Random Notations

Most evil in the world is done in the name of self-defense. That doesn't mean a reasonable person would consider it the minimum use of emotional or physical force. And self-defense comes in many guises: protection of what you love, appropriation of what (you think) you need, defense of your self-image.

Most of the rest of the evil in the world is done with a determined smile "for their own good."

Other causes of evil:
"I wasn't paying attention."
"I felt like it."
"I was just trying to help."
"I just wanted to see what would happen."

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Any time you feel you "just have to" or "just can't," you're being handed a mirror to your inner self. Unfortunately, most of the time people use the mirror as a weapon, not to check out the current state of their psyche.

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It's amazing what the human mind can pretend not to see if there's a good reason for it.

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Love at first sight? No. But chemistry at first sight is real. I've been struck by that lightning on a few occasions, and I have the burn marks to prove it. I also have a few long-term friends and some wonderful memories of love directly attributable to that sense of instantaneous recognition — yes, and desire. It's happened half a dozen times in my life, and so far it has always been meaningful. Luckily, it isn't the only way I know to fall in love or to make a friend. And if sometimes in my twenties I let the passion strike first, at least I always did what I could to make the connection lasting, to turn chemistry into caring.

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Sometimes the worst thing you can do with pain — your own or someone else's — is to make it go away.