Give And Take In Real Life
A Publishous writing prompt
It’s a rare person who is brought up to be unkind to others deliberately. Granted, some people are taught to be that way by the defining characteristics of their lives, but mostly we’re taught to be good.
The children who learn the dystopian Golden Rule — “Take what you want from others because if you can get it from them, they didn’t want it that badly in the first place” do exist, but are not common.
Mostly what we’re taught is to be kind to others. What we are not taught is how to react when others are kind to us. Of course, most of us know what to say when someone gives us something.
“What do you say???” must surely be the most leading parental question ever. But what do we do when we’re grown up and left to our own devices?
Many times, when people are kind to us, we are at a loss as to how to react to those actions. Kindness isn’t an anomaly in our world, but we’re not taught to expect it. So when it does show itself in the actions of our friends or even total strangers, we’re taken aback.
What do I do now? What do I say? What does this person really want back from me? These reactions are common and usually inappropriate to the situation.
