I pondered that blank slate of a blog for a while. I still want to write. I still want to blog. But I wanted to write something worth reading. I thought about book reviews. I contemplated inspirational quotes. Or good news articles. I really was hoping for humorous essays.
The blog remained empty. Life kept happening. I moved apartments, had another pump break and found myself peering yet again into a strange and dark UNKNOWN of a future.
Then, I read a book: I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. Read it. Please read it. It's a book about a man who shares messages with people that he is directed to, through clues given to him on playing cards. It's intriguing and compelling and moving enough that I even cried. (But note: if you are squeamish over foul language, this one has it)
At the end of it, I found something I have been missing: people
People changing people. Every day, we meet people who change our lives, change our perspective, help us when we're down. I want to focus on those people, the ones who change me, the ones who inspire me, the ones who challenge me.
I get so abashed writing about people. People don't like to be focused on or mentioned or put on display. And mostly, I'm afraid of people's reactions when I focus on them or mention them or put them on display. Will I write something that offends or hurts?
But honestly, when it comes down to it, for me, this life is about people. Flawed human beings interacting with flawed human beings. In some ways, the results are atrocious. The news is filled with examples of how some people hurt and abuse, mistreat and negatively impact others. The wounds take years, lifetimes and even generations to heal. On the other side, in some ways, the results are miraculous. A person comes into another person's life and causes them to do something unselfish, unanticipated. That person finds herself being changed by her interactions with others. That person starts caring, helping, listening and loving. Suddenly, that interaction is not so ordinary - ordinary people are now doing extraordinary things. But the funny thing is, not one of us flawed human beings gets only one or the other. We are both. We mistreat some people. We love others. Sometimes, we even mistreat people that we love.
So, forgive me if this blog is about people and my thoughts about people and my interactions with people. Forgive me if you're one of the people I mention. Most importantly, forgive me if I say something that offends you or hurts you. The flawed human being that I am is trying to interact with other flawed human beings. The results are not always perfect or miraculous. But they're definitely worth living.
But honestly, when it comes down to it, for me, this life is about people. Flawed human beings interacting with flawed human beings. In some ways, the results are atrocious. The news is filled with examples of how some people hurt and abuse, mistreat and negatively impact others. The wounds take years, lifetimes and even generations to heal. On the other side, in some ways, the results are miraculous. A person comes into another person's life and causes them to do something unselfish, unanticipated. That person finds herself being changed by her interactions with others. That person starts caring, helping, listening and loving. Suddenly, that interaction is not so ordinary - ordinary people are now doing extraordinary things. But the funny thing is, not one of us flawed human beings gets only one or the other. We are both. We mistreat some people. We love others. Sometimes, we even mistreat people that we love.
So, forgive me if this blog is about people and my thoughts about people and my interactions with people. Forgive me if you're one of the people I mention. Most importantly, forgive me if I say something that offends you or hurts you. The flawed human being that I am is trying to interact with other flawed human beings. The results are not always perfect or miraculous. But they're definitely worth living.
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