By Michael Armijo

I’ve looked at society and the everyday human being, and I’ve come to a conclusion: I just don’t understand.

I don’t understand why some people act the way they do. They insist on playing games with others and sometimes, so adamantly, they convince themselves that life really is the misery that they proclaim it to be. They think that their position in life gives them the experience, knowledge and power to pick and choose whom they’re going to benefit.

Recently, I had an experience with someone who had the authority to make life easier for others. On the day that I was dealing with this person, she decided that particular day was not a day that she was going to help anyone. At some point in our conversation, she decided she would not be granting me any wishes. Her logic was, “Too bad.” She made a choice that because of who I am, I didn’t deserve anything from her; and I, in turn, had no choice but to suffer the consequences of the misunderstandings that were evident.

I understand that there are protocols in life, and procedures are put in place to reduce errors and increase productivity. But I also understand that there is an immeasurable element that structure, protocol, and procedure sometimes need to take a back seat to. It’s a measure I call “human compassion.”

We don’t always hear the answers that we want to, but “too bad” ranks right up there with “can’t” and “impossible”. I believe it’s not what you say in life, it’s how you say it. There is a way to communicate with kindness and integrity, and still get the point across. When we forget kindness and compassion, we sometimes lose our spirit.

Regardless of these misunderstandings in life, I still believe in wonderful things. At this time of year, especially, I still believe in the purest goodness of humanity. I still believe in the childhood premise of a handsome prince charming coming for his beautiful princess. I still believe that a gentle kiss can awaken a deep and lonely sleep because of the love behind it. I still believe in the big man in the red suit who brings toys to children on Christmas Eve.

And just like those bedtime stories of my past, I believe in happy scenarios with wish-like endings. I believe the quite convincing Sam I Am, when he tells me that that there is deliciousness in the taste of “Green Eggs and Ham.”

Perhaps we need to believe in people and human compassion more, so there are more philosophical Green Eggs and Ham moments in our lives.