Life in the Way

They and You.

Well, today I was asked for the second time at my son’ school to cross at the crosswalk. I haven’t been approached at my daughter’s school since my initial encounter. Regardless of the crossing situation, something the crossing guard said was interesting and kind of played into my thinking as I went from there to recycling. She said, "They are starting to be tough and give out tickets." (or something like that.) What struck me was, who is "they." Isn’t she (the crossing guard) one of "they." Or was she referring to the police. Either way, it is the entity of the town that would issue a summons and that means that essentially I am part of "they." Right? Am I getting tougher on crossing the street where there is no crosswalk? Anyway… I don’t think so. But I do understand the team/society mentality well.

So, then I went to recycling and saw someone there. I thought he might have been one of the employees, but I never found out because he walked off without even eye contact. And I wondered who he was.

On my way home, I was listening to the radio traffic report and heard about all the issues on the roads this morning and thought about who all of those people were and how each car had people in it who were individuals like me and all make up part of the bigger "they."

When I got home I watch a guy break a traffic law at our intersection (nothing abnormal because everyone, or "they" do it all the time). I wondered what priority he put above the "they" that would cause him to break a rule. Did he feel that he was being safe or was time the priority or that he could get away with it? I don’t know, but there he was breaking the traffic laws right in front of me.

When you think about who you are, are you part of the "they?" What "they" part are you? The one that will tell you to watch out because "they" are getting tough on this or that. The one that believes you have an ultimate handle on safety. The one that will do anything to save time and be more efficient, The one who is going to do what ever you want if you can get away with it. The one who is going to do anything you want even if you get caught.

If you have stayed with me this long, I want to pose a question for you. Jesus said that there are rules (e.g., love God with all you are and love neighbor as self), but he also said in many different ways that the spirit of the law surpasses the law itself. But to understand the spirit, the question, who are you? I believe that going deep within to answer that question is the first step in being a positive contributor to the health of the "they."