Why Can't We All Just Get Along?

I have a hobby. . . I have been a casual observer of life, people, relationships and their dynamics for many years now. It's fascinating work. As I've mentioned before, one of my favorite pastimes is to sit in a busy shopping mall or other heavily trafficked/traveled venue and simply people watch. Watch and observe. Oh, and listen. It's amazing what one can see and hear by simply sitting back; it makes for great visual and dialogue in my contemporary fiction books.

However for the life of me, in observing group dynamics, I've never been quite able to figure out why some people think they are better than others. Superior is another term. It's an amazing phenomenon. It shows in everything about them from how they relate or don't relate to others; it shows in their actions or lack thereof; it shows in body language, conduct and demeanor. Their nose is so high in the air that if a heavy rainfall came down, they would drown.

I've never understood how some people try to make themselves look better by attempting to make others feel small. Maybe it's simply human nature. Oh, it's done in various ways: by exclusion, by forming cliques, by subtle comments or looks. Most of all it's sad. If belittling others makes you feel bigger, better and superior, then you have serious self-esteem issues. Seek therapy as soon as possible. Run, don't walk.

One of the worst scenarios: I hate it, simply hate it, when another woman literally looks me up and down. From the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. . . and then doesn't speak.

Coming in a close second: Don't you just hate it when you have to almost force someone to speak to you? They are looking over your head, around you, through you. . . and then suddenly they see you. . . and speak without an ounce of sincerity.

Do until others as you'd have them do until you!

You see. . . I'm not a hater, never have been and never will be. Excuse me if I feel it is my moral obligation and duty to be positive, uplifting and real. That's who I am. Isn't that what genuine, nice people do? I get so much more out of smiling, speaking, embracing, mentoring, encouraging, engaging, developing. . .

I personally believe that no matter how far or how high you may go in life: what was in you to begin with will only shine brighter, be it good or bad.

What If?

Seems like I've been playing the what if game lately. I guess we all have at one point or another in our lives. It's only human nature, to be curious about other paths we could have taken.

Most of us recall reading Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken in high school English literature class. My favorite lines were:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Recently, the query started because a girlfriend and I were discussing what if we had never gone to University of West Georgia (which at the time we attended, had a minority popoulation of 4%) and had gone, instead, to a predominately black university or college. We debated back and forth on the merits of each. However, when it was all said and done, we never stopped to think that if we hadn't attended UWGA, we wouldn't have met each other her sophomore year, my junior year and formed a lifelong friendship and bond.

Her what if question got me to thinking about other situations in my life as well.

What if I hadn't majored in marketing and instead pursued my dream of becoming a pyschiatrist?

What if I hadn't married so young?

What if I hadn't moved back to the metro Atlanta area?

What if I had decided not to have children?

What if I had married someone else?

What if I wasn't so emotional?

What if I had never accepted my first job in Chicago?

What if I had moved to New York?

What if I had followed my dreams early on to become a writer?

I could sit here and what if myself to death. The what ifs are all part of human nature. We are curious creatures. We always wonder what's on the flip side of the coin because the grass always look greener on the other side.

I've learned to not worry or concern myself with the what if factor because we are exactly where we are suppose to be at this point in time. No matter what path we choose, the rural country road or the interstate expressway, the destination will be the same. Life isn't a series of coincidences; it's all part of a masterplan. And God doesn't make mistakes.