point of view

a couple of months ago i watched a movie called "vantage point." it told the story of an event that took place in 30 minutes. you saw the same half hour from 6 people's vantage points. it brought me to an interesting realization. no 2 people live in the exact same world. our personalities and experiences give us each a different foundation of understanding the world. so even if we spend time together, our perspective of that activity is colored by our past.

for instance, bill and i watched a movie about a father dying. at the end, bill was sad, but i felt more resolute about having important conversations with my dad while i can. there, our activity was the same but our perspectives were not.

i'm not sure what will come from this realization. i hope it will help me be more understanding of people. trying to see things from another's perspective can help us get along. that can make the world a better place. that's my goal.

grateful

i just watched a movie about love between men and women and between parents and children. i have to express how grateful i am to have been given the wonderful kinds of love in my life. i am loved by parents, family, friends and my husband. i can think of any person in my life and feel one kind of love or another.

i am most grateful to my mom and to my grandparents for showing me that i am worthy of love and for showing me how to love. i watched their interactions with myself and others. i listened to what they said. i felt their love and so adopted their ways of giving love to those around me.

today, my life is filled with love. i hope i make my friends and family feel the same way.

while it is a different kind of love, i send loving thoughts out to humankind. the world needs as much love as it can get. i hope that everyone tries to give as much love as they can.

love

You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.--Buddha

in the new year and always, treat yourself lovingly.