks into a room, business will be begin , creativity will flow, and ideas will grow. I want to be the kind of woman who has not forgotten the meaning of respect. I want to be the kind of woman who commands the respect of others, not through demand, but through the action of delivering. I want to be the kind of woman who uses words as her weapon of choice. Not to hurt, but to reveal to the world that eyes need to be opened and fires need to be lit. I want to be the kind of woman who knows how to extinguish the useless fires and how to light her own. I want to be the kind of woman who continually evaluates the information in front of her and who is consciously aware of the pitfalls that may surround her, so that I may avoid them and to help others steer clear.

I want to be the woman who is comfortable walking into the symphony in a formal gown as she is walking in jeans into the steakhouse. I want to be the woman who accepts others as they are, and who is accepted by most others. The kind of woman I want to be will walk away from nastiness with grace, and who makes others realize that through grace they can achieve their end.

I want to be the woman who can lead by example, who voices her concern, who fights the fight all while maintaining strength, courage, and the ability to know when there are things I simply cannot change.

Most of all I want to be a woman with humility, understanding, and a woman who with compassion sees the hearts of people. I want to be the kind of woman who can see need and create action to remedy the need. I want to be the kind of woman for whom the word humanity is not just another entry in the dictionary.

Uncommon courtesy

Tags

common courtesy, courtesy, human beings, humans, life, manners, people, thoughts

A phrase I often hear is “ so and so didn’t even have the common courtesy”, and the person is generally appalled at the behavior of the individual that has offended them. I think that this person has failed to realize one major point, there is no such thing as “common courtesy”. I think courtesy nowadays, is far from common, in fact, I think it should be called “uncommon courtesy”.

People have very little regard for one another. Gone are the days when people generally did as they should, just because that is what they “should do”. Now people are out for anything and everything. I see examples of this behavior every day. From failing to use turn signals, to letting doors slam in people’s faces, it seems like people have lost all regard for their fellow human being.

In this modern day we are all busy. I don’t know anyone who isn’t, unless they are retired, and that is not always the case. I understand busy, but I also understand the value of holding the elevator door for someone who is running across the lobby of the courthouse. (Yeah lady – I saw how you didn’t hold that door for me.)

I don’t understand what the issue is. Is it too hard to be nice or courteous? Is it too time consuming? Or have we gotten so wrapped up in our own lives and agendas that we have forgotten that we have to share this planet with others. We do not exist alone.

Lately there has been a big push to “go green” for the future. Going green is great, but who wants to extend the planet for forever if its full of people who are too selfish to want to be around?