Always and everywhere there are either neighbors, co-workers, or simply people that we happen to come in contact with on a weekly or monthly basis that seem to bring out what I would consider the “impure” thoughts. I’m hopeful that we all can say none of us are perfect in every way and certainly have our share of faults. Perhaps one of the reasons for this mental bristling when encountering these impure thought generators is that they are so terribly phony. A dear friend of mine whom is indeed a gentle soul told me recently that she spilled her inner-most secrets to a would be gentleman friend in thinking he’d grow equally closer in their budding friendship. Apparently it didn’t happen as she believed in her telling me in a sad voice that she discovered he really wasn’t that interested in her to the point of not even listening to her when having a regular conversation. So much for the idea of sharing and caring.
As I’ve mentioned more than once, the number of narcissistic people there are in this world is growing exponentially. I blame parents, companies, and much of the way in which being “special” in every way is popularized. I see it in all professions including real estate sales. There are times when keeping silent is agonizing, yet knowing full well that if I open my mouth and give my take on a given situation, there would likely be a few more people grinding an axe for me. Oily words and bloated promises are quite tedious to say the least. There are many whom I dare not ask how they are for fear of hearing a detailed account of what’s wrong with everyone else except themselves. I’ve also decided there are two camps of mindsets also growing in numbers. They’re the victims and the heroes. It’s funny in seeing the gravitation of the victims finding comfort with other victims, and heroes ready to do battle with other heroes. In some countries, the victims and heroes are shunned simply because they’re not considered like everyone else who is attempting to be normal. It’s certainly not easy in these times to maintain a sort of balance with the emotional roller-coaster rides going on around us. Several days ago someone intimated something to me that was certainly un-necessary and likely he thought I would start spreading it in the right circles. I thought, “How ignorant you must consider me?” Being the messenger of gossip is definitely not my cup of tea. I think if we all really work at side-stepping such land mines of information, society in general will be all the better for it.
As I was heading back to the office from an early morning appointment I happened to notice a dear client walking down the sidewalk. I thought it time to have a good chat with her since she recently lost a good friend. We walked over to a park bench and had a real darned good chat. She did most of the speaking while I listened. After about 20 minutes she felt better and so did I with the sharing of her grief with me which helped with her healing process; and my knowing that it was helpful, also lifted my spirits. Too many times people avoid others who’ve had a death in their family or possibly a good friend for fear they’ll say the wrong thing. As far as I’m concerned, those are the times when one should take extra steps to be there even if it’s for nothing more but to listen.
As I’ve mentioned, “There’s an art in knowing when to keep our distance and when not.”
