"There's enough poison in that drink to kill an army platoon. Good thing I'm a marine."~ chuck/tv

One of my sons gave me this quote - He knows that I am interested in the idea expressed by an enduring quote. I don't know how enduring "Chuck" may be, but I do know that I like the idea expressed here - as my son knew I would.
A quick aside at this juncture - I really like that my kids know me and "get" me ... and most days actually like me. I was visiting with my friend who has known me longer than any one other than my brother - she, I would say, knows me better than anyone simply because she knew the kid I used to be all the way through to the person I am now. She has witnessed my life and knows where all the "stuff" is and how it got there. We were laughing together about her son's comment about something horrible her mom had recently done...he said, of course she did - that is exactly who/how she is. I think the reality of it is that she and I could each accurately predict our own mothers behavior - we just chose not to. We both want to believe that at any moment a person may suddenly became a lot "better" version of themselves. My friend and I are both that kind of person who wants to believe that people will do right when they know what "right" is. I think a lot of nice women my age think like that - the luxury of naivety. Fortunately, our children are not as naive...they tend to believe that people will do what is in their own best interest while taking in to account the possible risks ... they put the money in the parking meter not because it is "right" but because they don't want to take the chance on the $20.00 fine - the police in our area are very vigilant.
One of the things I enjoy learning about people is their "life perspective". We're all pretty different.

Socrates
Socrates (469 BC – 399 BC) was one of the first Greek philosophers to encourage both scholars and the common citizen to turn their attention from the outside world to the condition of man. In this view, Knowledge having a bearing on human life was placed highest, all other knowledge being secondary. Self-knowledge was considered necessary for success and inherently an essential good. A self-aware person will act completely within their capabilities to their pinnacle, while an ignorant person will flounder and encounter difficulty. To Socrates, a person must become aware of every fact (and its context) relevant to his existence, if he wishes to attain self-knowledge. He posited that people will naturally do what is good, if they know what is right. Evil or bad actions, are the result of ignorance. If a criminal were truly aware of the mental and spiritual consequences of his actions, he would neither commit nor even consider committing those actions. Any person who knows what is truly right will automatically do it, according to Socrates. While he correlated knowledge with virtue, he similarly equated virtue with happiness. The truly wise man will know what is right, do what is good, and therefore be happy.[1] ~Wikipedia. I first started thinking about it because of Ms. Harwell.

"There's enough poison in that drink to kill an army platoon. Good thing I'm a marine."~ chuck/tv - let's get back to that. The really useful thing about being able to "suspend" the reality that people (including oneself) are not really that nice is that occasionally you are able to be nice, or do something nice. We are able to drink a lot of poison. Ha... we are able to process it...usually. It's good to have a friend who has a similiar perspective. I can see how well she handles the poison in her life. I admire her ability to just keep on moving forward. I honestly think she is a blessing in my life. Good thing she's a marine too.