Setting the Tone
IF I WERE TO SHOUT AT YOU, HOW WOULD THAT MAKE YOU FEEL? Maybe your blood pressure would elevate from a surge of adrenaline while you may work to understand why. The interesting thing regarding anger, no matter how well we shake it off, a portion seeps in to become a part of who we are. How we are treated deeply effects how we treat others. From the top down, from the bottom up...it all ends the moment we shrug our shoulders and move on towards a better day.
"Would you please unload the dishwasher?" Mind you, I've asked my 16 year old to help probably a more than a thousand times throughout his life. "Sure mom, no problem." (or) "Grr, I just started a new level of the Scrape and Dent video game, can I do it later?" (or) "Dang it mom, you always ask me to unload the dishwasher, unload, unload, unload, who am I Cinder-fella? Sheesh, you can't imagine how annoying it is, I can't stand dishes, I can't stand putting things away. I wish you'd stop bugging me!"
Three different responses to the same question and believe me, I've heard them all. Depending on the day of the week, the amount of sleep my son has gotten and if he has eaten anything of substance recently, I can accurately predict by his body language and facial expression which response it will be. After a few deep cleansing breaths, no matter, my son ends up unloading the dishwasher and all is righted once again.
We cross paths with many people throughout our lives. I remember a fellow worker years ago who carried a million and one complaints up her sleeve. "Good morning Crystal," I had said, "how are you today?"
Big mistake...a HUGE whopper of all mistakes. What I did was open the box and it flipped upside down holding me captive until Crystal ended her banter on the dismal reality of life and her existence. "Horrible. My tooth hurts for one, traffic was terrible on the way to work this morning, I broke a heel while pulling my dress shoes from my locker, I forgot my lunch, the boss has set an impossible deadline and I'm out of resources..." Basically I heard her standard "poor me, poor-poor me" rant.
The woman never bothered to ask how I was faring. In fact, I once wrote a five page response of positive happenings surrounding my life, just in case. You know, as a sort-of counterbalance. I kept those notes in my pocket if ever she would have asked. She didn't. With some people the world only revolves around them.
I remember the great influence teachers carried surrounding my desire to learn. Enthusiastic teachers rendered enthusiastic students. I can still tell you that in the fifth grade I learned all about Eli Whitney, the cotton gin and his contribution of interchangeable parts to industry. Why? It was all due to the verve of Mrs. Foster our history teacher. She pushed the desks together and looped a very long sheet of paper into a makeshift conveyor belt. Then a simple flashlight was disassembled and placed along the paper. A group of us were asked to assemble while another student moved the paper. Guess what? Mrs. Foster held my undivided attention. We were challenged in a "hands on" manner and we learned.
In contrast, I took a drawing class in high school. I was very excited to learn, I wanted to be there and was greatly anticipating the beginning of school that year. In addition, my sister M added to my passion by sharing her thoughts on the drawing teacher, "Mr. Pitt is a great artist, I had the best time in his class...you'll learn a lot, trust me." I'm not sure what happened between the time M was in his class to five years later when he was my teacher but I have never met a more negative and depressing man. Pitt ranted on and on about how everyone complained never once realizing that he had become exactly what it was he was complaining about. He zapped all of the want I had to become an artist...zapped it with his whining banter on how dreadful teaching was for him.
My point in bringing this up is obvious. Soon most of us will be faced with a choice...to elect someone for president. Even if you erase all of the negatives about each candidate, I wonder what sort of energy we will be inviting for the next term? Tomorrow is bright and we have much to look forward to (or) the sky is falling down, gloom and doom?
Attitude is contagious. Enthusiasm versus a million and one complaints with no possible solution on how to fix a single one of them is our bottom line decision. Who will help us to thrive and who will push us into a dive? I'm not going to tell anyone who to vote for, I will say this however, those who refuse to vote have no grounds to voice outrage later.
We have the ability to make a difference for the better, one vote at a time.
