A Return To Civility
3 Reasons I began with myself
Where is civility in our world today? It certainly isn’t in many conversations, interactions, or judgments I’ve recently observed. Do we think that little of ourselves that we demonstrate such disdain and disrespect towards those around us?
Acting with civility is a choice I make every day. What happened to the phrase “Do no harm?” Does no one care that we are destroying our physical, mental, emotional, and social environments each time we act without civility?
Hey, I’m not asking for perfection from anyone, and it’s because of past and present observations that I have even approached this topic. I asked myself, “What can I do?” to flip the trend away from physical, mental, and emotional violence.
The Answer? Start with numero uno! Yep, that’s right, start with me, myself, and I. You know, start with yourself.
Here are three tips for getting straight with who you are and what you want this world to look like.
- Ask yourself if what you are doing now is working for you, and if not, decide to change. Personal decisions are often difficult to make. It isn’t necessary to go it alone. I found it easier if I was courageous enough to ask for help.
- No matter your age, create or recreate a set of values that honor life and be disciplined in employing them in your daily actions — yes…discipline and practice are two important keys to a new perspective.
- Read positive materials voraciously and listen to uplifting podcasts and radio shows without end. Also, choose media that induces love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Such a choice returns big dividends on your time investment.
Compassion, self-examination, vulnerability, and collaboration with the divine and spiritual humans are keys to recovering from the torturous events that continue to divide us.
I found that examining my motives for what I say and do and asking for help to improve my responses to life’s circumstances enabled me to be more civil with those around me, making life a lot more enjoyable.
Albert Einstein once said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle”.
If he was correct, and I am in no position to contradict him, then our choice is evident. Go with the miracles! In my judgment and experience, we must yield to the possibility that miracles do occur and can influence every life on this planet.
Change is as possible for all of us as any other event. Look for the possibilities, lean into them, employ them, and love them without fear!
I don’t intend to offer platitudes here, but my reality has demonstrated the truth of Einstein’s comments. Here’s an example:
After failing in two marriages, it certainly would have been easy for me to give up, call myself an asshole, and live the rest of my life in despair because there are no miracles.
Or, as Einstein insinuated, I could believe that there is nothing but miracles and move on to the next moment. And what do you think happened?
Read this, and you may get a slightly different perspective on what’s possible.
Okay, back to civility. In my judgment and experience, believing something is possible initiates the manifestation process. Right now, there aren’t too many things that I want to see manifest more than a return to civility in my/our world.
I miss it. I missed it in my relationships and myself, and that caused much damage to me and those around me. So, I decided to change it.
I miss it in our political environment and want to return to a time when disagreement wasn’t so damn disagreeable, so damn violent.
I’m sorry, but I don’t see the value in denigrating someone’s character by calling them a derogatory name. Please help me understand, if you can, what that accomplishes.
Being civil with another human being demonstrates respect for them and everyone else. I don’t know about you, but I’m choosing to respect myself and others. I’m also looking for the miracles yet to come!
I hope you are too!
