Be a blessing.

Ever notice how within a single trip, you have cars that cut you off (within a centimeter of your life!) and then cars that allow you to merge in front them, sometimes offering a smile, too?

Ever notice how within the same neighborhood, you have neighbors who bicker or neglect or litter as well as neighbors that share their summer tomatoes and watch over your house when you're away?

Ever notice how within a single family, you have moments of torment and confusion in addition to the elation of unconditional love and laughter?

Even within ourselves, have you ever noticed how giving, patient & impassioned we can be one day and then the next, exploding with worry, aggression and selfishness?

Some would chalk it up to the yin & yang, that Asian-based symbol of lightness & darkness coexisting where there's a little bit of light in the darkness and a bit little dark in the lightness. Personally, I don't believe in the ultimacy of this symbol. I don't believe evil is equal to good. I don't believe purity is anything but pure--certainly no little bit of impurity in that which is pure; that would defy its definition! And we know that it takes a whole lot of darkness to dim a light while just one tiny candle in a dark room can serve as a radiant beacon.

I do agree, however, that each day is a mixed bag. Se la vie. People are people. They will raise you up and let you down. And the question is not what you can do about them, but what you can do about yourself. Are you raising up? Are you letting down? Are you able to let go, if nothing else? Are you a blessing? Or are you being a pain? Can you accept? Could you think better, speak better, do better? Can you take the sore spots of today and breathe through them without harming the potential goodness that may come with the next moment?

If you can help it today, be a blessing.