As the sun is marching a little farther north each day, we’re beginning to find sunlight coming in windows that normally don’t get it at least six months out of the year simply due the tipping of the earth on a seasonal basis. The northern and southern hemispheres are in a constant state of leaning towards and away from the sun during the span of a 12 month period. The sun actually doesn’t march farther north, but rather the earth tips towards the sun while turning in its 24 hour daily cycle. Please don’t think me becoming some wanna-be science teacher simply because I feel it’s good for us to be reminded of the mechanics of our four seasons.
I’ve been overly concerned these past years in how many in the world don’t follow through with tasks they’ve agreed to do. Too often I find myself becoming a bit hard with others for not fulfilling agreed upon chores. There always seems to be something that gives cause to be excused. I visited with one of the fine minds we have living amongst us today in regards to how people drop the ball on making sure they’ve done what they’ve agreed to do and later whine about it being someone else’s fault when asked why this or that didn’t take place. The interesting take on this mentality is how some work very hard at blaming others or even with those obscure intervening circumstances that come out of nowhere. I teasingly said to him, “I find it refreshing with my being so far above reproach to be pulled back down and reminded once in a while by a mistake or two and refreshed by saying “I’m sorry” and correct whatever mistake was pointed out. I bristled a bit today when someone called and said an attachment I sent last week wasn’t received. Upon opening a file, I noticed the attachment was already received back the next day but the caller forgot all about it and neglected to keep a copy. I believe there’s too much white noise going on in the brains of humans along with endless multi-tasking.
With many no longer in the mindset to make themselves accountable for sloppy work, we find a rift being created between those who continue to maintain standards of excellence while others simply coast along in their downward spirals waiting for someone else to clean up their mess. I knew a not so nice elderly man who seemed to always be filled with logical excuses in his refusals to take ownership of failings. Whenever he didn’t feel like doing something, he’d always wait for the time of crisis and pass the blame onto someone or something. When he went into a nursing home before passing, I’d heard from a family member that he was quite the handful with his snippiness, refusal to do even the basics for himself, even though capable, and land mining the housekeeping staff by purposely dropping food on the floor and stepping in it. He must have felt he was going to make everyone pay in one way or another for his being placed there. I’m sure at one point in his early years he had standards by which he lived, but likely found it easier to get his way by simply never accepting fault. One of his relatives mentioned that she’d never heard the words, “I’m sorry” come out of his mouth. Is this problem pan-generational? When taking a closer look at the interactions of today’s crowd, you’ll find it more prevalent than expected. When standards weaken we’re left with troubling compromises and lasting after-effects.
