PROXIMITY

Every thought is a seed. If you plant crab apples, don't count on harvesting Golden Delicious. ~Bill Meyer

The past two days have been weird pictures....so maybe the third time is a charm.  I promise that there is a point to all of this.  Don't you ever feel like you are just way too close to something to make out what you're seeing? 
Would you tell your boss they aren't qualified for their job?
Would you say to someone in front of you in a line, "Hurry the Hell up"?
Would you tell a co-worker that a shirt makes them look fat?
No...probably not.  We don't know these people well enough to assume we can take these liberties with them.
So why in the world do we talk to our family and friends this way?
I've said this before and now I'm saying it again: there is a fine line between an opinion and an insult.
I mean, by all accounts we should be able to be completely honest with people we love.  But being close to someone doesn't give us the right to be mean.  If you don't think verbal abuse is real, Google it.
But what really happens that makes us talk this way to people?
We have the urge to make ourselves feel bigger/smarter/cooler or empowered over the person we are speaking to.  Maybe we feel out of control with our own life, so by speaking this way to someone we share a close proximity with, we make ourselves feel better?
Maybe we are jealous of something they have or are doing.
Maybe we think we have some "right" to judge them, based on experiences in our own lives that give us a different angle on things.
Who knows, really, but I see this all the time.
I was at McDonald's not to long ago, and I watched a woman with two sons that I would guess were ages six and eight.
The younger boy was not succeeding at waiting very patiently, and the mother kept reminding him, "We have to wait our turn, be polite."
They ate their food and played for a little while.  And then it was time to go. 
The mother called for them and the older one came and put his shoes on. 
The younger boy lingered a bit more, and the mother became visibly irritated.
Within seconds, despite the fact that she was standing two feet from her child, she screamed, "HURRY UP NOW, WE DON'T HAVE ALL DAY TO WAIT AROUND FOR YOUR DAWDLING."
How ironic!  This woman could have learned a thing or two from this boy about patience and politeness.
I know what it's like to have to prompt your child again and again and again to do something.
But when you're talking to someone you love, who also happens to be standing right next to you, it might be more effective to speak with a little love and kindness. 
I mean, it's just my opinion but I'd be a lot more excited to leave with her if I didn't feel like she was going to scream at me all day.
We get so very close to people in our lives that it's hard to see exactly what we do to them.  Don't take anybody for granted.  Tomorrow is not promised to anyone.
If you feel like you may be suffering from "proximity confusion" in regards to the way you treat your family and friends, then it's time.

Get some perspective.