Lessons Of The Cacti

Took me a while to come back here. Been somewhat off the radar, tied up with life.

Oh, I actually did drive out that night to a drive-thru McDonald's and got meself a monster Double Prosperity Burger with EXTRA Onions and Blackpepper sauce. And it was a great sloppy end to a relatively quiet day, with explosions of heat and piquancy...

It is now officially Thursday, and quite a bit has occured in these few days that passed. I had been deliberating on whether I should actually rant (and potentially risk being seen as a complainer) or to keep my trap shut (risking being perceived a doormat!). There were several moments that would have warranted serious man-slapping being done on certain individuals, honestly, but thankfully I kept my cool. Sanity won in the end and I believe it would been even more unkind of me to respond in an explosive manner. Rationale and a level head (qualities that people close to me insist I have, but for the life of me, I can't tell whether I do or not!) saw the day through.

I mean honestly, friendships can be irrevocably broken by a single hurtful word, families ruined by an intentional act of spite, or even enemies be made by indifference. And what gain is there from that?
Everyday we hear or see in the media of stories of the abusive spouse, wars started and lives lost due to human compulsion to act on impulse, to seize the moment. I have learned from kind souls around me that sometime winning a battle, makes you lose the war. Thinking one must be the first to fire off a salvo of attack or to retort with a flippant remark.

I'd like to think that after 33 years of life on earth (there! I have openly admitted I am comfortable with my age!), I have developed (or in the least, acquired) some level of maturity to accept what I can't change and simply see it as another perspective to look at things. Surely everyone is entitled to their own opinions and the attending commensurate way of reacting to stimuli. Maybe in certain matters, fighting the good fight is necessary, expected even, but there is always a higher road to take.

Vicious plant or cautious green?

Make no mistake, I have been pushed to the brink many times, and openly admit having  fallen off it and combusted. Funny thing about blowing up is that we always get consumed by the act. Take a look at a cactus, all vicious spines or hooked claws. If we take a breather and gaze longer past the hurt it can inflict, we will see the green and acknowledge the inherent struggle and desire for peace.

Ponder this,

The remarkable thing is that we really love our neighbor as ourselves: we do unto others as we do unto ourselves. We hate others when we hate ourselves. We are tolerant toward others when we tolerate ourselves. We forgive others when we forgive ourselves. We are prone to sacrifice others when we are ready to sacrifice ourselves.