As This Ever Happened To You...?

This morning I was sitting here drinking my coffee...and I got to thinking. Always a bad sign, don't you think?

Several things occurred to me about my past life, and I thought I might mention them here to see if anyone else has ever experienced the same.

All through my life, I have been talked at, talked about, talked down to, talked over, and talked around...but very few times has someone actually talked TO me!

For most of my life, my opinion has been demanded of me, given to me, subject to change for me, bribed for, ransomed for, offered to pay for, and misinterpreted or misunderstood...but seldom has anyone just simply and honestly ASKED for it!

I have been looked over, looked through, overlooked, looked in the direction of, looked at but not seen, looked at to size up..but very few times has anyone looked straight at me EYE TO EYE!

Often I have had my hand pawed, pumped up and down, drowned by a sweaty palm, engulfed limply, slapped both playfully and for real, symbolically shaken, and even almost raised...but only on a few happy occasions have I ever had my hand firmly shaken as a new or reunited FRIEND!

Far, far too often I have been pushed out of the way, pulled down, pushed aside, pushed down, pushed in the wrong direction, pushed to the edge, pushed to my limit....but only a few remembered times in my life, have I ever had anyone offer to help push me UP!

I have been picked on, picked last, not picked at all, picked over and even picked clean...but once in a great while, I have had the honor of being picked as a new acquaintance or maybe even an advisor!

Most of these actions hurt a little. Most are done without even thinking about it. Most are done by nearly all of us from time to time, either on purpose or by accident. No matter how they are done, the impression and the damage is always the same.

To make sure that I do the best that I can to avoid these negative actions as much as I can. For instance, if you (or I) are in a gathering, such as a party or meeting or group activity...take the time to look around you. Scan the crowd a little and carefully look at the faces.

You'll probably see at least one person, maybe standing with their back to the wall, not far from a doorway...that has a look on his or her face that can only be saying "What am I doing here?" When you find that one person, walk purposefully up to them, offer them your hand while looking them straight in the eye, give them a nice firm hand shake and say in all honesty "Hello, my name is (your name) and I'm really glad to see you!"

Most of the time you'll immediately see the lost look disappear and a smile replace it. You will have just made a possible outsider feel as though they are a participating member of a group, and you will quite possibly just have made a new friend! Best of all, deep down inside...you have the satisfaction of knowing you have done something positive FOR someone and not TO them.

Now, let's have another cup of coffee, my friend!