I’ve just got to get this off my chest. There are four people who really, really bug me (especially when they are bloggers). I can’t stand it anymore; I have to let someone know. And then there is one person I really, really like. Are you that person? I hope so.
#4: Mr. I’ve Always Done It Right and Never Had Problems, So You Should Listen to Me
This guy bugs the daylights out of me. Like the older brother in Luke 15:29, he spends all his time trying to prove that he’s always done the right thing.
From his lofty height of better-than-me-dom, he passes on bits of wisdom to us commoners who are making a mess of things.
Oh sure, when pushed he’ll admit that he’s made some mistakes. But people who make big mistakes are just stupid people who need to either listen to him or get out of this life because they’re messing up the gene pool.
#3: Ms. I’m Fixed, So Listen to Me
This lady just really takes the cake. She has had major problems. She really screwed things up in her life. And she is not ashamed to tell you all about it. She recounts the days she used to think in certain ways, she glories in the times she used to make certain mistakes, she revels in the ways her life just used to be a mess…like mine still is.
But she got fixed. Perhaps she read a book. Maybe she went to counselling. Possibly, she just figured it all out in a fortunate stroke of personal genius.
She wants to assure me she knows all about where I am because she used to be a screw-up just like me. But if I’ll just listen to her every bit of advice and think just like she does now, my life won’t be so messed up anymore. If I try really hard, I might be able to become like her.
Ah, the glory.
Please!
#2: Mr. I’m Broken, Nothing Will Work
If this guy has something going for him, at least he doesn’t suggest that I listen to his advice. But he won’t let me stop listening to his whining.
His world is coming to an end. Everything is rotten. Of course, none of it is his fault. He is just a victim of circumstances completely beyond his control. His life is spiraling out of control and all he can think about and focus on are his problems. That means his problems just get bigger and bigger and bigger.
This guy is a drag and a downer. I wish he would just leave me alone because he’s making my world come to an end.
…and the number 1 person who really bugs me is…
#1: Mr. Me
Yep, that’s right. I’m my own biggest irritant. Why? Because at any given time I play the part of the other three (except I’ve never played the part of a Ms. anything, well except for possibly in that sermon I presented entitled “I’m a Woman, What Can I Do?” but that is for a different blog post).
Probably the reason those other three people bug me so much is because I see me in them. As my friends in recovery say, “Ya spot it, ya got it.”
Yeah, I’ve got it.
The #1 Person that Actually Helps Me
Mr. Fellow Pilgrim
This guy is awesome. I wish I could be more like him. He’s just a fellow traveler on the journey. He’s had his problems, and if sharing them is going to help me, he does. But he doesn’t go out of his way to try to convince me that he’s an expert at my problems because of his own.
He’s got struggles, but he doesn’t pretend that makes him an expert on my life. He’s done good things, but he doesn’t act like that makes him superior to me. Some days his world is down. Some days it is up. He’s happy to be honest with me about where he is. But he doesn’t condescend because my world is not where his is.
He simply shares his experience, strength, and hope with me as a fellow traveler. He sees us as heading in the same direction. He doesn’t act like he has already arrived and is tossing me a rope to help me get where he is.
I like this guy. I wish there were more of him. I wish I was more like him.
I think I’ll try.
Thanks for this. I’m writing a book review blog post today and realizing the content has made ma look at an issue close to my heart from a slightly different angle, which made me think about how convinced I used to be that there was “one right way” in that area and that gradually age and experience have taught me to look at it a bit more, I don’t know, globally, I guess. I want to be a fellow pilgrim, too, and I know I haven’t always kept that identity. Sobering.
Thanks, Lori. I know the feeling.