For some, winning is not enough. Yes, s/he needs to win, but s/he also needs others to lose. One imagines that “winning” is enough, however, behavior can suggest that making sure others lose is the real aim. Part of me understands. When money does not suffice, losing become part of the solution. Across the generations, writers continue to record the spoken and unspoken plea; “Let them be jeered by the crowd when they stand up, followed by cheers for me, your servant. Dress my accusers in clothes dirty with shame, discarded and humiliating old ragbag clothes.” (Psalm 109.29)
I continue to watch someone jockeying for position. There is not enough trust between us for me to ask the obvious. I am also doubtful that he would be willing to answer, even if he knows the answer to the “why” question. From external appearances, it seems the most important outcome is that someone loses.
As I wake to start a new week, I wonder what I am hoping for. Am I looking for certain things not to happen? Is the absence of one thing the realization of another? If I am willing to let others have their outcomes, what is it that I hope for myself?
I hope everyone wins. There is far too much pain, uncertainty, and evil unknowns in the lives of people I love for me to wish that anyone has more of it. The ideal week, the perfect outcome, is that everyone wins.
In addition to hoping that I do some good, I also hope I do not make anyone’s life more difficult. Do no harm is my aspirational starting point; aiming for doing my part to makes things better is the focus.
Along the way, I hope I can forgive. Starting with myself, compassion, mercy, and acceptance are the starting point of every moment. Embracing others unconditionally expands my starting point so that the possibilities of a team exists. Any one of us can destroy a community; it takes everyone to build one.
Hope lives in and through our words and actions.
