Be Aware

The first great gift we can bestow on others is a good example.

Thomas Morel
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Hello Belmopan Belize
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As with many youngsters I grew up surrounded by some vary bad influences. I was told what was right behavior, especially toward others, but I had few examples of that behavior to emulate. The way to be it seemed to me, was to be "out to get" others, one way or another. I became competitive in a harmful manner. And the guys I hung around with were of the same stamp. But I was about to enter a 4 step awareness program.

Step 1. I started to notice goodness. I began to realize that there were people around me who were doing kind and generous things without being asked. I was seeing pure altruism in action and it made no sense to me. Everyone had something wrong with them and it should be pointed out. They should be judged, criticized, scorned and laughed at. And yet there were people who actually overlooked what I considered people's faults and who praised and approved of them.

Step 2. I realized to my shame and bafflement that some people were treating me with the same goodness of heart and behavior. There was a genuine unselfishness in the actions of some of those around me. I was being thought of with approval and an acceptance beyond what I thought I deserved. That began to alter my own behavior, but only superficially. It didn't change my opinion of those I thought were beneath me, just my actions toward them, a tolerance which I felt they didn't deserve.

Step 3. To my great surprise I opened my mind enough to realize that the people who were being so kind to me were doing so because they recognized my negativity and were offering a source of healing to it by example. Instead of being lectured at or criticized, people were simply behaving toward me in a way that was an eloquent urge for me to be the person they wanted me to be and knew I could be. As a result I actually began to be that person. I disciplined myself to discard my negativity toward other people and learned to recognize the goodness in them and praise them for it.

Step 4. Having thus far leaned these lessons I set out to be the kind of person who could be the best example possible for others who were going through the same negative expressions I had been. Once free of scorn and ridicule it is easy to see it in others and to see how ugly it is. So I am paying back those who kindly brought me out of my own shadow by keeping the light on for others. This is a step I'm still working on.

DB - The Vagabond
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SPRING QUESTION
(This is not a contest)

There's still time to answer the Spring Question, so let's go.

NASA has planned to send a two man mission on an 18 month trip to the planet Mars. It would take 6 months for the astronauts to get there and after 6 months of exploration another 6 months to return.

Should they do it and why, and if not, why not?

dbdacoba@aol.com

Only 6 answers so far

I eagerly await your answer.

DB
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