2 Golden Rulz

We've all experienced them. The Starbuck's Barrista who begrudgingly takes your order then rolls his eyes when you take two extra seconds to look for exact change. Or, the miserable receptionist who sighs heavily and glares at you when you request a follow up appointment. The thing is, you didn't do anything to them to deserve the rolling eyes, glares and heavy sighs. They are just like that and if you try to be extra nice to them, they either grunt and mumble something in your direction, or ignore you completely. I have come to the conclusion that they either a)really hate their job b)really hate their life or c)figure the world owes them something. I really hate to be the person to say this, but no one ever said life would be fair or easy. Oh, and by the way, the world doesn't owe you anything.

I am not saying that I am perfect (HA! Not by any stretch of the most creative imagination) or super chipper happy girl all the time. We all have bad days and bad moods, but it is a choice to be perpetually miserable and take it out on other people. And yes, there is a difference between being sarcastic, strong and assertive or being just plain old mean and bitchy.

That brings me to the 2 Golden Rulz. Two really smart people, who I admire and look up to and who did one hell of a job raising a great daughter without an instruction manual, taught me two basic, BASIC rules to live by. My parents are great people who work hard for everything they have, will go without before letting their kids want for anything and who make mistakes, learn from them, grow and move on. Basically, they aren't only awesome parents, they are good, good people who live what they say.

Rule number 1: Treat others as you would have them treat you.
Yes!!!! The Golden Rule. Simple hey? You'd think. That line, or variations of it, was drilled in to my brother and I over and over again. When I gave my brother an atomic wedgie and he cried, my mom said, "Tracy Lee Anne be a lady! How would you like if I did that to you? Treat your brother the way you want him to treat you!" When my brother bit me, my mom bit him back and said "You love it?! Is that how you want to be treated?" And then, when I got payback for something I did to my little bro, my Dad's line was always "You deserve it for [beating, punching, telling on, spitting on, etc.] him".

A fairly simple rule, yet I find more and more often that the idea seems lost in today's society. It's kinda like Karma, do good, good will come - do bad and bad will come. As Justin Timberlake said, "I'm bringin sexy back"...uh....I mean, "What goes around comes back around".

Rule number 2: Be kind to each other
My mom usually says this in regards to family when something isn't quite right or we are going through something. My interpretation of this is that if you love someone, treat them with respect, understanding and kindness. When I think of being kind, I think of unselfish acts of giving or random acts that make a difference in someone's day. It doesn't have to be something huge, but anything that makes someone feel loved and appreciated IS BEING KIND. This doesn't go just for relationships, but for family and friends too. My parents always lived by this. If Dad is coming for a visit and he knows I am having a tough time with something, he stops on his way to pick up flowers for me. Dad also brings Mom a Tim's Large Double Double when out on his Saturday morning paper run....and why? Just because he is kind and he loves her. I think that if everyone did one thing everyday to make a difference to someone, the world would be a much happier place.

After describing these two simple rules, I have to come clean. Sometimes, when I am having a bad day, or storming around complaining about dirty dishes and piles of laundry, I have to stop and listen to my parents in my head (yes, their voices live there along with a few others) reminding me to follow these rules! Shocker!!!! I'm not perfect, I know!

I am not saying that we all have to be dripping with fake sweetness, but if we get over our-bad-selves and realize that things could be way worse, we could relax and enjoy the day-to-day. We all don't like our jobs at some point, we never get enough sleep or downtime or funtime or relaxing time or time to do whatever we want etc., but negativity breeds insanity and unhappiness.

So, I have to say to myself, to the Starbucks' Barista and to the cranky receptionist, "Buck up Sunshine! (thanks Stace for that one) Stop complaining and realize it could be much, much worse than it is."

Suck up and be nice!