Emotional vs Physical pain

The only good thing about pain, whether it be physical or emotional, is that time can heal all.

Bad People

     I have two young nephews whom I love very much. Therefore, it is very important to me that they are sheltered from the spoils of the world. In my opinion, this means trying to keep them away from "bad" people. Of course I am unable to be there always, and so all I can do is to warn them about bad people. Yes, some people are simply, bad.
     Because they are very young right now, they would never be able to grasp the concept. I wish that I would be able to be around them forever, but I need to go live my own life. There is not a lot that I can offer them, but what I can offer them, is knowledge. If I could speak to my younger self I would have countless words to speak. However, because that is impossible, my nephews are the closest option to that. And if I were able to speak to my younger self, the very first thing I would speak about is bad people.
     There is nothing "fair" about this world, and thus nobody is compelled to be good towards one another. I have met a lot of people who even get satisfaction from their nastiness towards others. However, these are not even the type of bad people who concern me. Those people, are for the most part transparent. The "nasty" people can often be identified your first few encounters with them. For, they are evil, are they have no squabbles letting you know about it.
    The truly "bad" people, are the ones whom try to befriend you. The sheep in wolves clothing are the worst of the worst. This is because they wear masks, they tell lies, they trick the friendly people into a false illusion of trust. Then, as soon as they get you vulnerable enough to hurt you, they show their fangs. These are the bad people that I wish I could warn my younger self of. They are the ones that I wish to warn my nephews of. They are like vampires, once you invite them into your home, they are free to strike.
     Unfortunately, these people do not walk around with signs over their heads. Unfortunately, it is oftentimes impossible to spot them until it is simply too late. And Unfortunately, the only method to learn this, is through experience.

Witnessing a Random Act of Kindness

     Yesterday I was on my way to a cook-out when we had to stop at the convenient store next to my moms house to buy ice. As I pulled up I quickly noticed 2 individuals sitting on the ground outside the store. The first was a heavy-set woman with greasy, strawberry blonde hair and no teeth. It was easy to tell that she had no teeth because her lips were mushed in like people who probably own dentures, but they are not wearing them. Seated beside her was a frail man with dark hair and sun glasses. His legs were crossed but they were rapidly twitching. My very first thought was, "drug-addicts, look at them".
     Moments later a Laotian man (Its easy to tell Laotians from other Asians because I know a ton of them.) who was probably about 50 years-old, emerged from the store and passed directly in front of the "dirty" people. I had my window down and as only about 20 feet from them so I heard the woman. "Excuse me sir, do you have any change that you can spare"? He didn't understand her, and so she repeated herself. The man quickly began to shuffle through his shorts pockets and gave her a handful of change. She replied; "Thank you very much", and he nodded and continued walking. I watched him walk over to a large, white, full-size pick-up truck and climb in, leaving the door open. 30 seconds later he emerged from his truck holding a $5 bill and walked back over to the couple sitting on the ground. He didn't say a word, he just handed her the bill and went back to his truck and drove off.
     Now, I immediately thought to myself; "What a nice guy. Too bad they are probably going to spend it on drugs". But as I was driving to the cook-out, I was thinking about the scenario. Sure, he was probably just contributing to an addicts issue, but it doesn't take away from the fact that it was a true act of kindness. One of my favorite quotes is; "The true measure of a man can always be found in the way he treats people who can do him absolutely no good". This guy exemplified the meaning of this quote to a T.
     He could have very easily:
A.) Ignored them completely
B.) Told them he had no $ to spare
C.) Just gave them his pocket change

.......but he didn't do any of those things. He went out of his way to help out a complete stranger in need. And that, right there, is the only "cure" to this world in which we live. I'm not saying that giving bums $ is going to save the world. What I am saying is this.....If everybody in the world treated everybody else in the world with kindness everyday, what a fucking world it could be.
       Instead, we live in a world (for the most part) that values $ over all else. We exploit poor people to drive up stock prices. We drive fancy cars in order to make ourselves feel superior. We subconsciously alienate ourselves from one in other instead of concentrating on the big picture. We are all in this together. We are all human beings, we all make mistakes, we all have our problems. Some people are just better at hiding them.
      I try to learn new things everyday by watching and listening to others. I feel like it gives me a bigger understanding about this world and how complex and ever-changing it it. And from my experience yesterday I learned this.....we might not be able to fix everything, but everybody can make a difference. Every little random act of kindness, as insignificant as it may be, ultimately makes the world a better place.