I'll Share My Spoon

I received this story in an email today and found it kind of thought provoking:

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said "Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like."

The Lord led the holy man to two doors.

He opened on of the doors and the holy man looked in.

In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful. But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.

The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.

The Lord said, "You have seen Hell."

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.

The holy man said, "I don't understand."

"It is simple," said the Lord. "It requires but one skill. You see they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves."



I'm did not only post this story because I received it in my email today, but I'm posting it because it ties in with some things that have been on my mind lately.

First and foremost, let's start with a conversation that I recently had with my cousin. I was discussing a recent incident with her regarding the way I am with people. Her response by the end of the conversation was "You are always extra friendly with people but then there is always a point when you nonchalantly decide 'okay I had enough'".

The comment was interesting because it was something that I did not realize about myself but inherently is sooooo true.

I am a type of person who believes people are innocent before proven guilty. I think that the majority of people that I know live by the standard that people are guilty until proven innocent (I know a lot of people with trust issues). This is the difference between those who are non-judgemental versus those who are judgemental. It is the difference between people who are not prejudice versus those who are. It is the difference between people who are emotionally generous versus those who are emotionally closed.

Because I am a non-judgmental person, I befriend people quite easily but I quickly and unapologetically cut them off once they show their true character and their character does not align with my personal value system. It does not necessarily have to be a specific event that points out a person's true character. You can understand people's value systems just from the little comments that they say and how they approach other people besides you.

Nothing turns me off more than "people who do not feed other people". This is displayed in a variety of life circumstances:


1) The Gender Debate

I guess this is why I have a problem with chics because they tend to be emotionally selfish which is displayed through emotional neediness and the extent by which they attempt to satisfy their emotional needs. My problem with dudes is that they tend to be physically selfish which is displayed through their physical neediness and the extent by which they attempt to satisfy their physical needs. It seems everyone is out to get theirs and people have stopped thinking about each other. Everyone is both a victim and a criminal concerning the "ME ME ME Syndrome".


2) The Biggie Smalls Complex

The biggie smalls complex is when people have the need to look down on others to make themselves feel bigger. They build themselves up by making others feel small. They are the people who have an easy time prejudging and criticizing others but when someone puts a mirror to them, they either 1) don't recognize themselves and they DENY, DENY, DENY or 2) get irrationally and childishly offended by taking things too personal.


3) Hooverism

This is self-explanatory for those who know what hoovers are. A hoover is strictly someone who tries to get something for nothing. Some people are habitual hoovers whereas others have hoover tendencies. Watch out for these people...they are certainly snakes in the grass. They do not understand the words GIVE, GIVE, GIVE...all they know is TAKE, TAKE, TAKE.


4) No-Fault Complex

There are people in this world who believe that any and everything bad or merely bad is never their fault. They habitually and exaggeratedly shift the blame of their actions onto other people. These people too are snakes in the grass.


5) Stereotyping and Prejudice

This too should be self-explanatory. If it is not self-explanatory than more than likely you are probably one of these people.



There are definitely more examples but I'm pretty sure anyone who is reading this gets the gist of what I'm trying to say....basically, watch out for people who do not "feed" other people and if you happen to fall into one or more of these categories then you might want to reconsider your attitude. You do not want to end up thin and sickly.

I want to end this blog with a quick quote:

"The most trusting of people are the most trustworthy. The most judgemental of people are those who need to be judged. People view others as they view themselves because that is their only standard of normalcy."