There is something I think a lot of us today are really guilty of - being mean. It's just an epidemic among today's society. If we think someone is annoying or if they say something we don't like, we instantly treat them like they're a person we are better than. The thing is, we are all created by God. Each one of us was hand sculpted by Him and are made in His image. He knew each and every one of us by name before we were even born. So often we think that we are better than other people. We may think we're prettier, smarter, more talented, or more skilled than that person or that group of people. We let our pride in our own selves become so great that we treat others badly. What we don't know is that sometimes, what we say can really hurt a person. I know I'd feel so guilty if something I said caused someone to harm themselves or made them feel really upset. We let our pride in our own "special-ness" bring others down. We rise by lifting others. The most beautiful, talented, and lovely people I know are people that went out and bettered the people around them and their communities. Look at people like Maya Angelou or Oprah Winfrey, whether we like what they stand for or not, we can't say that those women haven't tried to better the world around them. They don't waste time bringing people down, they don't waste time bettering themselves of praising their accomplishments, they focus on what they can do to be a blessing. "Treat others the way you wanted to be treated" is a mantra we've heard since young age, yet how often do we really follow that? Who cares if you don't agree with that person's beliefs, who cares if you think that person is unattractive or unskilled? There's probably someone in the world who thinks that of you. We need to forgive what has hurt us in the past and realize that we've probably done lots of things to hurt others in our past too. Then, we need to create more Maya Angelou's. We need to go out and better those around us, do things that show we don't think we're better than everyone else, and we need to be encouraging to each and every person around us. We aren't guaranteed tomorrow, we need to love people today.
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