I’m Trying to Understand, Why Can’t You? – The End of the World Syndrome
In the land of perfect, we assume everyone thinks like us. For instance, of course you can’t travel to China if you don’t have a passport, Visa, and most important, money. You can’t get a job without some experience first, etc. etc. You and I may think differently, but somewhere we can find compromise or at least mutual respect, even a little understanding, right? Wrong. It just doesn’t work that way.
Humans are extremely cognitive, advanced creatures – thereby providing us with loads of opportunities to find both reason and conflict. Why is it that perfectionists, while we do tend to think we’re correct 99.9% of the time (true, sorry), can at least try and attempt to reason with the other party? Why can’t the other person just friggin listen to our point of view instead of being so closed-minded and one-sided? Why don’t they understand or at least appreciate that I’m different from them? And more on that note, why can’t they understand that just because I think something different, doesn’t automatically mean I am better than you? (I mean, we kinda do think we’re better, but that’s beside the point here, isn’t it?). In a world of crazy ideas and even more crazy people, why can’t we all just get along?
Impossible. Like I said before, even Mother Teresa wasn’t well liked and respected by everyone. And if she’s a saint, well, there ain’t no hope for the rest of us. There’s still those terrorist cells wanting to kill off every Western Civilization and anyone who stands in their way; there’s still those neo-Nazis thinking they’ve earned the right to destroy everyone who comes between them and their almighty, powerful Aryan race; even one nation (America, cough!!) still has its biased and nutso political parties that are ready to rally and kill for their beliefs. We have done this since the dawn of Man, so why isn’t today different? Why should it be any different? I personally thought we had evolved somehow and grown into more respectful human beings, but apparently not.
I get down sometimes when I think about the state of the World. I mean seriously – I feel like soon enough, we’ll get so angry at one another that the Earth will say ‘Enough dammit! I’m going to blow myself up!’ I wouldn’t blame it – self-destruction sounds like a pretty sweet alternative right now than this crappy planet we’re living in. The news these days is filled with awfully depressing headlines: Forests are on fire, poachers are taking the last of our endangered species, terrorists are killing innocent men, women and children all in the name of their sacred God, tsunamis are wiping out entire land masses, drinking water is rapidly depleting, oil is getting more expensive by the day without any real change to it or lack of it, priests are having sex with little boys, even music has gotten to the point of no return (clanging of pots and pans, screaming, and blaring noise does not count as a genre, sorry). What happened to the good old days? Did they even exist?
Regardless, man (and woman) will always be flawed. Okay, so what are perfectionists to do if we can’t save the world?
There’s only one thing you can do really. Well, other than panic, freak out, and commit suicide. We can appreciate that the world is not perfect, and focus on the next best thing: a world with multiple truths and numerous opportunities to do what’s right and what’s kind. Those random acts of kindness are the best little gifts we can give right now – where there’s suffering, destruction, and bigotry, we can still find hope, love, and compassion. We have to accept that while we can’t control the outcome of everything and every person, we can try the best we can to foster an environment that radiates with reason and happiness, even if it’s not returned. It’s like the sun – just because we can’t always see it at all times, doesn’t mean it’s not there. So here’s to thinking positively, no matter how much it kills us! (no pun there about death, sorry)…
Butterflies, rainbows, and candy, oh my!
Comments, por favor! Gracias!
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