Back on track

Evil triumphs when good men do nothing....I love that quote. It has taken me a lifetime to be open to the idea that not every person on this earth is here to hurt me. I know how selfish that sounds, and I don't mean to be like that. It is just something I truly believed. I also believed I would never live this long...but that's another story. I am finding that there are some good people in this world. Many of them are evil and terrible but some of them have good hearts. I did not have people in my life to teach me the things this picture describes. Even if I had, I probably wouldn't have believed them. I am grateful for the wonderful people I do have in my life...now. My friends are simply amazing. I have had the opportunity to learn the goodness of people from my professors and teachers, colleagues, bosses, etc. (I even privately pretended to myself that they were "parent" figures to me) One time, the chair of the department where I studied and worked for a long time, took me for a walk around campus to scope out the best dorms for his daughter who was starting college the following year. This was, by far, the most powerful experience for me. I was walking with someone I had tremendous respect for, someone who respected me, someone who valued my input, someone who challenged me, someone who helped me grow ... In that moment I felt like I was walking with a father. He was listening to me and I saw the love in his eyes for his daughter. He knew her so well, and told me why she would or would not like certain aspects of the dorms. I was stunned. That was something I had never known before. Even now, it makes my cry just thinking about it. That was the day I learned that there are good men; good fathers.That day, love looked like something to me. I will never forget the many things I learned that day.