All too often,
We romanticize these crazy acts,
which stand before us like crazy shields
and desperate measures –
just to feel good.
And all too often,
we celebrate the villain
or glorify the bad guy
or the “tough guy”
It seems to me that maybe our judgment is off
just a little
You think?
We allow mistakes to distract a person’s greatness,
for example, one bad act
can somehow cancel a lifetime of goodness,
or one wrong move
can assassinate characters,
eliminate honor
or void any valid moment
all because of one bad move.
I have news for you
everyone has flaws
everyone makes bad moves
(present company included).
We all have oversights, mistakes
and moments where character defects
step into the light and ruin the day.
Yet, here we are on Project Earth
we are alive and well and pointing fingers
as usual
I don’t do names here but . .
they told me about a person who got caught up
They were famous for helping others.
I was told they made a poor choice,
that the overstepped,
that human flaw took the place of their greatness
and that because of a moment of inappropriateness,
the lives they helped and the people they saved
were canceled and meaningless
because of a moment where this person was not at their best.
But wait,
isn’t the punishment supposed to fit the crime?
Maybe . . .
But not in this lifetime
I see this place for what it is
a roomful of perfectionists, trying to be perfect
pointing fingers
or pretending to be better
I see this place for what it is,
a place where there are villains and heroes
and wolves in sheep’s clothing.
I think these characters are interchangeable
and either of us can be any of this at any moment
I see the need to point fingers
All too often,
I see us in a strange race to judge or point out flaws
yet it’s easier to spot it in someone else,
right?
It’s easier to look around and say,
I never did anything like that
and maybe not
but no one wants to be audited
or put under the magnifying glass
And hey, karma digs deeper than any investigator;
in which case, the interest can be pretty high
especially when it comes to karmic debt.
All too often, I hear people say
That’ll never happen to me
I have news . . .
Life happens to everybody.
I ever tell you about the first time I walked into a homeless shelter?
I was picked to speak
They led me to a room filled with “guests.”
“Guests” is what they called
the people who lived in the shelter.
From what I was told,
and this was told to me by many
of the people who lived in this place
they said they felt like they were a lot of things –
but the last thing they felt like was a guest
A burden, maybe.
An item in a file, perhaps
But a guest, not so much.
I remember standing in front of a group of people
They were people of all kinds
and I realized something,
that everyone in this world
at any moment
can all be one wrong decision away
from any downfall.
I learned that I can’t judge,
that I have no right to,
that I am flawed as well,
that I am humbled,
I am human
and I have no right to place myself
above or below.
I learned that I need to stop accusing
Pot, kettle
People in glass houses
people who point fingers
I always go back to that old idea –
“They among you who is without sin;
let them be the one to cast the first stone.”
I guess if we’re being honest, no one is able to go first
But you can bet every dollar,
there’s a line around the block
just to be the one who goes second.
Come to think of it
back when I lived on “The Farm”
a buddy of mine told one of the dorm leaders,
“Get off your high horse and walk awhile, pal!”
Mike was eventually asked to leave.
The dorm leader
well,
he was eventually sentenced to 10 years for illegal distribution
Anyone can fall
The mighty
Me
You
Anyone
Stay humble
So the egg on your face
can wash off a little easier.
The Written Addiction 