"We are shaped by the light we let through us.."

“WHEN A BIRD IS ALIVE…IT EATS ANTS.

WHEN THE BIRD HAS DIED…ANTS EAT IT.

ONE TREE CAN BE MADE INTO A MILLION MATCHSTICKS…BUT ONLY

ONE MATCHSTICK IS NEEDED TO BURN A MILLION TREES.

CIRCUMSTANCES CAN CHANGE AT ANY TIME…DON’T DEVALUE OR HURT

ANYONE IN THIS LIFE…

YOU MAY BE POWERFUL TODAY BUT TIME IS MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU”

Have you ever just sat around and thought about all of the people that you encounter throughout the day?  Did you think about what you said to them or how you treated them?  I’m not just talking about the people that we see everyday, but also about the people that we just pass by while grocery shopping or when we are filling our car up with gas…those random people?  Have you ever been standing in line and the person in front of you is so completely rude to the person behind the counter and you start thinking to yourself how absurd it is that a complete stranger can treat another human being like that?  If we step back and look at ourselves and how we might be coming across to them or to other’s that may be watching, it really gets you to thinking.  I realize that the world is full of problems, our lives are overflowing with stress and tension and it’s really difficult to stop and think about how we are treating the people around us.  Sometimes that person ahead of you in line that thinks that it is ok to treat the person behind the counter so badly, because after all…they are JUST a cashier.  We get so caught up in our daily struggles that we forget that people are people..no matter what their job is, or their social status or what they look like.  We live in a society that believes the only way to be “somebody” is to do anything to get to the top, no matter who they are hurting along the way…as long as THEY are the one that wins in the end, but what does winning mean when there is no one left around you to cheer you on, to congratulate you, to support you?  What happens then?  Our time is limited, none of us can determine how long we get to be here with all of the people that are around us…and none of us know when everything can be lost in the blink of an eye..wouldn’t you rather live a life being the best that you can be and at the same time bring everyone else along with you for the ride?  ..or would you rather be that person in front of you in the line that feels that it is ok to treat people in an unkind manner because they think that they are “better” than another person?  Sometimes it’s so easy to sit and wonder how anyone could possibly do something like that..we fail to see what we, ourselves are doing…it’s always easier to point a finger than to look in the mirror…

Unfortunately, I can’t think of any way that I can single-handedly change the world, I don’t have the power to change how people treat one another and I certainly don’t have the power to make anyone believe anything…but, what I do have the power to do is spread kindness and joy…patience and understanding and have empathy for another human being.  We are all the same, we are all living in the same world, so why would anyone choose to make anyone’s life including their own..a miserable existence?  We never know when the our own world’s will crumble into a heap of nothingness…we just never know how long we will be on the “top”…we should never get so caught up in winning that we abandon any sense of humanity, because there will come a day  when we might need to lean on someone when times are tough..wouldn’t it be nice to know that you treated everyone that you met with respect, no matter how they are treating you?  You chose to be the better person.  I admit, it’s a tough world out there, we are going to encounter people who couldn’t care less about what the next person is feeling, we are always going to have to feel pain and insignificance, but there is a small glimmer of hope, and it all begins with how we react to these situations.  Always be kind and try your hardest to be the understanding one…not only will it make another person feel better, it will make you feel better about yourself and the more you do it the more you take part in changing a little part of the world for the better.  Never take anyone for granted, everyone has a story..including you.