{"id":15229,"date":"2025-02-19T07:39:38","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T12:39:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=15229"},"modified":"2025-02-19T07:39:38","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T12:39:38","slug":"my-laundry-list-of-stupid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=15229","title":{"rendered":"my laundry list of stupid"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There the kid was, maybe 7 or 8 years old, out in the garage. She had found an emptied WD-40 can; remember the ones? They\u2019re mostly blue but designed with primary colors, with the red spray mechanism on top. It came with a narrow red straw, that attached to the top, enabling the user to target where they wanted the lubricant to land. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The young kid was curious\u2026 what\u2019s inside those steel, aerosol cans? \u2026 what does it look like? \u2026 how come we can\u2019t see it?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so in an attempt to satisfy her curiosity, she found one of her father\u2019s flat-head screwdrivers nearby, and started pounding on the can. The hope was that the pounding would pierce the steel, appeasing the intrigue of the elementary-aged girl.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She pounded and pounded. It started with a small indentation. The paint scraped off with the greatest of ease, but the can was indeed a stubborn bit of steel\u2026 five minutes\u2026 ten minutes\u2026 the tool kept making a dent, but progress was minimal at best. The indentation increased in size, but ever so slowly. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pounding got harder, fiercer. But change in the size of the dent was nothing short of depressing. The bang was clearly not worth the buck.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After maybe fifteen, twenty minutes (and who really knows in the mind of a 7 or 8 year old), the young girl gave up. She would have to go on never knowing the insides of the primary product of the original Rocket Chemical Company.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shew. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That kid was me. (And sorry, Mom and Dad, if you\u2019ve never heard that story; it took a bit of bravery to finally come clean.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, I know puncturing metal aerosol cans is dangerous. Yes, I know the unintended depressurization can result in explosion and\/or fire. And yes, I know that the warning label actually on the WD-40 can states: “Do not puncture or incinerate container, even when empty” because the pressurized container can burst if punctured, potentially causing serious injury due to the release of flammable contents under pressure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know that now. I don\u2019t know exactly what I knew then. And such begins the public reveal of my laundry list of stupid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We go here today, because I think most of us are painfully aware of society\u2019s current, unfortunate generosity in unkindness and\/or judgment of other people. We can each be pretty skillful in casting stones at someone. <\/em>We often, too, are quite creative in both knowingly and unknowingly justifying why those stones deserve to be cast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of perhaps our most foundational substantiations of the casting, I believe, is that when we witness another do\/say\/believe something so preposterous, dangerous or awful, we justify our shaming response because we think we are incapable of doing\/saying\/believing something so preposterous, dangerous or awful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me say it another way\u2026 we forget our own laundry list of stupid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only do we forget, but we also fall prey to concluding our laundry list of stupid isn\u2019t as bad as another\u2019s. Friends, what\u2019s that quote? \u201cStupid is as stupid does?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undeniably, my list is far longer than intentionally revealed above. Also undeniably, my list includes acts and beliefs far more recent than when I was 7 or 8 years old. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But remembering that our individual laundry lists actually exist prompts two very healthy values and behaviors: one, a need to be a frequent asker and acceptor of forgiveness. And two, an authentic humility in how we treat absolutely everyone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Respectfully\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There the kid was, maybe 7 or 8 years old, out in the garage. She had found an emptied WD-40 can; remember the ones? They\u2019re mostly blue but designed with primary colors, with the red spray mechanism on top. It came with a narrow red straw, that attached to the top, enabling the user to … <\/p>\n

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