Keep away from bad people. That is a complicated statement. You’ll know bad when you see it if you are consciously trying to be good. In every case, judge your own behavior first. That will show you the right path. If you find yourself being nice to someone’s face then speaking ill of them later when they are not in your presence, you have work to do.
Every person you meet every day is an opportunity for kindness. Seeking to be kind to and understand that person benefits both of you. The attempt at kindness leaves you better off regardless of the outcome. The benefit to be obtained is not dependent on the other person’s response.
Don’t be afraid to share your wisdom and insight with others. Friends or strangers, makes no difference. Remember though, your behavior is a better teacher than words. If your words are not backed up by your behavior, you should think twice about sharing them. If you possess some wisdom or some insight, you are obligated to share it if someone is in need of that, but sharing does not mean forcing that upon others.
Supreme Court Justice, Oliver Wendell Holmes once said “Evan a dog distinguishes between being stumbled over and being kicked.” The good person doesn’t leap to a hasty judgment. Be tolerant in your view of other people’s actions. Look for the facts behind their actions before you rush to judgement. Before you assume you’ve been kicked.
If someone is irritating you don’t expect the situation to become magically better. It falls upon you to take action. Tell them what it is they should be doing differently. If you choose not to engage with them, then your best choice is to let the situation rest avoiding any further anguish on your part.
You have three choices: engage, be angry, or dismiss. The best option is to engage. If you’re not comfortable with that option, then you should dismiss. Getting angry is bad for your soul and does nothing to change the situation.
It is better to heal yourself than to seek revenge. Healing is not always easy, but rest assured it is good for your soul and will make you a happier and more content person.
How sad it is that we have a leader that epitomizes the tragedy of seeking revenge. Tragic for him who is seeking, and also tragic for those who are his targets.
It amazes me that the leaders around him, those that support him in particular, don’t see the importance of this life lesson and are not expressing outwardly how wrong this attitude is for all concerned. Tragic as well how many of those that voted for him are blind to this reality.
“If all you do today is pause, breathe, and show up with kindness… that’s a beautiful start.”
Don’t preface your remarks to someone with phrases like “I’m going to be honest with you,” or “No disrespect intended.” When you do that you are calling into question the honesty of all your statements. Just put your thoughts out there and let them take on the life they were intended to have. Let your comments be as permanent as your tattoos. (Maybe that’s why I got a couple of tattoos…)
Learn to leave your past behind. That’s not to say you ignore it, only that you learn from it and move forward. Love where you’ve been and look forward to where you intend to go.
Remember these two words: persist and resist. Persist in doing what is good resist doing what is not virtuous.
It’s a good idea to always ask yourself this question before acting. Is what I am about to do consistent with who I am, and who I desire to be? The hard work of living is to always ask this question of ourselves before we act. This will help us to hold on to what we know is the correct path.
Is there something better to strive for than pleasure? Of course there is. Remember that freedom, honesty, kindness, and a clean soul outweigh the gain to be obtained through the enjoyment of pleasure for pleasure’s sake.
Doing wrong is a strong urge that can be difficult to resist. Before giving in to the urge to wrong someone, think about how that act will make you feel. Will you really be set free by that act? The answer in all cases is no.
Watching other people achieve success is a blessing. Life is not a zero-sum game. Other peoples success does not diminish me unless I let it. Put aside jealously and learn to celebrate with others.
“It is better to do your own duty badly
than to perfectly do another’s.”
The Bhagavad Gita
Everything in the universe is part of a larger whole. We are citizens of the world, not just the United States. What harms the individual harms the community, what harms the community harms the individual.
Meditate often. All things are connected. The more effort you put into seeing this truth, the better you will be able to handle adversity. We are all related to our fellow human beings and to the environment. We must never forget that.
If you invest in being good and wise, you will never have to fear the market or fear a relationship disaster. Being good and wise are virtues that will never abandon you.
Does not a lamp shine until it runs out of fuel? Why not let your light shine brightly without interruption until you run out of fuel?
Most people set as their goal the acquisition of money, success, adulation, or love for love’s sake, or some combination of these. If you see someone fixated on one of these, you have found an example of a life that you should shun. There is only one true goal to strive for, that is virtue. Virtue is found in the pursuit of honesty, the exercise of discipline, and a life of courage. Virtue and true love are the only goals worth striving for.
The old saying, “all evil needs to prevail is for good men to do nothing,” is true. We must not only not do evil, we must actively work for good. Whatever form that takes, take the time to become involved.
Accomplishments can be good and even noble endeavors. One must be careful of the price paid for accomplishment. Avoid letting it come at the cost of neglect of family, or selfish behavior, or love of fame. The ability to work hard is good, but remember Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s words:
Work is what horses die of. Everybody should remember that.
On receiving bad news, it does no good for anyone, yourself or your listener, to complain about the news with no real purpose to your show of emotion. Your purpose should be to do something to help yourself and those that are the bearers of the bad news. If you complain, that only hurts yourself and those around you. Your first obligation in all situations is to self, then to family, then to country.
How should you receive an honor? How should you receive an insult? The answer to both is they should be received the same way… When you hit a home run, don’t dance all the way from third to home. When you strike out, don’t throw your bat.
To quote Seneca, “every noble deed is voluntary.” You always have the option to do the wrong thing, the selfish thing. (We see this often in the political arena.) To quote another famous person, it’s easier to “break bad” than it is to do the noble deed. Doing the right thing comes out of wanting to do the right thing, and thinking of it as an opportunity for self-improvement.
As humans, we have a higher obligation to serve one another. All true success and self-worth comes from that work. So rise from bed each morning, don’t linger there, rise confident in the knowledge that others are depending on you.