Toxicity

Unfortunately, I have come to realize the permanence of toxicity. Just as there are toxic plants, foods, chemicals, etc., so are there toxic people.

I don't know what constitutes reality. I don't know the "best" or "right" way to live, or think, or feel. But I think I know a few things:

Most people are doing their best most of the time. It's not just you, or me.

Everybody has a story. Each of us is entitled to own his or her story.

While "everything" is not about me, my life is, just as yours is about you. None of us has the right to deny another that truth.

Respect for others' feelings, thoughts, opinions, beliefs, for others, period, is key.

Fear is a powerful motivator.

It's far easier to lie than to deal with the truth of your choices.

Nobody's pain is worse than anybody else's.

Here and now is not all that there is. The past determines where we are now and how we got here, but we choose what we do from here on out. We choose how to use that experience to define ourselves and determine the rest of our lives.

There are no "bad" babies, so people are not born "bad," so toxicity must be an evolved characteristic.

Some people are toxic. It is probably best to avoid them.

Love doesn't die. Bodies do. We are not our bodies, though they are part of us. What makes you who you are does not have a physical home; therefore, if your body dies, it does not - you do not.

Life doesn't happen to you. Rather, it is the sum total of each of our experiences and of the choices we make. My life comprises my experience and my choices; yours comprises yours.

We are responsible for the choices we make.

But, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

I'm still thinking...