When I was young, back when the Garden of Eden was in bloom and we were still counting how many turtles' shells the Earth was resting on, I actively considered following in the path of Mother Teresa.
No, really.
I was a serious child and could not understand the despair in the world – I was pretty sure I could help.
A lack of confidence has never been one of my problems.
Unfortunately, the path to righteousness has many sideroads at which you may turn; and since leaving childhood, I have gone dizzy with the number of times I've diverged from the path...
I have laughed – and not in a nice way – at a drunk woman who squatted on the sidewalk, in a very short skirt, to rummage through her purse, her underwear glowing in the dark, her butt, inches from the pavement, a chubby white advertisement for sobriety.
I once told a beggar who tried to hug me “Touch me and I’ll scream”.
I have accused my husband, the long-suffering William Throckmorton the III, of undisclosed mental retardation after having been asked to repeat myself for the fifth time.
I have chased a rather large woman on a motorized scooter for three blocks before succumbing to asthma and bare-footed-ness.
This is kindness? This is humility? This is turning the other cheek?
Ah, well, the other cheek is still squatting on the sidewalk, I suspect, looking drunkenly for her wallet.
In short, ladies and gentlemen, I believe I have strayed from the path that Mother Teresa would have asked me to walk.
I have lost patience with the people who take more than they need, pretending that they don’t notice that they’ve done so.
I have lost respect for the people who don’t cop to their own culpability, who manipulate reality for their own ends and take others with them.
I have become intolerant of the people who add nothing but only take.
In short, I have discovered that I am more human than I had hoped for.
About Bob Dylan
5 days ago
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12 comments:
Ohhh, I hate that realization. I had similar ones (ones where I realize I don't love all of God's creatures - yeah, I dislike some people no matter how hard I try).
One thing I do know is the Mother Teresa had NO sense of humor and if you would have had to trade that to be her then you would have gotten a bad deal and given up the best part of yourself. (well aside for your butt which I hear is spectacular). I too wished to follow a nobler path once. I wanted to save the majestic California Condor from extinction. However I was really stoned at the time of my pronouncement and the next morning I wised up and instead promised to never eat one no matter how many herbs and spices they had been prepared with. I think I reached a reasonable compromise with those birds.
The apples tasted good back there in the garden, didn't they.
Good thing that being human, in all its variant and spontaneous forms, is still better than being, say, a parsnip or a bit of wood.
It's only when we can't see our failings, shortcomings and underwear that we're in trouble...
I, on the other hand, have been a saint all of my life. I have found the path of kindness and righteousness to be incredibly easy to follow and have only strayed a few times but we all know that debauchery, thievery, philandering, mayhem, and a few other things I will not mention because the statute of limitations has not run out on them, are all eminently forgivable in the Grand Scheme of things.
But I would have helped that drunken woman in the mini skirt. In fact, I am sure I have.
What a profound and delightfully philosophical post, Pearl. I think we all experience the same feelings, after all, we are only human. And humans are not perfect, they are often selfish, short-sighted and lazy; but we are also capable of immense love, compassion and kindness. I think that one without the other is incomplete, a human being is a mix of both sides. We can't all be saints, but we can all engage in small acts of friendship with our fellow man. Of course, we'll sin and make mistakes, but in the end, as long as we have left the earth a tiny bit better than how we found it, the we surely have succeeded.
Oh God, I am so glad ... I cannot abide perfect people !
Love, Candice
who has no tolerance left at all for anything anywhere at anytime.
But I will try to be better.. some day .. maybe.
Shhh! Listen! *cranes* Did you hear that?! THERE IT GOES AGAIN. Hmm. It's like a... a... a rolling over sound. *gives it another "listen," then nods head affirmatively* Yep, just as I thought. Mother Teresa is repositioning herself in her grave!
LOL! Don't be too hard on yourself-- we can't all be saints. I mean, seriously, look at all the good deeds Mom Terry did and she still hasn't been delared one.
Sainthood? Well, I've performed the requisite three miracles (three dozen in fact, with 'Difficult's help), but I think the "living a blameless life" has eluded me. In fact, it saw me coming, nipped into an alleyway, and sent an evangelical steamroller to take care of me; I'm a filthy sinner, apparently. Glad to be in such esteemed company x
...and you have educated, amused and delighted your audience of faithful readers...some 518 of them at least! Thats almost enough for your own church Pearl.
Perhaps we could call it...
'Pearls Of Wisdom'
Anyone got a better name?
Never fret... being a saint isn't all it's cracked up to be. Besides, it's hard to be amusing when you have to be all saintly all the time.
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