Wildflower Writes

Photo by  Joel M Mathey  on  Unsplash I love the story of the tortoise and the hare. I love knowing that slow and steady progress moves you closer to your goals, even if it takes some time. Time is so relative. A boring afternoon can stretch on for weeks, and ten years ago can seem like yesterday. Ironically, “time flies when you’re having fun” and time drags when you’re struggling. It’s important to remember that “this too shall pass.” It doesn’t matter what it is, it won’t last forever. Terrible twos? They only last a year. Winter weather? Spring is coming. Rookie status? Experience will change that. On the other hand, like the tortoise, it does take an effort to make progress. We can’t repeat the same habits and behaviors and expect different results. Positive change requires intentional effort. One step at a time.

I was wrapping up my daily "run" (more walking than...) and the breeze blowing through the shade trees lining the street was delicious. Now, if I had just stood outside and felt the wind blowing on my face, it would be pleasant, but not the highlight of my morning. It took the effort... the exertion... the sweat dripping from my brow... to truly appreciate the breeze caressing my face. I think life is like that sometimes. Food is never more tasty than when you've gone without food. A kind word is never more appreciated than when you feel beaten up. Not everything in our lives is good, but good can be found in everything.

One of my young friends brought the movie " To Save a Life " to my attention.  A movie with limited showings (the closest theater to me is in Benton Harbor, Michigan), it begs the question- if high school students were as concerned about others as themselves, and were willing to reach out beyond their own circles, what kind of tragedies could be prevented? In April of last year I posted the following blog.  I think the message bears repeating.  At some point we’ve all objectified other people. We’ve made fun of someone with an odd appearance, or who walks a particular way. We’ve laughed at jokes based on stereotypes. We’ve dismissed someone as “one of those…” and assumed we knew his motives. We’ve made all kinds of remarks about the car in front of us or behind us, when we don’t think at all about the driver. I’m reminded of a song that I cannot remember the artist, title, or exact lyrics. It talks about not knowing what the person beside us is going throu...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30030756/ Fourteen killed in Binghamton, New York. If you read the story, you have to ask yourself, what could cause a person to have so little regard for human life that he just starts shooting randomly at people? What intricate part of the human psyche gets broken to the point he believes this is an acceptable course of action? I was just remarking to a friend that maybe it’s not so far fetched. At some point we’ve all objectified other people. We’ve made fun of someone with an odd appearance, or who walks a particular way. We’ve laughed at jokes based on stereotypes. We’ve dismissed someone as “one of those…” and assumed we knew his motives. We’ve made all kinds of remarks about the car in front of us or behind us, when we don’t think at all about the driver. I’m reminded of a song that I cannot remember the artist, title, or exact lyrics. It talks about not knowing what the person beside us is going through. We may see a man on a bus with unruly ...