Our meaningless lives...
A lot of people that I run into in life, never cease to deliver on disappointment. Maybe I just have unjustly high standards. If someone has to tell me that they're 'not like that' its a good chance, they are. At least in my experiences. Girlfriends, friends, text-friends, acquaintances... Aside from people not staying true to who they say they are, I have a bigger problem with people that do nothing for the cause. The 'cause' being anything from humanity to their own well being.
That being said, the better part of my blog is next. A few summers ago I took a part time gig driving a cab on the weekends. The money wasn't all that great. I was dog tired all the time since I was working 40+ hours during the week doing tree work as well. Of all the stories I could tell, there are a few that I'll never forget. In second place is my hour long drive with a girl that felt the need to tell me about numerous unsuccessful attempts to squirt while masturbating. Weird right?
The best story wont have quite the initial impact as that last one but it has a hell of a lot more merit. I got a call to pick up someone from Lowes at about midnight. He was a regular cab rider but this was my first time picking him up. He jumped in and we had about a twenty minute ride to his apartment. Being a cabbie you have to try and make small talk, blah blah blah. Well, this guy worked full time at Lowes as a night stocker. He spoke with a genuine level of maturity and respect that few people understand how to do nowadays. When I asked about his plans for the weekend he mentioned that he was going to be volunteering at Red Robin for a charity program where law enforcement serves food and tips go to a charity. The specific charity he would be working for is the Special Olympics. How cool is that!
We then got into a discussion about what he does in his spare time while he's not working or doing this volunteer stuff. He said he has won several state and national titles for boxing, earned his golden gloves and so on. His story was quite captivating to say the least. He had traveled all over the country and even went overseas a few times. Sheeze, he was making me feel quite inferior with what I had done in my life.
Because of the charity event at Red Robin and given his demeanor, I asked if he was a volunteer officer or how he was affiliated with the program. He looked at me funny and chuckled. He said "Oh no, I'm in the Special Olympics." I was truly at a loss for words. At first I questioned him as if he was bullshitting me. My level of respect for him is greater than I've had for most anyone else I had ever met in my life. I could barely pick out anything about him that would qualify him to be in the Special Olympics.
I can't say that this was a life changing experience for me but it really brought things into perspective about people in general. One of my favorite lines written by Marianne Williamson is 'your playing small does not serve the world.' If we could all have a tenth of the gumption that this gentleman had, this world would be a million times better.
Why as humans, can we not be more adept to doing greater things not only for ourselves but for others? The self absorbed attitudes that society is creating has created such a polarization between mediocrity and greatness. We need to start understanding that we are not here for the glory of the stupid things we consume ourselves with. Wow, you have a huge salary, nice car and go to church! Good for fucking you. Try living by the convictions you claim to hold so near and dear to your heart. If you can't, then go live in a hole until you rot away, unable to reproduce or have any influence on future generations. It's not about the strength of a nation that makes us great. It's not about the financial stability that we are influenced into by the media, government and big corporations. It's damn sure not about the color of your skin or the word of your supposed 'holier than thou' religion. Nor is it about your gender or body type. This writing I have here will probably never have any effect on anyone so what's the point? I'm not famous or have a lot of money so no one will listen. Maybe I'll do something obnoxious, make a YouTube video and hope it goes viral so I can pitch my ideas on the Today show. Whatever.