(Disclaimer: None of the thoughts/ideas expressed in this post reflect my feelings towards my immediate family - mom, dad, Kelly, and Matt.)
I think we all know where this is going? If you ask me (which I know you didn’t but I’m going to tell you anyway) there are two kinds of families:
1. Families who offer love, caring, COMPASSION, ethics, HONESTY, fairness, common sense, reason, PEACEFUL CONFLICT RESOLUTION, respect for oneself and others – all of the values necessary to live an honorable and prosperous life in harmony; And,
2. Families who act carelessly and in a GREEDY fashion – or those who lack values such as to be kind, caring, honorable, neighborly, generous, compassionate, fair, and peace-loving.
It is my belief that there are families out there who are lucky enough to possess a sense of “Family Values” who are considerate and careful with their decision making and actions making sure not to leave behind a polluted world for our children. Unfortunately, mine isn’t one of them.
As far as I’m concerned, “Family” was a hollow, empty word when I was growing up – And still is, a word that is just “said”. People who barely talk to each other or who may even be disgusted with one another can “CALL” themselves a “FAMILY” but in reality, they are and always will be incapable of caring about and taking care of one another the way a family should. (Or at least one that considers themselves to be more than a bloodline.) Loyalty and love should not be something that family members (or people in general for that matter) should feel that they “owe” anyone but rather should be a voluntary action.
So why am I surrounded with pessimism, selfishness and greed when all of the things necessary to live in harmony with one’s community and self are something dissimilar? It reminds me of that old saying, “You can pick your friends but you can’t pick your family.” But just because you cannot choose your bloodline that does not mean you that cannot choose your loyalty? Especially if the loyalty that you are more than willing to surrender will NEVER and I mean NEVER be returned. The sad part is that even though our faith wants us to be humble... The pain and heartache overpower us into uncontrollably feeling something indifferent.
That being said, at this point in my life, there is a big part of my family that can and will only be a “bloodline” in my eyes. These are the people that choose greed (such as saving a buck and doing so without tact) over compassion, fairness, reason, and peaceful (or at least tactful) conflict resolution. These are the people who choose to love some more than others even though it continues to break hearts. These are the people who you discount salary for and lose hundreds so they can put it in their pocket thinking that maybe – just maybe, they’ll do something nice for you in the future and then you get let down. These are the people who are more than willing to go out of their way! But only if it benefits them. These are the people who live to compete with the one group of people they should never even think about competing with. These are the people that care so much about what makes them happy (because life is too short you know) that they are willing to hurt others in exchange for self-gain.......................... And unfortunately for me, these are the people who surround my familial existence. These are the people whom I have no choice but to love. These are the people whom I have no choice but to respect.
But these are the people I DO have a choice to spend time with. And I DO have a choice to be loyal.
“A self-realized person would never be pessimistic about achieving what needs to be done in the world around them and in their lives. Self-realized people will be following their profound sense of conviction that, - - evil will only triumph when good people do nothing to stop it.”
lam
