An ugly incident occurred across the street from us this past week. The act of meanness was uncalled for and resulted anger and hardship for the one who suffered the damage. I couldn’t prevent it or do anything for the victim, but it still impacted me. I didn’t like the disrespect shown for another person.
I found this meme last week and really liked it. Its simplicity compacts a whole lot of other rules into something easy to understand. If you want to live a good life, you have to do good. You might not like what happens, but how you react shows what kind of person you are. You can’t be alive and not have unhappy things happen to you. You do the best you can and learn from it.
Do the right thing. What’s defined by “the right thing”? I say it starts with loving and respecting people, places, animals, things, and laws. Kindness goes a long way, especially when it’s paid forward. Help who you can help and be big enough to accept help when you need it. Always be thankful when others do the right thing for you.
Encouraging others is also part of the right thing. Competition has its place, but in the end, we’re all in this life together. We may as well get along and make it as pleasant as possible.
Do the best you can. It’s all anyone can do. As time goes by, we get better with practice so our best will improve with use. Practice doing the right thing, and you’ll get better and better at it as you go along. Ask an athlete if they get better with practice. Or anyone else for that matter. Putting effort into being the best person you can be will make you one someday. Maybe even one of the best, the ones who are not soon forgotten. Leave your corner of the world a better place because you were in it.
Always show people you care. Have you ever said a kind word to a person who seemed to be having a bad day? Did it make a difference? I admit it doesn’t always, but when it does, it brightens both of our days. Even small random acts of kindness show people you care about them. You may not change the environment they live in, but for a moment, they have a ray of hope that someone cares about them and cares enough to show them.
These three rules can be summed up in the adage, love your neighbor as yourself. The kindnesses you do for others may come back to you when you need them. At the very least, you’ll be adding stars to your heavenly crown.
For he who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. I Peter 3:10-11
Excellent lesson. When I was in elementary school we said the Pledge of Allegiance, the Golden Rule, and had a brief prayer every morning. Wish schools still did this.