Every rose has its thorn

I was chatting with a friend of mine the other day and she mentioned that a guy that she used to casually date suddenly came back into her life. He sent her an e-mail saying he was “really excited” to see her. She asks me what he means by that and should she be concerned?

I realized at that moment that we have become far too cynical nowadays, in that we have difficulty believing things that seem “too obvious.” People just aren’t that nice, direct and honest…right?

We are always looking for ulterior motives, hidden meanings – and not just in the romantic sense, but also even with friends or family. We intentionally smash things that seem “too good to be true.” Why is it that we seem to be more comfortable clinging to the shit when the roses are right next to it?

As I thought about it, I was wondering what turned us into such a distrustful culture. Whenever someone calls me a pessimist, I counter that I’m a realist, based on experiences that actually happened to my friends or me. But, when do you cross the line from self-protection to paranoia?

I told my friend that it sounded like the guy wants to see her, and that there are still genuine people still out there (like herself). I just hope he doesn’t prove me wrong. She deserves better. We all do.