Tag: Self-care

Respect

What’s a skill you consider basic, that most people don’t actually know how to do?

When I was younger, we were taught respect; for our elders, for teachers, especially for our parents. And respecting those people gave us a high level of self-respect.

But that education is very rare today. People grow up, and are even being raised, to not respect anyone else, to believe that they are the most important person in the world, and that no one else’s rights matter. As a result they don’t even respect themselves.

So, what basic skill is missing that most people don’t know how to do it? Respect for others, which in turn generates self-respect.

Failure or Success

Successful people sometimes fail despite how hard they tried.

Unsuccessful people fail because they didn’t try at all.

Random Thinking

Do you think everything happens for a reason?

What’s strange about this question is that many people don’t believe in any sort of supreme being, but they believe everything happens for a reason, which suggests that someone is in control.

Confused yet?

Then add to that the fact that, if everything happens for a reason, there’s no point teaching our children to be careful when crossing the road, or using knives, or carrying scissors. After all, if everything happens for a reason, then we have no control over it.

Interestingly, many do believe in a supreme being, God, and that his sayings are recorded in the Bible. One of those sayings, recorded at Ecclesiastes 9v11 is, “time and chance happeneth to them all.” In other words, he does not control everything that happens to us. He gave us free will. And accidents happen.

We like to think that everything happens for a reason because, when accidents happen, we don’t want to be held responsible for our actions; we want to blame someone else.

Because the truth is that things often do happen for a reason; for the reason that we made a choice. All our choices have consequences, whether good or bad. And we need to stop trying to find someone else to blame and start taking responsibility for our own choices.

Treat? Or Lunch?

Responding to the desperate claims of needing lunch now, we find a quick serve café. The children aren’t interested in the fact that there are no tables for four people. They have to get to the counter to buy their food. 

The server looks at their sandwich, bag of popcorn, and drink and says, “Wow! You’re having a treat today.” 

Jenny (age 7) says, “It’s not a treat. It’s lunch.” The server laughs at the apparent innocence. 

“Sadly,” I said, “It’s not as funny at it seems. We are fostering them.” (We find that more people understand fostering than kinship caring.) “Before they came to us they were neglected until she was 3 years 9 months. They never knew where their next meal was coming from, or when it would be.”

“Mind blowing, isn’t it,” I add.

The server looks at me with greater respect. And a compassionate smile for the children. 

——————

Names have been changed to protect the innocent. But this is the experience of many foster carers and kinship carers, every day.

Animal Instincts

If you had to be an animal for a week, which one would you be and why?

Peregrine Falcon

I’ve always loved white tigers ever since I saw them at Bristol Zoo on a school trip. But that’s not what I’d want to be.

Red Kite

I think that of all the animals, I would have to opt for either a red kite, or a peregrine falcon. Such majestic birds.

And maybe then I’d overcome my reluctance to fly!