Playing Nice with Others

There you have it – the easy way to live. Getting along with others was Kindergarten 101. Hold hands while crossing the street (safety in groups, keeping the group together). Share with others (they feel included, not separated or discriminated; they appreciate the shared object without coveting it). Respect private property and space (it is refuge for each of us in our own property and space). Ask for help when you need it; give it when asked (this is sharing our common need to cooperate and work on tasks together – collaborate). This is also community.

Each day we survive we think we are doing so alone. That is incorrect. We live with, for, because of, and with hope because we live in community with others. Kindergarten taught us that. The value of the lesson continues on in all that we do and experience.

Art is life viewed through the special lens of the artist. The message in art is recognizable because of our shared existence. The intellectual process is complicated by the very nature of life’s mysteries. It is ‘reading’ this that unveils the meaning of the art piece. Why does some art calm us? Or upset us? Or challenge us to see the unseen and appreciate it? That is the very conundrum of life. Artists make some sense of the enigma.

Human relations are both the cause and result of being together. Without charity among each of us, misunderstandings emerge with emotions entangled. We resent someone, or they us, because of this simple equation. Making sense of it is difficult because it requires us to be humble and defenseless to get it. It is OK if it is attended to. It makes dysfunction if left to the wind.

Families deal with this. Workplace colleagues deal with this. Industries manage these relationships among other organizations. Nations create foreign protocols to make the best of relationships among each other.

In the microcosm of now, we live life by the simple constructs of kindergarten. It was true then; it is true now.

Climate change and world peace are the stakes at hand internationally. At home it is collaboration with political divisions.

Why can’t we just get along? Look to kindergarten for the answer. It has been there all along.

November 24, 2021

 

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