Do guns protect people or kill people? Or both?

Both.

Is it more important to be respected or liked?

In a perfect world I’d say being true to yourself leads to being respected and liked, but we live in this one. Plenty of folks might respect you for being yourself but still not like you. Others would rather you work hard to be likable even if it means going against your own instincts. I’m old enough now to know I’d rather be respected than liked.

Is having a big ego a negative or positive trait? (yeah I know. Duh. But there ought to be one “gimme’ in the pile.)

Let’s pretend for just a second that ego here means “the ‘I’ or self of any person” – how can having a big understanding of our very selves be a bad thing? Except we know having a big ego typically translates to being conceited and egotistical and yes, that’s toxic. There’s nothing like not being able to see beyond your own [sarcasm font] awesomeness to drag a stink bomb cloud into every room you enter.

Depending on your point of view, is death a new beginning? 

Geez, Melanie, go right for the deep end why don’t you. Death is the end of our time on this earth and the beginning of whatever comes next. Do I know what that looks like? Nope, but I don’t think death is the end of us.

It’s tough right now to count the blessings we have. Being grateful for being confined to our homes and having reality skewed out of kilter for some is depressing. So if there is something positive or uplifting or something you’re grateful for that you’d like to share (pictures, memes, images, thoughts) please! Do share! Thanks!

Certain small moments still make me smile. Watching two bunnies hop across our street, a glass of wine on the front porch in the evening, cardinals jockeying for position at the feeder when squirrels aren’t hanging upside down from the edge – these all tug the corners of my mouth upward.

Sparks from a Combustible Mind hosts Share Your World.