don't get mad

Did you ever find yourself behind a very slow customer at the checkout counter? You may have seen this, even if it didn’t ever happen to you. A customer has everything on the counter and the clerk is ringing it up, when suddenly the customer runs off saying “I forgot something.” The line is now frozen as everyone waits for that customer to return, and when he does, it seems he has a pocket full of coins that he wants to use first before going to the currency or even a credit card. It takes forever to finally reach the counter for your turn. Did you ever have an experience like that? Did you lose your temper?

Did you ever have one of those moments in traffic where everything has stopped for no apparent reason and cars are just sitting there? Everyone starts honking their horns. People are yelling things and making obscene gestures. Have you ever been in a situation like this?

Sometimes in our daily lives there can be stressful moments that push us to the moment where we want to scream. Most of us have had these moments, but what can we do about them? Well, if we become exceptionally mad about something and begin acting violently, then we are probably in need of some type of counseling and anger management. On those lesser occasions, it might take a much simpler solution.

My mother is now 86 years old. She doesn’t move as fast as she once did. Sometimes when I am in that checkout counter situation, I think to myself, what if that were my mother ahead of me. How would I want people to act toward her? How should I act toward her? The traffic situation can also feature Mom. How about if she was taking an exceptionally long time crossing the street and that is why the cars had all stopped? You would certainly understand if drivers were waiting for an elderly woman to cross safely.

We can all make a difference in this world of ours if we try to avoid being impatient or showing anger towards others. It isn’t always going to be easy of course, but keeping a smile on our face just might keep one on the face of others! We are already several days into January, but perhaps this can still be one of our New Year's resolutions.

All lives matter

It's hard to remember when I first realized that we are not all alike. It was a gradual process, I'm sure, as I slowly discovered that we look different, speak different languages, worship in different ways, earn different amounts of money, wear different styles of clothing, and so on. Some of us have blue eyes and some have brown. Some of us are perfect weight and some of us struggle with extra pounds. We are different races and sexual orientations and religions and genders and the diversity is one of those wonderful things about life - we can celebrate our differences.

Now there will be those who think that because of who their parents are, or because of their race or their religion or even their sexual orientation, that they are superior to others. "I'm better than you," is an all too often seen expression by some misguided folks who don't realize that we are ALL equal. Yes, we are different, but differences don't mean that one is better than another. Every single one of us matters. No one person is better than another and certainly no one group is better.

As I said, I don't recall exactly when I realized there were differences. At times I wish I had NOT discovered it. At times I wish nobody would discover it. Perhaps if we could look beyond those differences, we would remember that at the core of it all, we are the same. We all matter equally.