Today's
Meditation:
Clarity
is an important element of our lives. Clarity at the
bottom line is simply being clear about something-- our
thoughts, our beliefs, our values. And while it's
not necessary for us to impose our values upon others in
order to live full lives, it is important that we take
care of ourselves by making sure that other people treat
us as we wish to be treated. And they can't do that
unless we let them know our standards so that they can
treat us according to those standards.
There
are certain words that I never want to hear-- they're
simply unacceptable to me as a human being. There
are certain ways that I won't accept people talking to me,
for they make me feel basically awful. There are
certain standards that I set for myself in my life that I
want others to respect, and if I truly respect myself,
then I'll insist that others respect me, also.
It's
not about setting rules or trying to get people to act in
certain ways. It's not a question of setting
unattainable standards that no one else can meet.
It's also not about being rigid or inflexible. It is
about self-respect and the maintenance of our own
dignity. You and I both deserve to be treated with
dignity and respect, and sometimes we simply have to set
standards if we want to be treated as we deserve to be
treated.
There's
a very short list of things that I simply won't stand for,
for I realize that other people see life differently than
I do. They don't see the harm in things that I see
harm in, and I don't feel a need to make them see things
my way. But those things on that short list are
very, very important to me, and if I want to treat myself
well, I do need to let others know what I will and won't
stand for.
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