A very wise human once said something along the lines of do not let others wrong actions take away your peace of mind. I had never thought of the world in such a way until it was put like this. My interpretation of this statement is that even if people who commit harmful acts to belittle or harm others should never affect our ability to be level headed and continuing to treat all beings with compassion.

We as sentient creatures, have free will. With free will comes decisions. If we make the decision to be kind, we will gain merit and make others happy. When we make others happy, we give them hope. Hope is a very funny thing, I personally hope world peace will be achieved in my lifetime. I chant (my equivalent to prayer) for peace, this helps, but just barely. To make this dream a reality, we must take action by taking every opportunity to make the lives of others better, no matter how small or insignificant the act may seem. I am not afraid to admit that during my time on this planet I have been a hypocrite to what I preach. I have made mistakes, but if I didn’t make them I wouldn’t have learned from those experiences. For example, a coworker that had become almost like family told me that when I say “good enough” on a task or job, I only create or leave more work for someone else. It was not until these words were said to me that I realized the error of how my laziness impacted the lives of others. From these mistakes I encourage everyone I meet to dedicate their lives to service to others to improve our crumbling planet.

A life of service sounds tiring, and to be frank, it can be. In order to get past our own challenges I believe it is wise to lead others on the glorious path of compassion and to learn from it for our benefit and for the benefit of all sentient beings.

Waiting for your judgement,

-Jackson Jamesblood