Shining Thru

But he that dares not grasp the thorn Should never crave the rose. - Anne Bronte

I think there is a lot of truth to this statement and a lot of time we forget, as our society turns more and more towards this feeling of entitlement, that most good things come with some bad, and most bad things come with some good.  I don’t know anyone who likes to get pricked by the thorns of a rose as they pick it off of the bush, but some how, we can’t resist picking it anyway and holding it close to smell the sweetness….even if our fingers are bleeding a little bit, at least we can smile and sigh of delight as we breathe in the fresh scent.

How many people today feel that they are entitled to something for nothing?  I see it all of the time in the younger generation especially.  High school students who feel they don’t need to do the daily work because they should be allowed to have extra credit later….or if they are failing by one point, then it’s their teacher’s fault that they failed because the teacher should have given them that one point.  I don’t know how giving anybody anything, especially at that young age teaches responsibility of any kind.

Sometimes we have to be willing to take the bad with the good.  You want a better paying job, but don’t like the long hours it requires….sometimes that’s the thorn….you want a cute and cuddly baby but don’t want to be up with them all night….sometimes that’s the thorn on the rose…..sometimes you are feeling depressed but a friend calls and brightens your entire day…sometimes that’s the rose.

I think that most things we encounter have the good and the bad…it’s a system of equality that God or the Universe or whatever you believe in came up with to maintain order….besides if we didn’t know what bad was, how would we know what good was?  Have you ever stopped to think if something can exist without an opposite?

Do you ever have a count down to something you are looking forward to?  Or maybe not looking forward to?  Anticipation seems to work both ways, both with dread and excitement.  What is it about waiting that gets to us?  Is it because we living in an instant culture where everything is based on how fast you can accomplish the task?  Fast Food, Fast Lanes, Freeway, Drive thrus, etc. Or is it because we are simply impatient people when it comes to things that we are looking forward to and therefore time seems to go sooo slow.  Where as, when we are dreading something every moment seems to be torture or goes by so quickly that you have to simply deal with whatever it is.

Counting down can be your own personal hell or can be the most exciting thing that has happened to you in a long time.  Expecting the best and looking forward to all of the possibilities.  Playing out the scenarios of the perfect situations or the wonderful surprises that might end up happening.  Wanting the moment to come so that you could enjoy the real thing, instead of imaging all of the different situations.

Counting down the days, can me long and tiresome, or short and exciting.  Sometimes it’s better to just let things come as they will.  Forget the anticipation and the dread.  We get ourselves so syked up about something, sometimes in a good way and sometimes in a bad way.  Which can result in a good thing or a bad thing.  Sometimes we get ourselves so excited about something that we are let down when it actually happens, or it could result in a great attitude going into an event and having a great time.  On the other hand, you could dread something and build it up in your head so bad that nothing could possibly be that bad and you get a sense of relief when it actually happens, or you could end up making yourself sick from nervousness and having it be much worse than it needed to be.

Anyway you look at it, do you risk the anticipation of an event and flip the coin to see if it turns out good?  Or should you just let things happen and enjoy what is happening now?

Why do some people feel it is not only their right but their duty to push their morals onto those people around them?  And why does it always seem like there is bitterness behind their “concerns” as it is usually stated.  Has it ever occurred to these people that maybe not everyone has the same beliefs as they do and that every individual has their own life experiences that have shaped and molded their own beliefs and morals.  There are some things that we can generalize and state that most people consider as “wrong”; however, if you have seen the movie, A Time to Kill, you may agree that there are instances when you can understand why the rules are broken or bent. 

Who gets to decide what is right and what is wrong?  Who gets to decide what the difference between good and evil is?  In my opinion only you can do that for yourself.  You are the only one who has to live with yourself all day every day, for the rest of your life. 

Sometimes I try to imagine a world where people wouldn’t have to feel judged in their day to day life.  What would it be like if we left people to decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong?