We need to be less extreme these days. Less extreme politically, less extreme socially, less extreme economically… We need to rein in our out-of-control rhetoric and remember that we’re all human beings. For heaven’s sake, holding the door for someone is polite – I don’t care who it’s for! We’re so polarized in our thinking and our actions are just downright embarrassing, especially our treatment of one another. Hate runs rampant throughout people’s veins and we attack each other. Think about that – we actually attack each other because we simply don’t agree! How childish! How primitive! We’re not just brutes in suits and ties roaming the streets…or are we these days?
So let’s agree to disagree, but at least talk to each other. Scoot over an extra inch or two to let whomever it is that needs a seat on the bus sit down with their groceries. Don’t even talk politics or religion if you know you can’t handle your reactions to others’ opinions if they differ from yours! There are plenty of things to talk about besides these things, especially in passing, and you might just make somebody’s day! We need to see more good news on TV, hear more random compliments on the streets, and do more to help each other, regardless of our prejudices and preconceived notions. We’re all just human beings trying to make it on this earth and we need to recognize each others’ potential.
Potential. That’s what a person could become – what they hold inside them. You never know. By committing a random act of kindness, you could help a person’s potential blossom and be the catalyst for the next breakthrough in disease cure because you made that person feel valued and worthy. You never know. You might never know, and that’s okay. You don’t need to know. Just treat others as you would like to be treated. If someone treats you otherwise, try to remember that you don’t know what they’re going through in life. At the very least, if they’re a chronic jerk, they’ll eventually get what’s coming to them, but it’s not you that has to give it to them! That will only make you miserable and put a crimp in your day, and that’s not what we’re after here. Don’t let people disrespect or take advantage of you, but don’t do it to others, either. As my friend Steve would say, “Just be nice.” You wouldn’t believe the places it will take you!
CLIMBING 4 THE REST OF US 