How is it possible that I could go to bed Tuesday night, Dan Bongino (running for Maryland's 6th district) was 3% ahead in the polls with over 90% of the precincts in, and somehow magically his opponent beat him by tens of thousands of votes? Statistically once the precinct hits 11% reporting in, the margin doesn't generally change much. Given his opponent utilized a bunch of sleazeball tactics, you'll understand my skepticism that this was a clean election. I must be living in a fantasy world.
Some of the young people in my church congregation are participating in a music video. I don't know if the producers didn't communicate participation qualifications, or the local people in charge didn't read the instructions or what, but it has resulted in a lot of hurt feelings, the vast majority of which could have been easily avoided by just being frank and upfront.
I have been sadly astounded by the foam and fang which has come out in this production. Back in the old days, when celluloid was a price sensitive commodity, we cared about making every penny squeal, so producers tried to frame everything as efficiently as possible. In the digital world, it's just a function of time, so 80-90% of shots will end up on the proverbial cutting room floor, never seeing the light of day. So for people to be losing their minds for their (or their kid's) perceived 15 seconds of fame which will not likely even be included, is just amazing. I guess I live in a fantasy world where everyone does their best, sometimes the marbles roll your way, and we can always choose to be happy for someone else's success.
I do a lot of genealogy research, data processing, uploading, etc.. A lot. I just came back from the County Hall of Records today where I transcribed a bunch of death certificates for people who live out of state and don't have a chance to get there themselves. Those people who seek my help are always so grateful and appreciative, even if what they end up with is little more than they already had. On the other hand, I can always tell when I'm dealing with a person who happens to be the same religion I am. They're the ones who are generally condescending, rude and angry, and that's a kind description. I received one of those emails tonight demanding to know why I had messed with his aunt's information on an online database (I corrected the name spelling, merged a duplicate record) and how dare I? I dunno, I guess it's because I must be living in a fantasy world where we genealogists appreciate the time, research and work that others do on our behalf to make our records better. Silly me.
These instances, recent and close together as they have been, have reminded me of my own sharp edges which need to be softened and smoothed out. I see things generally through an engineering and mathematical lens: fastest way between two points is a straight line, what's the most efficient process to accomplish a task, etc. I rarely even notice what is surely road kill on the superhighway as I blaze through life at breakneck speeds. I really do live in my own fantasy world projecting my values on to others.
And then every once in a while, something happens which makes me pause, take a breath, reset, and view it from a different perspective. It doesn't often change my sense of right and wrong, but it does generally allow me to forgive others and obtain forgiveness myself.
Namaste.
It is exactly this kind of introspection ["reminded me of my own sharp edges"] that I find so endearing of many Mormon women and men. I am LDS - and come from a family that produced very strong and productive women - something outsiders have a hard time understanding.
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