The Passing of Common Sense

I can not believe a whole week has passed since I last wrote a post. Where does the time go?!

I am home from work today after having a bout with that stomach bug that has been going around. Going through some emails, I found this one that I wanted to share.

Interesting and sadly true. What do you think?

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who
has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was,
since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He
will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
Knowing when to come in out of the rain; Why the early bird gets the
worm; Life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend
more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults not children are
in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but
overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy
charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended
from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for
reprimanding an unruly pupil, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the
job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly
children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental
consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a pupil; but could
not inform parents when a pupil became pregnant and wanted to have an
abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses;
and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a
burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to
realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in
her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by
his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son,
Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;
I Know My Rights
I Want It Now
Someone Else Is To Blame
I'm A Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone...
Do you remember him?

9 Things God Won't Ask On "That" Day

I came across this and thought it was something worth sharing. It does give you a few things to think about, doesn't it?

Considering the poll I have on this blog right now, it was the perfect time to post this. Maybe you don't realize that your religion or spirituality does play a role in your daily life.

The Last Day

1. God won't ask what kind of car you drove. He'll ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation.

2. God won't ask the square footage of your house. He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home

3. God won't ask about the clothes you hold in your closet. He'll ask how many you helped to clothe.

4. God won't ask what your highest salary was. He'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.

5. God wont' ask what your job title was. He'll ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability.

6. God won't ask how many friends you have. He'll ask to whom you were a friend.

7. God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived. He'll ask how you treated your neighbors.

8. God won't ask about the color of your skin. He'll ask about the content of your character.

9. God won't ask why it took so long to seek Salvation. He'll lovingly take you to your mansion in heaven and not to the gates of hell.

The Gift of Forgiving

Has someone hurt your feelings? If you keep going over and over what that person did to you, you may begin to feel anxious and depressed. The stress of being hurt can actually make you ill.

Maybe we need to let go, for hanging on to unforgiveness is just keeping the situation 'alive'. Like living in the past, you can't move forward. I don't think forgiving is 'forgetting', but it will help in letting go of hurt feelings, anger or pain felt.

If we recognize it is not about them and concentrate on you, we can then see that forgiving someone is a gift for our self. Don't wait for an apology. When we forgive, we aren't saying we forgive their actions or words, but forgive the person.

It's not easy to forgive someone and it will take time. Allow yourself that time and don't be so hard on yourself. Go through the stages and give yourself the gift of forgiving.

Did you ever hurt someone? Do you remember how you felt when that person forgave you?
Maybe you will never know why they hurt you, what the motivation behind their words or actions were. If we all try to expand our thought process and learn to see the shoe on the other foot, we will consider forgiving more easily.

According to wikipedia:
Forgiveness is the mental, and/or spiritual process of ceasing to feel resentment, indignation or anger against another person for a perceived offence, difference or mistake, or ceasing to demand punishment or restitution.
The power in forgiveness is to replace what has been lost or stolen and remove the fear of being injured again, to liberate from the slavery of resentment, bitterness, hatred, malice, fear, and a consumed life of distrust

Do You Get Dissappointed Often?

While visiting the site Attitude, The Ultimate Power…, I was reading a post about reactions to being dissappointed by others.

I think people can disappoint us almost everyday if we allow them too. And, I also believe most of us don’t handle every situation the best that we could. But then looking back over each disappointment, we could see a better way of handling it or what we could have said or done. Hindsight…hmmm… A learning experience.

However, I think if we realize that everyone’s perception is different and communicate to eachother; it might make the disappointed one at least feel better. We always seem to take things personal, as an attack against us. What one person may find disappointing, another may not.

Disappointments can occur when your co-worker slouches off and gives you more of a workload, the person who steals your parking space, the stranger who doesn't reciprocate your smile, a friend who hasn’t called you back, when a mate doesn't give you their full attention or as in Attitude, The Ultimate Power's post…being taken advantage of.

Within our circle of friends, family, aassociates and acquaintances, we may assume we are all alike and/or just like you (me) (us). You may have great qualities and character…. Doing what’s right, being kind, considerate, accepting etc…but your friend or associate may not hold those same qualities in every situation of life, therefore, when they say or do something that doesn’t live up to our expectations, disappointment occurs. Maybe its best we don't have any serious expectations as to how others should be or what we expect. See them as they are, but voice our feelings when someone does disappoint or take advantage of us. If it happens once,should we must speak up, so it doesn’t happen again and again. Regardless, I am not going to change. I treat people as I would like to be treated.

I recently asked a co-worker to bring me back an item from his trip down south. If purchased here, it would cost much more. He told me the cost was $29 when he gave me the item. The next day he came to collect his money, but then changed the cost to $35 Hmmm…I was very disappointed that he was doing this to me. I know I wouldn’t do that to him, but what were my options? Not take the item, yell and get angry or simply give him the extra $6? I chose to give him the extra money and thought if he needed to take advantage of the situation, fine…it brought out his character. Did he think he was a good businessman? I didn't think so. Rather than get angry and keep negative energy, I voiced my opinion and now I know I will not ask him again.

What are your thoughts when someone disappoints you?