Crock Pot Association by Barry Hughes

 

Things seem to be getting interesting again around the neighborhood as I make my morning walks. All kinds of wonderfully random things have been placed out on the curb after what appears to have been a very busy weekend of cleaning. Here I happened upon a classic Crock Pot.

If you are of a certain age, as I am, in your younger years you may have shared my curiosity with the idea that a couple would not be allowed to marry unless they were guaranteed to receive at least one Crock Pot as a wedding gift. It certainly seemed that way. You had to have a license, a couple of witnesses, an officiant and a Crock Pot! These were the classic one-size-fits-all mandatory wedding gift when I was younger.

It is funny how something can come to be so completely associated in our minds with something else. Those with genius in marketing create these connections all the time. In our culture, certain brands of products equate with luxury and success. Certain places and activities are linked to family and fun. Still other things are associated with excitement and living life to the fullest.

Over the course of our years, our lives are much the same. Those who interact with us come to associate us with a certain quality or behavior. Once we become linked to an image, it is difficult to achieve change in the minds of others. It takes a long time to break such an association.

We must be ever mindful of our attitudes and actions toward others. In each circle of relationships in which we move, we are known by something. We are closely associated with something. To be associated in the minds of others with such traits as kindness, compassion, understanding and grace would be a blessing to others and to ourselves. To be that kind of person makes the world, at least our little corner of it, a better place. To live that kind of life is it’s own reward.

Some of us aren’t glamorous or exciting. Nobody associates me with luxury or excitement. We are steady and dependable, like my own 35 year old Crock Pot. But we can make a difference in our steadiness. Maybe people count on us because we are always there. These may not be such bad associations after all.

Peace.