Timeless Adage, Eternal Cliche

 I am thinking of adages and cliches right now.

"The sun shines and rains on us all."  Whether a "good person" or a "bad person" two things they share in common and always will, they are born and then they die.  So right out of the womb, we are formed with commonality. Maybe we are two sides to the same coin.  When I say we, I mean all of mankind, not just you and I. In many cases, you and I are on the same side of issues. (my guess)

"Without failure, you'll never know success."  Ever hear of that one?  I wonder how true it is.  I know that for many people, even for me, it seems to be true.  But what if some of the things we are told are our success really are an illusion that someone else has sold us?  What if the so called failures we experience were really lessons that test our ability to overcome in times of duress?  What if the real success is in how we carried ourselves through these times and what if our real failures are in failing to be empathic towards others or from some other such human characteristic? 

At any rate, it is as I've always thought.  "It isn't where you go, it's what you do to get where you end up or as the cliche goes " it's how you get there."  So who is there to tell us whether or not we have failed or succeeded, but us.  In essence, we listen to our own voice as much as we listen to the voices of others.  Who is more objective? Nobody.  Note, each individual must work out their own salvation, work through their own failures, and define their own successes, for the purposes within their own hearts.

There will always be those more poor in spirit, more downtrodden in faith, and more impoverished than another; just as there will always be those filled with more peace, more hope and less poor than another. So what is your responsibility?  "Charity begins at home."  Take care of what we are charged or blessed with, such as our immediate family.  My friend, Mr. Jule once said to me (and I thought heartlessly so before I understood) that, "The poor outnumber all other things.  The poor will always be with us."  You can teach them through habit that they can learn a new trade, learn to speak the native language of whatever country they are in, learn the rules, and learn how to push through whatever red tape each country puts in front of them.  So why is it that through habit people are taught to hold out their hand in case by chance a coin or bill will be dropped in?  Why are they taught how to fight in lines for food stamps when they can be taught to bring home a paycheck?  Why are their immediate needs being partially met when we all know they will be right back for more of the same tomorrow?--that is, unless they die.

You can give a man fish or you can teach him how to fish.  My guess is that teaching requires way too much of our time, our patience, and it might reveal to us how little we really know about what the needs of others entail.  It's easier to toss coins at them and watch them move on to their next coin toss far away from us.  We can even worry about them later when we find the time and maybe even pray for them.

As long as we keep trying to fix everyone else's problems, we will be swimming in their mud puddles.  If we continue to swim in their mud puddles we will soon be a fixture of those puddles, unable to work out our own tests and trials.  Teach those who are teachable, reach the reachable, but get out of the mud and clean up your act. Don't get dirty trying to clean up the act of others; don't get snot all over you wiping their nose. Keep your nose clean.   Remember, you can be part of the solution or you can be part of the problem. 

I'm just venting. If you made it this far, I thank you.  Wish I had something more intelligent to share, something more original, but the troubles of others are dragging a friend of mine down, and it is forcing me to remind her that she must take care of herself first and stop making everyone's problems hers until she is fit to teach even one of them to handle their own problems.  It's damn hard to do without help from the adages and cliches. Guess some old truths are ageless.