Olive Branch



Not a day goes by that I don’t check my social media and find another rant by a friend or relative. Mind you, I have my moments were I have to rant about this or that. But I’d like to think that my rants are well balanced and based on fact, not just hearsay or paranoia. While I find many of these posts to be hateful and downright insulting, I usually keep my trap shut and love them anyway. Still I must admit they get under my skin.

One of the major downsides to social media is the instantaneous way it allows us to respond to whatever fact or fiction we may hear. In a way the fast movement of important information is good, but when that information isn’t complete it can create an even bigger problem. On a personal level I understand we all have our beliefs and opinions. And at some point someone else’s beliefs and opinions will eventually clash with our own. I suppose here’s where the words empathy and compassion come in.

Listen I’m the last person on the planet that should be preaching about offending someone else’s feelings. If you know me at all you know I’m an opinionated smart-ass who never believes they’re wrong. (Can I get an AMEN, Kids?) But in my defense I was brought up in an environment where creating a crusty hard shell was your only means of survival. But hey, I’m learning. Seriously.

My point here is I know how words can be divisive, hurtful, and downright mean. Now you can seat here and read this and say, “Oh, go grow a pair”. But rather we want to admit or not, words do hurt and assuming things can lead to a whole lotta’ hurtin’. All I ask is you think before you strike the keyboard. This is a new age and words matter more than ever. It’s sad to see our world shortened to 140 characters and our attention spans reduced to that of a two-year-old, but that’s the way it is.

All I can do is pass out olive branches to those that embraced this way of living. So that hopefully through my flawed examples they may understand life is more than just posts and likes. It’s about connecting, loving, and respecting one other, even when we feel they are wrong.   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fail-Safe

Image
Through the paper-thin walls of this old house, I can hear my neighbors getting ready for another day. Laying here remember when I used to do that, working at night so I could take care of the kids, while my wife went to work. Yesterday sorta marked a tipping point for me I suppose. I finally got my consultation with the gastroenterologist. So we are working the set-up some tests my primary care physician has been wanting for me to have for months. While I would love nothing more than to tell my PCP, “I told you so”. But I suppose knowing is better than not knowing. Although I do find some comfort in ignorant bliss.  I get the impression some people feel I am an optimist. But I like to think of myself more as a realist. What some may mistake as optimism is actually nothing more than analytics. Where I breakdown a given situation and create a solution. That may sound cold and frankly less romantic. But you must understand, after living so long in a void of no emotion (due to
Read more

Moments You've Lived

Image
It’s 5:15 in the afternoon and my stupid ass is back outside. I just checked the phone and it’s a balmy 90° with a feel like temperature of 99°f. I figured since I was hot in the room with the AC on, I might as well come outside and do same thing. Earlier I read a funny meme from my sibling on Facebook that read, “Can someone send me a hug?” copy and share. Rather sarcastically I replied, “We are not huggers , didn’t we grow up in the same house?” Probably no truer words have ever been spoken about our lives as kids. Oh, we weren’t beaten or overly abused, we were just not raised all “touchy feely”. Not surprisingly most kids of our generation weren’t raised that way either. We were provided for in our working class suburban homes. It’s just that a lot of time wasn’t devoted to things like feelings and emotions. You were expected to tough it out and swallow those tears. I guess one place where we could let our emotions go was church. Raised during the infancy of the “Pentecostal Moveme
Read more

Blowing Breeze

Image
It’s later in the afternoon so I decided to take advantage of the lighter humidity and come back outside. There’s a lite breeze blowing so while the gnats are still out, at least they’re having to put in some extra effort to lite on me. You can still smell where the grass got cut this morning, but sadly the faint scent of BBQ from the restaurant down the street is gone.  The poor old sycamore tree leaves look a bit sad. Hanging like they’re on their last leg from the limbs. There’s no point in bringing up the fig bush/tree, it’s all but shed most of its leaves. It’s hard to believe that just a few months ago both plants were vibrant and green, with a bountiful crop of figs. But the birds have mostly abandon their nest in the fig branches. With the kids grown and the shade and food supply dried up, I can’t say I blame them.  But I’m the human here, I’m adaptable with opposable thumbs. I can’t move on as easily as the birds. My so-called cognitive reasoning insist I stick aro
Read more