If you’ve lived long enough and even if you haven’t lived very long, you’ve seen it happen over and over again. There can be a fierce and deadly war raging in a certain area and maybe it’s been going on for years. Then you will see both sides willing to set a “day” aside and “cease fire” for the period. If they can decide to do that for a certain day, why can’t they decide to do it for ONE more day? And then one more! And then one more! And if that can be done why can’t they decide to stop fighting all together? They could just make the decision to resolve the fact that there’s just no really good reason to keep fighting at all! But in most cases the hatred continues to be perpetuated by both sides so that the fighting continues.
Probably the BEST example of this involves the Hatfields and McCoys. There may be some of you reading this blog who have NO idea who I am talking about. But just do a little research and you will find out these families feuded beginning in the late 1800s and it went on for decades. And the actual reason for its start is still debated by many. Was it a love relationship, a dispute over land, or the killing of some family members or could it have started over something as simple as a PIG? Many have their reasons for believing the way they do, but the debate will probably continue for many years to come. Even today just the mention of the family names brings to mind the picture of a ruthless conflict between two opposing sides.
Looking into the areas of hatred and spite today we still see that conflicts are still created over race, color, nationality, gender or religion. Even such mundane things as how much money you make, what side of town you’re from, your height, your weight, what color is your hair or a number of other ridiculous items which are used to put a wedge between people for one reason or the other. Why can’t we just admit that for whatever reasons we are ALL different and treat everyone accordingly? We would certainly be able to get along better with each other if we would treat others the way we wanted them to treat us.
Now let’s shift somewhat to a different area of consideration. We have seen this type of situation over and over again. An unbelievable situation developes somewhere in the country and immediately there are those “good Samaritans who come to the assistance of the involved individual(s). One of the most touching of these in my opinion that happened recently (and I don’t remember the City although that’s irrelevant to the story) was the following: The police got a call to a convenience store that a lady had been detained because of shoplifting. When the officer got on the scene he made the determination that the lady had been caught for stealing diapers for her baby. Now I’m not wanting to sound like I’m condoning her actions for theft, but it seems that the police officer saw the situation as I would have seen it. Not only did he NOT arrest her for shoplifting, but he bought the diapers for her out of his own money. I know, lately, because of SOME the police have been getting a bad “rap” and in some cases for good reasons. However, there are those officers like the one I mentioned above who put our trust back in the “men in blue.” So when you can, why not show your appreciation for these hard working men and women by perhaps paying for their meal when you see them in a restaurant.
So if we can “cease fire” for a day or more: Or if we can have compassion in our hearts for those less fortunate than ourselves on certain occasions. Why can’t it happen every day? We need to remember that we are all in this cycle called life together. Today we may be on the top of opportunities. However, tomorrow we may be the one who needs the helping hand. This may require a major shift in our thinking. But, let’s not forget: We’re only human!
QUOTE TO CONSIDER
THOUGHTFUL GEM
"When things become the darkest - - -
Let your light shine brighter."
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