I remember being taught by my Sunday school teachers to look upon the world with child-like innocence; to love my fellow man as myself. This is what I have always strived to do in my life.
I learned early that people would take advantage of me in life at every turn if they could; my own mother taught me this.
Regardless; I continued trying to be a good person. I tried to do unto others… and all that jazz. Like we all do.
I spent so many years being this sweet woman who was helpful and kind to everyone and you know what?
Over the years I’ve been taken advantage of a lot.
I have had some really mean people treat me like dirt after they’re done using me.
Blood relatives have stolen more from me and taken advantage of me far worse than any stranger has ever done.
I realized this early in life. I chose to invest in strangers who God brought into my life rather than the people who were tearing me down all the time; the people who supposedly loved me. How does a person do this?
It was a hard one to figure out. When I would find myself in a strange place, surrounded by people I didn’t know; I would find the individual whom I judged would be the last person present whom my mother would choose to associate with. This was the person I would walk right up to with my hand extended towards in greeting. I have friends from all walks of life because of how I’ve done this. I have strived to do this for over twenty years now.
This practice has paid off in big ways. I have met so many neat people. I found that the more open and out-going I became; the more open total strangers became towards me.
After a while I no longer had to put myself out there, people were literally flocking to me first. It was like I was putting off some kind of aura that was attracting them to me. It was amazing.
I found that I had to reprogram a lot of what my parents taught me about people. I realized that if I were going to live up to what my parents wanted; I would live a very lonely existence.
When I first started this; it was scary, I won’t lie. I felt I had to put God to the test though; I had been failed by what the world and my parents had told me.
Through my study, I have learned that He was telling us the truth; it is better to meet the world with a heart full of love and unconditional acceptance than to shy away from some people because they’re different from you.
After all of this; I’m not sorry that I allowed some people to take advantage of me. It says far worse about them than me. I was just doing what God had told me to do; I was doing unto others; as literally as I could, anyway.
I knew it was His job to take care of the details.
It looked to everyone around me like I was making poor decisions and fraternizing with people they would not choose to hang out with. I remembered Jesus hung out with people that no one liked. Are we any different? I knew where I belonged.
At one point in my life I began literally choosing my companions based upon how repulsed my mother would be by them. If they were homeless or drug addicts that was all the better. How better to immerse one’s self in the world you’re trying to become part of?
When I left home, I realized that I needed to embrace all mankind as my neighbor; no matter where I found them. Believe me; I’ve gone looking for people I didn’t know before just to meet them. This practice has enabled me to spend time with and getting to know people in their own backyards; to hear their stories from their own mouths.
Do you know what I’ve learned?
People are basically the same everywhere. For the most part they just want a chance to liv their life and be left in peace. If you can overcome the fear that many of us are taught, the fear of talking to and interacting with strangers, you can learn a lot also. I challenge each of my readers to try it. Just go meet someone you would normally avoid; someone you don’t feel totally comfortable around in everyday life.
Talk to this person about their life. The more different the individual from you; the better experience you will have. Then; go tell a friend about what you did. Do this every day for a while. This is what I did that has made me joyful each and every day. I just learned to love whoever I’m with, I guess. Drop me a line to let me know about your experience if you feel froggie.