What do you like?

Sometimes I forget that we are all creatures of desire. Not that we're controlled completely by our desires, but that we have them. We have dreams, and ideals, and there are specific characteristics we look for in other things and people that make them more appealing to us. Facebook does some strange little notifications in a newsfeed like format along the right. (Yes, I'm on Facebook. It's a thing. It helps me stay in touch with some people who are far away.) This morning my little newsfeed on the right was filled with a column of pics of women Olympic athletes. Next to each image it said "(This person) likes Jordan Webber", or which ever athlete my friend had chosen to click on the "Like" button for. There were about five of these in a row. And for a split second my reaction was disgust. My brain went to this place where the only kind of person who would actually do something like that was some kind of misogynist pig. It was startling. All I had was this list of names and likes. The images weren't even suggestive. Moments frozen in the middle of a race, or a floor routine, or some other Olympic activity. And all I knew was my friend had chosen to click "Like" on their page at some point. So he could have clicked that little button for any number of reasons. AND who am I to judge what his likes and dislikes are? Particularly without knowing his motives or desires. My reaction (and that's what it was, a reaction) was particularly unsettling. Though it has reframed my whole day today as apparently my brain is likely to move in a lazy and judgmental direction. And that's uncalled for. So on to happier and less judgmental things today.