That’s ridiculous. How naïve do you think I am? And how Pollyanish I’m thinking you are. You’ve lived on this planet long enough to know that there are good and bad things, events, people. We work hard to keep all the good stuff and throw everything rotten into the trash. Get a grip with your immature inclusiveness.

Do you really want the ravages of constipation, depression and cancer to come knocking on your door? Do you want your loved ones to have shortened lives?

As for people, you’ve got to admit that some folks are just plain stupid. Some have weird customs. They weren’t even born here. How do expect me to welcome them?

I need to be safe, you know – protected. If I don’t tighten up to ward off evil, the bad people will run roughshod over us. They’ll take over. That’s why I carry a gun. Nobody’s going to get me.

Why are you so happy, so calm? You should be “mad as hell … and not going to take it anymore.” No namby pamby olive branches and hugs. If you get too close to them, they’ll knife ya.

I’m just so pissed off!

***

I don’t want the ball of iron in my stomach. I don’t want to be constantly evaluating the worth of something, creating endless lists of pros and cons. I don’t want my eyes to be glaring and staring. I don’t want to walk into a room and immediately be searching for what’s wrong. I don’t want to be looking down or up at you.

I just don’t want all this angst.

For there’s much to do in the world. There are gifts to give, smiles to be shared. Physical pain comes at times. For most of us, it passes. And we get to return to the work, the journey towards each other.

We rise above the small to the large
We rise above some of us to all of us
We rise above good and bad to the tapestry of life