Coexist

It's FRIDAY, so naturally I made my way home for the weekend. It's not really that far of a drive, but some days it seems longer than others. It's interesting, every time I'm driving home, I always come across a truck with no back, only a ladder.... random thought. Anywho. As I drove along, listening to my Xmas playlist on my iPod, I saw a light blue van with a bumper sticker. Normally I don't like bumper stickers, but this one caught my attention. Some of you may have seen it before. It's the word COEXIST and each letter is a symbol that represents a religion or belief.   http://www.peacemonger.org/images/CoexistMeaning.jpg  The C is the symbol for Islam, O is peace, E (which is different on some designs, but in the one i saw) was the male/female symbol, X is the Star of David, the i is dotted with a wiccan pentangle, the S is the yin-yang symbol, and the T is the Christian Cross. What caught my eye with this particular sticker was that most people use a bumper sticker as a way to force their idea (religious or not) down everyone else's throat. How many "McCain AND Obama are awesome" stickers did you see this past year? Exactly. I enjoy any symbol that promotes free thinking and the idea that that person is not going to judge you based on a belief you hold so close to your heart or try to FORCE you believe in something they hold dear to their heart. Isn't this America? Isn't this country about Freedom of.... everything? Once I googled this bumper sticker, I found a surplus of sites that offer t-shirts, stickers, sweatpants, bags, mugs.... etc. Plenty of items I would be proud to display in my life. 

Thing I've taken for granted number five: 

Understanding and Forgiveness (and all people who value and practice these ideas.) 

While I would have LOVED to have screamed and swore at that RED truck going EAST on I-88 at about 10:04 this morning (Iowa License Plate) , or perhaps the 3 cars (one was a Black Pontiac Gran Prix) that illegally did NOT stop for the school bus letting out a child headed WEST on Butterfield Road at about 2:19 this afternoon (what was a school bus doing dropping kids off a 2:19 anyway??) I remembered that this IS the holiday season, and decided to remind myself by singing obnoxiously "IT'S THE HOLIDAY SEASON the holiday season " and remembered that I don't want to be on Santa's Naughty list this year. 

So let me be your reminder: STOP being crabby!! QUIT being mean!! OVERCOME your irritability and get in the Christmas spirit for goodness sake! 

peace.love.happiness.