No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another. – Charles Dickens

I have always believed that the reason we are here is to help each other become better and support one another in this journey we call life. One of the ways in which we can be a huge help to others is by re-evaluating our own attitude towards life. Every once in a while, it’s a healthy exercise to ask ourselves one or more of the following questions:
Have we unknowingly affected others through certain behaviors we no longer notice in ourselves?
Are we mindful of the value and importance of other people’s time?
Do we offer others the same respect and consideration we expect (or request) from them?
One of the things I have observed is that many of us lose sight of other people’s lives when we are immersed in minding our own. While most of us don’t consciously try to negatively affect others, it is astonishing how the risk of hurting others increases when we are too wrapped up in accomplishing our own objectives or when we lose sight of the big picture because we are too focused in solving our own issues. What may represent an irrelevant change of plans for us might in fact turn someone else’s day into a nightmare. Commenting something in a casual way may end up causing someone else a profound sorrow. The examples abound and their consequences can be shattering.
We’re all in this journey together. Whenever possible, try to lighten the burdens of another. It pays off – trust me!
Beverly (docbeverly@aol.com)