Life is not like a box of Chocolates. There are a lot of pitfalls in this modern social climate, and biting into things randomly is not often a sweet experience. We might wish that things really are as they were for Forest Gump, or wish that we were dumb enough (or smart enough) to let the harshness slide.
I feel that the best parts of the forty three years of my life have been when I have been able to help others feel what I wish that I could feel more consistently. I truly believe that it is possible to be sincere with other sincere people and to gather great happiness and joy from that experience. Unfortunately, there is a lot of pressure on people, myself included, to be insincere and predatory. Some resist that pressure voraciously, but if we're honest, we're sometimes less than pleased with our own behavior.
In saying that, I do not mean to imply that I'm an unscrupulous bastard. I do not believe that to be the case at all. I've certainly helped more people in my life than I've hurt, but there has been the odd occasion where-in someone has been negatively impacted through some direct influence that has come their way in my name. We all almost certainly share that aberrant occasion or two. We don't choose to believe that any damage inflicted was deliberate on our part, and that position is heartfelt, but when we look ourselves square in the mirror, we have to answer to ourselves honestly about those rare scenarios. Can we? Asking that question makes me uncomfortable because I need to explain, and explaining can sound like excuses, and excuses usually indicate guilt.
So, what is a good focus in life? Being kind, being helpful, and being sincere. It must be that simple. Is that position some kind of weak penance for the mistakes of the past? I don't think so. For me, I think that position is as realistic now as it was when I was twenty.
My father always told me that cynicism was directly proportionate to age. That's what I call a cynical view of things. Events in life are not always under our control. They can jerk crazily askew suddenly without our conscious intent, and when that happens, they have the potential to damage everyone in proximity, including us. Events in the lives of others have done that to me without the conscious intention of the relevant party. I've normally found in not difficult at all to divorce them from any pre-meditated negative intentions. I do find it harder to excuse myself however, when the same dynamic emanates from me in hurting other people. That's probably the way it should be.
In the wake of the bad thing that happen, I hope that one thing stands out as clear with regard my own persona. That one thing is this, and it is quite important to me. I do not ever want to look at my fellow man as immaterial. I want to impute respect even where it seems not deserved or due. I want to exalt the condition of the sentient being and show kindness, helpfulness, and support where-ever I go.
The human personality with its advanced attributes is a majestic and exalted phenomenon that should always be protected by sincerity. What other protection is there than that? I really agonize over the possibility that in my life I have failed to be true to that precept. In this expression I hope to engender a passionate commitment to the concept in others as well.
Simple is as simple does, but the box of chocolates is too simple. Let's take life seriously and give homage to our amazing nature. Let's commit to never hurting each other and to admitting that this takes some deliberate, conscious effort in the complicated time within which we live. I love Forest Gump, but I wouldn't put a lot of stock in his advise.
Jeff Rogers is the President and Founder of http://www.dragnetmarketing. He is an online networking strategist who believes that relationships are just as important online as they are face to face. In order to have good relationships one has to give something up to get something back. See Jeff's Blog at viralvideopage.blogspot.com
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