Trust, kindness, happiness, beauty. Four traits we would all love to have surely! But have you ever stopped and thought about what these words actually mean? What they represent? I have, and to be honest, taking incoming from insurgents in Basra or listening to mortars landing around you at night was a hell of a lot easier to explain. Whether or not we look into ourselves and see what we want, or what others want from us, we all see something. If you like what you see who’s to say you are a bad person? (The person who is offended by you?). Look at what offends others. NOTHING, others are OFFENDED through their own traits, not wanting to hear criticism of one thing or another. 
Trust! Do you need it? Do you really need others to trust you? What is trust anyway? If I say I’ll do something then I’ll do it, eventually or with much coaxing from others (nagging or bitching) you don’t have to trust me to do it! Just be happy when it’s done (or not) sometimes I don’t get round to do the stuff I say (I bet there are lots of others in the same shoes). Should I trust others? I used to, I had to put my trust in my fellow soldiers to look after each other. But upon seeing the reaction of others under stress, you CANT put your trust in their hands lest they ‘drop the ball’ and fuck everything up. 
Kindness. Of course it’s a good trait to have, well I think it is. I’m actually a kind person (towards differing things) I’m kind to animals (when I can be arsed) I still kill flies and spiders also I still try to swat wasps and bees! But I love cats, dogs, horses! I eat duck, sheep, pig, cows, goats in fact anything that can be roasted, fried, curried or indeed rolled in pancakes and dipped in Hoi sin sauce. So am I kind? Are you kind? It’s a bloody difficult one isn’t it! 
Happiness! Nope I’m never happy, sometimes I’m less pissed off than other times (but what is total happiness?) Can a homeless penniless hobo be happy, why yes (hmm) but I’m sure he would be happier with a pillow! Can a multi billionaire be happy, fuck yeah! (But remember, money doesn’t always breed nice). The poor are happy to be poor ‘they have the love of each other’ Bollocks! Ask the nations at war through no fault of their own! The populous live with virtually nothing while their governments spend billions on things to blow up others. They look on with incredulity while their taxes are given away to countries with their own space programme! And the rich plead for more immigration to salve their conscience (as long as it doesn’t affect their vista) 
Beauty! Is it still in the eye of he beholder? Can a good looking narcissist in the constant limelight for being glamorous be classed as beautiful? Does what you do make you beautiful or is it what you represent? Good looking film stars decreeing that the rest of us need to give our money to help starving people’s around the world. The reason they starve? Because our capitalistically wealthy governments bomb the shit out of them or redirect resources that would stave off the hunger for their own gain. Spurred on by the elite wealth of the protagonists. 
So trust, kindness, happiness and beauty are qualities we all strive for. Bring the governments of the aggressors to bare, make them pay for the wanting around the world and have them gaze into the eyes of the dead (their dead) see where trust goes! Look for the kindness of a tear dropped on the face of a small corpse, watch a smile encroach on the horrified face of a politician and see the beauty in the death and destruction all around! 
This rant has been brought to you today, by the lack of Setraline and the abundance of shit coffee! (And me breakfast was crap too)
Dec247h 