Fruits of the Spirit

When did the words "excuse me" become vile curse words? I just said "excuse me" as I bumped into a woman's child. She whips around and starts spewing and spitting. As I back away in fear, others walk by looking at a little laminated box held in their hands. No one stops nor even looks.

I volunteered to be put into cryogenic hibernation in 1954, but never thought humanity would dissolve this rapidly. Only 65 years later, does the true nature of humanity show in dark contrast. "Yes sir, excuse me, thank you" are precursors to an argument or fight. Curse words that would have ostracized me are considered friendly greetings. Cleavage, tatoos, lack of modesty, layers of makeup - nothing is left to the imagination. I fear that these images will be with me for the remainder of my life.

I can feel a tear fall down my cheek. We had just begun to heal after the horrors of WWII. It is why I volunteered for the cryogenic experiment. I had such hope and excitement for the future. I now feel shame and disgust.

In an effort to determine what caused such degredation, I look for a book store. Many of the books would have never been allowed to see the light of day. The books in the children's section teach variations of sexual orientations. In bright colors and simple drawings, they describe tolerance and acceptance of various behaviors that would have had someone jailed or worse in 1954. I knew about sex from being born on a farm, but no one discussed it or glorified it until you were discussing marriage - between a man and a woman. Sure these different sexual desires existed in 1954. The horrors of WWII brought so many things to light, but we shielded the children. What happened to innocence? I do see a section on Dr. Seuss and smile as I remember many of those books - a small hope that naivety still exists?

I decided to listen in on conversations as I pretended to look at different books. Then I silently walked down the street listening. Finally, I stopped and sat on a bench near the street.

Such hypocrisy, such greed, such pride, such laziness, such lust, such envy, such anger, such obesity, such selfishness... more than 7 deadly sins. Someone killed God. I started crying.

A young man sits next to me and takes his hearing aids out of his ears. "Are you ok?" he asks.

I look at the genuine concern in his face. The deadly sins existed before humanity put words to them, and they will exist until the last human draws their final breath, but so will the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness. Maybe it's me who lacks the last one.

I turn to the young gentleman and said, "Thank you for your concern, I was lost, but I think I just found my way." I extended my hand to shake his, and he seemed a little surprised at the gesture, but did respond by shaking my hand back.

I continued my walk down the street and continued to look up.