Was it yesterday? Or the day before? I guess
it doesn't really matter. What does is my mind, was the reaction to a video. It,
the video, showed a man holding a door for a woman carrying grocery bags. She
doesn't acknowledge his act of courtesy. So, what does he do? He, the gentleman
that he is, grabs her by the arm, pulls her back thru the door, shuts the door
and walks away smiling. The thing so confusing to me was how many seemed to
cheer the man on. Don't get me wrong. Gratitude is important. But if a person does
something simply to be recognized and praised, then that is all he will gain
from the act.
I'd wager most people don't see this life as
the end of their existence. And I'm probably going to get some flak on that. If
that offends you, stop reading. I believe life is eternal. Life doesn't end here.
Eternal - and yes, even this part of life seems that way at times. Seconds can
last so long, though days pass so quickly. But it's in the seconds, in the
momentary exchanges, that life takes place. So to make this personal, that's my
life and yours. And my life matters. It matters in the sense that what I do
with it in those momentary exchanges is deterministic. Not as a theory might
suggest, that acts of the will, occurrences in nature, or social or
psychological phenomena are causally predetermined by something external to them
or myself. Rather, what I do will determine the outcome of my life in an
eternal sense. I, what I do, or my life, may not have an immediate effect in
the world as a whole, however, it will affect me and those with whom I interact
directly and, much more importantly, upon the eternal direction of my life.
So, if someone doesn't express gratitude.
That's on them. Your reaction is on you. I'm still learning. Hope you are too.
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