My favorite quote from the Dalai Lama is “Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.” I try my best to live by it and when I find myself steering away from it, I remind myself that life is too short.
The fact of the matter is that we are not going to get along with every single person who crosses our paths—we don’t need Einstein to tell us that. However, that does not give us free reign to treat those whom we do not like with disrespect or hatred. I’ll be the first to admit that I am not perfect and have made some mistakes when it comes to certain relationships in my life, but that does not make it OK to continue to do so.
People change, circumstances change, relationships change, life changes; when these things happen, our attitudes and actions often change as well, which can lead to some not-so-great decisions when it comes to how we treat others. It happens. We’re human. But I think we all need to take a step back sometimes and realize that how we treat others is a reflection upon ourselves, not upon the person on the other end. Whether another person disrespects us or we disagree with something that he or she says or does, all that matters is how we respond to the situation.
While responding with kindness is the mature thing to do, it is also almost effortless. Walking away from a situation is so much less stressful and more rewarding than letting the aggression build up in your body and releasing it by lashing out at the other person. Smile and walk away; that is my best advice. What did our parents always tell us when we were growing up? Be the bigger person.
When I am kind to others, I feel better about myself. When I am not, I think of what I should have done differently, and I learn from my experiences. Another saying I grew up hearing is: “Treat others how you would like to be treated.” This sentence is plastered all over the walls of my mind and is the most important notion that I consider every single day. I hate to feel inferior, self-conscious, unwanted, sad, hurt, discouraged, rejected (don’t we all); so why would I ever intentionally make somebody else feel that way?
Life is so much more enjoyable when we are surrounded by comforting and healthy relationships, and those stem from spreading kindness and gratitude. We will always encounter rough patches in every relationship that we have, but learning how to deal with them makes all the difference. Quite honestly, too, life is too short to spend so much time worrying about the negativity in our lives. If you do not get along with someone, accept it, move on, and surround yourself with whom you do get along.
I will come back to my previous statement that no one is perfect and sometimes our emotions get the best of us when we are dealt an unfortunate hand of cards. Next time this happens, however, I challenge you to think before speak, and think again before you act. The world is filled with enough hate, let us bring the kindness back into it and remind one another just how beautiful the human race is capable of being.
