Call me old school, but when did stepping off the corner of the sidewalk into a busy street become an act of demanding respect instead of, asking for it, or even *gasp* earning it?
I shake my head on a daily basis as I enter the school grounds and children, as well as their parents just walk in front of cars driving in the parking lot. Is this trust, faith, or another divine attribute that I have yet to obtain?
I think I misunderstood the values that I have held so close; Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice and Accountability, Good Works, Integrity, and Virtue.
As a parent, I try to find ways to teach lessons to my child through my mistakes and trials, not that I don’t want him to experience life and understand hardship, but that I want to guide him to be a better person. If a “mom parable” for lack of a better term, helps him see the other side of someone’s trials, could he learn that he can offer a sympathetic hand of assistance, a listening ear, and a word of kindness, or even just a smile or hug?
I fear that these things are not however what holds other people together. Respect has come to a new frontier, we all want it but have somehow failed to see that it’s not a gift. We all want to be different and yet accepted. We all want to be celebrated and rewarded, but what have we done to earn that?
I don’t have the answers. But I can tell you, one of these days, I am not going to see someone who just stepped out in front of my car, and I hope that day I have been sticking to my values. I may not know what a day may bring, but I know who brings each new day!
CowGal's Land 