So it’s been a while since I’ve written much of anything. Dealing with family and personal issues that have pretty much consumed my time. A lot has happened in this crazy world since I last wrote. I’ve tried to stay below the radar because some of my views might not be completely popular so better sometimes to keep things bottled in this head of mine. It’s a change I’ve tried to make. If I am asked my opinion I gladly will share but otherwise I am trying to remain somewhat un-political.
One trend I am seeing is this tendency to belittle or make fun of certain Walmart shoppers. While they seem to bring it upon themselves in many cases, for a reason I am uncertain of, it is making me increasingly uncomfortable. It is almost a kind of sport for some and that’s fine but I have a hard time with it lately so I steer clear, as much as possible, in engaging in the behavior. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not judging anyone who finds it entertaining, I just choose not to get involved.
Another thing I am realizing over these past few years is just how families are changing. Large families that stay connected seem to be an endangered species. I think it’s a result of how spread out our society has become. I also think that with the dawn of social media we lean much more heavily on electronic communication and much less on face to face visits. That’s sad, in my opinion. One of my real joys of childhood was to go to my Grandmother’s house on Sundays, sometimes for dinner, sometimes to just visit and sometimes to steal a few carrots from my Grandfather’s garden. It was a simple joy and it was certainly just taken for granted. I remember how excited I would be when my cousins were visiting. Family was just more connected and closer. I look back now and realize just how good we really had it. Not in terms of money but certainly in terms of family interaction. Texting just doesn’t get it for me and I am a hideous conversationalist on the phone. Will this family dynamic ever change? I can’t see it but I do know I miss it.
I am in a melancholy mood tonight. I have been thinking about all of the people in my life that have left this world for the next and as I start to count them up it becomes a sad event. Friends through church, a wife, all of my parents, grandparents and uncles and aunts and cousins…..if I look at the losses one by one it’s much easier than looking at the total but anyway I look, it is not easy. I guess what is becoming more real to me each year is my mortality. Living a good long life has its positives but also one drawback is you see a lot of loved ones leave before you. There is no fix for this, it just is and for some reason this evening it has pushed to the forefront in my mind.
I really try to focus on the blessings I have and how very fortunate I am to have what I do have because there are many not so fortunate but some nights those other thoughts creep in and when they do I must ponder them. I am blessed. I have relatively good health, a roof over my head and a soul mate that completes my dreams with me. Why is there a side of human nature that exists which makes us want more and want to do better? My guess is if there wasn’t that facet to humanity we might have gone extinct many years ago. The problem is it can be taken too far. I don’t begrudge anyone who works their tail off to reap the rewards of that effort. What bothers me though is there are many in that situation that not only take it for granted but do nothing to help the less fortunate and that is really in my eyes a crime against humanity. Yes we want to do well for ourselves and yes we always want to try and do better but somehow we must never forget what got us there and perhaps who helped us to get there.
I really am aimlessly rambling with an occasional lucid thought so if you take anything away from this, it is that everyone, I think anyhow, has some of these thoughts. We may not be able to fix many of the things I’ve mentioned but sometimes just verbalizing them helps us to make sense of this crazy world.
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