* Weekly Reflection of Gratitude!
While I still encourage you to join in the challenge I issued earlier, to post your “30 Days of Blessings, Condensed” this month, the day after the election is a good day to reflect. Our nation remains deeply divided – this is not something new to the past four years, although the venomous tone has increased dramatically during that time. While I am grateful for our freedom of speech, let that speech be tempered with compassion and civility.
President John Kennedy made this statement during his inaugural address in the context of world relations, but it applies equally to relations within our borders:
“So let us begin anew—remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.” ~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States, from his 1961 Inaugural Address (full text of that address can be found here)
“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ciao! ~ Kat
Travel. Garden. Eat. 
10 responses to “Kat’s W.R.G.*: Civility and Compassion”
Gratitude is key… 😉
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so true. In all aspects of life! ~ Kat
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How I wish those weren’t ideals so lofty as to be out of reach! I’m pessimistically hopeful, though (or optimistically realistic?).
It’s funny – I’m not old enough to have heard him speak “live”, but anytime I see Jack Kennedy’s words in print, I can hear his voice speaking them.
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Optimistically realistic has a nice spin to it! ~ Kat
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Or as our grandmothers said – “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all” and “When you are polite, you will be welcomed everywhere”….
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I think social media and electronic communications have emboldened many to a point of forgetting manners, such that they boldly, and often carelessly, type words they would never think of saying to the recipient in person. Thanks for chiming in, ideflex ~ Kat
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Well said! A wonderful start to my day!
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Much appreciated, Rebecca! ~ Kat
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Civility – now that’s a novel idea.
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Or so incredibly old-fashioned that it seems new again. ~ Kat
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