Look Left

Kristin and I hiked up Rattlesnake Gulch to the valley overlook. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I never get enough Kristin time! Even after two hours I feel like we barely scratched the surface of stuff I would love to talk with her about.

When we got to the pipe at the end of the trail that overlooks Salt Lake (which I have been to a million times before), I looked directly to my left, instead of ahead, and saw much of the east bench. And I swear to you, I've never looked left before. It was like seeing it for the first time. And from this bird's eye view perspective, it looked flat. Like a bunch of homes laid out on a plain. But I know that when you're in that neighborhood, the homes are built on steep, steep hills. They're basically built into the mountains. Walking up those streets is like hiking up Mt. Olympus. If it were paved. Which would be a lot easier. But it's still steep!

I'm going to Look Left this fall. Elections, Covid, my Personal Life. I want to see what I haven't noticed before. I've been exploring different news sources that I feel are more unbiased. I've looked at the same ones for so long (not to mention Facebook and Instagram opinions), and they're tiresome. I'm tired of the idea that if I don't subscribe to a particular viewpoint, then I'm prejudice, blind, naive, or ignorant. Because its not true. You can love someone and not agree with them. When did that get lost? 

When we first moved to California, I met Mayreen, who became one of my best friends. Alex and Marty were both two-years-old and became good friends too. She and I would get together once a week at her pool to let the boys swim. (And on Tuesday beach days with the ward, and on Wednesday night potlucks at the church playground.) We were a lot alike -- we could talk about anything and did. 

In 2000, the case of 5-year-old Elian Gonzalez took over the news. His mother was escaping from Cuba to the US in a boat, but drowned with the other passengers along the way. Elian survived. His dad was still in Cuba. His relatives in the US wanted him to stay with them in Florida. His dad wanted him back in Cuba. I have very strong feelings about parents' rights, so I believed he should be returned to his father. And I assumed anyone who was a parent would feel the same way.

Mayreen and I started talking about it one day and I was shocked, SHOCKED! that she felt that Elian should stay in the US with his grandparents. That his dad should want what's best for him by being in the US with the opportunities it afforded. We were so floored that we each felt opposite, that we had to immediately stop talking about it. We were starting to feel contention in our conversation. I remember going home that day and trying to reconcile that my friend, who I thought was amazing and I loved being with and I really respected, could feel so differently about an issue I felt so strongly about. I couldn't understand it.

Well, we got over it. We chose not to discuss it again. There was no reason to. We valued our friendship more than proving we were right. I mean, that would have been silly to fight over differing opinions. 

And now I think it's just as silly for people to fight over differing opinions now. Even when they CAN'T BELIEVE that someone could possibly have a different viewpoint from them and still be a loving, generous, kind human being.

So, when I Look Left, I'm going to be thinking for myself. I'm going to also use my knowledge of what I know to comprehend what I'm seeing fully. It may look flat, but I may know that in reality it's steep. Not everything is what it seems. And I'm smart enough to figure out what's right for me and what coincides with my values.

And P.S., by "looking left," I'm not advocating for the "Left" political party! I just was literally looking left. Whether I vote left or right or independent, that remains to be seen. Is anyone even running independent this year?