Thursday, October 28, 2010

Human observations

In my old age I have come across many types of folks.  There are giving people, sweet people, angry people, sad people.  Most people have stories and reasons for why they are the way they are, and usually it all sort of makes sense.  Then there are those people you come across whose stories don't match "who" they are.  For example, they have had an incredibly hard and trying life, yet they are loving and giving and open.  But to me, there is one category of people I have come across that make me the saddest....and these are the unreasonably unhappy people.

See these folks have what they need and more, they are usually well cared for, loved and for the most part secure.  They have families that others dream about, they have homes, they have opportunities, but for some reason they are always unhappy.  These are the people you meet who complain about EVERYTHING even though they actually have little that is wrong.  They are the same people who fight with everyone; friends, family, coworkers, etc over anything and everything for no real reason.  They push people away, they whine and moan, they complain when nothing is there to complain about and they can't ever see what they have right in front of them.

When I run into these people, I can't help but wonder why they are that way.  Do they feel they haven't lived up to their potential?  Did they make wrong choices in their life or feel taken advantage of?  Are they just plain unappreciative and selfish?  I wish I could shake them and say "LOOK!  You have what so many others dream about and still you complain and fight!  LOOK, you don't need to be unique or stand out, you are good enough as yourself!  LOOK you made the choices you did, and you are OK, be thankful!"  But instead, I feel that all I can do is walk away from them...walk away because I can't watch the trainwreck, the breakdown of human spirit and the selfishness that drives these sorts.  I walk away feeling thankful for what I do have, and for all the hard work and choices it took to get where we are and that I had the opportunities I did.  I walk away thankful for my family, even if they can make me cuckoo, and for my jobs even though they are exhausting, since I would never want to be without the love of my family or the stability of my job.  I walk away proud of the hard, and sometime unpopular, decisions I have made as a human, wife and mother, because I am proud and confident that they were the best choices I could make in the moment, and that there is no shame in making a mistake.

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