DAY 9 – ONE PERCENT OFF (MAKING LIFE HARDER THAN IT NEEDS TO BE)

Last week I was sitting in a park and observed a couple who were smiling, talking, holding hands and just enjoying their time together. Suddenly they became angry, separated and started to yell at each other. Something struck me that just wasn’t right. People who are getting along and acting friendly can quickly change their demeanor and treatment of one another.

While people turn out okay in many areas of their life, situations and circumstances
develop that the opposite occurs. People can be good parents yet some will not treat their spouse well. There are those who treat their spouse well but dislike members of a different nationality. There are people who get along well with people of other nationalities but do not like people who belong to a certain religion. People who get along well with members of other religions do not like people of a different race. People who have good relations with members of all races harbor misgivings about people who have a certain sexual orientation.

Other contradictions are also apparent in how people behave. Many have a strong and binding love for their family and close friends but do not treat their neighbors, co-workers and strangers as well. Others who treat neighbors, co-workers and strangers well act more harsh and distant with family members. People who act calmly in certain situations become emotionally upset in other situations. Many who get along well with everyone are not proactive in striving for their own better health. People who try to have better health do not help to keep our planet clean and sustainable.

One of the most troublesome aspects of human behavior is the violence that occurs every now and then. People can show kindness and friendliness one minute and the next moment they verbally disparage, steal, rape, physically assault or murder someone. Those who commit horrific acts do not engage in such actions every day but even one such instance is so far removed from their everyday behavior.

Could it be that most of the problematic issues that happen in a person’s life occurs because every person does not act in a manner that is conducive to making life better one hundred percent of the time. While human beings seem to be okay ninety-nine percent of the time, being off every so often will play havoc on their personal life and often create situations where it negatively impacts others and society at-large.

After thinking about this for days, I now realize that most of the time people live their life in ways that contribute to making life better for themself and others but there are certain instances where they make life more problematic for themselves and more problematic for their fellow human beings. The life and world that each of us desire has more of a possibility of occurring if human beings could always act in a manner conducive to creating a personally better life and a collectively better world.