The Kindness Ambassador and the Sugarholic Prosecutor

THE KINDNESS AMBASSADOR
AND THE SUGARHOLIC PROSECUTOR

“Are you referring to Terry’s battle with colon cancer?” she softly asked, her heart aching for him.

“Not just Terry. Cancer also took out my grandmother. All over the globe kids are starving to death.” He wiped his mouth before crumpling his napkin and tossing it on the table. “The news is filled with stories about people killing each other because of territorial claims or differing religious beliefs. How can anyone believe in a loving Creator?”

“What do you believe in?” Joycelynn asked, ignoring his contemptuous tone and expression. Having just lost his best friend, it was understandable that Brandon was angry with Creation.

“My parents are devout churchgoers. When I was young, there was a lot of talk about Judgment Day and fearing God. Not my favorite topics.”

“Don’t you wonder about your soul’s origin or life after death?” she asked, leaning forward and resting her forearms on the table.

“Nope! I think that we’re born and then we die.”

Brandon’s cynical atheism didn’t jibe with Dee’s depiction of him as a holy godsend, whose quick laughter and attentive care made her brother’s last days happier. “If you don’t believe in a divinely intentioned universe, then what do you imagine motivates one person toward healing and kindness, and another toward hurting and criminality?”

“Free will, I guess.” He grimaced, as though mentally berating himself for making a religious reference. “What I meant to say is that some people are flawed from birth. Perhaps some criminality is due to poor parenting, though that’s debatable.” Arms crossed, jaw jutted, he glowered at her.

More amused than intimated by his assertive body language, she clamped her arms one over the other and glared back at him. “I can agree with your unfortunate parenting observation.”

“At least we agree on something,” he returned with a smirk.

Sitting upright, Joycelynn unlocked her arms. “When I was younger, I worked at Victoria’s Youth Detention Center. Kids came in for everything from theft to murder. Many of them were raised in families where physical, emotional or sexual abuse was a common occurrence. Several of their parents were alcoholics or drug addicts.”

Brandon’s open palm jerked traffic cop forward. “If you’re selling the it’s-the-parents’-fault ideology, I’m not buying. There are many law abiding citizens who come from truly outrageous homes. Once we hit eighteen, we make our own choices.”

“Choices with their roots in various advantages and disadvantages,” she returned. “I can’t imagine a psychopath being the byproduct of truly loving parents.”

“Unless he or she was born mentally ill,” he argued.

“That’s true. People come into this world in all kinds of circumstances. Some are born into loving homes in fruitful nations; others into countries so poor that parenting takes a backseat to providing basic necessities. Some children are born healthy and others disabled.” Saddened as she glanced out the window and saw that the puppy and boy were gone, she finished by asking, “Why do you think that is?”

“Why do I think what is?” Brandon’s gaze drifted toward where Joycelynn had glanced, then back at her.

“Why do you think each person in this world is so unique? When you consider the various defining realms—physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, social, economic and political—humans are as varied as they are plentiful.”

“You’ve obviously thought about it more than I have. You tell me!”

“I believe we’re born into the exact circumstances that we are meant to be born into, and that there is a divine reason for each individual’s birth, life and death. As some philosophers have suggested, I think that we are spiritual beings having human experiences, rather than human beings having spiritual experiences.”

“Religion, again!” Brandon guffawed, stirring his coffee excitedly.

“I’m talking about spirituality, not religion.”

“What’s the difference? Same cloak, different color.”

“Not really, though they are married through belief in a higher power.”

“I rest my case. Next topic!”

“You can rest all you want, but spirituality isn’t a particular dogma. It’s about the spirit-self’s individual relationship with our originating Source. What we teach in our Kindness is Key courses is that when you live in harmony within—mind, heart and soul—you’re aligned with your intended purpose-path, and will naturally prosper financially, spiritually and personally. That’s not religion. It’s common sense.”

Glee shadowed with apprehension flashed across his face before he said, “You might have misread your own purpose-path. With your debating skills, you’d be a fantastic lawyer.”

“Thanks…I think.” Joycelynn blushed. She wanted to help him deal with his loss by exploring the possibility of a divine rationale for human suffering. Brandon, however, seemed stuck in the thrill of courtroom style deliberation. “I’m beginning to wonder if I’m just wasting my time and yours by going on about my spiritual beliefs,” she confessed, sounding more irritated than intended.

“That’s such a guy supposition.” Crossing one leg over the other, she asked, “If our primary purpose is to procreate, then what’s the purpose behind that? Why does it matter whether earth continues to exist? Why does it matter if people exist?”