Friday, February 13, 2009
Practice what you preach
Everyone wants to merit respect of others. It is when you feel you are respected that you feel proud inside. You become at ease with yourself, confident and happy.
Actually, the shortest way of achieving this objective is to be yourself…to be sincerely honest with what you think, what you believe, and what you want to say and do. Unfortunately, there are people who want to get the respect of others by pretending, by putting on a mask of something, which they are not, by asking others to do what they themselves cannot do.
For instance, you would hear a politician say: “Now is the time for reconciliation. Let us forget past differences and be one in support of our government. Only thru reconciliation we can hope to attain development and progress.” Then an aide whispers:
“Sir, there’s someone on the phone. He wants to talk to you.”
“Who is it?”
“It’s that commentator of Radio Station DYNADA.”
“Tell him to go to hell. He campaigned for my opponent in the last elections.”
There is even a joke about a priest, who, on the pulpit, was exhorting the congregation to leave behind the temptations of the flesh. He was saying:
“Follow the path of purity, don’t look aside, else you will be tempted. If on this day, you are having illicit relations with someone, break it. Leave her, else, when judgment day comes, you will be condemned to burn in hell”.
Then a voice from somewhere below the podium said:
“Father what about me?”
He then put his hand over his mouth in an attempt to muffle his voice and said: “Ssssh, ours will go on!”
We don’t play this kind of game only with adults. Sometimes or is it oftentimes?, we are even insincere to our own children.
Take the case of a mother who wanted to impress upon her daughter the proper behavior of a polished, educated, and conservative lady: “No flirting over the phone! If somebody calls, talk to him in a refined manner. Do not show emotion or excitement. He might think you’re that ez-to-get.”
Then as is providence, the telephone rings. The daughter runs to pick up the receiver. The mother looks at her sternly to remind the daughter of what she had just said. The daughter paused for a moment, perhaps to drive away all excitement and emotion, and then, picks up the receiver.
“Hello!” she answers dryly. Knowing that the call was not for her and apparently disappointed. She looks up to her mother and says:
“It’s for you!”
Suddenly the mothers’ eyes sparkle. She grabs the receiver from her daughter’s hand, and controlling her own emotions she said:
“Hello!” There is a short pause, then her eyes lights up. “I thought you won’t call. Really? No, he’s not here. He will be working overtime. When? Right now? Aaah…okay! Give me a few minutes to change. Okay! Bye…take care!”
Then realizing that her daughter was closely watching, she sternly says:
“Hey! That’s your Dad!” forgetting entirely that it was her daughter who answered the phone first.
Incidents like these are happening in our daily lives. To gain the respect of others we attempt to project an image which is not actually ours. We don’t only fool others, we also fool ourselves by thinking that we are what we are not. All premises considered…we are…all of us…Fools.
Reminds me of a story about a doctor of a mental hospital. In one of his rounds, he dropped by the room of a patient who was about to be dismissed from the hospital. He was declared cured and well.
To find out for himself whether the patient should be dismissed, the doctor asked questions:
“Name, please!”
The patient answered: “Napoleon Bonaparte”
The doctor smiled sarcastically and countered:
“Who said so?”
The patient answered back: “GOD!”
The doctor’s eyes widen and his face assumes an angry expression and he declares:
“NO! I DID NOT!”
Actually, the shortest way of achieving this objective is to be yourself…to be sincerely honest with what you think, what you believe, and what you want to say and do. Unfortunately, there are people who want to get the respect of others by pretending, by putting on a mask of something, which they are not, by asking others to do what they themselves cannot do.
For instance, you would hear a politician say: “Now is the time for reconciliation. Let us forget past differences and be one in support of our government. Only thru reconciliation we can hope to attain development and progress.” Then an aide whispers:
“Sir, there’s someone on the phone. He wants to talk to you.”
“Who is it?”
“It’s that commentator of Radio Station DYNADA.”
“Tell him to go to hell. He campaigned for my opponent in the last elections.”
There is even a joke about a priest, who, on the pulpit, was exhorting the congregation to leave behind the temptations of the flesh. He was saying:
“Follow the path of purity, don’t look aside, else you will be tempted. If on this day, you are having illicit relations with someone, break it. Leave her, else, when judgment day comes, you will be condemned to burn in hell”.
Then a voice from somewhere below the podium said:
“Father what about me?”
He then put his hand over his mouth in an attempt to muffle his voice and said: “Ssssh, ours will go on!”
We don’t play this kind of game only with adults. Sometimes or is it oftentimes?, we are even insincere to our own children.
Take the case of a mother who wanted to impress upon her daughter the proper behavior of a polished, educated, and conservative lady: “No flirting over the phone! If somebody calls, talk to him in a refined manner. Do not show emotion or excitement. He might think you’re that ez-to-get.”
Then as is providence, the telephone rings. The daughter runs to pick up the receiver. The mother looks at her sternly to remind the daughter of what she had just said. The daughter paused for a moment, perhaps to drive away all excitement and emotion, and then, picks up the receiver.
“Hello!” she answers dryly. Knowing that the call was not for her and apparently disappointed. She looks up to her mother and says:
“It’s for you!”
Suddenly the mothers’ eyes sparkle. She grabs the receiver from her daughter’s hand, and controlling her own emotions she said:
“Hello!” There is a short pause, then her eyes lights up. “I thought you won’t call. Really? No, he’s not here. He will be working overtime. When? Right now? Aaah…okay! Give me a few minutes to change. Okay! Bye…take care!”
Then realizing that her daughter was closely watching, she sternly says:
“Hey! That’s your Dad!” forgetting entirely that it was her daughter who answered the phone first.
Incidents like these are happening in our daily lives. To gain the respect of others we attempt to project an image which is not actually ours. We don’t only fool others, we also fool ourselves by thinking that we are what we are not. All premises considered…we are…all of us…Fools.
Reminds me of a story about a doctor of a mental hospital. In one of his rounds, he dropped by the room of a patient who was about to be dismissed from the hospital. He was declared cured and well.
To find out for himself whether the patient should be dismissed, the doctor asked questions:
“Name, please!”
The patient answered: “Napoleon Bonaparte”
The doctor smiled sarcastically and countered:
“Who said so?”
The patient answered back: “GOD!”
The doctor’s eyes widen and his face assumes an angry expression and he declares:
“NO! I DID NOT!”
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