In My Opinion...

Boy! People sure are strange. I have to wonder if maybe it’s me. AND- I guess we know the answer to that question. I think the biggest issue that people face is in trying to see things from other people’s perspective. Come to think of it, possibly we don’t have any way of doing that completely. Perhaps the biggest problem is that we aren’t walking away and agreeing to disagree and then moving on from there. I have wasted many, MANY hours trying to explain myself in hopes that someone might say, “Oh. I get it now.” This in fact is not what happens. I laugh things off and poke jokes at myself to make light of “my own personality defects” in order for others to not feel as though their opinions are wrong but to help them to understand why I like things a certain way. BUT-The truth is that my opinions aren’t wrong- or are they due to personality defects. My opinions are my opinions. That’s why we use the word “opinion.”

I was out last night and watched as a lady begged everyone in sight for a cigarette. I joked about it with her friend. I said, “She’s a grown up lady and yet she wants me to walk around and ask people for a cigarette?” (For some reason, she thought that people would be more likely to hand me a cigarette…We can discuss why I’m not sure that’s a compliment at a later date ;) The girl with her said, “Well! In 20 years, when you’re her age, you’ll understand how she feels. She’s just trying to have some fun!” My friend and I looked at the girl and said, “How old is she?”…well…it turned out that her friend that she apparently thought was 20 years older than I am, was a year younger than me. Thus the reason for her to go back in time and not smoke cigarettes…AND on a side note: her friend is obviously not all that great at doing math equations in her head because clearly I am not in my teens. Don’t get me wrong- I’m childish…but I’m no teenager...(tangent ;) Anyway... The point is that I have actually spent time trying to help people quit smoking in my day by using reasoning and photos of damaged lungs. They don’t understand. It’s their opinion that life is too short and I’m not the boss of them- and neither are their lungs. Walk away Calia…no one cares.

I guess the question is why do I care? Why do I think it’s my walk in life to help people “understand”? I contend that I would be much happier if I just allowed people to screw up their own lives, damage their own lungs, cheat on their own wives, drive their own cars into ditches while they are on their cell phones…In the end, they are going to do what they want anyway. I’m not saying that I know best. People are a product of where they come from! No two people have the same set of experiences so it’s no doubt that every single person will see things through different eyes. I guess that’s what makes the world interesting. Besides…if everyone used a bluetooth while they were driving, what would the traffic policemen do to keep themselves awake on midnights?...On the occasion that my own view might’ve been the safer choice, I can stand next to the car in the ditch and simply act shocked and say “If ONLY someone would’ve seen that coming!”…