Well, I am trying to create a new habit at this point. Usually it's the other way around, you develop a bad habit and need to break it before trouble ensues and slowly rips your life apart. So why am I trying to GET a new habit? Unfortunately, habit is a word like most that is just fine but because of free will and poor choices have caused habits to get a worse rep than they deserve.
Not ALL habits are bad. You brush your teeth daily (I hope), and shower and eat- although sometimes we gripe about needing to break a bad habit- the good habits get no attention. I used to write every day and night. It is very therapeutic for starters but when writing a blog, I had better get in the habit of checking in regularly and writing more. I need to for my own sake but I think I have some interesting stuff to share that others may enjoy or benefit from. So, as I said- I am trying to form a habit rather than break one for once.
Most people seem to live in a world of black and white- they can't seem to grasp the vast array of gray between black and white or that every color possible is then included when you consider white light is made of the rainbow. But it is easier to see life that way. On the surface- it can be a bit more black and white- right and wrong. When you find yourself in a situation that to outsiders might seem cut and dry, you become acutely aware of how wrong it is to think like that. Personally, I feel that assumptions are at the core of most problems. People like to compare many things to icebergs- you know- that you only see 10% of the big picture. Well that's how life is. When we pass judgment on another person after hearing some story that involves them, we are treating them just like the iceberg reference. The story about them might have painted a horrible picture of them. Now think about the fact that if you were to find out more of the story, you might feel very differently after finding out WHY said person made a choice to do something that SEEMS wrong until you know the full story. Upon learning WHY they chose the course of action and seeing the bigger picture, you usually find it was not at all the horrible thing at all, that in fact it was the best thing they could have done for the situation.
Think about the stories in the Bible... We read them in a past tense but what if you had been there? How differently might you have thought or acted IN the scenarios we have read? It is so easy to sit back and think or claim you would have done this or that but the reality is we face the SAME things all the time and rarely even realize how far off we are in guessing at our own reactions! Now I am not claiming to be any better about this than the next person BUT I have been on the wrong side of things enough times to know that I was just as guilty of this as anyone. Sometimes it is people who are overall the ideal "good "person" that are the worst about their assumptions. It is that exactly which keeps a lot of people out of church. They feel like they will not be welcomed because others tend to prejudge them due to their appearance, a rumor, or some variable that causes others to see them like an iceberg. When did everyone forget that golden rule- Do Unto Others... Jesus himself said right there in red letters- "What you have done unto the least of these, you have done also unto me" which to me said more than enough. When a homeless person asks me for a favor I try to appease them. I don't mean offer them money to get drunk but I DO treat them as I would anyone. I smile and politely decline most (where I live if I gave a quarter to every one that asked every day I would need a MUCH larger income) but sometimes they just want someone to talk to them for a minute without degrading them. Many people pass by them acting as if they don't even see them or worse they make a nasty comment or something like that. There are times when I feel I am supposed to help someone in some way and in those cases the reaction I get usually still surprises me because you can see such gratitude with the biggest smiles and warmth. While it makes me happy it also makes me feel rather bad because it makes you realize just how little kindness someone must see to feel that appreciative of so little. Just to be clear, I don't mean I just gave them what they asked for and kept walking. Whether I have nothing to offer or not, I speak to them with the same respect I speak to anyone with and actually listen to what they say (even if its unimportant or sometimes when I can't even understand what they're saying). It doesn't cost anything to exchange a few pleasant words and smile and you have NO idea how much that means to some people.
Sadly, vagrants are not the only lonely people. We have created a virtual world and thus many are living virtual lives. Statistics show that our increasing technology is causing people to withdraw and become introverted, spending less actual time with people doing thing and more on social media, texting and such. There is nothing wrong with this except that it has made it seem harder for people to feel their own humanity close to home. We are all about reaching out to the far corners of the world to help build a well or a school but in our own neighborhood there are needs all over. I feel like it can be compared to near and far sightedness... Some are trying to spread so far all they can see is far away when they could be doing much more if they just looked over the edge of their phone to see what is right in front of them. All I am trying to say is remember to balance without allowing yourself to get spread too thin. Besides, it exhausting! Smiles and friendliness are free.
