To Blah or not to Blah

Another dreary day. I sit here thinking what am I going to do to make this day, at least, productive, if not fun-filled.

Earlier I got a phone call from a friend who just called to say "hey, how ya doin" and that kinda' gave me a lift. Our conversation went from the neighbor's dog, to the yukky weather, to the "friends we call friends". Oh, don't get it wrong. This is not gossip.

 "Gossip is idle talk, spreading rumors about the personal or private lives of other people" (APA: gossip. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1). Retrieved September 19, 2006, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=gossip ) . We were talking about people in general and how they relate to us as the person we are.

Now that I am thinking about that conversation, my inactive mind suddenly went BOING! I can do something productive today. I can talk about people. YEAH! People. (Disclaimer: I tend to blah-blah my mind off, so this writing could go way beyond different directions. And if by any chance, any of you gets hit over or alluded in any way, shape, or form -- I apologize. Offending is not my intention at all).

Yes indeed. The culmination of all these ruins is ENVY. The root of all evil. Envy is a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another's advantages, success, possessions, etc. APA: envy. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1). Retrieved September 19, 2006, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=envy

WHY? I don't know. Ask yourself that question. I am not self-righteous. I, too, am guilty of feeling envious at some point in time. I've asked myself so many times in the past that I'd probably fill out a whole page of paper if I write the reasons down. LoL.

But during the process of self-assessment, I learned. I grew. I adapted the good (according to my perception) and abandoned the bad. Your "good and bad" may differ from mine and everybody else's. But we can delineate the good from the bad without causing anybody any pain... couldn't we???!!

Oftentimes I would hear somebody say "you're ok. you're good people". (Do not mind the grammar. It is an acceptable phrase in this day and age). But, what exactly does it mean when you are called or considered "good people"? (As always, this is a moot point as opinions may come from all directions, from all walks of life, from all frames of minds. I will, however, voice out my two-cents... and with that, I am hoping I'd get some comments from some of you).

From my own point of view, "good people" is just that: good people. When I regard a person as "good people", it means I bow with appreciation to this person. It means this person earned my respect and admiration; that I would earnestly try to follow his/her footsteps so I can better myself.

Everybody has goodness in their hearts. By goodness I mean the values and virtues by which a person acts and reacts. It is BY how another person perceives or recognizes these values that the goodness (or badness) is rated. "He is bad...She is good... She is kind...He is pathetic...etc, etc". But I will say, as I have said a hundred times already, I am in no position nor have I the right to draw the line between good and bad. Therefore, as I have been told while growing up: "if you cannot say anything nice, don't say it at all" -- I will shut hole!! LOL. If I have any opinion or assessment of a person, I will keep it to myself (oh yeah right. My dog winces at me coz I blah-blah-blah).

Ooh boy. Seems like we're moving away from where we started. (I warned you, didn't I?? LOL). Getting back to the issue of "good people"... The friends I consider "friends" are all good people. Their friendship sustained me through difficult times, put me back on track when I get lost, and allowed me to grow. Even though they may not possess all the qualities that define "good people", they are still good people to me.

What I do not understand is why some people ruin the values they grew up with. I am not contradicting myself -- I still uphold the principle that I do not have the right to pass judgement. But when I say "ruin the values", I mean causing to hurt or offend someone.

So I noticed. There is a lot of discontent and grievance that could have triggered desecrating these values. Through various ways the malice is effected and the assault accomplished. The result? Pain. Distress. Agony. All of the negative counterparts of these values -- both to the offended and the offender!

Hah! The irony of it all. What gain will the offender have, other than a momentary gratification. That brief sense of "power" that brings forth the feeling of "I am better" schitt. (Ooops. Here comes the Ceeyanese terms!).