Woman in the Mirror

Being human definitely has its ups and downs. The gross imperfection of life has most of us constantly playing guessing games. What will happen next? Why did this happen? How can I change this? Who would do such a thing? And finally, my personal favorite, why can't we all just get along?

While I was back in my hometown a couple weeks ago, I had to run out to the store to pick up a few items. As I was driving out of the parking lot, a pickup truck was coming towards a stop sign. I had no sign, so I continued to drive and turned in front of this woman. I thought I followed the directions. She clearly didn't see her sign, and yelled out her window, "You stupid f****** B****!" Thankfully for my own personal well-being, I didn't get mad at her for making such a huge mistake and then behaving in such an embarrassing manner, I felt sad for her that she was so angry in general. It's been my experience that people don't typically behave so hatefully if there isn't something else going on in their life to make them angry. I felt myself wanting to chase her down, hug her, and tell her that life isn't out to get her. I wasn't out to get her. People make mistakes, and they usually don't have anything to do with anyone else, they just happen because of all kinds of things. People really are, generally speaking, doing the best they can. She didn't see the sign, so what? Who cares? We were all fine.

This whole business of being human isn't just about accepting ourselves for who we are, insecurities and all, nor is it about giving a pass for poor behavior. It's often times about our reactions to others, our judgments, our perceptions of what we think is happening. The fact is we are all Homo sapiens. Human beings. We are all flawed, flailing, clueless people when it comes to moving along in this world. My father-in-law is always saying, "How can you know?" And it's true. Unless you have super powers, there is no way to know our mistakes until after we make them. (That is, if we make them honestly.) Granted, using the power of our brain, and the faith in our heart, we have a little guidance, but all we can do is the best we can. And it's all we can ask out of anyone else. We just can't make assumptions about what their "best" is, because they have to walk through life being human all on their own.

So therein lays the big question, why can't we all just get along? I guess the answer is pretty simple. We are all people, dealing with other people, in an imperfect world with no absolutes, just the hope that things will all work out. It's a tough perception to really grab hold of, because in the meantime it tends to involve a whole lot of ups and downs, a whole lot of pain we can't explain and joy we just want to relish. It means living our lives and taking the good with the bad, accepting our flaws, trying to be better, loving thy neighbor, and all that jazz. I guess it just starts with you, and me. As much as I hate to quote the recently passed, as the late Michael Jackson once said, "It starts with the man in the mirror."