we are horrible people. we race in our cars and swear in traffic. we complain about long lines at restaurants and car washes. we seek revenge. we cut people off in traffic. we flick people off who we perceive offend us without ever actually meeting them. we unburden ourselves to others. we scream out our frustrations in anger. we resort to violence to solve our problems and express our displeasure. we have created an entire industry within companies to handle all of our complaints. we say hurtful, horrible things to each other. we insert curse words into everyday language instead of relying on intellect to express our viewpoints. we gossip and spread rumors while complaining about gossip and rumor spreading. we lament our lost youth, our fizzled earnings, our poor choices, our lack of quality time, our unhappiness. we fill up the hours and minutes with lists of important things that often do little beyond filling up the hours and minutes. we chastise more than we praise. we make judgments on everything based on circumstantial evidence at best. we prejudge everything and everyone, even whole countries, based on no evidence at all. we justify our lies, our selfishness, our ego, our petulance, our wastefulness, our policies. we assume and presume. we cry at movies and feel nothing for our own families. we seek fame and fortune at the risk of everything and everyone, including integrity. we laugh at people getting hurt and remain unfazed by the worst of human atrocities. we continually ask "what's in it for me?" rather than seeing a bigger, more globally comprehensive picture. we decimate the environment and social programs for the future by abusing them in our quest for more, faster, bigger, better, stronger. we become hypocrites when we tell others how to live their lives. we miss out on so much happening around us.

but not all of us, certainly.

we had this day full of strong winds and rain last week. by the time I got close to home the rain abated but the clouds remained. as i turned right at a light I saw wide beams of color peak through between some houses to my right. in a clearing up the road i came upon one of the most spectacular rainbows in my life. bursting with color through the gray sky, it cast a rainbow shadow nearly as visible behind it. Traffic slowed a fraction. I saw people's heads turn toward the phenomenon. Immediately i sent a text to Kim...i see a rainbow, i think of her...Long story. The amazing thing was that i was not the first person to make mention of the strong wave of light giving us all pause. we all stopped. we all looked. we couldn't help but look. we smiled and stared in awe and mentioned to ourselves or our passengers or coworkers how incredible, how startling it was.

and it warmed me to know that we could still stop and notice a rainbow. There's hope for us yet. There's always hope.