Knowing Better

Image by thaths via Flickr
On any given day, I see people trying to justify their perceived right to be angry about a myriad of pathetic trifles, including myself. My daily struggle involves taking personal responsibility for my anger, but my struggle rarely ends in victory. I whisper to myself that at least I recognize the struggle.


The majority around me do not.

Many years ago, I was struck by a quote from a film. For me the quote has become a mantra of sorts, as I pursue the path of self improvement. When I first heard those words they resonated like a lightning bolt, and I strive with varying success to embrace the concept.


"Blame is for idiots and small children".


After all, if I am not responsible for my own happiness, then who is?

The Pope? The Dalai Lama? George W. Bush? My Mother? My Boss? My Co-Workers? My Ex? Lady GaGa?


There is a great deal to be angry about in this world. In our global society, we have access to an unlimited amount of appalling circumstance, injustice, and outright degradation of the human experience at the click of a mouse.

The overarching lesson of my travels is a loss of respect for my fellow Canadians and myself. On my worst days it seems that we have everything and appreciate nothing. On better days, I see the inherent generosity and compassion in all of us.

The more I travel, the less sympathy I have for the petty and spoiled whining that envelopes the lives of most Canadians, including myself.


One night in Phnom Penh, Cambodia,  as I ate dinner on a patio, a man approached me, begging for money. He approached me like no other beggar. He had no legs and no mechanical assistance.

No wheelchair, no crutches, no prosthetic, no cane. He had to drag himself on the ground by his arms, begging for money.

I could go on. Children playing in piles of garbage, parents searching through piles of garbage as their children slept in the doorway of an office building.

Some things are worth being outraged about and some things aren't, and sometimes I find it difficult to reconcile the obscenities I have witnessed with the pettiness that surrounds me.


Even worse, I sometimes find myself  knee deep in my own pettiness.

Goddammit, I should know better.


http://www.goyestoeverything.com