Have You Ever Known Someone Who...

Have you ever known someone who was just downright mean-spirited and really nasty? Someone who is contentious, who is always divisive, who stirs up trouble, who complains about everything, who makes snide critical comments about everyone? Someone who can be counted every time on to be the rain on anyone’s parade? Someone who always wants everything their way, who is greedy and grasping, and who could care less about anyone but themselves?

Someone whom other people wouldn’t miss (and might even draw a sigh of relief or even dance a guilty little jig or high-five each other), if that person just plain up and died?

I imagine all of us have had the misfortune to know someone like this. Probably, if we have lived long enough, we may have had the misfortune to know more than one such person, although knowing only one is one too many.

I know one such person, who shall of course go nameless here. But take my word for it; this person lights up the scoreboard on every point I just listed. Mean-spirited? Check. Complains about everything? Check? Greedy, grasping, and all too willing to trample the rights of others? Check.

The list of character flaws and ugly behaviors for this person just goes on and on.

What I would like to know is what makes a person like this. My experience of getting older is that I am more sure of who I am and what I am, but as a corollary, I know what I’m not and what my limitations are. My entire life experience has taught me that it is better to get along with people and generally give them some benefit of the doubt. It has taught me that to err on the side of generosity and kindness.

And, it has taught me that there really is such a thing as good karma and bad karma, and that what goes around generally does come around at some point.

I really don’t want to treat people in such a hateful manner that they do everything possible to avoid me at every while I’m alive and dance a little Irish jig when they hear that I’m dead or even just moved away.