NO. 1121 -- THE ONE IN THE GLASS!

No. 1121

Jim Davidson...NEWSPAPER COLUMN

THE ONE IN THE GLASS!

Several years ago I had the opportunity to attend a communications seminar in Phoenix, Ariz. During this time I met a wonderful man by the name of Cavett Robert, who was one of the founders of the National Speakers Association. He was the featured speaker for one of the meetings I attended, and he said something with regards to accepting responsibility for ourselves and our own well-being that I have never forgotten. He said, “When many people are born and their umbilical cord is cut, they spend the next 50 years trying to find a place to plug it back in.”
While they would never state it this way, there are millions of people in our nation today who believe it’s their parents, the government or someone else’s responsibility to provide for their needs and take care of them. Through no fault of their own, there are millions of people who are mentally and physically handicapped and cannot provide for themselves in regard to legitimate needs. These people need our help and it’s our responsibility to take care of them. However, there are millions of others who have a healthy mind and body who must learn or re-learn to accept responsibility for themselves.
Since the politicians in Washington have changed welfare, as we know it, many of the people who are being forced off welfare are having a hard time dealing with it. Rather than being down on these people, what most of us need to realize is that this kind of thinking goes back to the earliest days of their childhood and it’s so deeply ingrained that it will take many years to change. The rest of us can provide encouragement to these people who are getting off welfare, and in doing so, we are helping our country as well.
While it has to be on an individual case-by-case basis, when many of these people are trained and have a good paying job, they will see things differently and have a sense of pride and self-respect they have never known before. Along these lines, I discovered a poem several years ago titled “The One in the Glass” that has been a blessing to me, and I hope you will think about it as it relates to your life.
The One in the Glass
“As you go through life in your struggle for self, and the world makes you King or Queen for a day, just go to a mirror and look at yourself and see what that person has to say. For it isn’t your father or mother or spouse whose judgment upon you must pass, but the one whose verdict means most in your life, is the one staring back in the glass. Some people may think you are a straight-shooting sort and call you a wonderful guy or gal, but the one in the glass says you’re only a bum, if you can’t look him straight in the eye. He or she is the one to please, never mind all the rest, for they are with you clear up to the end and you have passed your most dangerous, difficult task, if the one in the glass is your friend. You may fool the whole world down the pathway of life and get pats on the back as you pass, but your final reward will be heartaches and tears, if you have cheated the one in the glass.” Author Unknown
If you have family or friends who could benefit from this poem, why not clip it out, make copies and share it with them. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “An individual is a bundle of possibilities and he is worth what life may get out of him before he is through.” It’s not what we get; rather it’s what we give that really counts.
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(Editor’s Note: THE DEAL OF THE CENTURY – Begin your day on a positive note – 365 days for $12. This will benefit the Bookcase for Every Child project. Go to www.apositivemomentwithjim.com to subscribe.)