Views from Raven's Nest: Daily Reminder # 600

I can't believe that it is already Friday. The older I get the faster time flies by, even in my dull life. I can't imagine that it can get any faster than it is now, but since the speed of time's passage is escalating at an exponential rate, I imagine that my last years are going to fly by at jet speed, if not the speed of light. But maybe we draw closer to the light as we age and it has nothing to do with the mathematics of one year's proportion to the whole. Who knows. I just know, time is flying. I have one last dose of antibiotic for Angel which I will give to her the next time she comes by for a hug... I actually have something to talk about today. Wow.

First we kiss

Next we bat one another.

and bat some more...

Then we stare... and go our separate ways..

Today on Huffington Post there was an article about a 2x"Teacher of the Year" in Texas who was handing out Title 1 Forms to her students and one of them was allegedly "disruptive," and requested the form in Spanish because he said "I'm Mexican." He kept saying this and she got annoyed and told him to "go back to Mexico." There is great outrage on both sides of the insanity aisle. Some people think she should be fired for this outrageous statement and others are declaring her a hero for putting "the little illegal bastard" in his place. I don't think she should be fired, but I think she should apologize. She has been a teacher at that school for 13 years. She knows some of her students are of Mexican heritage with parents who may only speak Spanish. She should have been prepared. She should also not have lost her temper. The kid could probably have been more polite. But I maintain that she is the adult and should apologize for losing her temper whether she meant it as cruelty or not and whether the kid provoked her or not.

I have never understood the thing people have about not apologizing for anything. It has cost me 2 friends and pain in my life when those I love and trusted after hurting me, have refused to say they were sorry. In two cases where there was profound betrayal, I know that these friends did not set out with malice of fore thought. They did not plan on hurting me. Yet betray my trust they did and hurt me deeply they did. And I could have forgiven each of them, except that they took the hurt to an even deeper level by being unwilling to say they were sorry.... Being sorry would not have meant they had malice. It would have meant that they regretted - regardless of their intent - that they had caused me pain. It is beyond my understanding why that is so difficult for so many people. I always regret hurting another. Even if they have misunderstood my meaning and taken offense at some unintended hurt. I regret that they are hurt. It doesn't mean I was cruel. It doesn't mean I had cruel intent. It means that whatever my intention was, I caused pain and I always regret that. Why would I not?

So that's my thought for the day. I think the fear of apologizing is much the same thing that traps us into anger. We have been taught that anger is a "bad" emotion and that we are not supposed to feel it. Therefore, when we get angry, it must be the other person's "fault," because they have provoked it in us. We don't "blame" people for making us laugh, but making us cranky is often times an unforgivable sin. If we let anger move through us just as we do laughter - as a response to something - neither good nor bad - we would be healthier and happier both. Kitties know how to do that. They are wise indeed.

Some things I'm grateful for today: (Items in red are pre-gratitude, an effort to train myself to believe in abundance and miracles and possibilities - and in my right and worthiness to desire and even HAVE things and maybe even happiness and self worth. It is also a prayer of sorts to the Universe to hear and respond.)