You Spot It, You Got It

If I didn't know better, I'd say Mother Nature is a bit of a drama queen. 

I notice when I write about weather related things, I experience more of the same.  So instead of spinning snow and rain into something to celebrate, I've decided to stick to sunshine, seventy degree temps, low humidity, and a lack of tornadoes and flash floods in hopes that things will calm things down.

One of the keys phrases from the Radical Forgiveness audio-program I've been listening to is, "You spot it, you got it."  In other words, if you notice something in someone or something else, it's in you as well.

Suggesting Mother Nature is a bit dramatic could mean I, too, have a tendency to be a bit over the top when storms are brewing.

"You spot it, you got it," is similar to what my siblings and I would say to each other as kids. When one of us slung an especially unflattering insult, the other would respond with, "Oh yeah?  It takes one to know one!"

Like a lot of phrases that have stayed with me from childhood, this catch and release comeback is paradoxically profound. 

This idea is difficult to digest when I'm spotting crazy making behaviors in someone else.  Part of what gets me so worked up is the idea that I would never behave like this person is behaving. 

For example, I get wigged out about poor customer service because good, or at least decent, customer service doesn't take that much more effort.   I make it a point not to treat others the way I have been treated by people in so called "customer care" departments.

But if I am honest, I have had my moments (usually when I'm hungry, angry, lonely, or tired) when I could have been kinder, more patient, or more understanding.

On my good days, I catch myself in the act and repeat the message I remember hearing the Emergency Broadcasting System send.  This is a test.  This is only a test.  In case of emergency, we'll send reinforcements.... or some such thing.

This is another one of those paradoxically profound messages. 

On the flip side, I am often blown away by how innovative, generous, smart, or talented someone is.  I'm convinced I could never summon the courage, creativity, or sheer stamina to succeed as spectacularly as the person I'm reading about, listening to, watching, or learning from.

And yet, if I spotted it, might I have at least some potential?  After all, I can't recognize in someone else what I can't recognize in myself.

It may be that what we see is what we get, but it might also be that what we see is what we forget. We forget we're more or less all that.  Isn't it convenient we get so many reminders?

I'd love to hear what you're spotting. Share if you dare in the comments below.