Today I'm using this forum to ask that you make sure everything is in place to exercise your right to vote. Most states require a valid ID and proper registration ahead of time. Please help those who have limited access so we turn out in record numbers. The clear blues skies of tomorrow depends on us all.
"Would you please unload the dishwasher?" Mind you, I've asked my 16 year old to help probably a more than a thousand times throughout his life. "Sure mom, no problem." (or) "Grr, I just started a new level of the Scrape and Dent video game, can I do it later?" (or) "Dang it mom, you always ask me to unload the dishwasher, unload, unload, unload, who am I Cinder-fella? Sheesh, you can't imagine how annoying it is, I can't stand dishes, I can't stand putting things away. I wish you'd stop bugging me!"
Three different responses to the same question and believe me, I've heard them all. Depending on the day of the week, the amount of sleep my son has gotten and if he has eaten anything of substance recently, I can accurately predict by his body language and facial expression which response it will be. After a few deep cleansing breaths, no matter, my son ends up unloading the dishwasher and all is righted once again.
We cross paths with many people throughout our lives. I remember a fellow worker years ago who carried a million and one complaints up her sleeve. "Good morning Crystal," I had said, "how are you today?"
Big mistake...a HUGE whopper of all mistakes. What I did was open the box and it flipped upside down holding me captive until Crystal ended her banter on the dismal reality of life and her existence. "Horrible. My tooth hurts for one, traffic was terrible on the way to work this morning, I broke a heel while pulling my dress shoes from my locker, I forgot my lunch, the boss has set an impossible deadline and I'm out of resources..." Basically I heard her standard "poor me, poor-poor me" rant.
The woman never bothered to ask how I was faring. In fact, I once wrote a five page response of positive happenings surrounding my life, just in case. You know, as a sort-of counterbalance. I kept those notes in my pocket if ever she would have asked. She didn't. With some people the world only revolves around them.
I remember the great influence teachers carried surrounding my desire to learn. Enthusiastic teachers rendered enthusiastic students. I can still tell you that in the fifth grade I learned all about Eli Whitney, the cotton gin and his contribution of interchangeable parts to industry. Why? It was all due to the verve of Mrs. Foster our history teacher. She pushed the desks together and looped a very long sheet of paper into a makeshift conveyor belt. Then a simple flashlight was disassembled and placed along the paper. A group of us were asked to assemble while another student moved the paper. Guess what? Mrs. Foster held my undivided attention. We were challenged in a "hands on" manner and we learned.
In contrast, I took a drawing class in high school. I was very excited to learn, I wanted to be there and was greatly anticipating the beginning of school that year. In addition, my sister M added to my passion by sharing her thoughts on the drawing teacher, "Mr. Pitt is a great artist, I had the best time in his class...you'll learn a lot, trust me." I'm not sure what happened between the time M was in his class to five years later when he was my teacher but I have never met a more negative and depressing man. Pitt ranted on and on about how everyone complained never once realizing that he had become exactly what it was he was complaining about. He zapped all of the want I had to become an artist...zapped it with his whining banter on how dreadful teaching was for him.
My point in bringing this up is obvious. Soon most of us will be faced with a choice...to elect someone for president. Even if you erase all of the negatives about each candidate, I wonder what sort of energy we will be inviting for the next term? Tomorrow is bright and we have much to look forward to (or) the sky is falling down, gloom and doom?
Attitude is contagious. Enthusiasm versus a million and one complaints with no possible solution on how to fix a single one of them is our bottom line decision. Who will help us to thrive and who will push us into a dive? I'm not going to tell anyone who to vote for, I will say this however, those who refuse to vote have no grounds to voice outrage later.
We have the ability to make a difference for the better, one vote at a time.
Today I'm using this forum to ask that you make sure everything is in place to exercise your right to vote. Most states require a valid ID and proper registration ahead of time. Please help those who have limited access so we turn out in record numbers. The clear blues skies of tomorrow depends on us all.
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