I read a quote today that said “Judge a man’s character by how he treats people he does not know, and things he does not own”.
I don’t know when this quote was made or who made it, but that is irrelevant. What is important is the message that it holds.
I was raised to be polite, well mannered and respectful – to have respect for your parents, respect for women, respect for authority figures such as police officers – and to generally just behave myself. I was taught to not touch anything that wasn’t mine. I was taught to wait my turn for things. I was taught to ask for things politely and to say please and thank you.
Sadly I think that there are certain sections of humanity, thankfully in the minority, where it is seemingly all about them and what THEY can get out of any situation. The thought of how their choices and actions will affect others seems to have dissipated on some levels, and depending on the situation. We have all had different influences and influencers growing up, but we’ve all experienced puberty and its challenges, so from that sense we all share the same experience. Perhaps it is how we’ve coped with the crap that has happened along the way that shapes how we act and react today.
Whilst the ME attitude may be an indictment on society as a whole, there are things that YOU can do to make the world a better, happier and more cohesive place. Think of what you were taught in respect to how you treat others, their property and their differences and use these lessons in a positive way.
My son recently turned 13 and I worry about how he will turn out emotionally. He is already almost as tall as me so he’s won the physical battle!! I am a man who has no fear of showing his emotions and of sharing his feelings and I certainly do not see either of these as a weakness. I worry that my son will not want to know about any of this. I worry that he might not think it is cool to like the things he likes and will abandon his possessions, views and values for sake of being accepted into a group that may not or does not truly accept him.
Whenever I ask him how everything is going he always says that things are okay and I believe him, but there is a nagging little piece of me as his Dad that wants to be beside him every step of the way through life so that he won’t get hurt. I know I can’t do that so then I think of how I went through my teen years. My own Dad worked long hours and as 1 of 7 kids didn’t necessarily get much individual attention from him, but is that his fault? I don’t think so. I never got the ‘birds and the bees talk I was happy in my own company as a kid – like I said I was 1 of 7 – yet I also had to navigate the world as a teenage boy pretty mcuh on my own. Discovering the opposite sex, growing a bigger body with weird bits and getting stronger every day. So now I am wondering how my son is coping with the same things? I know he has stuff on his mind when he is quieter than usual, yet I can only let him know – which I do constantly – that I am there for him whenever he needs me and no matter what he might want to tell me or talk to me about. All I can do is teach him the same values I was taught, and hope that he lives by them.
I measure myself by the fact that I live these values. The measure of my son is how he will become his own man, and all I can do is sit back and watch it unfold. Whatever choices he makes, he will learn to live by them and accept any consequences. If he chooses to live his life by the same values that were instilled in me and which his Mum and I are instilling in him then I know that I will leave this earth a happy and very proud father.
And my son will have grown up as his own man.
Health-your-self.com 