Upon First Meeting…
As I have reflected on my life, I have come to know why it is that I do not judge others at first meeting, or why I do not hold grudges. I can talk with people easily and I treat people with respect. I have spent many hours meditating on my life and the impact I make on the lives of others. What it all comes down to is my philosophy of human relations.
In my reflections, I have realized that I treat people as individuals, as separate beings. I use a journal as a metaphor on how my philosophy works. Let me explain…
Each time I meet a new person, a journal is instantly created with their name on it. I have thousands of journals in my “library” of friend, relative, and acquaintances. The journal is like the person. It has the face of the person on the cover; it has preformatted pages and a hard cover which protects that “Journal” from the world around it. There are lines on each page but the lines are blank. I don’t know you so there is no information or comments in the journal about you. It is a “blank slate” so to say.
I view everyone as a journal in which our relationship will be written. The difference between my “journals” and the average relationship model is that I do not write in the journal, YOU DO! When we meet, I already like you; I have no reason not to. You have done me no harm and you have never cheated me or abused me in any way. I consider you in the best of human relations.
As for the writings in the journal, it is up to you to write either good or bad about yourself. It is the following Buddhist teaching that explains this best…
“If you throw a ball very hard at a wall, it is not the walls fault and it is not because of any intention on the walls part that the ball bounces back to you. It is not that the wall is aggressive. It is you that is the cause of the balls return”
If you treat me with respect, kindness, and compassion, I will return it to you in kind. If you mistreat me, that too will be returned in the way I return mistreatment…I close the journal and push it to the back of the library with the ill words you have written in it as a reminder of your unkind behavior. Now it is not to say that the journal cannot be reopened and a new page written, it is always possible to seek forgiveness, and I am always open to the friendships that could be, instead of the enemies that are.
As for changing the writings in your journal in my library, the following Buddhist teaching explains it best…
“Change must come from the inside. The only thing we can change absolutely is ourselves, our attitudes, and our outlook. No one can stop you from changing what’s inside you.”
As this is the Christian holiday of Easter, I will paraphrase from the Bible. It is what I have taught my children from day one and summarizes all of the Commandments and preaching’s of the New Testament”…
“Treat others as you wish to be treated! (Do unto others as you would have them do unto you!)”
May The Force Keep You Safe And Guide You!
