I was scared

That when morning came

The sun and the stars would be

Fucking miserable

So I cried out

Shine on, sun

For another sing-songy day

Truth

Be known-

It wasn’t the truth.

The stoplight

Burst in to tears

And cried out for

You to slow down

And take pity on

The ants crossing the street

Life is a remarkable thing. And isn’t it important that we all learn how to coexist, in all of our mutual differences? World Kindness Day was yesterday, and it’s a shame that such a day is even needed, and kindness isn’t utilized every day of the year. Yet shouldn’t kindness extend to all beings, under all circumstances?

In the words of the great environmentalist Andy Lipskis, “everything has a job, every rock, person, and bug.” We are all part of the Gaia of Earth in one way or another, crossing each other’s paths to either help each other, or hurt each other and teach one another lessons. Everyone fits in to the great spectacle of life, in an almost Hindu- esque, naturalist perspective. Every sentient being, and even every rock, deserves kindness and respect.

Once I was having an anxiety attack and went outside to experience nature in an effort to heal, and rubbed a wet Autumn leaf on my face in a quest to see beyond the darkness. I picked a brown leaf that had already fallen off its stem, and rubbed the dew laden leaf on my cheeks and forehead in an effort to relax my nerves and be at one with the environment. I’ve done this before, with other greenery that was still living, and felt so guilty when I picked a blade of grass to munch on to ground myself or apply to my face that wasn’t already dead; and made sure to offer a blessing of thanks to the blade of grass that I picked.

Everything is in an environment, and when we come across a member of our Gaia, it is important to offer kindness and respect: we are all worthy and deserving, and isn’t it just a given that we should live and let live?

Some things are environmental; your environment is like a lens in which you see the world. Culture of towns across the country may differ in what’s seen as acceptable, hip and “cool.” But what’s really cool is that we embrace our mutual differences in an effort to be with the Gaia family of sentient beings, even rocks, and greet each participant of life with utter equanimity and graciousness.

Never judge until you walk a mile in their shoes. We all have our pain. Some are even like Robin Williams, smiling through our intense depression, trying to positively influence the world around us to the best of our ability. Even the most shining, smiling face has hidden troubles. That’s part of what being alive is, as a rock, bug, or person. So take pity on the ants crossing the street — we are all alive for a reason, and even that ant crossed your path for a reason. Even if the ant represents an annoyance or a “less than” person — how can we come to terms with the many nuances in our path?

There’s a well known poem that expresses the point that even if a spider happens to cross my path, I would only hope that whoever sees it would welcome its presence, and carefully pick it up and place it back outside where it belongs, because don’t we all hope to not to be caught unaware and in the wrong environment, wrong environment being a small bug in a big human world of civilization.

So, be gentle with each other, beings. Throw those rocks with gratitude and grace. After all, the sun shines down on us all for another day.