"DIFFERENT STROKES"

We were talking the other day about books, I was really excited to share that I had found a new (to me) writer. When I have a favorite, I tend to read everything he/she has written from their first publication , so it is good to discover someone I hadn’t as yet met . The book, COLD SHOULDER by Lynda LaPlante was a page turner. (I like police procedurals, mysteries (usually not the bloody kind!) and some memoir-types. In the non-fiction area, my favorites are those that explain human nature, parapsychology, psychological therapy, photography, anything horsey or about cats and always, cookbooks! A strange collection, perhaps, but I’ve had quite a bit of time to become acquainted with many areas of interest. Interest, that is, for me.

In the general discussion, I shared my enthusiasm for LaPlante’s novel and was really surprised to have one of the women, whom I thought quite well-read, make the lofty statement, “I NEVER read fiction.” I think it was the tone of her statement that brought an awkward pause to our conversation, until one very kind woman asked her what she had been reading and thus smoothed over the seeming “put down”. We heard a great deal about a trip down the Amazon that was fatal to many of the expedition. . .not of great interest to any of us.

There are as many different interests as there are types of people – those we like a lot, those with whom we get along, and then, those we dislike and kindly (?) tolerate. Not one of these “types” is better than another in essence – the only difference is in the “reader”. It seems to me that even among those we tolerate, there are things to learn, to perhaps spark an interest in our own reading lives.

This small episode had a rather large impact on me. I think compassion indicates a kind of acceptance of individuals and their tastes. Not necessarily a liking, but an acceptance that they are what they are. Therefore, to even mentally judge them, has unkind implications. To use a cliché, as long as we are not “walking in their shoes” we have no basis or right to judge. And certainly not with such an air of superiority in a groups’ conversation.

And what did I learn? That kindness, compassion, acceptance are desirable for all and need daily practice even daily meditation. Noting my words of a certain judgment above, I think I’d best increase my own mediation and practice, practice, practice!