Inebriated Mind Ranting

Straight up here, I have been partaking of the alcoholic beverages.  It is a Saturday night/Sunday morning.  I worked hard all week, suffered through a miserable "time of the month", and all of the usual crap that comes with being part of a "family."  The way I see it, this is my bitch and rant time.  Please keep in mind my usual state is too want to see the good side of the situation.  Sometimes that is just too damn hard!  I want to see the good in the world.  Sometimes though all I can see is the deceit, laziness, and racism the world has to offer.
  


This week I hear of Syrian refugees.  Should we be accepting these poor, maligned people from a war-torn region without screening the ever-living life out of them?  Or should we just stereo-typically say, "Hi-dee-ho, welcome to Canada, eh?"  I agree that many of them have probably endured more hardship and horror than the average Canadian would ever experience in their lifetime on this soil.  I also think, "Who the hell are we to judge another fellow human being's suffering or terror?"  

I don't think anyone should judge another human being based on his or her colouring, religious beliefs or hell, sexual orientation for that matter.  I have had the pleasure of meeting gay individuals, Muslims, and various other people not of the same mold as me.  One time I had an openly gay co-worker ask if I was okay with that.  My response was as long as she wasn't coming on to me, I had zero problem with her orientation.  She laughed and said, "I know you're straight."  The upshot?  No problem.  I feel the same way about religion.  As long as you are not pushing your beliefs on me, I have no right to pass judgement on what you believe.  As long as you afford me the same, we are good.
Honestly, I don't want everyone around me to agree with me, and think exactly the same way I do.  Where would be the variety, the spice of life, the chance to see from another perspective?  I find myself drawn to people more adventurous, more out-spoken, better educated than myself, as they add to my world, not take away from it, as some fear-mongers would have us believe.
This world would be a much better place if we looked upon each other in a more positive light.  I'm not saying there wouldn't be a few rotten apples in the barrel, but that doesn't mean you should throw out the entire barrel! 
I have often heard that much of the suffering and problems in our world have come about because of poor communication and misunderstanding.  I also think greed and indifference should be added to that list.  For myself, the world is such a big place, and despite all of our technology, there is a huge discrepancy in distribution of wealth and access to aforementioned technology.  Whilst I happily type this out on my (fairly) new laptop, peruse my up to the minute smartphone, and jam on a somewhat still relevant ipod, there are still places in the world where the people are not familiar with even the earlier generations of these electronic goodies.  Many of them suffer atrocities, hardship, and other obstacles of which I am blithely ignorant of.   I would be able to sympathize with their stories, as I could perhaps imagine what horrors they endured, I would not be able to empathize, having not been through the same ordeals and suffering.

The world has seen so much ugliness in past years.  Sadly it does not seem to get better.  Every time I hear of another shooting or conflict, I am thankful it does not directly affect me.  Then I think of the people involved, and I cannot imagine how they feel.  It may seem corny or mushy, but I cannot help but think, "Where's the love for our fellow man, people?"
It's sad that our world has been reduced to highlights of power grabs, greed, and corruption.
On a personal level, I am thinking that it is sad that I feel so repressed on a day-to-day basis to say what I really think.  I want to more freely love those around me without anyone thinking I have a hidden agenda.  If we all focused more on what and who we love, instead of the nasty word "hate," I bet the world would improve almost immediately.  A wise relative once told me that the opposite of love is not hate, rather it is indifference.  The older, (and hopefully, wiser) I get I see the truth in that statement.  When one is indifferent, no real emotions come into play.  Love is a strong and carrying emotion.  Hate, while seeming opposite to love is also a strong emotion.  Indifference is more a "meh...". Nothing gained, nothing lost.

Whilst occasional inebriation is good for inspiration, it's not practical to slam back a few anytime I want to delve deep.  I need to work on myself to bring what is important to the surface, instead of pushing it to the murky depths of my core.  It can't be out of sight, out of mind.  
So, to all of you out there in my life, thank you for being there on whatever level you are, and I love you all from some degree on the scale of 1-6.  Now I need to work on making sure you all know that for sure!   Thank you for bearing with me on a slightly tipsy rant.  It may not be the most cohesive and tight writing, but it is from the heart!