Sunday, July 19, 2009

Stealing

If we say we don't steal, we may need to take a closer look.
You have agreed to meet someone for lunch and they are 20 minutes late. You notice that your co-worker is taking credit for work that you did. These are two subtle examples of stealing... stealing your time, stealing your work. We may not have thought of this as stealing. Maybe it depends on the spirit in which it occurs. When a person is chronically late, they are showing a disrespect for your time. When credit is taken for something that belongs to another, it is a blatent diminishment of the other person's time and efforts for one's own advancement. These are choices that we make.
Of course, sometimes it is just a mistake, an unfortunate cirmumstance and it is quickly resolved. However if this is a habit, then it is a conscious choice.
Respecting others is what we do when we choose not to steal. We treat others as we would like to be treated.
If you find yourself caught in a habit of disrespect towards another, you might reflect on what is underneath that choice, what is feeding it.
"We cannot change what we do not acknowledge".

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