Dazed and Confused

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion"

Sometimes, dealing with people is downright draining. (And it kinda makes you want to just throw in the towel and say alright, you asked for it). Not all people mind you, but the ones who are just full of that negative energy, walking around with a giant stump up their ass. Get over it. Get on with it. Life's passing you by and you're missing out. In fact, we all are, aren't we? At least, sometimes? I fight negativity every day, and yes, of course I've had that stump up my own ass. But I don't really like it up there. It doesn't feel quite right.

I was at superstore today. It was busy. People everywhere. No surprise, being a Saturday. I wasn't in a rush and was in a pretty good mood, so I figured I was up for the challenge.

What I don't get, is why it has to be such a sideshow? It's like people become these psychotic, robotic beings that you just want to whack out of whatever daze they've put themselves in. Of course, I'd never whack anyone, but the imagery is sometimes enough of a release. Stress relief. Gotta have it.

I'm just blown away by the lack of consideration for other people, the impatience, the rudeness, the selfishness, the attitude. Manners are becoming obsolete. And it's not just the grocery store, it's the workplace, the gym, the road...and well it's pretty much everywhere.

What is up people?

Is life so, so bad that you have to treat other people like shit because you're choosing not to act, but instead react to things that aren't the way you want them, things that may be going wrong for you? Things go wrong for all of us, regularily. We're all in this together, whether we like it or not. It's a fact of life. There's ups and downs, good days and bad days and here's a newsflash for you: not everything is going to be peachy every single moment of every single day.

Why not put it all aside for a moment. Take a moment. Breathe. Look around. See. Feel. Try smiling at the person next to you. Try letting someone else go first. Try words of kindness. Try to think beyond yourself. Beyond your problems. Try to think of others. It's not that hard, and you might just find that it's actually kind of easy once you get the hang of it. You might even find yourself feeling pretty good. And what's wrong with that?

I do recall a near collision today, in which two people stood standing there between mountains of bread and other baked goodies, staring at each other. With a twinkle in each eye, the older gentleman said kindly: "Ladies first". I grinned on the way by, with an appreciative: "Thank you"... and we both carried on... It was lovely.

We all have alot of work to do but it is not impossible...
And it starts with you and I.

Love and compassion are necessitites, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.

It is not enough to be compassionate. You must act. There are two aspects to action. One is to overcome the distortions and afflictions of your own mind, that is, in terms of calming and eventually dispelling anger. This is action out of compassion. The other is more social, more public. When something needs to be done in the world to rectify the wrongs, if one is really concerned with benefitting others, one needs to be engaged, involved.

When you think everything is someone else´s fault, you will suffer a lot. When you realize that everything springs only from yourself, you will learn both peace and joy.

~ Wise thoughts from the Dalai Lama