Be Mindful!
3.25.19
We’ve all heard the saying, “treat others the way you want to be treated”. But how many of us are truly intentional about modeling our behavior after these words? I’m convinced that most times people only consider their own feelings or situations when they decide to lash out on, ignore, or gossip about another person. We live in a self-seeking society, so it shouldn’t be hard to believe we sometimes, ok, a lot of the time, deliberately choose to put our feelings, desires, and plans above someone else’s. Today, I’m here to tell you it’s time to start being mindful.
I’m sure there have been plenty of days where you just wanted someone to understand how you were feeling, just wanted them to peek into your life so they understood exactly what it is you’re going through. Maybe if they knew you were a single mom taking care of three kids, your coworkers wouldn’t be gossiping about how you show up to work late occasionally. Maybe people don’t realize you’ve been up all night dealing with chronic pain and can’t attend their events or even respond to text messages as quickly as they’d like. What about this? Maybe you’ve tried to explain to your friends you’re overwhelmed by the demands of your schoolwork, but they’ve not been wiling to hear you out, but begin excluding you from group messages, and even when you have free time, fail to invite you to hang out.
If only they knew! Of course, each of us would experience some relief from the pressures, feelings, and opinions of others. We have to remember that we never really know what another person is going through, nor what season of life their walking or even CRAWLING in. We should take every opportunity, whether it be with friends, family, or strangers, to consider them before we decide to say something mean or treat them poorly. We should remember that, whether positive or negative, our words have a lasting impact on the people to which we speak them. Our goal should be to build up, not tear down those inside and outside our circles, as this Is what we would surely want them to do for us. So again I say, be mindful of others because you never know how your words or actions will impact them