Gratitude 71

I am grateful for our shared humanity.

Cue the Kumbaya soundtrack. 

But seriously, Gentle Reader, yes, we are selfish, annoying, treacherous and greedy.  We are also generous, inspiring, altruistic and kind.  We would be all in the exact same place without one another.   That's right, Gentle Reader, we would be nowhere.  We would all have died off way before the first Ice Age if it wasn't for one another.  Part of being human  is our need for one another.  If ever there was a collaborative species, indeed, a species that could not exist without being collaborative, then we are it. 

Yes, we do have to take the bumps with the grinds, as well.  For example the young douchebag who just a few minutes ago dropped his paper beverage cup on the pavement in front of my building and pointedly ignored my polite but assertive remonstrance that he pick it up and dispose of it appropriately.  He had his girlfriend on his arm and, no doubt, he wouldn't dare compromise his already questionable manhood in front of his chief source of nookie.  As if!  One of the big deal breakers for a lot of girlfriends happens to be loutish boys like him who behave like they're the centre of the universe.  I have very little doubt that she is soon going to send him packing and soon his only lover will be his right hand, unless he's left-handed.  (he might even be ambidextrous!)

Of course, we can all be pretty annoying.  I tried to escape to peace and quiet in our big urban forest today, only to encounter a lot of families, some with squealing small children.  Yes, it is lovely that the little kidlets are getting their nature fix while having quality time with mommy and daddy.  A bit sad, it is, too, that outdoor quiet space has become virtually nonexistent in this ever growing and densifying city, but perhaps the lesser evil is to engage with the extra people around, since none of us is going away, anytime soon.  And I have to admit, I found almost everyone to be sweet and friendly, so there is a tradeoff, eh?

I will provide you, Gentle Reader, with this one very simple example of how collaborative we have to be, if only for me to write this bloody blog.  First, I need my little laptop computer to write it on.  This came to me courtesy of Telus who allowed me to pay it off in fifteen dollar monthly installments.  The computer itself had to be delivered to my home by Canada Post.  There must have been thousands of persons with their various disciplines of skill and expertise in making and manufacturing my laptop, not to mention the good people at Downtown Computer who have on two or three occasions serviced and made functional my computer.  Then there are those who acquired the raw materials, all the petroleum product to produce the cables and wires, the various metals that had to be mined, and so much more.

I would also like to mention the teacher in grade ten, Miss Ussher, who taught me how to type, and all the other teachers and educators involved in teaching me to read and implanting in me a love of words and literature.  Not to mention all the thousands of years of civilization and knowledge and learning from which I draw every day in order to find inspiration to write the blogpost de jour. 

We are many.  and so we must be, or else, we simply would no longer be. 

Today's blogpost is brought to you by thousands and thousands of people and years.  Happy reading!