Adventures in Living a Healthy, Juicy Life
by Cheryl Ragsdale
Top Gun Fighter Pilot aka Tom Cruise
Just found this most excellent video this morning called “Thank Your Military” sent over by a facebook friend. ThankYourMilitary is a movement designed to ask people to say “thank you” to the men and women willing to make sacrifices to protect us and to keep us free. Her message applies to soldiers worldwide.
A reporter asked several people the question, “What do you think you owe your country?”
Most people said, “Nothing. My country owes me.”
Funny what “rights” we take for granted, isn’t it? Whether you believe in having armed militias or not, having one allows us freedom and safety that doesn’t exist everywhere in the world.
Thank Your Military video
How Do We Honor Each Other?
Honor meaning having great respect and admiration for:
- To elevate someone’s status by giving them a title or award (or a special nickname)
- To praise publicly a s a source of pride
- Treating something as a special, cherished privilege
- To give prestige to somebody or something such as an occasion by choosing to appear, accompany, or take part
- To keep a promise, or fulfill the terms of an agreement or contract
- To make someone feel proud and pleased by agreeing to do something for that person
- To offer recognition of someone or something
- Being trusted to act in a certain way
- Staking your reputation on something
beaming a radiant smile
I feel honored whenever a warm-hearted person recognizes the sacrifices I’ve made to achieve a certain result. It’s even better when they notice and say something out loud about it. Honor goes off the charts if other people are around to hear it too. I beam and radiate happiness when that happens. I feel appreciated, loved, connected and respected. What a precious gift!
Consider the opposite. We’ve all experienced the Cold Fish approach from someone – um, hate to admit it, but we’ve probably acted that way ourselves at times. Recognize any of these behaviors?
having a disagreement and feeling dishonored
I feel dishonored whenever someone ridicules or belittles or expresses contempt for something I’m doing or a decision I’ve made. No love! I feel isolated, separated and kept at arm’s-length. Praise and affection are withheld. Privileges are taken for granted.
In the past, I’ve gone to a great deal of effort to attempt to change the mind of someone treating me this way. What don’t they understand? How can I get them to see my point of view? I’ve since learned that – in most cases – I’m wasting my time. We don’t agree. I’m NOT enjoying myself. So, why am I hanging around with you?
If being honored is important to you, know when it’s time to move on and find some new people to play with. If moving on is difficult or impossible:
- make sure to include people in your life who honor you
- find ways to honor yourself – find something to appreciate about yourself
- make it a daily practice to honor someone or something you’ve been taking for granted
- when someone pays you a compliment beam a radiant smile and say thank you! They’ll want to do it again and again because other people’s happiness makes us feel good too.
4 fighter pilots
Everyone knows someone who served in the Armed Forces. Make an effort to say thank you. Think of something else to say if you feel weird saying “Thank you for fighting.”
Thank Your Military! Find a fighter pilot to hug today.
If you don’t want to thank a soldier, find someone else to thank. If you don’t want to say thank you out loud, give someone a hug. Hugs work great. Try it! It might even help with your swagga…most of us love being hugged. That’s living life juicy!
I love hugs and comments too! Please share your thoughts in the comments section.
Photo Credits google images and jupiterimages
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Yes, that is true. We should not forget to honor those who are willing to sacrifice their live and own happiness just for the safety of most of us. But aside from honor, we should also respect them, in every aspect.
I believe that there should always be an equality whether you are a male or female. We all have the right to be respected and treated fairly, that is why “justice” is created.
Twitter: thatgirlisfunny
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Amen to that, Gladys. Come back and visit again soon
Cheryl´s Last Fabulous Post blog ..Playing the TGIF Links Game Effectively for the SITS Girl Problogger Challenge
Twitter: thatgirlisfunny
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Hi Annabel,
And it really does only take a minute to appreciate or acknowledge someone. Thank you for your kindness. Please stay connected so we can chat more.
Twitter: getinthehotspot
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Super Cheryl, what a lovely idea. I do try to do this as often as possible by thanking my kid’s teachers, or praising people’s parenting skills. I even congratulate supermarket staff for doing a good job.
I certainly appreciate it when they pack up my goods as quickly as they can so I can get out of there! I really do think the world would be a better place if people appreciated each other more.
We’re all trying our best to do and be the best we can – a little recognition of that will never go amiss:)
Keep up the great writing.
Twitter: thatgirlisfunny
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Hi Ladies,
I’m touched, moved and inspired by your responses and by the actions you’ve taken to honor the people in your lives. Thank you for spending time with me and for expressing your love to your family and friends.
Cheryl
Dear Cheryl Ragsdale,
You definitely have a way in connecting with people through the art of human kindness. It’s a good idea to remind others of their worth, as it rekindles our nature.
Twitter: Lisaillichmann
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Saying thank you certainly is one of the most important gestures we can offer anybody.
I’m going to say thank you right now to my son – just for being himself.
Too seldom do we recognize even the smallest of gestures, whether within our families or outside them. You have great insight here. How much better would the world be if each of us let people know that we appreciate them and honor what they have done for us, for our country or our neighborhoods. Small gestures; great leaps.