It may take more than a military-looking uniform to determine how to know you have a commanding presence. But it doesn’t hurt to look official, does it?
One thing I do know is that it is no good to fake the appearance of being in the military when you really haven’t served. Only men and women who have gone through the training and sacrifice to earn a uniform should wear it. So forget being a military imposter!
“If you burn your neighbor’s house down, it doesn’t make your house look any better.”
Lou Holtz Quotes. BrainyQuote.com, BrainyMedia Inc, 2022. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/lou_holtz_153611, accessed January 7, 2022.
Lou Holtz
Whether you call it backstabbing, mud-slinging, disparagement, gossip, or some other term, it doesn’t do us any good to burn down another person’s house. Negative comments don’t do us any good.
We can tear our friends and neighbor’s down if we like, but we still end up in the middle of a mess. We look weaker for it. We know if someone is negative about another person, they are most likely negative about us as well. So we are cautious about that person. What house will they burn down next?
Politicians have been caught in this trap for decades. When they go against each other, it’s the last person standing that may win, but they don’t look any stronger. The negative ads and comments only make the victor look weak.
It is far better to love our neighbor than to burn down their house. Let’s keep our neighborhood pristine and keep the conversation positive.
Home, home on the range,
Home on the Range by Dr. Brewster Higley
Where the Deer and the Antelope play,
Where seldom is heard,
a discouraging word,
And the sky is not cloudy all day.
As a child, I loved that song. The thought of some place where none of the words were discouraging made me want to go west as soon as I grew up. Perhaps that is why I still have a soft spot for Arizona.
Nobody likes discouraging words. Unfortunately, we can all get a little self-righteous and justified in spreading a little verbal venom now and then. We can even feel like we are spouting truth even while we do it in a less-than-gracious way. Even squirrels have a rough time with insults and verbal barbs. They can return insults with nuts, especially if they have a birdseye view.
Be encouraged today. When you hear a discouraging word. Don’t return it with your own tirade. Get away from words meant to take away our courage. Find encouragement, and be an encouragement to others. That is a much better way.