You cannot really judge a person by their affiliation. I am sure of this. Not that we should be “judging” anyone, but we certainly form opinions. About everything.
Here is what I mean. It is the old book-by-the-cover syndrome, or the guilt-by-association clause.
Today is Nathan Bedford Forrest’s birthday. If you don’t know the name, you’d probably know the face. He was the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, born in 1821, in Tennessee. Today is also Julius Caeser’s birthday (100 BC); Erno Rubik’s birthday (of Rubik Cube fame) in 1944. And none other than Indiana Jones. Well. Harrison Ford, who was born in 1942.
You see, four very different men, born on the same date, July 13th. So one cannot assume, for example, one is evil for being born on this date, if they were “judging” by the merits of Nathan Bedford Forrest.
I was born on the very same day as Michelle Pfeiffer. Believe me, I did not receive her glorious looks. Nor am I funny like Jerry Seinfeld. And I can’t play tennis like Andre Agassi. All of us on April 29. No associations, other than the date.
On the other hand, affiliations sometimes hold true. Let’s say you attend the next Trump Rally. It is probably safe to assume that the majority of the people there are supporters of Donald Trump and all his ways. Or you go to a Rolling Stones Concert. It is a good bet that most of the attendees like their music, right down to Satisfaction. Or lack there of.
Sometimes all of this gets tricky. Take walnuts. Perhaps it is true that you can’t stand walnuts. Blecchhhh. But someone sneaks them in to the Chicken Salad recipe, and you say, “Walnuts taste pretty good in that.” But shrimp? You hate shrimp too, and there’s no escaping the fact, whether it’s cocktail, deep fried, or swimming in the ocean.
I like movies. But certainly not every instance of them.
What it comes down to is this. Life can be tricky. In any minute, and in a million different ways. Nothing is quite the same, from minute to minute. Sure, you can crochet the same pink doggie sweater a hundred times in a row, right up to the perfect little chain stitch. But trust me. Something about each one of those cute little pink poodle sweaters will be different every time.
Life. Changes. Life. Changes.
Some of us are better than others when it comes to change. Those people are completely “chill” when it comes to going with the flow. I can do it, if I am forced. At gun point. But I don’t like it. Not one bit. I am a creature of habit. A comfort seeker. A Taurus, the very stubborn Bull.
I watch people who are like liquid mercury and just roll all over the place when it comes to change, bouncing off of every nook and cranny, like its no big deal. People say we should “go with the flow” — that it is better for us. But some of us aren’t wired that way. And this is just one example.
Because, truly? When it comes to this, or anything else, I don’t think there is a right way, or a wrong way. Not really. We are all built differently. We are unique. And in that oneness, is majestic wonder. Each of us in the only one of us. Magnificent, grand, splendid, in our own build and design.
So when someone says to you: “Oh. You’re a Virgo,” with a sneer on their face? Or, “Soooo. You’re from Ohio?” You can smile, and throw your arms up into the air and say: “Yes! Yes I am. But I am the only Ohioan-Virgo-ME on the entire planet.” And walk away with swag, knowing it is the absolute truth.
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There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. — Martha Graham
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Until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter. — African Proverb
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When you can’t find the sunshine, be a little piece of the sunshine. — Unknown
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