Why Don't We Learn?

I'm tired of being humbled. Honestly. Why not just learn a lesson, catalog it in the "I Will Never Do That Again" file and then (imagine this) never do that again. The scenario: A person in my circle of acquaintances grates me the wrong way. It's not always the same person; it's not always only one person at a time. Today it is a young married couple living down the street. Most likely they are great human beings. They have never done anything to personally wrong me or my family. I just don't like them. (To lessen my guilt, let me assume I'm not the only person who has ever encountered this sort of irrational behavior). What happens next? Tragedy strikes that family-an unborn child with major health defects and the probability of the pregnancy being terminal. It's not always tragedy, of course, but it never fails that at some point I'm slammed in the face with the reality that that person is human and has worries and troubles just like me. Instead of being able to jump right in and offer support, I'm forced to first work around the huge stumbling block I've placed in front of me. As religious people, we are instructed to "Love thy neighbor as thyself," and that charity and love "conquereth all things. " What makes it so much more comfortable to live in distance and with ill feelings than to put forth outstretched arms? I recently wrote about judgement and how destructive it can be, but this seems to be different entirely. These scenarios are usually completely unprovoked and based on nothing I have seen or heard. It's merely a bad taste I get in my mouth that I allow to fester somewhere within me. Being humbled continuously is tiring. We need humility in order to grow. I will start again today to move onto a new lesson in hopes that I don't find myself repeating this one again in the next little bit of time.