Left of center It happens in a flash, within seconds lives are forever changed. How many times have we gone left of center in our lives and negatively affected someone else? I try to teach my children the affect their words have on people. When we speak without thinking, we unleash verbal dragons that can bring someone down in flames. Death does not always occur physically. Do not be a fellow man’s demise by your insensitivity. These days, we have all become a bit too arrogant in embracing our right to-
- Say what I want!
- Be entitled to my whims!
- Make you accept my way of thinking!
- Agree with me!
- Treat people however I please!
- Fail to care about consequences!
Wow, how sad is all of this? We get angry when our children speak their minds, but have we not raised them? We are responsible for the personalities we mold. How about we learn how to rein them in? It’s never too late. Children grow up to be adults making the same types of choices. I recently read an article about a celebrity who has a list of do’s and don’ts for the venues she performs, hotels she stays, etc. I was so appalled; it almost made me want to stop listening to her music. Then, once I researched the topic a bit more, I discovered if I boycott every self-indulged celebrity, I might not have anyone to watch! Sheesh!
- New toilet seats installed in hotel rooms just for them
- Mineral water to bathe in
- Rose petals in the toilet (really?!)
- Dark curtains on windowed rooms to keep anyone from seeing in
- Certain types of flower arrangements
- The list is endless and appallingly ridiculous
These same celebs are who are children are looking up to. Teenage stars jetting off to exotic locations on vacations with boyfriend/girlfriend. Really?! Feeling each other up in skimpy clothing for the paparazzi to take photos? Yes, that’s what I want MY kids to see and emulate. Where are our values? Locked away in a time capsule for the 50’s? I’d almost rather go back to “Leave it to Beaver”, shoot, even in later years, Mister Rogers got it right in his ‘hood. I regret thinking either of these to be “dorky”; I miss those days more than I ever thought I would. When we take action without thinking or by thinking selfishly, we should brace for fatal results. It’s my RIGHT to-
- Ride my bike down the middle of the street or trail path!
- Text or email while I drive!
- Jump over that fence at the park, zoo, construction site, mountain-side wherever!
- Go shooting a gun without taking a safety course!
- Go to happy hour and drive myself home!
- End my life when I’m sick of it all-who cares who it hurts!
When we participate in negligent activities, we automatically include someone else in our choice, the epitome of selfishness. The list of examples is as endless as the arguments are for our RIGHTS. It’s become disgusting and gluttonous behavior. How about considering someone else? It’s called empathy—here is the definition from Merriam-Webster if you’ve forgotten it or never been introduced to the word:
Definition of EMPATHY 1
: the imaginative
projection of a subjective state into an object so that the object appears to be infused with it 2
: the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and
vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively
explicit manner;
also : the capacity for this See, an innovative way of thinking
does exist. Maybe IT isn’t all about ME? Concept!
VICARIOUSLY experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another, VICARIOUSLY—-that was worth repeating. Not just trying to feebly understand, but, cramming ourselves into the shoes of humanity and stepping out of our own. Our inalienable rights were not meant to extend to inflict grief upon someone else. Mental, physical, or otherwise. Seriously. Who am I to put all this out there into scathing words? I’m the person who needs to hear this on a daily, that’s who I AM. I’m just as guilty and know this because a manager once told me “you lack compassion.” Bahahahaha, that was my first reaction. For a short moment, I thought he was joking.
He was not.
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