Confucius Say!
We were at dinner with Jay and Marilyn Royer this evening, We ate at the Asian Fusion restaurant. They have wonderful food and even more wonderful, generous, caring management. When the meal was finished we received Fortune Cookies with these messages. Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting their battles too! Business is a lot like tennis, if you don’t serve well, you lose! Compassion will cure more than condemnation! Actions speak louder than talks!
There is almost no substitute for being kind. When we get irritated and raise our voice or become sarcastic, it hurts ourselves most of all. And as we have said so many times, it is difficult to know what is occurring inside someone else. We have not had their life experience. So when someone acts rude in traffic or is acting in an unloving way; we cannot know what has happened for them to be that way.
I play tennis a lot and my serve is the best part of my game. It makes the game easier because a strong serve can win a point in one stroke. Of course, this fortune is perhaps well said inside an eatery. Even if the food is good and the service is poor, they would not do well. And the metaphor implies that in life, how we serve, determines a lot of how our world will turn out. There are so many unselfish folks serving all over the globe, and we all benefit by their selflessness. So, by serving well, we all win! Even in tennis!
I can’t imagine when condemnation ever supported humanity. Even if people break a law and are “condemned” to serve a prison term; we as a society have lost. When any of us do something that deserves that kind of punishment, it is a sad day. Perhaps we can all be more loving and supportive of each other and these kinds of events won’t occur as frequently. Let us all be more compassionate!
Teddy Roosevelt said “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” He, of course was referring to international diplomacy. It meant to negotiate peacefully, with the knowledge that if things went wrong, our country could defend itself. I propose a new saying. “Speak softly and have a big heart.” Our actions do speak louder than our words. What we do, carries the truth with it. What we say can always be interpreted or can be misinformation. We will all be remembered for what we did, not what we said! From my fortunate heart to yours, Thomas