Things I Don't Understand

I've compiled a short list of things I just have trouble understanding:

1. Kaleidoscopes. Clearly a fruit of the 1970's psychedelic time warp, but seriously, what the heck are these things? I once met a lady and her husband who's sole job is to create kaleidoscopes and stained glass. How can there be a business in this? If someone put that much time and effort into producing something practical, the world would certainly be a much better place. Third world countries are in need of clean water and shoes, and here are the Americans making intricate toys out of multi-colored glass. It just doesn't seem right...

2. Negative dispositions. Some people are just the stereotypical "glass is half empty" type of people. They wake up on rainy days and grumble about the rain. They get their coats stuck in the door and furrow their brow and sigh whilst violently tugging at it. They wonder why bad things always happen to them. They complain. Constantly. To their defense, most of them were raised that way and learned the behavior from their parents. Plus, their place in the world helps others to prepare for the worst and I admit, there is some value to that. However, as the half empties can probably attest, it is a terrible way to go through life - always focusing on the negative. It brings the positive people down, slowly draining them of all things happy (like Dementors). I just don't understand it. Unnecessary.

3. Leashes for children. I know, at least one of you out there reading this is a leash kid. You know what I mean, the fluffy, animal-shaped backpack looking things that are cleverly disguised vehicles of shame. Not only are these embarrassments to the establishment of parenthood, but they shed light on a deeper issue of Americanism: laziness. In my opinion, if you can't keep track of your kid, then you shouldn't take them to places where you might lose them. These are children people, not pets, and should be raised accordingly. Maybe eventually they'll make a Baby Bjorn big enough for toddlers...

4. The allure of pine cologne. While driving on the freeway today I smelled the unmistakable pungency of pine. I have no idea where it was coming from, but as it seeped into my car's interior, I couldn't help but think of how unappealing it is. I just can't explain it. About the only time I am okay with this scent is when they are packaging up my Christmas tree at the tree lot. What possesses some men to spray this all over themselves? This phenomenon is quite similar to the women's perfumes and accessories that smell like baked goods - just completely unnecessary.

Memory and Emotion

I always wonder why I remember seemingly unimportant things - like the Miss Mary Mack patty cake rhyme from when I was 7 - and forget very important things - like that I had a mandatory meeting at 8AM and it's now 8:25. As a psychology major I've learned that the best memories are linked to emotions.

Like one of my favorite quotes from Maya Angelou: "...People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Whether it's embarrassment, love, anger, humility, pain, joy, sadness, etc, if an emotion touches us deep enough, it's going to stick with us forever.

I remember my 8th grade teacher Mr. K was my favorite middle school teacher. Not because he gave easy grades or let us out of class early, but because he was kind when he didn't have to be. For example, at the time I was in his class I was a vegetarian and knowing how much it disheartened me to dissect a frog - he cleverly planned the dissection for a day when I was on vacation and he let me write a make-up essay. (Mr. K also saved me from a devastating typo on my science project... but that's another blog).

Kindness makes you fond of people. And kindness makes people remember you. It's the same reason we can't stop thinking about that attractive someone we met, how bad the board meeting went today when you couldn't answer any questions, how much it hurt breaking your arm when you were 3 years old, an old coworker you always hated talking behind your back, the glory of winning a little league trophy, falling in front of a big crowd, or how the smell of butterscotch reminds you of growing up...

So before you get angry at the overseas customer service rep on the phone, the driver that cut you off on the freeway, your significant other that came home late, or your best friend who made you feel stupid, remember that interaction may become a bad memory emblazoned in their brain like a branding on a cattle.

Just save yourself the effort and be happy; give them something good to think about. Practice random acts of kindness and smile, because after all, isn't that how you'd want to be remembered? :)