Several years ago, I stumbled across the poem “On This Day”. It struck me, glued me to my spot as I read it and then read it again.  I think about these words from time to time and every once in a while they are so strongly planted in my mind that I feel that I need to share them.  Perhaps someone else is in need of their wisdom.  Or maybe it is just me that needs to pay closer attention to their message.  Today is one of those days.  In particular I’m struck with the words “examine your demands on others”.

It is very easy to sit back and judge what people have done or haven’t done, where they have let you down, where they didn’t meet your expectations or do what you had hoped or what you thought they should do.  We are so hard on each other. We really are. When in reality, when I stop and think about it, when I take a breath and consider it all, what I realize  is that we are all just doing the best we can. Examine your demands. Speak your love.  And speak it again.

On This Day

Mend a quarrel. Search out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a love letter. Share some treasure. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in a word or deed.

Keep a promise. Find the time. Forego a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Listen. Apologize if you were wrong. Try to understand. Flout envy. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Appreciate, be kind, be gentle. Laugh a little more.

Deserve confidence. Take up arms against malice. Decry complacency. Express your gratitude. Worship your God. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love. Speak it again. Speak it still again. Speak it still once again.

– Author Unknown