Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness Confucius

Rage, anger and human kindness

How many awful, cruel, dishonest and utterly nasty people have enraged you recently?
Corruption, bank cupidity and political mendacity always generate heat for me and, of course, there are many nice people involved. Truth to tell, annoyance and anger affects the clarity and quality of my thinking.

The Dark Side

Is corruption, criminality, conspiracy, hypocrisy and waste all there is?
Seeing tweets from some people the other day, I found their anger and cruel comments remarkable. Reading much the same on Facebook is much the same. Polarised opinions rule a battlefield where one person’s St Donald is another person’s devil incarnate.  The focus stays on the awfulness of individual politicians and apparatchiks; no words on solutions just bile … interesting.

Other side

Just this morning I’ve been in touch with friends who live in Seattle. Their kindness and hospitality breeds a special kind of warmth in my heart and, as I think about it, I recall the generosity of many other people when I was there.
Now, closer to home:

• A laugh with the woman in the barbers as she trimmed away and we sorted the world’s problems in fifteen minutes.
• A discussion with a friend about to confront a difficult situation and, with it, a chance to assist a person who has generously supported me with a downtown office for writing in bonny Dunfermline.
• A chat with a friend who chose to take our communication to a new level of intimacy and trust.
• A warm hug from my grandkids.

All of these things fill a store cupboard of positive and loving energy.

Gifts from friendship

The other day a business associate visited. He’s a big guy, six feet five and solid. He walked in holding a copy of Angels Cut and asked me to sign it. (He later bought 20 more for some customers – all signed.) I was moved by how pleased he is for me. Paradoxical, perhaps, buying a fierce tale of corrupt criminality, murder, the abuse of power …
Remember Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets. How the story unfolds and he finds the love and kindness in himself and the joy as others reciprocate. The show made me smile and put me in touch with a finer perspective of humanity, I smile thinking of it.

Mac Paradoxical*

Funny isn’t it, on the one hand I’m a concerned, sometimes annoyed, observer of our human frailties – I write tough thrillers to challenge mischief and mendacity.
On the other hand: a touch, a gentle word, friendship, kindness, love; such strength and depth running alongside the bad stuff. Good and evil cheek by jowl.
It’s easy to slip into a negative feeling about political mischief, corruption and so on. I’d be very surprised if most of the vilified people don’t have a kind and generous side, and people who have little but good things to say about them.
How can we help each other to tap into the well of human kindness and respect? Could that change the world?

© Mac Logan

*free book to anyone who can say that ten times quickly