Day 3,340 —Apples and Oranges! —

Feel 100 percent after yesterday. The day was breezy and the sky was blue, not looking like rain today. I have been listening to records more, and I feel myself relaxing some; even though, I still keep getting pulled into reading more and more in the news. I finally read the Indictment by Jack Smith yesterday, and it was surprisingly engaging as well as informative and concise.  

I keep wanting to go off on people who disagree with me in my mind, but every time I start to get angry, beginning with the thought, “How could anyone be so. . . ?” I remember what I thought and believed growing up and how long and how much it took for me to see what was obvious to so many others. I remember yesterday when I saw a guy helping someone else jump his car in the middle of the street. I thought of two different occasions when random older men stopped to help me with my car, one in particular where this guy stopped and helped tow my car out of the street. He was the kind of person that saw that someone needed help, so that was enough for him to drop what he was doing and help me. 

I am so fortunate when it comes to people going out of their way to help, but I find I have to force myself to remember all the good things people have done for me, otherwise, I can get in a spiral of all the other things. When I think about those stories and all the people over the years who have been nice to me for no particular reason, I consider maybe we're not all as divided as people think; it’s these stupid power/money-hungry interest groups that benefit when it seems like we don’t get along. 

I used to tell my students when they were hating for no reason: “Let’s start with the things we agree on.”  I disagree with others most of the time, to the point where it has been unpleasant in the past, but I will not apologize for what I think and why (yet, I will change my mind when new information is provided) but that doesn’t stop me from finding things that I agree on with everyone I meet, or prevent me from learning something to like about them. Isn’t that a bible verse or something? Doesn’t it say something about “even the sinners love their children and treat their parents with respect,” shouldn’t people who want to truly help others pride themselves on treating those who are different well? Treating those who you don’t understand with grace. Am I crazy, or is that something in the bible?