Living it

I try to live the "Golden Rule."
I try to be charitable and open minded, and tolerant of all.

I fall somewhere below my aims...don't we all?

So I noticed if I'm working on being open to everything, I find more opportunities to offer my helping hand more often.  A former neighbor who still has interests in common with me now uses a scooter to get around.  The other night he was perched on the back bumper of his car, with his scooter in its 2 parts, base and seat, on the ground at his feet. He bent over to pick up the seat, but he slipped to his knees.  I walked over and offered to give him a hand.

He gratefullly sat back up on the bumper and showed me how the seat was put on its pedestal on the base.  It wasn't heavy at all.  He just said "my legs don't work any more." So I replied, "that's why you have the scooter."

And off he went to the elevator to ride up to the art show, which I was also attending.

I wondered how often I don't see other people who need help that isn't all that hard to offer.

I find that when I'm slighted in any way, I do still become defensive and want to have "my rights" upheld.

I was given a number to be in line the other day. The man who had the number ahead of me decided to not stay for the opportunity for free food from our local food bank.  The numbers are drawn out of a hat each week.  So when it was my turn, I found another person had the number that the man who left had had.  I got irritable, she hadn't arrived early enough to even draw a number out of the hat, and here she was ahead of me in line! But after my initial outrage (it was not that bad, but my ire was expressed verbally) I gave her a hug and said since she was my friend it was alright.

But the ire still comes up.  I'm so far from able to really live with other people in peace!

Today's quote:

We are made to tell the world that there are no outsiders.

DESMOND TUTU