I first published this post in January 2022, so please add four years to the times given below.
Last year, someone with spiritual beliefs different from mine commented on TREE. He asked specific questions about my beliefs. I said I don’t get into that on TREE because I want it to be a place where anyone who wants to grow will feel welcome, no matter what their spirituality is or isn’t. (Same goes for politics and economics.) I said, shall we have a chat? He said, yes, let’s. So we did. And he asked real questions and did real listening. We both went away from the conversation with our beliefs unchanged but our lives enriched and our understanding deepened.
I have some clients who are Christians. When they saw what the bible says about God being on the side of widows and orphans, they took it seriously. They are now on the road to becoming qualified foster parents. I don’t know how much you know about foster parenting. It’s a tough, 24/7 job. I think they have what it takes to do it really well.
A few weeks ago, a creative friend asked me to endorse a thing they made. I looked at it. I didn’t think it was good enough yet. It made me sick to do it, but I wanted to be honest. I told them I couldn’t endorse their thing. My friend replied asking what I thought was needed to make it good enough. They put the quality of their work before their ego.
People like these who live their values, even when it is inconvenient (or lifechangingly hard), are the best people. Try to be like them.
—Jeff
Put the good in, get it in return. The universe is watching and listening.
Grow slowly
Skyler
I play a game called "going about doing good", guaranteed to change a day up🙌