Just A Little Bit, Just A Little Bit

By now you may have watched this video which has been on TV and has been going “viral” on Face Book.  It involves a young girl who was caught with prescription drugs and who is facing a bail sentence from a judge in Florida.  In case you haven’t seen it:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLA7dQ-uxR0&feature=youtu.be. 

I’m taking it as a sign that on a week wherein I wanted to talk about my pet peeves, this video pretty much sums up what I wanted to blog about today.  What I recognize as a prevalent lack of respect for others as well as an attitude of entitlement that is so pervasive in our culture lately.  You can see it manifest itself as chronic tardiness and what I consider another one of my pet peeves: people who just saunter across the street instead of crossing in a timely manner.  I feel like telling them, “Look, you may not have something important to do, but other people may.  Walk with purpose!!”

Now, I don’t want to rant without intention.  I think it’s alright to recognize why certain things bother us and to talk about it, but what’s not alright is to complain, and then do nothing to change.  It’s easy to shake our heads and then say, “This world is going to heck in a hand basket!” and then throw up our hands and leave it at that.  That’s NOT okay, and in my opinion, it’s pretty cowardly.  A friend of mine said it this way, “We were not meant to be a thermometer, but a thermostat”.  What does that mean?  A thermometer just measures what the atmosphere is like, but a thermostat can change it! We have the power to change this world; we have the power to do so in a wise, respectful, honoring manner, but it’s going to take a discerning, brave few to start, and WE are just the perfect bunch!

So now you’re probably asking, what do we do about a disrespectful attitude?  How do we change a mind-set of entitlement?  Well, to be honest, I don’t have all the answers; which is why we need each other’s input.   I’m thinking a good place to start is with ourselves and the people nearest to us.  We model and teach respect towards ourselves and others by not cursing each other on the freeway.  We ask for and accept help from one another.  We show a good work ethic without complaining.  We “save up” for luxuries instead of paying on credit.  We appreciate what we have instead of comparing to others.  We celebrate another person’s accomplishments instead of being jealous.  We honor someone else’s time by being timely ourselves.  Hey, how about an attitude of gratitude (hmmm, sounds familiar….)? 

This isn’t going to be easy, but I know we can do this.  I’m looking forward to hearing your pet peeves as well as your suggestions for how we can become “thermostats”.  You guys ROCK!

-Tessa L. Charles