What If I Liked Everyone I Met?

It has been a while since I have created a post for my blog.  Since my last blog, I was laid off from my job (that is an interesting story and should be the subject for another post) and started a new job.

Needless to say, it kinda worked out for me since my old company so generously gave me a three-week severance, and I started my new job during that third week.  However, as in most jobs, you need to work for a certain amount of time, in my case, 2 weeks, before being paid.  But, hey!, I lucked out there too since my new company realized my pain and gave me a hiring bonus to get by on until my first paycheck.

Sometimes, in order to get a point across to me, you need to whack me on the head with a 2 x 4.  Today at work, a comment was made about a guy who is really sharp.  He has a PHD from Harvard and the whole kitten-kabootle!   Maybe if I had a PHD, I wouldn't need to get hit on the head with a 2 x 4 so much!  At any rate, it has taken me quite a long time to realize that everyone here on this earth

has problems just like me.  I am not the only, single, solitary, person on this earth with problems.  (If I had figured this out many years ago, oh boy, would I be so much further ahead!)

It did dawn on me one simple thing that I could do to help with my problems and that simply put is Like Everyone I Meet.  I could write volumes about doing the very opposite.  Thinking back on these situations causes more pain and suffering for me, so it is not accomplishing anything positive for me.

I have to retrogress and give a few examples of my stupidness in interacting with people the wrong way.  A year after I was married my wife and I were cleaning up after Christmas.  The phone rang and a kind voice asked to speak with my wife.  As I handed her the phone, I oh so kindly said, "honey, its the wreath stealer!"  What you need to understand was that a year ago my wife had lended this lady some Christmas wreaths.  They had yet to be returned.  Need I say more about what happened next.

A second situation happened just last night.  For many years I have been a stickler for a nice looking yard and a fantastic vegetable garden.  I would ask kids to not ride on my grass, etc.  I was quite grumpy when my neighbor's construction project wrecked my sprinkler system,   So last night three neighbor kids asked if they could setup a bike jump and jump onto my lawn.  Realizing that I had been inspired about the pain stuff (see above), I said that they could jump onto my lawn.  I sat out there in my front yard disassembling a piece of patio furniture watching these kids jump from the road onto my lawn.  When it started to get dark, they broke out some lights and kept jumping.

Thinking, actually I was hoping that one of the kids would biff it hard on the grass, naw.  Luckily nobody was injured in this story and I felt good for letting them use my lawn as a landing pad.

Alright, so what if I were to do something that would be extremely hard for me?  Something so hard that it would require changing my life for it?  That would be, simply put, like everyone I meet and be genuine enough with that so that the people I meet would feel the truth in my like.

As I recall in the Bible, Jesus Christ is quoted as saying, "Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself."  So the secret to a lot of life's problems was written in the Bible thousands of years ago.  Hmmm!  I have officially started my new life last evening.  Now I need to keep doing it.  I know it will make me feel better in the long run.  Having friends is a lot better than enemies.

Till next time,

Bill