Self

 The way you treat others is the way you treat yourself. 

True respect for another comes from self respect. 

True love for another comes from self love. 

True forgiveness for another comes from self forgiveness.

It seems this world is filled with those who are unaware how to treat others.  It could be due to instant gratification, a method of having things so much quicker than ever before.  It could be that over time, the need to communicate with others outside of text, email, IM, or social media outlets has replaced a phone call, a face-to-face visit.  It could be that, as a society, we have shifted from a faith-based, God fearing society, to a society that focuses more on ourselves.  In any case, it seems our world has changed drastically from what it may have even been 5 or 10 years ago.

We live in a world that often tells us we are not good enough if we do not have the newest television, the biggest house, the fastest car.  We live in a world that allows the clever to succeed, while those who think from the heart are looked down upon.  Our need for love is ever higher, but the version of love we consider is often fleeting, and not meant to last over the testing of time.

In a world so full of information, we are faced with greater questions about who we are, what we are, and how we fit in.  Gone are the days where a person could go to work, perform well, receive payment for the hard work, and raise your family knowing you would retire with benefits from that company.  Instead, we are now staying at a company on average 5 years, struggling to figure ways to support our families.  The American dream has suffered at the hands of greedy individuals who take all they can, leaving nothing left behind for others to touch.  After all, everything we have in our lives is gained by credit, and not by actual hand-in-cash methods.  For those unable to gain credit, they do without.  For those who are able to gain credit abuse the methods of which credit was intended. 

I am not always at my best, do not always allow myself to forgive easily.  I often fail at this quality.  But every day offers me a chance to pursue forgiveness for my actions, to love myself more, and to respect myself enough to walk away when something does not feel right.  I may not be easy for others to love on a consistent basis, but I am also not selfish in my love I give to others.  I have faith in the kindness of others, in the hearts of others, and some days it seems this is also my downfall.  My own self believes beyond a shadow of a doubt until given reason to believe otherwise.  And in that moment where the doubt enters, I need to learn to let go, to not let the disappointing actions of others affect and effect my own actions and reactions.