Impostors

Right now there are hundreds of black birds stirring in the air and the leaves on the trees around here are mostly gone, so when they land on one in droves they make a perfectly black-leafed tree. A night tree. But it isn't night. The sky has just been lit and up there above the birds is a long jet exhaust contrail pretending to be a cloud. It stretches as far as I can see. It reminds me that for all the beauty and honesty in the world, for all the real connections we make with others, there are still impostors. People that at first glance seem legitimate, but once you take the time to look closer it becomes clear--they aren't who they seem. They don't have your best interests in mind. They are, in a word, selfish. Of course everyone is a bit selfish as the name itself contains it. But there's a difference between the kind of selfish that takes the time to care for the self and the kind that takes the time for nobody but their own self--the one who gives nothing away. I know I always talk about how I try to live through my heart in an open and positive way, but that doesn't mean we should let our guard down and let the world have its way with us. Because it isn't all rainbows and sunshine and unicorns now is it. Simply, sometimes people are mean. So when it happens that you are faced with one of those pretenders you just can't take it personally. It's not about you, it's about them. It's about their inability to have a real exchange or to give of themselves. So there's the silver lining I suppose. And this too--there are still hundreds of black birds out there.