We never know what kind of day a person is having - even if on the surface they seem to be "fine" we really don't know that.
A favorite quote of mine I believe attributed to Marjorie P. Hinckley says, "You can love anybody once you know their story." I firmly believe this and all it takes are words to get to know somebody.
At work I once did an exercise where we had to write down what we thought people would say at our funerals, since that's usually (sadly) the time when all the niceties come out. I thought it was also a great way to build our own selves up by thinking about what others see in us. It's also a wake up call to work on things that put people off.
The words I think of for myself (and please know I'm not fishing for anything from you specifically) are some good, some not-so-good:
- Smiley
- Annoying
- Kind
- Selfish
- One-sighted
- Complainer-y
- Friendly
- Sensitive
- Good
- Loved
- Snotty
- Singer
- Happy
- Sad
- Rule Abider
- Depressed
- Joyful...
I personally don't like thinking people are annoyed with me, yet I have no doubt, NO DOUBT WHATSOEVER that they are and probably often. I appreciate the fact that most of them don't tell me how annoying I get to be. I am fairly self-aware and recognize when I am dumb, annoying, obnoxious, etc. It's almost like an out-of-body experience when I am that way because I know better and I think my true nature is not that way.
I dunno - maybe you disagree.
I am working on being more aware of others and their needs. I've always been fairly sensitive to those around me (it's something I pray for every night, actually), but I also let myself get in the way, which in turn has people annoyed or angry with me. And while I shouldn't care too much about what others think of me, I DO CARE and it's important to me to bring more joy/happiness/kindness to the world around me. If it's something I can do, then I wanna do it.
And now I probably sound awfully full of myself. Sorry, though not sorry. It's who I am.
I think.
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