Good thoughts

As I look outside the window on this rainy day, I am searching my mind for what to write. Usually, I have a subject in mind, and a portion of the total ensconced in my mind. Not this time -- until it occurred to me that one of my favorite ideas wanted to be out of my mind and onto paper. So if I have written these words before, it is because they remind me of sermons I have heard before, or words from church, or reading poetry, reading from the Bible, etc.

My father, who was the fairest person I ever knew, had some words for his children. Spoken in frequently stentorian tones, his response to a long face at the dinner table was, "What's the matter with you? You got a place to sleep, food to eat, clothes to wear and everything you really need." (Not always what you want, of course.)

They are words to live by, though. They have stayed with me over the years and have stood me in good stead. Of course, I must say that our responses to things people had done or said or whatever was the case at the time, was not always what Pop would have wanted us to say or do. We were not perfect by any means. Pop's feelings were not so much how we would react to an unkindness, but to be sure that we did not do an unkindness to others.

By and large, those words have echoed through my mind for as long as I can remember. So far as I am concerned, it all boils down to the Golden Rule. I really believe that if we lived by that rule, everything else would fall in line. Knowding human nature, I don't believe it will be easy to enforce such a rule. I am quite sure there are oodles of people who follow the rule better than I do. But I still try.

So far as rights were concerned, Pop often said that no one had the right to tread on another person's rights. His natural follow-up was that "your rights stop where the other guy's begin." Try living by that one.

If I have succeeded at all in being what I believe we all should be, it is due in a large way to my father's discourse on rights.

My prayer every night is to be a better person. There are times when I despair of that happening, but I will continue to try.

So for the drizzle outside, and the wet feet when I do go outside, I will just put up with it. Sure, I like sunshine better, but most people do. I believe I read somewhere that a group of medical people had proved that sunshine does make people feel better. I'm sure that if I wake up to sunshine tomorrow, I will have a better day. Count that as my first blessings of a new day.

Lest someone think that my father was a total pacifist, no way. We also had remarks spoken to us of the proper way to deal with someone who does not respect our rights. 'Nough said.