Neglect and Niggardly Notions

Here I am once again, reduced to ranting about things that a person in my stage of life should not have to, it has certainly been a while and I definitely need to whet my whistle.

I cannot understand why it is that a person could be so irresponsible and disrespectful of the needs of others. Given the opportunity to do good for someone else they turn their backs and act as if the act itself is beneath them, too hard for them to handle, or even beyond their reach. Ever hear the saying a little goes a long way? Even if they try to do a little, their minor contribution is much smaller than what they could potentially handle.

So why is their "help" such a necessity? Oh, only because the person that they should be assisting has been there for them from the cradle and, if their own wasn't so close to calling them, all the way to the grave. They have bent over backwards and literally killed themselves for others all of their lives and what do they get in return? A measly sum when it seems appropriate to give it? No, it is taking care of their poor progeny for no pay. Wrong again, it is living in the same horribly small dwelling for so long without helping with the rent. False, it is having to deal with the incessant BS that spews from their entire being.

Either way you look at it it is one big inextricable mess, a bubbling cesspool of idiocy.

And the scariest thing is . . .

Listen closely . . .

I have to whisper this . . .

THERE IS MORE THAN ONE OF THEM CAUSING THE TROUBLE!!!!!

Each and every one has their own scheme, their own way of making things so much harder than they already are. What's more, each and every one claims to be some form of adult and that it is their age that gives them to right to do what they wish.

Well now let us think about this logically:

Traditionally, one reaches adulthood once they have "left the nest" and assumed the responsibilities of an indepedent person. An independent person works to become financially/ mentally/physically/socially stable throughout their lives until they increase in age. As a person ages it is said that they also increase in the sophistication of their abilities. This heightened sophistication is a sign of their maturity.

Thus, (Age) f(x) = level of sophistication/"maturity".

Hmmmm, I'm already seeing discrepancies here:
1. Few are actually independent - those that are have yet to have reached any plateau of reasonable stability in any way, shape or form. While they have learned to do many things on their own for themselves they still have miles to go before they can be deemed mature.
2. Then there are those who have yet to meet the qualifications of independence - way to mess up the entire equation!!! You effectively cannot even complete the rest of the aforementioned statement!!!

I just cannot fathom the lack of propriety, the inherent disregard for the feelings of others. And yet they feel as if it is okay to take and take and take and believe me they do not discriminate on what it is they choose to take. They will take time, money, shelter, confidence, health, love . . . life. Just plain greedy.

I cannot live this way! I absolutely wholeheartedly refuse and if I renig end my miserable existence. That being said, it is all well and good for me to say that I will not carry on this way but it leaves a very important thing to be desired - what can I possibly hope to do about that in regards to the others?

How in the world can I affect change in lives that are so far gone that they cannot possibly revert to more suitable situations?

Is it even possible for someone like me, barely out of my first year of college and slowly on the way to achieving that long sought after independence, to do my part, to pay my dues as I feel all younger generations should do for those who paved the way for them?

I owe so much to this person, this saint. I could have ended up going down any road, good or bad, but God saw fit to put me in her care going down a better path than I could have forged on my own. If I learned anything at all this school year I know that in some ways one traditional Chinese value is correct - we do owe our parents our lives and, by extension, we owe our lives to those who have had a positive influence on us. Filial Piety and what I am going to call Associative Piety is probably the best way to show those people that we care back, that everything they did for us was not in vain and by living productive and happy lives we can show them that the attention they gave to us was worth their time.

I earnestly hope to God that I can show that to that special someone soon someday, and even if they do not get to witness it in the flesh I know that they will always be there in spirit to see what their efforts have manifested in me. I will end the self-perpetuating cycle of irreverence.