LJ Idol Week 2: I'm super, thanks for asking!
"Why is it so hard for you to talk about why you're a wonderful person?" I was asked.
"Because I just have these qualities," I replied. "I don't believe I deserve extra credit with special sauce just because I'm kind. Or I smile at strangers. Or because I'm compassionate. This is the way I am. This is the way I believe people should be."
"It sounds like you don't need to prove yourself."
"No. No, not at all," I answered, after taking a sip of water. "No, there was a time in my life when I felt I had to prove myself. I felt like I had to show everyone the way I was, and if they didn't get it, they didn't understand me. Now I'm older, and hopefully a bit wiser. I don't need to do that any more."
"But you have proven yourself, on several occasions ..."
"Well, yes. I have. But I haven't set out to try and prove myself. Every day I prove myself, by touching people's lives -- my callers are the obvious first, but in my personal life there are the people I help -- the people I ask probing questions of. And I touch people's lives with the things I create. Whether it be through poetry or art or prose, I've been almost universally well-received." I took a deep breath before continuing. "Of course, there is always the possibility that they're blowing smoke up my ass."
"So you do make a difference in people's lives ... ?"
"Yes, I believe I have. And I continue to do so. I've heard it said by someone wiser than I -- and I paraphrase, of course -- that a person's life is a good one if he positively affects just one other person's life. And I affect people on a daily basis. To varying degrees, of course, but positively nonetheless."
"And you just keep on going, don't you? Like a certain bunny ... ?"
"Not quite like him," I laughed. "I'm not pink and furry! But yes. I keep on chugging along, through depression, despite feeling badly, regardless if my body betrays me or not. I am confident and secure in the knowledge that I'm a good person.
"And most of the time, I can do the right thing. I can do what needs to be done. Not all the time, alas. But most of the time."
"Because I just have these qualities," I replied. "I don't believe I deserve extra credit with special sauce just because I'm kind. Or I smile at strangers. Or because I'm compassionate. This is the way I am. This is the way I believe people should be."
"It sounds like you don't need to prove yourself."
"No. No, not at all," I answered, after taking a sip of water. "No, there was a time in my life when I felt I had to prove myself. I felt like I had to show everyone the way I was, and if they didn't get it, they didn't understand me. Now I'm older, and hopefully a bit wiser. I don't need to do that any more."
"But you have proven yourself, on several occasions ..."
"Well, yes. I have. But I haven't set out to try and prove myself. Every day I prove myself, by touching people's lives -- my callers are the obvious first, but in my personal life there are the people I help -- the people I ask probing questions of. And I touch people's lives with the things I create. Whether it be through poetry or art or prose, I've been almost universally well-received." I took a deep breath before continuing. "Of course, there is always the possibility that they're blowing smoke up my ass."
"So you do make a difference in people's lives ... ?"
"Yes, I believe I have. And I continue to do so. I've heard it said by someone wiser than I -- and I paraphrase, of course -- that a person's life is a good one if he positively affects just one other person's life. And I affect people on a daily basis. To varying degrees, of course, but positively nonetheless."
"And you just keep on going, don't you? Like a certain bunny ... ?"
"Not quite like him," I laughed. "I'm not pink and furry! But yes. I keep on chugging along, through depression, despite feeling badly, regardless if my body betrays me or not. I am confident and secure in the knowledge that I'm a good person.
"And most of the time, I can do the right thing. I can do what needs to be done. Not all the time, alas. But most of the time."