Good and Bad in Life

Life's Bouquet The author of this report has been asked to answer some philosophical and opinion-based questions about the people and experiences that happen in one's life. Indeed, there are those people in our life that are "flowers" and there are those that are much closer to resembling "weeds" or otherwise a nuisance. The author of this report will identify some of the weeds and flowers in the author's own life as well as identify how the author identifies and "connects" with the author of Life's Bouquet.

Whether the different types of "plants" in the author's life will be labeled as good, bad or a part of life learning that we all must endure. Questions about emotion, logic and reason will be answered to as well. While negative aspects of life including people and events are sometimes unavoidable, there always has to be a point where the relevant lessons are learned and the ability to move on is realized because doing otherwise is debilitating and self-defeating.

Analysis There are indeed people in the author's life that are flowers and there are definitely also people that have been weeds. However, the specific status for a given person is not always static and consistent and some people are quite obviously keeping their intentions and motives hidden to at least some degree. Other times, there is outright deception but this is not immediately clear. When it comes to emotions vs.

logic, the latter is obviously the way to go when it comes to assessing life and how to move through it but this can exceedingly difficult when dealing with certain situations or people. Just as an easy example, what makes sense from a logical point-of-view may be clear to an outsider and someone that is emotionally detached from a conflict but the viewpoint can be a lot murkier and emotionally charged when it comes to the person that is subject to said emotional storm (Boilini, 2012).

The author of this report connects with the author of the "Life's Bouquet" perspective in that all experiences and people can be learned from. However, these same people and experiences can color and shape one's perspective in quite harmful ways if the perspective in question is limited. For example, if someone is an introvert with little social contact and they see the depravity and discord in the news, this could lead them to being very cynical about life and the direction of society.

While there are certainly events and people that should be of concern, there is so much more to life and there truly is more good than bad in people as a whole. Everyone makes mistakes and rash decisions but most people are basically decent and loyal to the ideals and people that they should be (Boilini, 2012). As for emotion and logic, the former is the enemy of the latter.

Emotions are a good thing to have as a whole but they can lead to some terrible decisions and perspectives and this is especially true in the heat of the moment. For example, being loyal to a family member just because they are family despite the fact that they have engaged in terrible behavior is not logical and it is not the right thing to do. Some say that family (or love in general) should or does overrule all.

A lot of the time it does but that does not make it right. As an example, the author of this report has a family member that has not been a positive influence in the author's life. While there was a point where exposure to that person was pretty consistent due to the insistence of the author's parents, this has since waned considerably now that the author is an adult.

Nowadays, the author still fully realizes that the person is a terrible influence and the author does not wish to be exposed to that person. The author has decided that people that are morally or behaviorally depraved should not be treated as friends or family even if they are related by blood and even if there is a lengthy personal history involved. Further, absolutely no one is (or should be) immune from that. If a family member is wrong…they are wrong.

People that truly believe in unconditional love are not being realistic. There is always a reason to pluck a proverbial weed out of one's life and move on from that person. It is just a matter of whether/when a person crosses that line. Most people do not but some people, even friends and family, do so with great regularity and prejudice and they should not be coddled or supported for any reason (Boilini, 2012).

The author of this report would not resort to writing letters to the weeds that have been cast aside. They have been cast aside for a reason and the people in question already know why, whether or not they care. The author of this report simply does not need their approval or understanding nor does the author really care what those people think. If they get their life together and treat people better, then that is great.

However, there are no more chances for redemption as forgiveness (which is noble) and forgetting are not the same thing. Even with the heartache and struggle, there has absolutely been a maturation and growth in the author from being subjected to those people and it has made the author of this report more vigilant about who is trusted, when and why. The author can now more quickly identify when people are.