And now, what do I stand for?

Not just tolerance but acceptance of different ways of being. My philosophy is “there is no one way.” I never argue with people but this is the one thing I will I fight with people about (which of course is an exercise in futility because the people who believe there is only one way will never see other ways).

I stand for minimal negative impact on the world – environmentally, financially, socially. This means taking care to not sh*t on the world out of selfishness and to clean up your sh*t when you do so unintentionally.

I stand for people helping others and I lead by example on this one. Much of my happiness derives from knowing I’ve helped someone. Although I do have trouble asking for help because I don’t want to be a burden (see the above point).

As for how that informs my blogging, given that my blog is about helping others and looking at the world from many points of view, I think I’m bang on.

Thoroughly enjoying this series!

Cheers,
Alex

I love this post, partially because this is the third time I’ve read it and I still feel like I haven’t had it all sink in yet.

@Franklin – Traffic may be a result, but what we’re about here goes to the core of who we are, so it is much bigger than that.

@Sonia – Thanks for sharing. I can tell you know the difference between sympathy and compassion. I know you act on your compassion, too, and it’s one reason why I respect you.

I stand for boundaries, for connection, for respect. I stand for helping people who ask for it, with the understanding that sometimes it takes a lot of work and patience to coach them to use that help in a constructive way. I stand for the protection and nourishment of all children, everywhere. I try very hard to stand for compassion and to embody compassion, but it’s damned hard and I don’t always do very well at it. But I keep trying.