I think my personality and character just sort of fit with the way our culture has been evolving. That’s been a good thing for me, my career and success but not such a great thing overall. The reason I say this is that my ability to compartmentalize and just plow through until I get a desired result is absent of some basic humanity. It took some time around people at the cannabis dispensary to help me understand a bit more about compassion. I’ve been a win at all cost and take no prisoners sort of person for the past couple of decades. Now, it’s no wonder that I’m alone and my relationships all seem so transactional. But when my mom got sick with cancer, there was nobody but me to help. Of course, I tried to just pay for her care but that wasn’t enough. My mom needed me and I had to respond. One of the first things we did before her treatment began was to get the cannabis products she needed. The doctors had recommended both the sativa strains and indica products for my mom’s situation. Watching how the folks at the local cannabis spot treated my mother stopped me dead in my tracks. It was one hundred percent compassion. I stayed with my mom for several months while also working. Each time we visited that local cannabis spot, I got closer and closer to accessing the deep human compassion that is actually available to all of us. Mom is better now and I’m changed forever. My life is increasingly more about what I can do for others as opposed to what I can get for myself. And that’s all thanks in large part to the kind people at the local cannabis spot.