We're All Teachers

This is for my yahoos.
It's important so pay attention.

We teach others how to treat us.
By our words and by our actions,
we teach others
what we believe in,
what we stand for,
what we'll act upon
and what we won't.
We teach others how much we'll put up with.
What we'll ignore and
what we'll bend on.

Now think about that.

We want people to take us on our word, right?
Best make sure we know what "our word" is
before we teach others how to treat us, hunh?

Conversely,
Others teach us how to treat them
so you would be wise to pay attention.
If your friends say one thing and do another--
it's the things they DO that they really believe in.

If they lie to someone else in front of you,
they will lie to you.
If they gossip about someone else TO you,
your name will be on their lips
as they gossip ABOUT you to someone else.
If they tell you they don't have alot of friends,
there's a reason for that--
and it's not always for the obvious reasons
so pay attention.
If they say they have a hard time with moral expectations,
believe them and be careful.
Whether it's being honest or being morally clean--
they haven't figured out the value of those character traits yet
and they're not going to change for you.


The truth is,
not everyone you meet is going to
like you
be honest with you
or be kind.

And there will most certainly be people
you just plain won't like--
it doesn't give you permission to be rude to them--
you get no "passes" for bad behavior
just because you don't like something about someone.
BUT
you can acknowledge them while they are in your presence
and keep going.
That "keep going" part
is important.

To my girls who're dating:
A young man who says he "doesn't keep friends"
or
"hold onto people"
indicates he hasn't figured out how to appreciate others.
He's selfish.
And you can't fix him
anymore than he can fix you.

If he says he'll call and he doesn't--
he's a man who doesn't keep his word.
Move on.
Move on.
If he says he has a hard time figuring things out--
you'll be one of those "things" category.
Move on.
If he blames others for his failures,
you'll be in the "others" category soon
if you stay there.
Move on.
Move on.

The truth is,
we can't change others
anymore than
they can change us.

We can influence.
We can encourage.
We can "accompany" progress,
but we can't push, pull, beg, or bribe
someone to become better than they are
for us.
Truth is,
most often,
people change
when life dictates
that they have
no other choice.
And some people take the long scenic road
to change.

The worst thing you can do in life
is to become friends with
someone you want to change.
It will end badly.
And one more thing:
BE careful to "bait your hook"
for the kind of "fish"
you want to catch.
If you want a modest, honorable companion,
then make sure your bait
is modest and honorable.
To bait with anything else
will get you a "catch" you may not like.

And back to YOU--
if you want to be treated FAIRLY,
BE Fair.
if you want to be RESPECTED
then be Respectful.
if you want FORGIVENESS,
then be Forgiving.
If you want a soft answer,
ask a soft question.
If you want to be LOVED,
then BE Loving.

It's all so simple.
We're All Teachers.