How Are You Known?

We, as humans, are social beings by design. We have been gathering in groups since the beginning of mankind itself and togetherness is essential to our human condition. We are not meant to be alone. However, within every group there is always room for conflict. The ups and downs of living in concert with one another is part of what life is all about, in my opinion. It’s the interactions with others that makes life more meaningful, more livable. That being said, not every interaction we have with another person is a positive one.

Sometimes we are attracted or influenced by a dominant power that does not have our best interest in mind. At that moment we have to choose whom we will follow. This is where the choices we make greatly impact our futures. Will those choices lead us down the path of destruction or construction? Either way we can’t choose what other people will say or think about us. The opinion of others is important to us – even if you say that you don’t care what others think about you – in your heart you truly do.

Our words matter and so do our actions, emails, texts, and tweets. We should be mindful of what we say and how we say it. We have all heard the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” That’s the biggest lie I have ever heard. Words do hurt and sometimes leave permanent wounds. Sometimes strong opinions are definitely called for, other times not so much perhaps. At this writing, it is the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. In his iconic speech, “I Have A Dream” he posits that we should be judged not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character.

So, how are you known? By the content of your character or something else? It’s a simple but complex question that we may never get a good answer for – at least not in our time on this planet anyway. Our reputations often precede us and can last a lifetime. We all have a past that we have to live with, but perhaps the present is where we should be more in tune. We would do well to make it a habit to choose our words and our friends wisely.

A friend of mine mentioned to me just recently that a colleague of his had passed away and the obituary was quite revealing. Had he known that his friend had done all that in his life they would have had a lot more to talk about while he was living. Perhaps we should share more of the positive aspects of our lives with our friends. There’s an obituary coming for all of us. What will be in yours? How will you be known?

Alan Shoalmire is a resident in Grimes County and the owner of Grill Sergeant Hotdogs and submits a column to the Navasota Examiner every other week.