I know! Let's have an Island Party!

So, I am in my meditation this morning, when what should pop into my brain but the movie “Cast Away” with Tom Hanks. How in the world did he get into my meditation? The scene that came to me was the scene after he had been rescued and they throw him a welcome home party. The theme for the party is an island theme with lots of coconuts and shrimp. I remember his face as he looks at the food and almost vomits; this is what he has been eating for months! Oh, how good a pizza would have been. What flashed in my mind in my meditation is the thoughtlessness of other people. No one took the time to think what he went through. If they had, they certainly would not have had a cute island party.

How often do we do this? Not thinking of others around us. The message we put out there is one of not caring or simply not being aware.

Let me give you a few examples;
You’re driving in your car and a text comes in. You pick up your phone and text back. You figure “I’m good at it and the traffic is flowing.” Or worse you pick it up and text with no thought at all. Or, how about this: You decide to text when you stop driving because, if not for your own safety, you think of the other people driving around you.

Most of us want to help others in life, “What can I do?” “What can I give?” but I say, it’s sometimes what you do NOT do. I know that’s no fun. The ego can’t shine in that. No one will know how you’ve helped. No one will see how wonderful of a person you are. Maybe this is the problem. We need to stop caring about how others are going to praise us and just live our life with self-confidence.

How about this example? So many people I know say something like, “Oh hey everyone, the party is going to be so fun tomorrow night. There is going to be a big surprise. They only told me, but you’re going to love it!” It may be subtle, but you’ve just told everyone how very special only you are and that everyone else is not good enough to have been told. Why not just say, “Can’t wait till the party tomorrow night. It’s going to be great!”

See, it’s in what you did not do or say that is sometimes what matters most.
Look all around you, there are examples everywhere. Do you walk through a crowded mall and stop in the walkway to dig through your bags, or do you think about others and move to the side? Do you put your cart back from the store because you think how it could roll into somebody’s car? And how about the big one: gossip? Do you choose not to say anything?

Yes, these are the little things in life called courtesy. How we treat others. There is no glory in it. It lurks in the background, but it’s a true answer to how we can care for everyone on the planet.
So, next time you wonder how you can help, think of others and what you can “not” do or say.

Let’s make this a year of awareness of those around us. Happy 2012 everyone!