I knew a young woman once. She had the most beautiful, brownish red, full bodied hair, which she wore long. It curled in just the right way, wavy and soft, glisteny tendrils framing the angles of her face. Now you might expect that with that hair she would have had green eyes, but somewhere in her genes, she had been gifted with equally striking blue eyes, the combination different and attractive, darker blue around the irises with eyes that tilted, just slightly, at an exotic angle. You know of course those eyes were rimmed with long eyelashes naturally black and thick. She had perfect, small, white teeth and skin that was clear and soft, a few freckles dusting her cheeks. She was a bit on the chunky side, but when you first saw her, you didn’t notice it. She was just that beautiful. It turns out she was devilishly smart too. But here is the real thing you recognized about her. It didn’t take long, not more than a few minutes with her and you knew she was mean. Mean and hateful and self centered, beyond what her beauty would warrant and worst of all, she didn’t care. She was spectacularly mean. It was surprising; the reality that such hatefulness was wrapped in such a pretty package. Oh, and also there was another thing you noticed about her; she had chronic bad breath.
Now I don’t know what you think about meanness but I can tell you this. The more I got to know her, the more I convinced myself that the meanness she harbored created a telltale sign in her. Like a movie where the bad guys are obvious, she might could use that devilish charm and beauty to fool you for a while, you might even given her a second or third chance because of her beauty, but ultimately she couldn’t hide that she was rotten to the core. That rotten, fetid breath gave her away. It wasn’t long before I grew to dislike her, immensely. Once might say I almost grew to hate her, as I watched how she attacked those around her, venomous and spiteful. I resented that she was so comfortable and almost proud of the hatefulness she visited on those around her. I resented that she got away with her hatefulness, largely because of her beauty.
fetid
Now that’s a really bad thing to say you hate someone but that’s just how powerful meanness is. It can poison the people it touches and before you know it, you’re not acting much better than the poisoner, then you pass it on to the next person, and they get mean and hateful.. and well you get the picture.
There are things that happen in life that are unexplainable. I’ve seen them. Bad things happen to people that don’t deserve it. I’ve witnessed them. There is a lot in the world that doesn’t make sense and a lot that we have no control over. There is however something we can control and make sure never happens. We are never required to traffic in meanness. Meanness is a completely unnecessary activity. When you see it rear its ugly head, wrapped either in beauty or not, in yourself or another, don’t let it poison you or anyone else. If you believe in the power of the good things, you also have to consider the power of the evil things of this world and meanness is one of them. I don’t know whatever happened to that pretty, mean woman, but I can almost bet it wasn’t something good.
Quote of the day:
There is something in meanness which excites a species of resentment that never subsides, and something in cruelty which stirs up the heart to the highest agony of human hatred. Thomas Paine
Bible verse of the day: Ephesians 4:29-32 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
