(03-14-2017, 05:36 PM)BadDad Wrote: I'm with celestino ...the older I get, the less I am concerned with the actions of others that do not impact me.
There was a time in my life when little things bothered. I was easily angered by the actions of others that I perceived to be an affront to my personal sensibilities. As I've grown, I've come to realize that it is actually rare to encounter someone that is truly rude for the sake of rudeness alone, or is so arrogant and self-absorbed that rudeness just oozes from their personality. Certainly, those people exist, but as I have encountered more people that were only perceived as rude due to mitigating circumstances easily observed, I have learned to give the benefit of the doubt more often than not.
These days, my main goal in life is to raise my daughter to be respectful to everyone. I try very hard to instill in her 3 main concepts:
1-You cannot control what other people do, only how you respond to it
2-Everybody in this world is dealing with a problem you know nothing about, right now. Be kind.
3-Don't let anyone take advantage of you. Be kind, but be strong. You are not better than anyone else, but nobody is better than you either. You can be strong and assertive without being mean.
For me...I try to look past the way a person presents themselves physically, and focus on the way they present themselves in character. Respect given is respect earned, even if you look like you've spent the last 4 days sleeping in a ditch. There are some really decent people that find themselves in very difficult situations, and judging them for that, rather than the content of their character, is unfair, in my opinion. I've seen hard times, and I certainly wouldn't want anyone judging me for my struggles...
Chris, I was so impressed by this. I wish I could say that I live my life by your thoughts here but the best I can offer is that I try but don't always succeed. I am never happy when I don't but just attempt to do better the next time. I find that certain unimportant things get under my skin. I do my best to get over them without a negative action on my part. That, invariably, works in my favor. When I mess up, I try to learn and move on. I guess it's called life.
As for the back and forth on the beard, where would Santa Claus be without his? Besides, it was your incredible beard and moustache, as well as your help and encouragement, that got me to attempt my current look of a waxed handlebar moustache. I am always pleasantly surprised when a perfect stranger, either male or female, walks by and compliments me on it. If anyone doesn't like it or thinks it looks silly, he or she has never been rude enough to say so. Therefore, as far as I know, everyone likes it and that works for me.