She shoots, She. . .

You know that rule, "treat others as you would like to be treated"?
How many people actually do that? How many people when under stress, take the time to put themselves in the other persons shoes? How many people, when wronged, continue to act civilly towards those who wronged them?
It is too easy for people to get defensive, put their guard up and shut out any possibility of them having any part of the situation at hand sliding downhill. It is usually at this point where people begin to roll eyes, trash talk, call names, etc. I can not say I am not guilty. I am. And I don't like it one bit. So what am I going to do about it? I am making it my person goal to "be the change I wish to see in the world." It is my goal to treat others with respect and decency, despite how they might treat me. It is my goal to be an example.
I have carried this mindset for a while, and at times I do fail. Making it my personal goal is a way of moving that thought file to the front of the folder.
I am asking you, whoever you may be, to please keep me in check. I am also asking you to create your own goal that may, in one way or another, better you and the world we all live in.

1 John 4:11
"Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."

Matthew 5:44
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"

Unfortunately, we have to burn the house down. . .

I think it's for the best. I think if we burn down the house and start over, we might be able to forget it.
This morning, about 5:30, I woke to Zoey barking and my mom whisper-yelling: "ZOEY! ZOEY, GET OVER HERE! . . . ZOEY!"
I looked out my window and saw my mom and the dog standing in the yard. I put on my robe ready to go out and see what was going on. As I turned to head for my bedroom door, the barking stopped. They must be inside. Just as I finish that thought, my old habit of inhale/exhale once again turns against me. My room is suddenly filled with the most horrid smell. Though, thinking back to Zoeys last gift, it might be a toss up. The difference is, this smell is like tar. It's sticky in a sense. It's hard to get rid of.
Have you figured it out yet? Zoey made a friend. We call this friend "skunk"
I walked out in the kitchen. That was a mistake. It reeked of a burnt rubber smell. Once again, an overpowering, nauseating odor. Skunk smells bad when you pass it on the road. It's like a whole new level of stink when it's in your house and yard.
My mom ran to the store to get tomato juice to bathe Zoey in to help with the smell. -Right that down. Should you or anything you own or care about befriend a skunk, you'll want to know how to treat the aftermath of that relationship.
Our house smells rancid. Mom has taken an optimistic route and states how at least it doesn't smell like dog pee anymore. Good point, Mom. Way to look on the bright side of things.
Zoey currently smells like a wonderful combination of tomato juice, dog, and skunk. I was thinking of seeing if I couldn't bottle that smell up and sell it to Avon. I think it'd be a big hit. Maybe we could call it 'last date'.