Monday, August 22, 2016

Thoughts - August 22, 2016

"Look into your own heart, discover what it is that gives you pain,
and then refuse under any circumstance, whatsoever,
to inflict that pain on anybody else."
Karen Armstrong
What a lovely way of perceiving the Golden Rule! For me, it is sometimes hard to discover what gives me pain (which, now that I think about it, is probably a wake-up call). Some of us become quite good at numbing ourselves. There's the 'usual' methods of alcohol and addictions of gambling, porn, drugs, etc, but I'm thinking more of the easy way we dismiss how others hurt us. A lack of self-respect or self-confidence....or, for me, always the wish to cause no waves. So, what does cause me pain? Unkindness, for one. Being stereotyped or ignored is another (I am a white haired ol' lady after all....sometimes labeled the invisible class of people). Unfairness. Meaness. Superior attitudes. Insensitive. Hmmmmm....I guess I have a few things I can work on and refuse to inflict on others. But I know this is barely touching the surface of 'loving one's neighbor as you love yourself.' - Beth Almond Ford

No comments:

Post a Comment