Rules and Consequences of Life

Black on White: Greeting Card

Have you ever thought of the “rules” of life? 

For instance, when you park your car, there are rules aren’t there? Yup! The dirty looks you get if you don’t stay in the lines or if you don’t put money in the meter…well there are consequences. Oh, and when you check out at the supermarket do they let you leave without paying? I think not! And what if you “accidentally” put a package of carrots in your purse….um, consequences!  

And then, there are the rules that we have little control over….like when you get past a certain age your body doesn’t work the same, everyone’s body is governed by that rule! A rule of nature, so to speak. Nature’s rules suck sometimes… and the consequences of not taking care of our bodies is even “sicker”! No pun intended…

Well, so do speed limit rules…you know, when you are late for an appointment and the speed limit is 25 mph and there are absolutely NO cars or houses or people around? But, if you break the speed limit, WHAM! There will be a cop in your rear view mirror!! Any consequences? Probably at least a warning but more than likely a ticket!

Rules are not written down sometimes....rules about behavior to each other….rules about not being rude to others, rules about treating others as we want to be treated, rules about general kindness, rules about being thoughtful of others before ourselves…..some people call these the “Golden Rules”. Well, whatever they are I’m here to say that they are broken all the time. 

I have “almost” always tried to be nice to everyone I meet…to treat others as I want to be treated. Sometimes it’s really, really hard but mostly it’s easy because I have made it a habit in my life. Take marriage or our families, for instance….it seems like the people we are supposed to love the most are sometimes the people we hurt the easiest. Why is that? Well, I believe it is because our loved ones have no ‘walls’ around their hearts and feelings and we can plunge that dagger of hurt right in without a barrier present. 

The big question for me is “why do we do that”? As a child I grew up knowing that my father didn’t like me…and I didn’t know why. He made it abundantly clear by his treatment of me from the first day I can remember him hitting me or yelling at me to the last day I saw him when I was in my 40s when he was swearing at me. I know that his youth wasn’t fun, that he had a parent who was very unpleasant and who probably hurt him a lot and that he had to quit school to support his family. But did that give him the right to break the rules of treating his “loved ones” with less than respect and love? I have known other people who have treated their wives, children, and siblings in the same way. 

The newspaper says that 50% of Alaska women have been or are abused in some way. There aren’t even statistics on what’s happening with kids! 

I’m appalled at how humanity treats each other!! Suicide bombers, dishonest deceitful people running our world, the prisons full of hateful, hurtful people…it’s all too much to deal with sometimes. If I think about it too much it brings me down even more than I normally am. 

What I don’t want to happen is that I become hardened or callous to these awful and unkind things going on around me. I want to be the one voice that stands out in the crowd to say “I’m sorry”, “I love you”, “You are my friend”, “We can do this together”, “Let’s make this right”, “I forgive you”….etc. I don’t want to EVER contribute to the hate and anger and unkindness in the world. So, every day I try very hard not to “strike back” at those around me who don’t have the same view and philosophy as I have. Some days it’s a lot harder than others. 

I believe if we each envisioned that today was the last day we would be on earth, that we would treat each other better…that we would be kinder, would be less petty, would look at the big picture of life instead of the nit-picky things that are with us every day.  Does it really matter if the lid isn’t put back on the toothpaste? Does it really matter that the sink is full of dishes? Does it really matter that the front walk hasn’t been shoveled? Does it really matter that life has dealt you a bad hand? Sure, all these things matter, but not in the BIG picture of life. In the big picture I do not have the right to place on your shoulders my problems, my pains, my upsets….my responsibility to you is to treat you with love, dignity, and respect. At least that is Janie’s philosophy for what it’s worth. 

Enough said…..

My tangle of the day:

Black on white: Greeting Card.