How People Are Aggravating Volume 1

The Healing Power of a Good Slap to the Head

Have you ever had one (or some) of those people in your life that just know everything. They know the best stores to shop, they know the best route to take no matter where you are going, they know the perfect temperature to cook any meal, and they always know the best way in which a life should be led. Yours included. Especially when you didn't ask.

We all have those people, either directly in our lives or on the periphery. People who can either be taken with a grain of salt, or be the salt that is ground in to an open wound. You deal with them with a smile and a nod - internally giving them props for having such a wonderful sense of self - or internally boiling at their blatant disregard for other ways of living.

I think it's safe to say that most people have a belief system in place, at least on some issue. Be it political, religious, or an otherwise extraneous life postulation. For example, I strongly believe that people shouldn't wear socks with sandals. It's a fashion faux pas and just doesn't look good. I make sure not to commit this err. Unless I'm running to the garbage room and it's chilly, but that's neither here nor there.

My point being with this post, is to identify those individuals who not only decide what is best for their lives, but what is also best for yours; overtly imparting their views - no, not their views, their all-understanding insightful knowledge - as a gift. A gift you should be honored to receive. A gift that should be accepted without question.

I offer up example number one. The person who has found God. I'll preface this with stating that I have absolutely nothing against any religion. I have respect for people and their beliefs. I admire my brother who felt a strong relationship with the Church in his late 30's to take classes, study, perform rites and become a Catholic several years ago. Religion, to me, is a personal matter. Your relationship with God can differ hugely from someone else's relationship with God, within the same religion. This isn't about God. This is about people who feel it's their duty to tell you that you will indeed be a burning head in hell, if you are a non-believer. My personal experiences with this has been with Catholics, but I'm sure it occurs across religions. I really don't feel it's anyone's place to tell me what I should or shouldn't believe. I also don't want you to feel sorry for those you consider "non believers", as that's both condescending and somewhat hypocritical. You, as a believer, have no insight in to what God will or will not do. For wasn't it St. Augustine who said "Humility is the foundation for all other virtues"?

On to something less heavy.

Let's talk about community living, shall we? I'm not speaking of the hippy-dippy movement. I'm talking about living in apartments or condos. In my case, I live in a great condominium complex that has a total of 8 separate buildings spread across lots of land with great amenities. Yet, people still bitch. One complains adamantly about how the snow plow is waking up their child at 8pm, while the other complains with equal gusto about how it's 8pm and why isn't the walkway shoveled yet. Somebody voices a concern that the grass is getting quite long, which is unsightly and a haven for bugs, while another speaks up that the landscapers are here too often. I get complaining. I get advocating change. This goes above and beyond that. What I'm not sure people understand about living in a condo community is, is that it is a community. I understand you have a child. I understand you get up at 4am. You still live in a community which is set up for the common good of the common man. If you want individualized treatment, may I suggest you buy your own house with no neighbors. You cannot live in a condo. community and expect the machine-that-is to conform to your schedule and your needs. I'm sorry. You can't. Stop bitching.

With that said, my Condo. Community at large is also a victim of the "we know betters". We recently had a site wide paving project underway, that caused shifting of parking spots and roadways. Due to this project, a gate was opened up to an outside residential road that allowed people who could not leave or enter the complex via any other access route, to actually get home. This then caused homeowners on the other side of the gate to get pissy because "we shouldn't be here". Are you kidding me? When did basic humanity become such an extinct idea? It's no secret that an entire community was being repaved. It's not secret that the outside gate was opened, as it can only be opened by law enforcement, and is only opened in the most extreme of cases (i.e. crazy snow storms or inaccessible routes). Yet this caused a specific homeowner to hold up traffic to prove a point and to make it known that this was "his road". His road. Not yours. You have no right to be here. Mind you, we all live in the same town and pay taxes. But this was his road. Mr. Know Better, kindly get off of my cloud.

People are aggravating to a degree that is currently immeasurable. There are physicists working 'round the clock to try to determine to what degree aggravating behavior actually exists and what can bring this to an end. At this point, it is infinite.

My suggestion is fairly simply, yet may require court and jail time. There ain't nothing like the healing power of a good slap to the head to reform all of the above offenders.

Volume 2 of How People are Aggravating will be available at a blog near your shortly.

With Love
Lady Butterfly
xoxo