Monday, July 18, 2011

From One Stranger To Another

I can't be sure why, but the above note makes me both happy and sad. I do think they're very nice and thoughtfully written words, but I'm also aware that not everybody has that same sort of mindset. It makes me wonder how, or why people turn out the way they do. It seems that there are some people who care deeply about certain things that other's may not notice at all.

It makes me sad because one person may have these same types of thoughts and feelings towards another person, and the thought of not having those feelings reciprocated just gets me. I suppose it's difficult for me to understand why some people hold grudges, or keep up meaningless charades for no good reason. We're all on this earth for such a short time so we might as well be happy while we're stuck here. At least as happy as we can be.

I've had this post pending in my queue for a while now. I looked back on it today because I thought it'd be a good time to post it. It actually really blows my mind how certain events can change your outlook on life so quickly, especially when it's something that doesn't directly affect you. 

After reading what I had originally wrote above the post break, I realized that those who seem to be "hold grudges, etc..", may have a reason behind it. Just because we don't know the reason doesn't make is insignificant; and maybe we'd better understand if we were in that persons shoes, you know? 

At times I've tried to put myself in someone else's position so that I might be able to see things the way they do, but not matter what, you can't fully know how something is truly perceived by anyone. It's simply not possible. You can try, of course, which may open your eyes to something you didn't see before, but that doesn't mean you'll understand the whole story. You may be able to inquire if the opportunity presents itself, but that doesn't always happen.

I've realized that forcing people to only see situations your way is selfish, and I can't say that I haven't made mistakes such as this over the past year. What's more is that I didn't see them as mistakes prior to today. We're all guilty of making sub-par decisions here and there, but it's how we learn and grow from them that matters. The next step is striving to resist those mistakes as we move forward.

Furthermore, I was just informed of something terrible that happened to someone who was once a significant part of my life. Even though that person is no longer in my life, this "terrible thing" affected me in a way that I hadn't thought possible. 

After my stomach dropped, I just wanted to reach out in some way. Once I thought things through though, I realized that it was no longer my place. I have nothing but respect towards both people involved, but knew that my interference with the situation wouldn't have been appropriate. I'm not sure why I wasn't able to fully see this before, but there's always reasons for people shutting certain doors from the past. Maybe it's necessary for that person to be able to pick themselves up and open the next door, take the next shining opportunity that has presented itself. I always find it sad to lose any person who once played such a significant role in my life, and even if reaching out seems harmless, I suppose it may not be the best idea.

What you can do is say a small prayer for them. You can keep them in your thoughts and quietly hope that on some level they can feel your concern for their well-being; and know that you're there for them in some way, even if that way isn't a physical one. Or maybe they won't, but that's okay too.

All I know is that life is so fragile. One small hiccup can break things in ways that can't ever be fixed again. Large or small, these hiccups are what mold us into who we will become, and, if we're careful,  hopefully for the better. They're what force us to grow up and see something we never saw before, to stop taking things for granted, or to stop allowing life's petty situations take more out of us than need be. 

People are just people, we can only be so much.

I do apologize for being so vague, but I did this for the discretion of the people involved.

(photo sources: one | two)

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