The way to understanding

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it. Harper Lee

It's an art of sorts to get outside of yourself and purposefully place yourself in the shoes of another. It's an act of selflessness to consider another's perspective. Have you ever let go of your irritation with someone long enough to try and understand where they might be coming from? Have you ever made the choice to go beyond the surface of someones behavior and try to understand their depths - where they speak and behave from? We cannot really know another person until we make the decision to "climb inside of his [her] skin and walk around in it." Until we make a decision to come to an understanding of who they really are below the surface we won't understand them. And when we make the choice to do that something happens - we have compassion for them. We don't have to agree with them to have compassion and understanding. We should make it our goal to understand people and not just interact with them on the surface level of their lives. Just as we want people to interact with us so we should do the same. Want to be understood? Then begin by understanding.

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April 5, 2015

The Feast of Firstfruits & Easter Go for Broke Day If it scares you this is the day to go for it no matter what. One Day Without Shoes Day Today is to raise global awareness for children’s health and education. Why shoes? Because shoes help protect from bacteria in the dirt, rusty nails, dirty needles and shoes enable feet to withstand the long distances most children in developing countries need to walk to get to school. Join TOMS One for One There is plenty of criticism out there for TOMS and its short term solutions. Critics don't even buy the "at least they are doing something" statement. However, you have to start somewhere. And every bit of awareness helps something go from short term to long term. We all have a part to play. Read a Road Map Day One of the many reasons I would stink at The Amazing Race is because I never did learn how to read a road map well. I remember doing worksheets and class lessons on maps and I was able to skate by ...

Butter someone up

There are two probable origins for this idiom and I think both are equally plausible. The first one is that when you spread butter on bread you are buttering it up like one would do when trying to flatter someone. The second is in ancient India there was a practice of throwing balls of butter at statues to ask for favor, i.e. buttering them up. ( source ) When we use the phrase today we generally mean that extreme flattery is used to gain information or favor. It's not always necessarily a compliment.

A dime a dozen

"It's said that in the year 1796, the first U.S. dimes were produced for circulation. Hence, it would make sense for this phrase to originate sometime after." Read more here . Today the phrase carries the meaning that something is cheap or without value if it can be lumped in with other similar or exactly-like things. It's more of an insult than anything.

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