Wednesday, November 2, 2005

upatnightthoughts. So. Middle of the night. Not sleeping. Thinking instead. And here's what I was thinking about: I truly believe that what you do in your daily life should have a direct impact on the expectations you have of others. If you lack accountability in your personal, intimate relationships, you should be hard-pressed to expect it from your leaders. If you cannot get your own shit together, then think twice about the state the world is in and how your micro-contribution affects the macro-society. Where the hell has integrity gone? We are a nation of critics without a common anchor of decency. If you infuse your immediate surroundings with anger and misanthropy, there's no reason why war should ever come as a shock to you. If you cannot love what is right in front of your eyes, why would you expect your fellow man to look outside of themselves and contribute to making the world a better place? You need to focus on your own life before you can tell others how to live. You need to take a hard look at your own anger before you call others to grace. You need to face up your own drama before you express incredulity at someone else's. I see bloggers lecturing one another on everything from relationships to politics and then, in the very next breath, proudly displaying the attitudes and misanthropy that form the foundation of the mess this world is in. Do they see it? No way. If you call them on it, do they like it? No way. Hell, I'm so far from perfect as to be in a different time zone, I admit it. I have my share of existential angst. But I get -- and am trying to act on -- the fact that how I treat people, how I speak of and to people, how I live my life, and how I conduct my relationships is the very place where my primary capacity to create change exists. I can work towards helping others, but societal transformation needs to begin in the mirror. Anything less, and my efforts are a joke. Find a way to love people on your own level today. Find a way to make a difference within a mile of where you live. Speak to the people you love with the understanding that your words and actions have a butterfly effect that you probably won't ever truly fathom. Or  -- if that's too much to ask -- expect nothing from anyone else. Because they owe you nothing. This is the stuff that keeps me awake at night. 7:13:58 AM    well, yes, but...  []

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