Projection

From Joan Chittister, Uncommon Gratitude:

“Be grateful and let it show.  What is due to others who seek the same liberty as ourselves?  Never imagine that anyone is dispensable. Keep the promises you have made and honour the promises of others in the world of human relations. Remember that the security you seek is what all want, and don’t set out to invade. Tell the truth about yourself and others. Don’t imagine that what makes someone else secure and happy is exactly what you need to make you secure and happy if only you could get it from them.”

This all seems like pretty good advice to me, but the one that stuck out in my mind was the “don’t imagine that what makes someone else secure and happy is exactly what you need to make you secure and happy.”  It occurs to me, however, that as problematic is a proclivity, one I have, to think that what makes me secure and happy is (using my keen sense of logic) just bound to be what makes every other sole in the universe secure and happy.  Because I view Fritos and bean dip as a comfort food, everyone (even those who don’t) must see it the same way.