Faith, hope...and something

I give thanks though I'm struggling with faith and hope at the moment I still endeavour to engender charity. For years I've tried to apply the theory that if someone doesn't treat others well they're probably hurting themselves in some way, but I've gradually extended my scope of understanding to accept they might also be somewhere on the autistic spectrum and have difficulty grasping how other people's feelings may be affected by their words/deeds (or lack of), or they could be a high scorer on Hare's checklist of psychopathic tendencies and have difficulty grasping how other people's feelings are of any consequence at all (apart from how they can be manipulated for gain) or they might have such a low opinion of the person they're being unkind to that they actually think their behaviour is justified. These folk too are worthy of compassionate thought, though obviously if you're on the receiving end in the latter two cases this should be done in an abstract way from as far away as possible! Forget what your own faith may tell you - cheeks are not for turning!

I'm human and still have feet of clay. I don't always have altruistic thoughts about less than altruistic folk...but I give thanks I try to remind myself not to actively wish them harm. A couple of  women were talking about voodoo dolls the other day (in a charity shop!), and one was just saying she'd made them and they work, when I felt compelled to interrupt and ask if they worked the other way if you did nice things to them instead, stroked them or brought them little bunches of flowers, or something? Apart from my lack of social graces in butting in, the women clearly thought it was a strange notion to have remote good intentions but I don't see why it has to be, I mean people who pray pray for people don't they, and people who don't might do metta or send kind thoughts...why shouldn't you make an effigy to make someone feel good not suffer? Oh, well rhetorical question I guess...

I give thanks for the glory of  moonlight silvering the sea last night. For discovering the reviews were true that sad this camera's not good in low light...but you get the idea anyway. For discovering how easy it is to whip up a little hot toffee sauce - all those years of watching CDWM paying off at last!

I give thanks for no scary phone calls from doctors today, and a chat about scary futures with Linda. For Jenny giving me a lift to the library so I could bring a bag of food bank donations with me, and that one of the books she was about to return was one I wanted to borrow. For feeling quite sprightly after such an easy start to the afternoon and grabbing some end of the day bargains and a packet of yummy Abernethy biscuits to lug up the hill after finishing up the in town chores. I give thanks for the man on the till in the supermarket undoing my folded up in a bag shopping bag and loading my groceries while I fumbled with my purse. Every little helps and it wasn't even Tesco!