But as time has passed, I’ve realized most of us are well aware we aren’t the be-all to end-all. Instead of focusing inwardly, we look outward. The center of the universe is our loved ones, friends, and pets. Thus Mr. Bailey’s clever sentence, about the poor souls who don’t understand that, doesn’t have the same luster.
My current favorite isn’t a quote, but something I said, quite by accident. Still, the words stuck. (Gads, I hope Bernard Bailey wasn’t writing about me!). Seriously though, don’t go thinking I’ve gone all arrogant. As I said, I stumbled unto this tidbit when I lost my patience. Not exactly a moment of pride.
I don’t even remember the specifics, but I’d gotten annoyed at a co-worker’s tirade about “life isn’t fair…blah, blah, blah.”
And I lashed out (again, not my finest moment): “Of course, life isn’t fair,” I said. “If life was fair, we’d all be stupid.”
I sheepishly admit, I’ve used that line a lot since then. But I’ve done so calmly. Intentionally. Usually with my daughter. Or my cat. Or in my head. But still…
That incidental comment has, in an odd way, changed my own life. As a female in the early days of the dot-com boom, it was all too easy to notice that men earned 25-50% more for doing the same job. But if life was fair, I might have been a woman born in an oppressed Arab society. Or I might not be a woman at all and need to regularly scratch my balls. And not be able to appreciate new shoes. Yikes.
As writers, it’s all too easy to get caught into the envy web:
Why does Terry B. L. Wrighter have an agent when I don’t?
Must I write erotic like Nita Klue to sell books?
When I say “If life was fair, we’d all be stupid,” I’m not implying Mr. Wrighter and Ms. Klue aren’t intelligent. I’m saying we can’t judge fairness by one thing we can observe. Actually, we shouldn’t judge at all. There are so many layers to a person. Mr. Wrighter could be terribly lonely, and Ms. Klue might have lost her newborn child.
Apologies. Didn’t mean to get all moralistic. I promise to be my snarky-self next month.
Besides, maybe life is fair. And maybe we are all stupid.
2 comments:
Enjoyed the read! Very true, love your point of view. Plus, If everyone stopped misjudging, think of how the world would come together!
Oh my, Anonymous, would ever would we do without wars, disputes, violence? typed with my snarky fingers.
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