BORN TO WHINE – PART 2
Whine Rule No.2: Mindless Repetition is the Key to Acquisition
By age three or so, I really got the hang of this whining thing. I could throw a tantrum in no time flat.
I fondly remember how I acquired my Baby Louise doll, the one with the real-looking poop in its diaper. Planning started when I watched the commercials on TV. Every time I saw one I pointed, clapped my hands in delight and said, “Baby Louise, Baby Louise, poopy!”
Having an audience, even if it was just the cat, was key to developing my whining skills. I experimented with facial expressions. When the cat hissed, I knew I was on the right track.
I’d be on the lookout for Baby Louise at any store I was taken to, even a hardware store. I’m sure it got annoying listening to me repeat the “Baby-Louise-poopy” phrase over and over again. But that was my plan.
At first Mommy and Daddy thought this was cute. Then it got so that neither wanted to take me anywhere, let alone to a store where there might actually be a Baby Louise doll. I grew ever more strident in my demands, dropping the “Baby Louise” part of the phrase altogether and just shouting, “Poopy! Poopy!”
Mommy took me to a doctor for evaluation of my behavior. He told her not to give in to my demands. If she did, not only would I be spoiled-rotten, but I’d never exit my fascination with excretory functions. He was right.
I continued to work at being rotten. Finally, my parents just couldn’t wait for Christmas or my birthday as a justification — they had to get that doll. So when we went to the toy store, I knew I’d won. Happily, I tottered down the toy aisle toward my Dream Girl.
Then Daddy was looking at Mommy and shaking his head. Saying something about the price and how we should wait for a sale. That’s when I deployed the big guns.
I slumped to the floor, kicking and wailing, “Baby Louise, Baby Louise!”. I squeezed out a lot of tears, adding a little hitch to my crying to let them know how disappointed I was. Daddy bent down. He tried to pick me up. He managed to lift me several inches, but I wouldn’t help him in the least.
The minute he got me to my feet, I collapsed again, pounding the floor with my head. I started drawing a crowd. Mommy looked away, like she was just an observer and I wasn’t “hers”. Daddy was mad, using some bad words I tried repeating. It was a stalemate.
The store manager came over with a lollipop and offered it to me. I batted it out of his hand. Then he abruptly took a Baby Louise doll off the shelf and shoved it at Daddy.
“Here. Take it. It’s yours. Just, please, get her out of my store.”
If you're enjoying this over coffee, tea, or whatever, please consider buying me a cup!WHAT DO YOU DO?
In a cordial tone, he asked, “So, what do you do?”
I cringed inwardly while thinking, “DAMN, HOW I HATE THAT QUESTION!”
It’s one of those standard questions that comes along between “It’s a pleasure to meet you” and “We must get together sometime.” It often occurs at parties, usually after being introduced by a mutual acquaintance, or in other settings where people meet. It really means, “What kind of job do you have,” and segues into an exchange of information.
So, if it facilitates conversation why do I hate that question? Because it literally reduces all aspects of my being into a job. It strips me of my humanity. I become identified only by my occupation; as if that’s all I do with my life.
It focuses all attention on only one facet of my earthly existence, albeit an important one. Without my job, I don’t have the resources to pursue all other activities which require money. That certainly is important, but it’s not all that “I do.” I do so much more.
To get this point across, I developed a standard answer for that standard question, “I traverse time and space seeking truth.”
The reactions are mixed. Some simply excuse themselves and make a beeline to freshen their drinks. Others perk up and want to know more. I’ll pause here, allowing those so inclined to go freshen their drinks . . .
Okay, for those of you who stayed, here’s the scoop. I used to believe that while traversing time and space, all I could hope to find were relative truths — Things that are true today, but maybe not tomorrow; or things that are true only under specific conditions.
But, I have found two truths I believe are absolute:
- Love is everything
- We are all one
The first is bandied about under different guises, but the long and short of it is that in every emotion we feel and in every way that we interact with anything outside ourselves, everything is based one either love or the absence of love.
If we are kind and compassionate, we are expressing love. If we are mean and selfish, we are withholding love. It’s pretty much that simple.
So, how does withholding love count in the absolute truth that “Love is everything?” Things done in the absence of love still have love as its root – love of oneself. We put our well being ahead of everything else. Hence, any action we do that negatively affects someone else, results through the motivation of promoting our self-love, or selfish love.
That side of love does nothing to promote harmony. In fact, it creates disharmony. You might think that it creates disharmony outward which only affects people other than yourself. So, why should you care? But that’s where the second absolute truth, “We are all one,” comes into play.
Just like a pebble thrown into a pond sending ripples outward, when those ripples hit the edge of the pond, they then push back toward where they originated. Some call it karma. Some call it punishment. Some call it fate. No matter what it’s called, it still returns to you.
It comes back because not only do we all reside within the same physical universe, but all of creation is made up of exactly the same building blocks. Regardless of whether they’re planets, people, plants, or pebbles, everything is made up of exactly the same elements, only in different proportions. We can thank physics for verifying that little fact.
Hence, we are all one.
Since we are all one and anything we do affects the whole, then love really is everything — either promoting it or withholding it.
So, what do you do?
If you're enjoying this over coffee, tea, or whatever, please consider buying me a cup!
